THIS IS E-NOTICE 2002-10 OF OCTOBER 2, 2002

Hello Hornets!

Here are some items that might be of interest:

1. FOUNDATION WELCOMES FIRST STUDENT INTERNS. I am absolutely delighted to report that School Principal Bill Barnes has arranged for the Foundation to have the services of two student interns this year. Secouri Satterwhite (03) and Bruce Fort (03) are helping out the Foundation for a period a day three days a week, and have jumped right in to help out on a number of very important Foundation projects. We'd like to formally welcome Secouri and Bruce, and to wish them the best of luck in this rather ambitious undertaking. Thanks also to Bill Barnes for arranging for this.

2. THANKS CURRENT PARENTS! As reported in the last e-Notice, the Class of 06 Parents have embarked on a project to "spruce-up" the front of the School and its entry drive. I'm thrilled to report that the 06 Parents have now been joined in this "spruce-up" effort by the 05, 04 and 03 Parents, who will "spruce-up" (respectively) the sides/rear of the School, the larger courtyard in the School, and the smaller courtyard in the School. Many heartfelt thanks to these parents for pitching-in on this important Foundation project for the 2002-2003 year!

3. ANNUAL CAMPAIGN. We have just started the Foundation's informal "Annual Campaign" for 2002. Like last year, our goal for this year's Campaign is to replace the funds we spent on scholarships this year. You may recall that last year we gave out $1,500 in scholarships, and successful raised $2035 in the 2001 Annual Campaign. This year, we gave out $2,500 in scholarships, so we'd like this year's Annual Campaign to raise at least that much. If a mere 125 of us each gave $20, we'll reach our goal. My wife Donna Rae Sturtevant Smith (70) and I have each seeded the pot with $20, so we only have $2460 left to go! I'd like to encourage each of you to participate in this very worthy cause.

Perhaps this would be a good opportunity for those of you new to the Foundation's cyber community to get involved. Thanks for considering this! (A Donor Form is attached, and reprinted below in case you have trouble with the attachment.)

4. VERY SPECIAL GET WELL WISHES. One of the Foundation's longest-term and greatest supporters, Leslie St. Clair (70), is recovering from surgery to remove her cancerous thyroid gland. Leslie is approaching this health challenge with the same great spirit she used to single-handedly tackle the massive Y2K All Classes and Staff Directory, the door prizes and archival materials she put together for the Y2K events, and the refreshments for the Surrattstock event. Please join me in sending Leslie our most powerful get well wishes.

5. MORE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT DONATIONS. Many thanks to Larry Cadenhead (86), who donated three much-needed laser printers, two computers, a monitor and other peripherals to the Foundation for use at the School.

Sincere thanks also go to Class of '06 parent Sharon Rogers and her employer the GSA, who arranged to donate two laser printers and a computer to the Foundation.

This donated equipment has found much-appreciated homes at the School. We are closing-in on our objective of bringing the School's technology fully into the 21st century this year. Please let me know if you or your employer has any equipment to donate to this very worthy cause.

6. CLASS OF 93 PLANS REUNION. Tamara Frazier, Official Reunion Contact for the Class of 93, is seeking classmates in connection with the planning of an upcoming 93 Reunion. Would any of you happen to have any information on members of the Class of 93 (or relatives of members of the Class of 93) that you could send to Tamara at tgfrazier@earthlink.net?

7. GRACIOUS HOMECOMING INVITATION. Chief Black of the School's JROTC Program and the School's Homecoming celebration coordinator has once again invited all alumni and former staff to participate in this year's Homecoming parade. The parade will be held on Saturday October 26, with assembly at 10 a.m. near the Safeway in the Clinton Crossing shopping center. Please contact Chief Black at 301-599-2529 or MD-942@afjrotc.net if you'd like information or if you'd like to register your Class or group to participate in the parade.

(Chief Black also is looking for convertibles to transport the VIPs who will be participating in the parade, if any of you have a convertible you'd like to volunteer.)

8. MORE MEMORIES OF MR. PRYDE. I received this nice note from Bob Barrett (68), Barrettrl@aol.com, in response to the item in the last e-Notice about Mr. Pryde: "Hi Henry: The story about John Pryde brought back memories for me, too. He was the principal for my first two years at Surrattsville. As the President for the Junior Class in 1967, I had a lot of interaction with him. Obviously, he was much older at that time that at the time of the stories in the most recent e Notice, but what I remember is a man with wisdom, and patience with young people. That, plus the fact that I had to "negotitate" everything with him. At that time, there was no Junior Court, only a Senior Court. He gave me the OK to use the small square in the middle of the School for our court. Also, at that time, seniors didn't get their class rings until reporting for their senior year in the Fall. He gave us permission to receive our rings in the Spring prior to our senior year, (after the "real" seniors had completed exams and graduated). This seemed a really big deal to us then, as we could wear our rings all summer (and give them to our girlfriends, I suppose). Anyway, I've always remembered him fondly, and also remember how many people were at the memorial service St. John's when he passed away. It was standing room only, with audio speakers in the parking lot. He had a real impact on a lot of young lives. V/R, Bob Barrett"

9. WASHINGTON POST PROFILES "COLORFUL CAREER" OF 63 GRAD. Vicki Forsht Williams (65, and former faculty) sent me an email recently noting that the rather unconventional career of Ralph Whittington (63) was featured in a recent Washington Post article. (The article can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp dyn/articles/A55204 2002Aug23.html. Viewer discretion is advised for this strictly adults only item.)

10. HORNET HERO FEATURED ON ABC. Sherri Koch Gay (71) reported in from Florida that she recently saw fellow classmate and Air Force Colonel Bob Marr (71) being interviewed on ABC's Nightline about the role of Bob and his Air Force unit on 9/11/01. I checked-in with Bob about this, and he reports that ABC, Fox, the BBC and several other networks have filmed and may show additional pieces featuring Bob and his unit.

I asked Bob for some of the specifics, and he provided the following in an email: "Hi Henry Actually, I've flown a number of the cap missions over New York City, Boston, and Portland (Maine), but on the morning of 9/11 I was in the Battle Commander seat at the Northeast Air Defense Sector. That's how I've ended up in the news (way too much news!) The particular media event that Sherri saw was in regard to UAL 93 which crashed in the hills of Pennsylvania. Before it turned around it looked like it was heading for Chicago and we only had alert fighters on the coast. The only guys available were a couple of F 16s in the air over eastern Michigan that were on a training mission without any weapons on board. We were going to have them "head him off at the pass" en route to Chicago and convince him to land, or take other action. Before they got there, UAL93 turned around and headed for Washington where we had armed fighters over the city waiting I just wish we could have gotten them there before AA77 crashed into the Pentagon. Part of a BBC2 interview is on a streaming video on the BBC web page. A lot more visibility than I ever wanted, but if it makes anyone feel a little more secure in their world, then it's well worth it! Bob"

We're awfully proud of Bob, and all the other Hornet military and public safety personnel who risk their own lives to help keep us safe. Thanks, folks!

11. FOUNDATION DONOR FEATURED ON ABC. Many of you will recall the generosity of Jay Crisler (82) and his company "Premier Rides", who helped get the computer donations to the Foundation started with some significant early contributions to this worthy cause. On Friday September 13, Jim Sheay, the President of Premier Rides, was featured extensively in a piece on the ABC Evening News about the use of magnetic technology by roller coaster designers like Premier Rides to extract wilder and wilder thrills out of that form of amusement ride. The background shots for the piece were of a roller coaster at Six Flags in Largo that Jay helped design!

Congratulations to these Foundation donors on this "good press"!

12. CAPITOL ROCK, AND SURRATTS' CONTRIBUTIONS TO DC MUSIC SCENE, CONTINUE TO RECEIVE ATTENTION. I got this nice email from Mark Opsasnick, author of Capitol Rock, in response to the update on him and his book in the last e-Notice: "Hi Henry: Thanks for mentioning me/CAPITOL ROCK in the most recent Surrattsville e-Notice. It was much appreciated. Not sure if I told you about the book signing or not. It was beyond belief. I expected to sell about six books. The place was packed and we sold 95 books. About 500 people passed through there on the day. I was supposed to be there from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and I stayed until 5:30 p.m., until the last customer was taken care of. They had live music by Jack Bryant and rockabilly star Vernon Taylor. It was truly an amazing day and I had the time of my life. I met tons of great area music fans. We're hoping to do a similar event around Christmas, though we will not have the benefit of Post/City Paper publicity. Thanks, Mark"

(In addition to the Washington Post article mentioned in the last e-Notice, Mark's book has been praised in a August 22, 2002 article in The Gazette (Greenbelt edition), and in the August 2002 Music Monthly, where the author mentioned Surratts' own DC Star.)

13. HORNET ARTISTS' WORK FEATURED. I just learned that Shelby Lee Opperman (79), the creator of the Foundation's beautiful Y2K School History display and Official Archivist of the Foundation, will have her art work featured in "the 29th Annual Unique Boutique" on November 9th and 10th (Saturday from 10 5 and Sunday from 10 4) at the Hollywood Firehouse in Hollywood, MD. The show features a juried group of Tidewater artisans. Shelby would be happy to take questions about the show at (301) 884 4581.

Shelby also entered two of her acrylic paintings in the North End Gallery show mentioned in the last e-Notice. Her 24" x 30" acrylic entitled "A Sotterley Walk" was among the first works sold at that show. Shelby's paintings also are featured at the Maryland Antique Center in Leonardtown

Also, the paintings of one of Surrattsville's best known artists, Kevin Fitzgerald (71), will be featured at a showing at the Main St. Gallery, 109 Main St., Annapolis, from October 2 - October 27, with an opening reception on Saturday October 5, from 6 - 9 p.m.

I hope many of you will be able to take in the beautiful work of these two great Hornet artists!

14. HORNET HELPING VETERANS. Lee F. Pascasio (64), a North Carolina District Officer with the Veterans Affairs department, has kindly offered to assist any Hornets out there who have questions about their veterans benefits and the like. Lee's contact information is: W: 252 355 9052; W Fax: 252 355 9062; H: 252 757 1677; H Fax: 252 758 4480. Thanks go out to Lee for this kind offer.

15. BACK ISSUES OF E-NOTICES. Thanks to the great and tireless work of Foundation web master Mike Gifford (84), all of the back issues of the Surratts News e-Notices are featured on the Foundation web site at www.surrattsville.org. Those of you new to the e-Notice email list might want to check some of them out. There are also some new photos featured, including photos of two great Surrattstock volunteers, William Gunn (03), and Cecily Caldwell (03).

16. REPLY TO REQUEST FOR HORNET MUSICIANS. I received this great email from Class of 54 ORC Helen Bovbjerg Niedung in response to our request in the last e-Notice for updates on Hornet musicians: "Dear Henry: In the 9/2/02 e-Notice, there was a call by Dr. Kenneth Martin '65, for other professional musicians from Surratts. I thought I'd answer his call by saying that two of us from the class of '54 became professional musicians. Kenneth Moore, violinist, and I, Helen Bovbjerg, a singer, performed many times (usually organized by Mrs. Moorehead) for Surratts functions and in the community, county, state and in D.C. Kenneth and I have stayed in touch all these many years (48!) and after a cruise to Alaska this summer, my mother and I visited Ken and his wife and had the privilege of hearing him play a concert with the famous Seattle Symphony, where he happened to be honored that evening for being a violinist in the Symphony for 40 years. It was a nice surprise for him and for us. After my degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY, I went to Germany for further study and became an opera singer there. I sang over 460 performances of 35 roles in various opera houses in Germany and Denmark and also performed recitals and concerts with major orchestras both in the USA and abroad. Upon the death of my husband, also an opera singer, I returned to the States with my two little girls, to be close to my parents who lived in Florida. I continue to sing, am Professor of Voice at Edison College, Ft. Myers, FL, I maintain a large private Studio of Voice and am Director of Music at the Edison Congregational Church in Fort Myers. I am a member of NATS, MTNA , NFMC and Mu Phi Epsilon. I was so pleased to hear that Surratts produced another opera singer, Foundation Achievement Award winner Gordon Hawkins' 76. I'd love to hear more about him and his career. It was also interesting to learn that Richard Mortimer took over the Surratts Band. Both Kenneth Moore and I played in the very first band, when Mr. Mathina came to our school. Ken played baritone, I was concert mistress on the clarinet and Richard Mortimer, who was 4 years behind us, was in the band too. It's so neat to know that he went into music as a profession too. His sister Evelyn sang in the vocal ensembles with me. What a trip down memory lane! Helen Bovbjerg Niedung, hniedung@aol.com."

I still say there's something special about the water at Surrattsville (the old School and the new School, apparently!) -- and of course about great teachers like Mr. Mathina, Mr. Mortimer, Ms. Willetts, Mr. Waddell, et al -- that has produced such an extraordinary crop of Hornet musicians!

I hope this finds you all well, and enjoying the lovely Fall weather.

All the best, Henry Smith (71), hsmith@smithdowney.com

IN MEMORIAM

BILLY WASSON (65) died on July 10th of cancer. Vicki Forsht Williams (65 and former faculty) reports that, at the time of his death, Billy was residing in the Annapolis area.