THIS IS SURRATTSVILLE FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2003-1 OF JANUARY 1, 2003

Hello Hornets!

Here are some items that might be of interest:

1.  A HUMBLE PLEA.  Thanks to the generosity of the donors listed below, we've raised just over $1,200 so far in our informal 2002 Annual Campaign.  (Our goal is to raise $2,500 to replace the scholarship funds we granted in 2002.)  The Foundation Board has authorized the extension of the "2002"Annual Campaign through the end of January to give us a chance to meet our goal.

Could I ask each of you who has benefitted from, or who has enjoyed, some aspect of the Foundation (e.g., the various events, the gifts and scholarships, these e-Notices, the web site, etc.) to consider making a contribution to this very important effort?  Remember, because the Foundation has no overhead, 100% of every dollar raised goes into the programs of the Foundation.

(A Donor Form is attached, and reprinted below.  However, to make it easy, please feel free to just send a check payable to "SHS Foundation" to me at 815 Stoneleigh Rd., Balt., MD 21212, and I'll fill out the Form for you and send you the tax receipt.)

2.  HORNETS IN PUBLIC SAFETY AND MILITARY SERVICE.  In response to requests in the last e-Notice, I received these interesting emails about Hornets who are risking their lives every day to protect ours:

"Dear Henry:  Just wanted to let you know that I'm a law enforcement officer here in southern Virginia.  Would love to hear from other Hornets who are law officers.  Pat Peele (80), WTFANG@WebTV.net"

"Hi Henry:   I'm stationed at MacDill AFB as a fire fighter.  I've been here for 3 years now. Mary Costello (84) works right down the street from where I am.  We've met for the first time thanks to the recent e-Notice!   Sincerely, Richard Baskas (84), SSgt 6 CES/CEFO,  rbaskas@tampabay.rr.com"

"Hi Henry: In the list of firefighters in my last email, I forgot to mention Clinton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Richard Small (76).  Ginger Henderson (00)"

[Ed. Note: Foundation Board member Mike Blair (71) had a career as a D.C. firefighter before "retiring" into his current career.]

Heartfelt thanks to all Surrattsville alumni serving in public safety and the military!

3.  CONGRATULATIONS RUSSELL WILSON (99)!  And speaking of Hornets in military service, we recently received a press release from Marine Corp Band noting that Russell Wilson (99) joined the Band in September as its pianist, and noting that Russell often performs at the White House and other D.C. venues.  The press release noted Russell's Surrattsville roots, and stated that the Marine Band is America's oldest professional musical organization.  You might want to keep an eye peeled for Russell the next time you see the Marine Band performing.   Congratulations, Russell!  (p.s.  The Band also sent us a photo of Russell which we've added to the web site at www.surrattsville.org.)

4.  COMPUTER AND EQUIPMENT DONATIONS CONTINUE.  Many thanks to Sharon Wills Rice (65) for her donation of a much-needed Hewlett Packard laser printer to the School.  The Foundation is still on the lookout for "gently used" (or new) computer and other equipment for the School, so please let me know if you've got a line on any.

5.  CLASS OF 65 WEB SITE.  I recently received this email from Bill Erdman (werdman@earthlink.net), webmaster of the absolutely fantastic Class of 65 web site:   "Hi Henry:  Hope this finds you doing well and not too snowed in today.  We just added a new photo section to our web site (www.surrattsville65.org). Back in the end of October and the beginning of November, the great class of '65 had a 55th Birthday Bash on Pawleys' Island SC. We rented five houses and had a blast. The album is day by day, Monday to Saturday, with Saturday being the prom. Hope you enjoy, Bill"

That Class of 65 is really in a class by themselves!  Don't miss those extraordinary "prom" photos of this great, and truly unique, bunch of Surratts graduates.

6.  TOO TRUE!  I received this absolutely precious little poem from Tonda Varelli (65):

Every ten years, as summertime nears, An announcement arrives in the mail,

"A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand; Make plans to attend without fail.

I'll never forget the first time we met; We tried so hard to impress.

We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars, And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there. It was held at a fancy hotel.

We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined, And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first, To achieve great fortune and fame.

Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses, And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean, Now weighed in at one‑ninety‑six.

The jocks who were there had all lost their hair, And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd, Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;

Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain; She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed", Was serving ten years in the pen,

While the one voted "least" now was a priest; Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys, Who seemed to have aged the least.

Another was given to the grad who had driven, The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture, Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.

Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini; You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get‑together, no one cared whether, They impressed their classmates or not.

The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal; By this time we'd all gone to pot.

It was held out‑of‑doors, at the lake shores; We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.

Then most of us lay around in the shade, In our comfortable T‑shirts and jeans.

By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear, We were definitely over the hill.

Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed, And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they've set the date; Our fiftieth is coming, I'm told.

It should be a ball, they've rented a hall, At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid; My pacemaker's been turned up on high.

My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled; And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party; I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.

It'll be lots of fun; I just hope that there's one, Other person who can make it that night

7.  MOVIE AND TV REVIEWS.  While we're on a nostalgia theme, any of you of any age who are the slightest bit interested in great music should do whatever is necessary to see the beautiful and sublime "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", a documentary about The Funk Brothers, the un-sung studio musicians you hear on all those great Motown hits.  The film is not only a fascinating (and lovingly reverential) documentary, but also contains off-the-charts current performances of some Motown hits by The Funk Brothers and current pop vocalists.

I also caught American Graffiti on the American Movie Channel the other night, and it is as "true" today as is was when it was made in 1973, about both high school life in 1962 and the general rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood.

Finally, I'll bet that many of you are "relating" to the Dick Clark-produced "American Dreams" which runs on Sunday nights on NBC.

8.  A TROPICAL IDEA.  Taking inspiration from the play book of the great Class of 65, we've been thinking about the possibility of a Foundation-sponsored, "Surratts Reunion birthday cruise" (e.g., 50^th for my Class of 71), on Carnival's big Fascination ship (no viruses, please), for four nights, out of Miami, perhaps as early as November 2003.  The all-inclusive Carnival group rate could be something like $285 per person (double occupancy) if we signed-up right away, and the AirTran round trip airfare group rate (from the D.C. area) if we signed-up right away could be something like $185 per person.  (Sounds like a pretty outstanding $470, five-day rest in the tropical sun to me!  For those of you who haven't cruised on a big ship before, you have no obligations on a cruise other than to relax and enjoy yourself.)  This particular cruise makes stops in Key West and Cozumel, Mexico.

Naturally, we don't want to invest too much effort in this concept unless we detect some real interest, but it might be a great way to have an "interim get-together" before the next big All Classes bash over the June 25, 2005 weekend.   If you're interested in the cruise idea, could you drop me an email (hsmith@smithdowney.com), and especially let me know whether you'd consider committing to a November 2003 cruise?  If there is enough interest, we might well have to delay until 2004 to ensure that we get the available cut-rate prices, but it would be nice to know if there's sufficient interest.

 

I hope this e-Notice finds you well, and that your 2003 is off to a fantastic start!

Best regards,   Henry Smith (71), hsmith@smithdowney.com

 

 

MANY THANKS TO THESE 2002 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS!

Nancy Oursler Maynard (65), In Memory Of Billy Wasson (65) and Karen Bitterman (65)

Deborah Williams Largent (79)

Janet Goddard Sullivan (54)

Vicky Simontacchi Young (57), In Memory of Margie Jones Green (57)

Ellen Talbert-Miller (61, and faculty), In Memory of Judy Lord (Business Teacher)

Michelle Wilson Block (68), In Memory of Danny Vaughan (68, K.I.A Viet Nam 1969)

Donna Rae Sturtevant Smith (70)

Henry Smith (71)

Denise Hope (72)

Rosa England Bolen (45), In Memory of Donald Edwin England (51)

Robert Kane (68)

Joan Penn Revis (61)

Homer Revis (56)

Helen Bovbjerg Niedung (54)

Vicki Forsht Williams (65, and faculty)

Peter Williams (64)

Sherri Koch Gay (71)

Ed Jaffe (65)

Melissa Gilcrest (69)

Coral Ann Kupfer (65), In Memory of Anne Marie Schmalfuss (65)

Anne S. Noyes (Faculty)

Betty O'Clair (73), In Memory of Col. Francis R. O'Clair

Fred Keeney (73)

Suzanne Meilert Fields (71)

David Weber (65)

Scott McWhirt (71)

Jane Edwards Robinson (54)

Steve Profilet (71)