THIS IS SURRATTSVILLE FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2003-5 of MAY 1, 2003

Hello Hornets!

Here are some items that might be of interest:

1.  SURRATTSTOCK PERFORMERS ANNOUNCE SUMMER SCHEDULES.  Two of the bands that donated their talents to the Surrattstock fund raiser have announced their upcoming performance schedules.

First, "The Back Pages Band" (www.thebackpagesband.com), the "quartet version" of the big-band "C.A.S.O." that performed at Surrattstock, has announced its upcoming schedule, and it's reprinted below.  TBPB consists of Surrattstock "iron man" Roger Owens (73), honorary Hornet Mike Mello (Bishop McNamara 71), Joe Stanisha, and yours truly.  (Please let me know if you'd like to join TBPB's email list.)

Second, "Straight Flush" (a.k.a. "Union" at Surrattstock), has sent along its upcoming performance schedule, and it too is reprinted below.  "Straight Flush" features the great talents of Gary Hopkins (70), Tom Maddox (72), Reggie Graham (72) and Richard Clifton (72).

Naturally, both bands would love to see our friends from Surratts at our upcoming performances!

2.  2003 ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED.  The Foundation's Board is extremely proud to announce the recipients of the Foundation's 2003 Achievement Awards.  The three alumni listed below join the distinguished company of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Achievement Award recipients, who are featured on the web site at www.surrattsville.org.  Congratulations to these fine individuals for bringing such distinction and honor to the Surrattsville community!

BOB MARR (71) - Bob is one of the many Hornets serving us all in the military.  Bob, a Colonel in the Air Force/Air National Guard, with a Master Pilot/Command Pilot rating currently flying F-15s, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1975, and earned a Master's Degree in Aeronautical Sciences from Embry-Riddle.  Bob is the Commander of the Northeast Air Defense Sector, the fighter group that flies sorties throughout the Northeast to keep us all safe.  Bob has had a number of fascinating assignments during his career, and has received numerous awards and commendations from the Air Force.  Bob's official Air Force bio proudly mentions his Surrattsville roots!  The Foundation is especially proud to recognize such a distinguished member of the military in these trying times, and is thrilled that Bob's selection reflects the close historical bond between Surrattsville and the United States Air Force.

ROBERTA PADGETT TAYLOR (53) - Roberta certainly holds the all-time record for loyalty and service to Surrattsville!  Roberta attended Surrattsville through graduation in 1953, when she was Senior Class President, and has served the greater Surrattsville community ever since -- that's fifty years, if anybody's counting! -- as administrative assistant at the School (and at Surrattsville Elementary).  Roberta's "favorite saying" under her 1953 yearbook photo is "Cheer Up!", and she's certainly cheered up thousands of Surratts students with her welcoming smile and wonderful personality.  (She has definitely had that effect on me just about every time I've stepped into the office since 1968!)  There's probably not a Surratts student (since well before 1953!) who hasn't been touched by Roberta's kindness and who hasn't been aided by Roberta in some important way.  Roberta shows no signs of reducing her commitment to the School (despite a failed attempt to "retire" in 1995), so hopefully we'll be seeing her in the office for many years to come!

KEVIN FITZGERALD (71) - Kevin is perhaps the most "famous" of the many fine artists to come out of Surrattsville.  Kevin's dramatic and gorgeous paintings (and other works of art) are sought out by collectors and art lovers world-wide, and his work is featured at major shows in the D.C. area and beyond. Kevin teaches art at Salisbury University (where he receives stellar, master-teacher ratings from his students), taught art at Worcester County High School for 15 years (where he designed the graphics education program), and has taught art at Wor-Wic Community College.  Kevin also is active in the charitable community, working to support the Assateague Foundation, the Shelley A. Marshall Foundation, and of course the Surratts Foundation.  Kevin's very interesting resume includes studying at the Corcoran School of Art, earning his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA (under full fellowship) at GW, restoring a 54-foot barge as a floating studio, and working on the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota with sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.  Kevin's work, and references to it, have appeared in many publications, including "Art & Antiques Magazine's America's Top 100 Collectors" issue , and this interesting reference in a February 2003 "More" magazine article: "The warm, elegant living room [of fitness celebrity Denise Austin] is anchored by a favorite Kevin Fitzgerald painting."  Kevin's official bio, which appears, for example, in the beautiful "coffee table" art book "Kevin Fitzgerald - Selected Works", mentions his Surrattsville roots!

Way to go, 2003 Achievement Award recipients!

3.  AND SPEAKING OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS ....  Reminder: As noted in the last e-Notice, Gordon Hawkins (76), international opera star and 2002 Foundation Achievement Award recipient, will make a rare D.C. appearance on Sunday May 18, at 4 p.m., at the Washington National Cathedral, joining the Cathedral Choral Society.  Information is available at 202-537‑5527 or www.cathedralchoralsociety.org.  A contingent of Surratts faculty/former faculty will be sitting in the North balcony, and Dave Patterson (63) will be performing in his usual role as a member of the Cathedral Choral Society Choir.  I hope many of you will be able to attend that event.

4.  FOUNDATION MAKES GIFT TO SCHOOL.  The Foundation has purchased another heavy duty cart for the School's main office, bringing to three the number of heavy duty carts purchased by the Foundation for the School.  As noted in the last e-Notice, these small gifts by the Foundation often mean as much as the larger, "high profile" gifts like the recent $200,000+ computer upgrade.  Your support of the Foundation makes all this possible.  Thanks!

5.  REMINDER: CLASS OF 48 FIFTY-FIVE YEAR REUNION.  Please remember that the great Class of 48 has announced plans for its 55 year reunion, to be held on May 17, 2003 at the Holiday Inn in Waldorf.  If you have any information on members of the Class of 48 (or on relatives of members of the Class of 48), please contact Virginia Redd at 301-843-3116.

6.  REMINDER: CLASS OF 73 THIRTY YEAR REUNION.  Donna (Mitchell) Ashby, DonnaA40@aol.com, Class of 73 ORC, is continuing her efforts to update her files with current information on her classmates, in connection with planning for the Class of 73's 30 year reunion this summer.  All 73 grads should check-in with Donna, and she would appreciate any information any of you have on other 73 grads or family members of 73 grads.  Please send a copy of your email to Neal Dawson, nealofmemphis1@cs.com, who is compiling the reunion email master list, and please put "73 Reunion" in the subject line of your emails.

7.  REMINDER: CLASS OF 91 ANNOUNCES REUNION EFFORT.  Allisha Ellis (91), e_allish@bellsouth.net is continuing to publicize the  new on-line, free Reunion Group in ICQ for the Class of 1991.  The URL is: http://web.icq.com/groups/admin/tools?gid=12001090 

8.  MORE FIRST-HAND OBSERVATIONS ON THE COLUMBIA TRAGEDY.  I received this email from Mark Lawrence (70):  "Hi Henry:  I relocated from McCormick, SC to Palestine, TX at the end of December.  I'm here to start Azleway's first therapeutic wilderness camp.  The camp is located at Pine Mountain, about halfway between Palestine (pronounced 'Palace‑Teen') and Athens off Highway 19, near the teeming metropolis of Bois D'Arc ("BO‑DARK")... Being pretty much directly in the shuttle's flight path, the explosion shook the house and got my dogs barkin'.  I had no shuttle debris in the yard, but some small bits (tile pieces?) landed at camp.  The search crews are still hard at it around here.  For the last couple weeks they've been searching the woods and fields between Palestine and the camp.  I vary my route and still see one crew or another nearly every day on my drive to and from camp. This afternoon they were walking the game ranch next door and should be walking the camp property in the next day or so.  I hope to have the opportunity to chat with them when they're at camp and learn what the experience has been like for them.  I've run across a few in local stores and they appear to be from all over.  Last night in Wal‑Mart I spied a small group of them wearing caps indicating they were a Navaho search and rescue crew.  I wonder who has made the longest journey to participate in the search of our neck of the woods?  Best regards,  Mark"

9.  HORNET REVIEWS HUBCAPS FLORIDA SHOW.  I received this exceedingly cool email from Sherri Koch Gay (71):  "Dear Henry:  The Fabulous Hubcaps came to Sarasota on April 1, to do a benefit concert for Sarasota Special Olympics and the Loveland Center in Venice, Florida.  Our seats were 6 rows from the stage.  The concert was awesome!.  I didn't realize what a good show they put on.  At the Y2K Sock-Hop I was so busy talking to old friends that I really didn't get to pay enough attention to what was happening on stage.  Not only did Jimi Simon (71) look great, he was great.  He looked exactly like Mick Jaggar and sounded like him too!  I loved his Jerry Lee impersonation as well as the others he did.  I can't remember them all.  His brother, Dale (Rocky) Simon (69) was great, too.  In fact the whole band was wonderful!  They have been asked to come back next year, and I'm sure when they come back, the place will be sold out. Once word of mouth gets around about how great they are, I better get my tickets earlier next year!  Regards,  Sherri"

10.  WEB SITE SUGGESTION.  Leslie St.Clair (70), one of our great Foundation volunteers, sent in this little item:  "Dear Henry:  I was so skeptical about a web site suggestion I received, but I tried it, and it had two pictures of me and I put in some of my friends names and they had at least one picture of them, and sometimes two!  You can visit World School Photographs by clicking http://www.ric1.com/c.e?C862F  Here's a description of what the website is all about: 'World School Photographs, one of the largest databases on the net, is taking the world by storm.  Search for your old school photograph. 98% success rate'.  Regards, Leslie"

11.  VIRUS APOLOGIES.  I want to apologize again to those of you who received the "new game" virus that got forwarded through my email server.  I don't understand the technology, but our I/T people tell me that there are a group of very bad guys out there who spend their valuable time and expertise thinking up ways to send out computer viruses on the internet that hack their way through all the firewalls and passwords built around "large, Microsoft-based email servers" like ours, hack their way through all the firewalls and passwords around the secured e-mailing lists on those servers, and use them to re-broadcast the viruses.  Our I/T folks have "added a patch" to our very expensive, allegedly state-of-the-art virus blocking software, but cannot assure me that the bad guys won't spend untold weeks of their time figuring out ways to get around this, too.  (A number of you with computer expertise sent me emails about your company's fixes for this, and I really appreciate that.  I've forwarded all of your suggestions along to our I/T people.)  For you who are new to computers and email, never open an attachment to an email unless you know in advance what it is, because it might be a virus.  Fortunately, all of my emails to you say "Surratts News" in the subject line, and in those occasional cases when I attach something to an email, I discuss the attachment in the body of the email.  Again, my sincere apologies that some of you were bothered by this.

12.  THOUGHTS FOR OUR SERVICE PEOPLE.  I received this inspiring item from Steve McGovern (61):  "The Average Military Man/Woman.   The average age is 19.  The soldier is a short haired, tight‑muscled kid who, under normal  circumstances is considered by society as half adult, half child.  Not  yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for our country.  The soldier's a recent high school graduate; probably an average  student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten  year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend or boyfriend that either broke up with the soldier when the soldier left, or swears to be waiting when the soldier returns from half a  world away.  The soldier listens to rock and roll or hip‑hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm Howitzers.  The soldier is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than at home because  of working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.  The soldier obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but is not  without spirit or individual dignity. The soldier is self‑sufficient, has two sets of fatigues: washes one  and wears the other. The soldier keeps his or her canteens full and feet dry.  The soldier sometimes forgets to brush his or her teeth, but never to clean his or her rifle.  The soldier can cook his or her own meals, mend his or her own clothes, and fix his or her own hurts. If you're thirsty, the soldier will share water with you; if you are hungry, his or her food.  The soldier will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. The soldier has seen more suffering and death then he or she should have in a short lifetime. The soldier has wept, in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in  combat and is unashamed.  The soldier feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his or her body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square‑away' those nearby who haven't bothered to stand, remove  their hat, or even stop talking.  In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, the soldier defends their right to be disrespectful.  Just as did our forebears, the soldier is  paying the price for our freedom.  The soldier has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.  Remember the soldier always, for the soldier has earned our respect and admiration with blood.  When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer or have a good thought for our soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere."

13.  SPRING "SPRUCE-UP" EFFORTS TO BEGIN SOON.  The Foundation's School Spruce-Up Committee, co-chaired by '06 parent Theresa Richmond and '04/'06 parent Paula Reed, and staffed by current parents and students, is about to begin its Spring Spruce-Up of the courtyards and grounds at the School.  All members of the Surratts community are cordially invited to pitch-in.  Please send me an email if you'd like to grab a rake, if you have landscaping expertise to lend, or if you know of sources that might be willing to donate materials toward this very important effort.

I hope you and yours are well and having a great Spring!

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

IN MEMORIAM

COACH RICHARD HESTERBERG died on April 5, 2003.  Here is Coach Hesterberg's obituary from the Washington Post"  "Richard Dale Hesterberg, of Kilmarnock, VA, formerly of Prince George's County, MD. Surviving are his wife, Cathy S. Hesterberg; children, Richard Hesterberg Pryor, Dianne Pyles and Michele Hamilton; grandchildren, Jeffrey, Stephanie and Daniel Hamilton and Elizabeth Pyles; brother, Raymond Hesterberg, all of Maryland. Preceded in death by brother, Robert Hesterberg; special devoted friends, Joe Shelton, Charlie Shelton and Donald Hodges. He was a graduate of Frostberg University and received his Masters Degree from University of Maryland. He was a retired guidance counselor for Prince George's County Public Schools and a member of Lancaster County Lions Clubs receiving the Melvin Jones Fellow Award. After retirement, he enjoyed working as a waterman and carpenter. In lieu of flowers, memorials to American Heart Association, P.O. Box 5216, Glen Allen, VA 23058‑5216 (804‑747‑8334)."

CHERLENE (CHERYL) FREDERICK died on March 28, 2003 of a heart attack. Bonnie Witherspoon Drayer reports that she believes that Cheryl was from the Class of 1980.