THIS IS SURRATTS FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2005-5 OF APRIL 29, 2005

Hello Hornets:

Here are some items that might be of interest:

1.  2005 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS SELECTED.  We are very proud to report that two outstanding members of the Class of 2005, Ashley Branch and Ben Ellis, have been selected to receive this year's Foundation scholarships.  Both of these fine young people are honors students.  Ashley is active in Marching Band, Concert Band, JROTC (in which she was selected as Cadet of the Year), the National Honor Society and the Step Team, and also works part-time.  She will be attending the University of Maryland in the fall.  Ben is active in JROTC, played on the football team, is a producer of the "Surrattsville Live" radio program, volunteers at his church and with Christmas in April, and also works part-time.  Ben will be attending North Carolina A&T in the fall.  Congratulations and very best wishes to these two extraordinary young Hornets!

2.  JUNE EVENTS NOW A CARBON COPY OF Y2K EVENTS!  Thanks to the efforts of Evan Vutsinas (76) in organizing the Golf Outing for Friday June 24, the line-up of All Classes/Faculty/Staff events for the long June 23 - June 26 weekend is essentially a carbon copy of the extraordinary events of 2000.  Here's the schedule:

-Thursday June 23 - 6 - 11 p.m., "SURRATTSTOCK II", School cafeteria.  Featuring five re-united bands from "the golden era of live music at Surrattsville".  At $10, it's cheaper (adjusted for inflation) than was Teen Club!
-Friday June 24 - 9 a.m., GOLF OUTING, Marlton CC, Upper Marlboro.  NOTE TICKET DEADLINE OF MAY 31!!
-Friday June 24 - Evening.  Many Class-specific events.  (See various e-Notice items, and Class-specific notices on the web site at www.surrattsville.org.)
-Saturday June 25 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., ALL CLASSES/FACULTY/STAFF PICNIC AND NEW SCHOOL-OLD SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE.  This is the main event, and last time certainly earned its stripes as "the mother of all reunions"!  Don't miss this very, very rare chance to tour your alma mater(s), and re-connect with classmates, schoolmates, neighbors, teachers, coaches, mentors, former administrators, and the like.
-Saturday June 25, 7 - 11 p.m. - SOCK-HOP featuring The truly fabulous Hubcaps (www.thehubcaps.com).
-Sunday June 26, 10 a.m. - ALL CLASSES/FACULTY/STAFF RIDE to Pt. Lookout (with police escort).
-Sunday June 26, afternoon and evening - Various Class-specific events.

What a great way to set aside a long weekend to have fun and enjoy great re-connections, and all for a great cause.

(Proving that alumni and former faculty/staff are truly coming from everywhere for this year's events, we've just had our first sign-up from Farmington, NM!  And it looks like Seattle, WA is the current "furthest traveler" to the events.  Attendees from Florida are rivaling in numbers the attendees from Maryland!  And attendees date back to the Class of 36!  Ticket sales for all of the events will close soon, so please send in your ticket order form copied below and available at www.surrattsville.org immediately if you haven't done so already.)

A personal request -- if you're planning on attending any of the events, please send your ticket orders in now to help me avoid a deluge of ticket order processing at a time when all of the last-minute details of the events need attention.  Thanks!

3.  GOLF OUTING DETAILS.  As noted above, on June 24 the Foundation is now holding a very nice Golf Outing at Marlton C.C. in Upper Marlboro (www.Marltongolf.com).  The Outing kicks-off with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. and will follow a captain's choice/best ball format.  Please contact Evan at evtiger@comcast.net if you have any questions, and please send-in your ticket order form (copy below) immediately if you'd like to be one of the 144 golfers to participate.  (The absolute deadline for paying the Club is May 31.)

4.  PLEASE HELP REACH THE "UN-CONNECTED".  Virtually every day we are contacted by an alum or former faculty/staff member who does not use the internet and who just heard about the events indirectly "through the grapevine".  Please help to get the word out about the events which are a mere seven weeks away! by spreading the word to your friends and family members who don't have internet access (and even those who do!).

5. PHOTO BOOK FOR JUNE EVENTS.  Thanks to our Photo Book Coordinator, Gill Thompson Harry (71), we once again will have a photo book to commemorate the events of the long June 23 - June 26 weekend.  Unlike last time, the photo book company will accept our own candids to add to the book. Note that the photo book company cannot accept any images e-mailed or picked from a web site because the resolution is too low.  However, they will accept digital images on a CD that are high resolution (i.e., at least the three megabit size of most new digital cameras).  In addition, the photo book company has agreed to provide a $5 discount to photo book purchasers who order before the events.  If you would like to purchase an advance copy of the photo book for $20, simply print off the order form from the Foundation's web site (www.surrattsville.org) and send it to the photo book company.  Photo books can be ordered at the events for the normal $25 cost.  And please don't forget to get your photo taken at the designated spot at the events so you can be included in the photo book.

6.  DIRECTIONS TO 68/69/70/71/72/73 EVENT.  The organizers of the very special Classes-specific Reunion event for the Classes of 68-73 (and surrounding classes) to be held at the Capital Clubhouse on Friday night June 24 have passed along this web site which contains directions to the facility:  http://www.capitalclubhouse.com.  (There's lots of great info, and some great photos, of the facility on that web site, as well.)  We from this era really owe a debt of gratitude to Gerda Parr (68) and Leslie St. Clair (70) for all of their hard work in organizing this fun evening.

7. LODGING INFO.  Here's some additional Clinton area lodging information (provided by Leslie St. Clair (70)) for those of you coming from out of town to the events: Colony South Hotel - 301-856-4500, 7401 Surratts RD; Econo Lodge Andrews AFB - Allentown Road across from the Base, 301-856-2800; Comfort Suite Waldorf - 301-932-4400, 11765 Business Park Drive, Waldorf, MD; Econo Lodge Waldorf - 301-645-0022, Route 301 and Acton Lane, Waldorf; Hampton Inn Waldorf - 301-632-9600, 3750 Crain Hwy, Waldorf; Super 8 Waldorf - 301-932-8957, 3550 Crain Hwy, Waldorf.

8.  FOOD FOR THOUGHT IN ADVANCE OF SURRATTSTOCK II.  I received this email from Surrattstock II (and I) performer Neal Dawson (73).  Perhaps we'll hear some of these tunes on June 23!  "Hi Henry: It was fun being a baby boomer... until now.  Some of the artists of the 60s and 70s are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers. They include:

Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker
Rolling Stones- (Hey, hey, you, you) Get Off Of My Lawn
The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Hip
Bobby Darin - Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash
Ringo Starr - I Get By With a Little Help from Depends
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
Johnny Nash - I Can't See Clearly Now
Paul Simon - Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
Commodores - Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grape Nuts
Procol Harem - A Whiter Shade of Hair
Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Napping
The Temptations - Papa's Got a Kidney Stone
ABBA - Denture Queen
Tony Orlando - Knock Three Times on the Ceiling (If You Hear Me Fall)
Helen Reddy - I am Woman, Hear Me Snore
Willie Nelson - On the Throne Again
Leslie Gore - It's My Procedure and I'll Cry if I Want To"

9.  ADDITIONAL CLASS OF 73 EVENT.  I received this email from Donna Vander Vliet (73):  "Hi Henry:  In your next e-Notice can you mention another Class of 73 class-specific event?  We will be having a picnic at Dave Gebhardt's on Sunday June 26.  Classmates can contact me via email.  The cost is $10.00 per person, the event is BYOB, and music will be provided.  Anyone who has attended in the past will agree we always have a great time.  Thanks, Donna, dvvliet@aol.com."

10.  MARCHING HORNETS MAKE APPEARANCE.  The Surrattsville marching band will be featured at the grand opening of the Sears Essential store (in the former K-Mart space) at Woodyard RD and Route 5 on Saturday May 14.  Those of you with roots in Surrattsville's great band program might want to check-out these talented young musicians.

11. HORNET OFFSPRING FACES TENNIS CHALLENGE.  I received this email from proud Mom Denise Nelson Mixson (71): "Hi Henry:  If you could spread the word, I will be up in the Rockville, MD area for the Junior USTA Clay Court Championships with my 16 year old son, Bradley, starting July 17th and until he loses!  I would love to see anyone who is game to reminisce about Surrattsville days.  My cell number is 305-724-3354.  You can find my son's statistics on google.com under Bradley Mixson.  He is a national junior tennis player.  Thanks to Rick Lifton (71) and Bill Harris (71) I took up tennis in high school and never lost my love for the game.  Bradley is an awesome player, and won Player of the Year in Miami last year as a 10th grader for his high school.  Thanks, Denise"

Congratulations from all of us (including yours truly who also was lucky enough to be taught to play tennis by Rick Lifton!) to Bradley on this wonderful achievement!

12.  CLASS OF 65 WEB SITE UPDATED.  There's some fun new material, including a great "Class Picture" from the recent Destin, FL Class of 65 reunion event, on the Class of 65's outstanding web site at www.surrattsville65.org.  You might want to check-out the site to see what this largest of all Surrattsville Classes is up to. 

13.  HORNET JUMPS FOR A GOOD CAUSE.  I received this very interesting email from a Class of 78 alum: "Hi Henry:  I have been invited to participate in the 2005 Women's World Record Formation Skydiving Attempt this fall.  The event is to not only set a record but also to raise funds to help build a new wing at one of the nation's leading breast cancer centers, The City of Hope.  My goal is to raise $10,000, although the more the better!  I am hoping my SHS comrades will rally behind me for this great cause and unique event.  Here's a link to my event personalized web page for the e-Notice readers to look over: www.jumpforthecause.com/elizabethmay.html. (Donations can be made on the site.)  I will be at the Picnic/Open House event on June 25 and at the 78/79 dinner the night before to personally thank all those who donate.  Thanks so much!  Elizabeth "Lee" Gleisberg (Class of 78) aka Elizabeth May."  Best wishes to this courageous Hornet in this extremely unique fund-raising effort!

14.  P.G. COUNTY CULTURAL HISTORIAN PUBLISHES AGAIN.   In past e-Notices we've mentioned Mark Opsasnick's scrupulously researched book, "Capitol Rock", which features Surrattsville and many Surrattsville bands and musicians.  Mark now has published "Miscellaneous and Unknown: Cultural Souvenirs From Prince George's County, Maryland," a book chock-full of curiosities about P.G. County.  Opsasnick notes that Karen Allen, the actress who played Katie in "National Lampoon's Animal House," is from New Carrollton and that scenes in "G.I. Jane" starring Demi Moore were filmed in Oxon Hill Manor. In this latest book, he reviews approximately 80 movies and 80 books with connections to P.G. County.  Information about Mark's new book can be found on www.capitolrock.com.

15.  FUN WPGC WEB SITE.  The Foundation's unofficial internet expert (and Surrattstock I and II performer), Wayne Tatum (74), let us know about the WPGC tribute web site at http://www.amandfmmorningside.com.  Among other things it has to offer, the web site has an "Airchecks" page from which you can play actual recordings from WPGC broadcasts from 1960 to 1984.  If, like me, you grew up listening to 1580 am, it's quite transporting to click on one of the dates on the Airchecks page and here the voice of Harv Moore or Cousin Duffy!


I hope you're enjoying the pleasant weather almost everywhere!

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


MANY THANKS TO THESE EARLY 2005 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN DONORS!

Steve Profilet (71)


IN MEMORIAM

ALICE S. EVANS (28) died on April 11, 2005.  Alice was believed to be the senior member of our Surrattsville cyber-community, and she will be missed.  Alice's daughter is Foundation volunteer Sandy Evans Lyon (66).