As I write this, it is about 9 pm on Sunday,
September 26, 2004. The first-ever
WYHS All Class Reunion is
now history, and, I believe, it can be considered
a success.
Like many others on the All Class Reunion committee,
I have a bunch of stuff in my
business and household that has
taken a back seat to the All
Class Reunion, so it may be a while
before I take the time to update
the WYHS.org web site with pictures
and information from the reunion.
In the meantime, here are a few photos and some
of my thoughts about the reunion.
Friday Registration & Picnic - Clark
Fuller and his team did an outstanding
job of making the Friday check-in an enjoyable
event - it kicked the whole weekend
off on the right foot. The shelter
at the Whitehall Community Park
was filled with fun, food, friends,
memorabilia and reminiscing.
Clark "adopted" the Friday registration
event shortly after he became
involved in planning the All
Class Reunion. If you're looking
for someone to thank for the great
job that was done in organizing
the Friday afternoon event, I
think that person is Clark Fuller.
Thanks to Debbie Malmevik for sending
along this photo of Clark
from the Saturday morning parade.
Homecoming Game - The Homecoming
Game was a lot of fun. Once again
we'd like to thank the School District
for arranging to have some high
school students play on the football
field to keep the crowd occupied
between the Alumni Band's performance
at 7 PM and their encore
half an hour later.
Debbie Malmevik,
Alumni Band President is the saxophone player in the
front row. Photos of the
Alumni Cheerleaders, Flag Corp and Rammettes will be
put online when I next update the site.
|
Friday Night Mixer at Bella Doma -
I was unable to attend the event,
which was co-ordinated by Leo Knoblauch.
I understand that everyone had
a great time, and the Bella-Doma
event was used as a meeting place
for lots of folks who went elsewhere
in small groups. If you've got
photos or stories about the Friday
Night Mixer, please send them along.
Saturday Morning Parade
Who would have thought that a bunch of Alumni
would get up early on a Saturday
morning (especially after partying
the night before) to be in a parade
that began its line-up at 8:30
and started down Etna Road at 9:30?
Ummmm... I know - Leo Knoblauch!
Leo came up with the idea for an
alumni parade and it was a huge
success. Not only was the parade
a ton of fun, there were
a bunch of folks (come bleery-eyed)
lined up along the parade route to
cheer along the alumni. Special
thanks to the WYHS Ram Band for
leading the parade.
And thanks to Debbie Malmevik for sending along
a photo of this year's Official
WYHS.org Parade Float:
Saturday Reunion and Silent Auction -
I spoke with an alum who was in from Germany for
the reunion, and understand
an another alum traveled
from Wales.
Doris
Gantz, who taught at WYHS in
1959, came from California, but
didn't get to the Saturday event
until after the newspaper folks
had taken a photo of all the teachers.
Since Doris won't be in the newspaper,
I thought I'd put her photo here.
While the focus of the reunion was on Alumni,
a large group of teachers attended,
and it seemed like everyone had
fun reminiscing and catching up.
Mr. Neikirk, long time vocal music teacher at
WYHS, asked me if there were
plans for another All Class Reunion.
When I told him we'd be tentatively
discussing another reunion in
five years, he said "Oh my! Well, I made it
to this one!" We're expecting to
see Mr. Neikirk at the next reunion.
Throughout the Saturday reunion, crowds of alumni
wandered through the Silent Auction
tables. The Silent Auction, conceived
and co-ordinated by Leo Knoblauch,
raised money for the newly formed
Whitehall Educational Foundation.
About the Whitehall Educational Foundation
(WEF) - Real early in the planning process,
we decided that we wanted the All Class Reunion to
be something more than a big party. We wanted to find
a way to help build an Alumni Community and find ways
to help Alumni support the Whitehall School District
and the students currently in the district.
Clark Fuller suggested a theme of "Moving Forward, Giving
Back" for
the reunion,
which pretty
much sums
up the
reunion
planning
committee's
thoughts
on the
event.
As we discussed
and tried
to clarify
how we would "give
back" to
the school
district,
Leo Knoblauch
suggested
we form
a charitable
foundation.
The foundation
would solicit
and accept
donations,
invest
those donations,
and then
use the
interest from the
donations
to support
the teachers
and students
in the
Whitehall
City Schools.
As we were discussing
the vision
of this foundation, Leo
contacted
the school
district
and the
City of
Whitehall
to get
their "buy
in" on
the project.
The
folks in the school district
and the
City liked
the idea
so much
that they
asked to be included.
As a result,
the newly
formed
Whitehall
Educational
Foundation
is a joint
partnership
between
the newly
formed
WYHS Alumni
Association,
the
Whitehall
City School
District, the City of Whitehall,
and members of the Whitehall
community.
Donations to the Whitehall
Educational Foundation
are being
managed by The
Columbus Foundation.
A board, consisting
of representatives
of all the groups
mentioned above,
will oversee the funds
and determine how
they can be best
used to enhance the learning
experience of children
in the Whitehall
City Schools.
One of the key concepts
of the Whitehall
Educational Foundation
is that the Foundation
is not competing with any
of the groups who currently
invest their time
and money in supporting
Whitehall City
Schools and its
students. |
Alumni Showcase - We have some very talented
Alumni. Actually, that is a bit
of an understatement.
Our original plan was to have the Alumni Showcase in the auditorium.
The event was moved to the Auxiliary
Gym, and while the set-up wasn't
ideal for this type of an event,
the performers were all outstanding.
Left to right: Denny Mason ('67)
performs in Nashville and
has a CD or two for sale (I'll
have ordering info online when
I do my next update).
Wendy (Wolman) Lair ('79) sings so well, she
should have a CD or two.
And Paulette (Foster)
Barton ('68) might well consider doing an exercise
video - she's got three hula
hoops going at once!
Saturday Night Mixer at the Capital Club -
Another event I was unable to attend.
Rachel (West) Duvall coordinated
this event, which I understand
was a lot of fun, and, like the
other events, a success. If you've
got photos or stories about
the Saturday Night Mixer, please
send them to me.
Sunday Morning Pancake Breakfast -
The auxiliary gym was filled Sunday
morning as alumni took one last
chance to get together. A steady
stream of folks enjoyed pancakes,
sausage, orange juice, and coffee.
It was pretty obvious, though,
that the food wasn't the major
attraction. As with the other events,
the din of conversation made it
very clear that everyone wanted
to visit and catch up.
Debbie Malmevik spearheaded the pancake breakfast.
She did a great job of not only
organizing the event, but making
sure everything ran smoothly throughout
the morning.
Debbie with Leo
Thanks and Kudos - A lot of
people helped make the All Class
Reunion a reality. We've really
got no idea how many people helped
spread the word about the reunion
- but those of you who mentioned
the reunion to family, friends
and former classmates did a great
job.
I'm sure I speak for everyone on the reunion
committee in thanking the Whitehall
City School District and the City
of Whitehall.
Everyone we talked with was supportive
and enthusiastic about the reunion.
As you might imagine, the folks on the various
committees put in untold hours
bringing everything together.
I'm not going to even try to
mention everyone - if you were
on a committee or in charge
of a task, thanks for your help.
And then we come to the core group of us
who have been working on the All
Class Reunion since its inception.
While I won't take credit for much
that has happened since then,
I will take credit for initially
promoting the idea of an All
Class Reunion (though I think everyone
owes Michael Sunday thanks
for pushing things along and
making sure the idea didn't die
during those first few months).
And Debbie Malmevik has played
a key role since the beginning.
I'm not sure how to describe how much time, thought
and effort Clark
Fuller and Rachel Duvall put
into the All Class Reunion. As I mentioned earlier, Clark "adopted"
the Friday registration event,
put together a team, and made the
day happen. Unless beaten to it
by Leo, when there was a
task that no one else volunteered
to do, either Rachel or Clark would
likely say "I'll do that." As I
read back over this paragraph,
it comes way short of describing
all that Rachel and Clark put into
the reunion. Take my word for it,
though, they both put a lot into
the reunion.
And, speaking
of putting a lot into the reunion,
if I had to associate just one
image with the All Class Reunion,
it would be some variation of this:
That's Leo Knoblauch, WYHS Class of 1977, the
first President of the WYHS Alumni
Association, and, in my opinion,
the major reason the All Class
Reunion was such a great event.
I believe this photo was taken
when we were at Leo's house working
on the WYHS Alumni Association float for the 4th of
July parade.
Leo's enthusiasm for the Reunion appeared to
be boundless. And the man was everywhere
- not only doing hundreds of little
tasks none of us knew needed
to be done, but coordinating things
with the School District and
the City, giving interviews to
the media, and just plain making
sure that everything that needed
to be done did, indeed, get done.
To folks who have moved away from Whitehall,
I may well be the most visible
member of the All Class Reunion
Committee. That's a result of
my running the WYHS.org web
site and sending Emails to the
WYHS.org mailing list on a
regular basis.
Folks close to the All Class
Reunion know that Debbie, Rachel,
Clark and Leo were were the "driving
force" that made our All Class
Reunion happen. So,
I hope that no one minds if, on
behalf of all WYHS alumni,
I use this forum to thank the
four of them for all their work
and efforts.
It
seems woefully inadequate,
but Debbie, Rachel, Clark and
Leo, THANK YOU for doing such a
great job on the reunion.
