THE SCRATCH SHEET VOL. 21
IN THIS ISSUE:
A. A Decision
on the Class Gift
B. Planning
Committee Final Report
C. Class Gift:
Close to Reaching Our Goals
D. A Note from
the Communications Committee
E. Time to
Practice Your Farewell Song
A. A Decision on the Class Gift
Dear Classmates,
As of Monday, May 10th, thanks to you we have in our Class Gift account slightly over $185,000 with solid pledges for $5,000 more.
Your Class Gift Committee, consisting of Joe Frigiola, Bill Evans, Pete Shoemaker, and Toby Caplan has reviewed the many ideas submitted for our gift and are pleased to recommend two:
1. Seed money for the establishment of an Office for Alumni Support
2.
Office
for Alumni Support. Some of our classmates have identified the
need to provide a more structured support system for recent graduates as they
make their way into the real world…academically and vocationally. Looking back many of us feel we could have
used support during our first few years after graduation. In the speech given at her investiture,
President Autumn Adkins, identified this same need and included the Office of
Alumni Support as a significant part of her vision for
As a committee we believe the majority of our gift, $160,000 ($40,000 for 4 years), should be used as seed money to establish a support system that would provide this guidance and also internship opportunities at Girard for alumni interested in fields related to children, education and business.
Thanks to your generosity we have been able to help several classmates attend our 50th reunion paying for rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and covering the cost of the Alumni Dinner on Saturday. Additionally money has been given to cover our Class Dinner on Friday and pay for the administrative costs associated with these celebrations. We trust that you will agree that our choices are very meaningful, will play a major role in the fulfillment of President Adkins’ vision for our school, and support our Alumni Association.
Hail Girard, Joe, Bill, Pete and Toby
B. Planning Committee Final Report
The Planning Committee hasn't had a formal meeting since April 16. Instead, the work of finishing off a myriad of details has gone on in small sub-teams with several trips to the Hum, lots of eMail, and plenty of phone calls. Nailing down commitments for meal head counts and seating space has been a major undertaking. We have now locked in the numbers for each of the following main events.
Event Classmates Guests
Total
Class Dinner 48 48 96
Chapel Service 50 120 170
Class Lunch 48 117 165
Alumni dinner 39 33 72
Sunday Brunch 27 20 47
These numbers have modified quite a bit in the last month as some 41 classmates have sent in changes since the “Attendance Confirmation” mailing went out. As reported in Scratch Sheet #20, any further changes or surprises in these attendance numbers could prove problematic. We hope that everyone coming has made their intentions known and only smooth sailing awaits us. We don’t have much flexibility now, but if you have to change something, especially if you would like to attend an event which you did not inform us of, let Joe Frigiola know and he may be able to smooth your appearance. 609-702-0503.
Speaking of changes, we have found it necessary to move the venue of our Sunday Brunch from the old Bordeaux Dining Room to the new student dining room at the west end of the D&S Building. This is the corner of the D & S closest to Merchant Hall and the old shoe shop. The Saturday lunch remains in the Bordeaux Dining Room which is the opposite corner of the building, i.e. next to the soccer field and the rear wall.
There are no handicapped parking spaces behind the Chapel. There are however wheel chair ramps to facilitate entrance to the Chapel, and drop-offs can take place at the west entrances. The closest parking lot lies behind the Chapel where Middle School once stood, but it's small and you need to get there early. Student ushers will be in place to direct our guests to their assigned seating in Sections A, C and D. (See diagram in Scratch Sheet #20) Guests with small children who might get impatient during the service should sit in Sections A or D. These are closer to the exits.
Everyone's cooperation will be necessary to ensure a
dignified processional. Be sure to arrive at Chapel by
We have decided that we will hold small group discussions after Sunday Brunch. Topics will include 'Memorable Teachers', 'Adjustment to Hum Life', 'Shop Talk: Vocational Education at Girard', “Playing in the Band, and Singing in the Choir”, “Hopping the Wall” and for the ladies who are willing, 'Hummers as Spouses: What's Different?'. We expect the insights to be useful, and amusing.
Pete Shoemaker will follow these discussions, and end our Reunion Celebration, with a look at prospects and hopes for the future of the school that has meant so much to us, and how we might continue to support that vision.
Some Notes:
1. Parking for Various Events
i.
ii.
Saturday chapel
service, class lunch, and Hum Building Tour. Three areas are designated for parking during
Founders Day: 1. the old Soccer Field
behind Founders; 2) the parking lot behind the chapel where Middle School used
to be; and 3)the
iii. Sunday brunch and small group discussions. Parking will be available along the main road parallel to the D & S building.
2.
Please note that the hotel has changed its name and
its’ street address. It’s now the Crowne Plaza Hotel Philadelphia West, and its street address is
now
3.
If you are planning to come to the Alumni Dinner
on Saturday night, please remember to register with the Alumni. There number is 215-232-8882. The cost is $55 per person with a cash
bar. You can pay by credit card when you
call, or by cc or cash at the door.
Advance reservations assure you that you will have a seat at one of the
Class of 60 tables.
Finally, be sure to read the materials provided in your Welcome Pack. These will be available at Thursday's Hospitality Suite, Friday Dinner, and Saturday morning after Chapel. The arrangements have been made, the information is available, enjoy the weekend!
C. Class Gift: Close to Reaching Our Goals
Gentlemen of the Great Class of 1960…... This will be our last communication before Founder’s Day. We have some very good news, but are still not quite at our goals. The good news is that we’ve added five more names to the list. That makes 80 names, including memorials, plus three anonymous gifts. The new contributors are Adam Deveney, Dennis Lambrecht, Ginter Vurlicer, and Chuck Zellers. In addition, Ken Werley sent a check to cover expenses like the Scratch Sheet production. Thank you one and all. Further good news, we’ve now reached over $190,000 so our other goal is within reach. Now the really good news. Two of your classmates have decided to match the gifts of any new contributors up to $100. Here’s how they said they would do it. If you haven’t yet made a contribution and do so this week, they will each match your gift in your name on a 5 for 1 basis. So if you send in $50, they will each send in another $250 in your name. All gifts, whether new contributors or repeat contributors, can still be made at the dinner on Friday evening, as well as anytime Saturday or Sunday. Toby will be more than willing to accept your generosity at that time. It’s not too late to make a difference. So, if you haven’t contributed yet, please take advantage of this generous offer to match your gift and help us get over the top. If you’ve already contributed, this is our last plea for a second, or in some cases, a third gift.
Thank you. Toby and Peter
D. A Note from the
Communications Committee
The committee is working hard to produce a series of items for distribution to classmates. These include:
a.
A CD of the Mom’s Project which Rich and Linda Adams
have developed. This will be featured in
chapel service on Saturday. It is a
recreation of the thoughts of our mothers, and older siblings about the
problems our mothers faced in giving us up.
It is based on interviews conducted by Rich and Linda, and performed by
the
b. A DVD of the events of this weekend. The chapel service will be videotaped, and most of the events of the weekend will be recorded by a student videographer in collaboration with Mike Quinn. Mike will then edit all the material developed, and produced a DVD for distribution to all classmates sometime in June.
c. A DVD of the various Hum movies which have been made over the years. It features the movie made in our senior year, and also the one made in 1949 when we were newbies. This is available to any class member by requesting it of Bob Culver. Bob will be producing and distributing the DVD in 2 above, and he will include the movie DVD if you request it. Call Bob at 973-628-0786, or let him know you would like a copy when you see him this weekend.
d. A CD of photographs collected by Ed DiRomaldo over the years. These begin back in 1949, go through our Hum years, and include many photos of the various reunions over the years. Ed will be making a copy for each classmate. These will be available shortly.
e. Corinthian II. Corinthian II is a 50th reunion yearbook. It profiles all 102 graduates, along with those classmates who did not graduate who have maintained contact with us. Additionally it has sections of memorabilia reviewing our years in the Hum. It should be available to all corresponding classmates sometime in June. Some “facts” appearing in Corinthian II (these are all tentative since our data sources, alumni records, are somewhat incomplete):
· 3 Classmates entered before 1949: Hipple, Kutschera, and Jesse Bilheimer.
·
The first big influx of classmates entered in
the period
· The two largest days of entrants were September 8 and 9 of 1949. On September 8 10 classmates entered; on the 9th there were 11.
· In total 34 entered in 1949; 21 entered in 1950; 24 entered in 51, 18 in 52, 6 more in 53. Dennis Gries entering on 1/22, and Sal Bovoso on 2/15 of 1954 were the last of our class to enter.
· Classmates who didn’t graduate left for the following reasons:
o Mother’s request: 8
o Conduct or adjustment problems: 9
o Academic failure: 8
o 18 year old rule: 4
E.
Time to Practice Your Farewell SongYou need
some practice for our grand singing appearance at the chapel service. We will practice at the Friday night dinner,
but you tone-deaf ones need to get to work right now. Attached to SS#21 is an Adobe document
labeled Program. That displays the
program for Friday night’s dinner along with the menu. Also included are the words for the three
verses, and the chorus of The Farewell Song.
Learn the words, guys. Also attached is an MP3 file of a
recording of the Farewell Song. So now
you can play it and sing along. We know
its going to be beautiful, and we will be noted as the 50th class
who sang the most stunning version of The Farewell Song, along with all the
other records we will be breaking this weekend.
SEE YOU ALL THIS WEEKEND!