Webmaster Greetings
Howdy Classmates,
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this latest, March Madness-delayed (LET'S GO DEVILS!!!), issue of the East Forsyth Class of 1979 Newsletter. Yeah, I haven't issued the newsletter in nine months, but then I haven't had anything to put out that wasn't available on the class web site. That being the case, the only purpose the newsletter would have served was placing the site in the forefront of your thoughts periodically but at the risk of boring you to tears. Of course, this is 2004, a reunion year, the silver anniversary our class. In order to keep y'all fully informed, the newsletter will be issued monthly through September when we will hold our 25 year reunion. I'll try to keep to a first week of the month schedule, but don't start getting antsy until after the second week. Hmmm...
Can you believe that it's been almost 25 years since we graduated!? Where does the time go? Between maintaining the class web site and working on the reunion committee, I must confess that I'm getting increasingly excited about our reunion later this year. Rest assured that the planning of our silver reunion is well under way. The reunion committee, under the capable and competent leadership of Mike Beshears and Lisa Sears Spoon, is pulling together what promises to be a great party for everyone. All that's required to pull it off is your support and participation, more of which below in "Silver Reunion 2004" and "Class Contacts."
In a promising sign, I've noticed in the access logs an increase in searches on the relevant keywords for the class site and a concurrent increase in saving the site location. Some of these searches result in an updating of contact info and/or a guestbook entry. I'm hoping those saving the site address are classmates who'll return and update later. Hopefully our missing classmates will search us out as they start thinking about our reunion. I've managed to position the site in the all-important top ten ratings, including numerous #1 and #2 rankings, with the search engines on the relevant keywords, so no one should have any trouble finding us if they only look.
As always, an HTML version of this newsletter will be posted in the archive after the text version has been e-mailed. The archived versions of the newsletter have hyperlinks to the most recently modified sections of the site. If you want to see a specific change, all you have to do is click on what you want without surfing through the site.
Matt Wallace, Class Webmaster
Return to Contents
Silver Reunion 2004
The reunion committee has scheduled the evening social for Saturday, September 25, 2004. Additional events and tie-in activities during the reunion weekend will be scheduled as they are developed. The latest information on our 25 Year Reunion will be posted on the Reunions page as it becomes available, so be certain to keep yourselves up-to-date.
As noted above, 20 Year Reunion Chairman Mike Beshears is reprising that role on the 2004 Reunion Committee. Though much of the basic planning for the reunion is set, there's a great deal of work yet to be done to make our reunion a great success. If you're interested in serving on the 2004 Reunion Committee, contact Mike as soon as you can.
Even if you're unable to assist with the formal reunion committee, you can still help out by participating in "Operation Eagle Dog" which is our effort to get the Class Directory up to 100 percent. You can participate by locating your old high school friends and getting them reconnected with us here on our web site. Also, you might want to let them know that we're having a reunion this year!
A successful reunion doesn't just happen; it is the product of the efforts of all involved. Whether working on the reunion committee, seeking out our lost classmates, publicizing this site and our reunion plans, or simply paying your reunion fee as early as possible, each of us can make a contribution. Why not do your part in making our silver reunion a soaring success?
Return to Contents
Class Contacts
As always, the online class directory continues to plod along towards the ultimate goal of accounting for 100% of the class. Using both our senior yearbook and our graduation program, our best listing of the "entire" senior class of 1978-79 consists of 753 individuals. Currently we have some sort of info for about 37% of the class and e-mail addresses for about 21% which would be 26% if people kept their e-mail addresses current. We have much work ahead of us, made all the more urgent by this reunion year, and there are several ways you can help build our alumni directory.
First, make sure your info is as complete as you care to make it and keep it current. I heartily thank those of you who are doing this; the directory is only as good as the quality of the info it contains.
Second, if you are currently in contact with any classmates for whom we have no or only partial info, please inform them of our web site. If they're online, have them submit their contact info using the registration form. For our non-online classmates, print out the form and have them complete and mail it to my home address as indicated or you could submit their info for them, preferably with their permission.
Third, make a point of tracking down your old friends who are among our missing classmates. This could be as easy as opening the phone book. If possible, contact them directly or contact their parents or other family members to find out how you can reach them. When you locate them, have them register as above.
Again, I thank those of you who are spreading the word about our class web site; your efforts are helping.
Additions to Alumni Contacts since last newsletter:
Paul Michael Barlow
Larry Dean Beeson
Kimberly Raie (Kim) Benfield Masten
Beth Anne Blanchard Ashby
James Harvey (Jimmy) Bowles
Robert Sherwood Chafee, Jr.
Horace Elliot Cutter
Jenny Leigh Decker Rumley
Howell Pratt Dunlap, Jr.
Marvin Eugene Eaton
Sherrie Lee Flynt Wallington
Elizabeth Ann Hedgecock
Joe Nathan Hodges, Jr.
Lisa Dawn Kallam Taylor
William David Kirkland
Kristy Ty Kiser
Jery Gray Lane
Lisa Gaye Lewis Porter
Fred Martin III
Alvin Eugene McIntosh
Ruby Regina Moore Gaither
Jane Elizabeth Nelson Jarrett
Tonya Rochelle Nitkin Hannah
David Scott (Scotty) Owens
Brian Lee Peters
Paul Otto Raker, Jr.
Sandra Renée Rowe Faulkner
Deborah Anne (Debbie) Royals Mizerk
Toni Lynn Shelton Wyatt
Kenan Clark Smoot
Kelly Hill Stanley Buckley
Lisa Watts
Michael Lynn (Mike) Wyatt
Updates in Alumni Contacts since last newsletter:
Sanders Wyatt (Junior) Abbott, Jr.
Michael Preston (Mike) Armstrong
Donna Kay Benfield
Michael Howard (Mike) Beshears
Nora Faye Bullock Allred
Deborah Gail Chandler Cigich
Jeffrey Scott (Scott) Coe
Jerry Wayne Crews
Thomas Randolph (Tom) Davis
Regina Wagstaff Dull Skeens
Cheryl Anne Ferguson Hedgecock
Eileen Dale (Dale) Fowler Martin
Douglas Russell (Doug) Frank
Timothy Alan (Tim) Guerry
Patricia Ann (Pat) Haynes Fulton
Teresa Ann (Terri) Horton Shelton
Lisa Diane Johnson Mason
Barbara Charlene (Char) Lee Burgess
Jeffrey Neal (Jeff) Leonard
Diane Louise Marshall Hansley
William Kevin Martin
James Roy (Roy) McDonald, Jr.
Jeffery Layden (Jeff) Myers
Terry Ann Putnam
Vera Mae Salmons Guthrie
Lura Lynne (Lynne) Scott Collins
Lisa Karen Sears Spoon
Lisa Diane Setzer McDonald
Thomas Marion (Mike) Shelton, Jr.
Jonathon Scott (Jon) Smith
Sharon Annette Spencer Reich
Allan Dwayne (Dwayne) Tilley
Timothy Allen (Tim) Utt
Rickie Allen Venable
Katherine Charlene (Kathy) Watson Nance
LeVon Denard Watson, Jr.
Robert Frank (Robbie, Boozer) Wheeler
Return to Contents
Keeping In Touch
One of the most important purposes of our class web site is the fostering of communication amongst class members. There are several methods for getting in touch with classmates, both on-site and off-site.
Don't forget that we have a message board for disseminating news about and for class members. If you get a promotion, complete a degree, add a new family member, move to a new city, take a new job, suffer an unspeakable tragedy requiring your classmates' moral support, simply want to toot your own horn, etc., then by all means let us all know about it! If you have similar news about a classmate or our teachers and other East Forsyth staff members, please submit that as well. The posts since the last newsletter are:
"David McCain's brother dies on 30 May 2003" (7 July 2003)
"Lisa Johnson Mason reports on her cancer treatment" (10 July 2003)
"Felecia Piggott-McMillan helps organize 1975-97 WSSU Upward Bound reunion" (24 July 2003)
"Kerry Smith's grandmother dies on 17 September 2003" (18 September 2003)
"Scotty Owens is struggling with cancer" (24 September 2003)
"Larry Beeson's mother dies on 23 September 2003" (25 September 2003)
"Jeff Leonard's racing team prepares for the 2004 season" (30 September 2003)
"Scotty Owens succumbs to cancer on 30 September 2003" (1 October 2003)
"Deborah Elaine Pledger Chandler's son dies on 15 October 2003" (21 October 2003)
"Lisa Sears Spoon's father dies on 22 October 2003" (24 October 2003)
"Kathy Reaves dies on 7 October 2003" (30 October 2003)
"A note from the silver reunion chairman" (18 November 2003)
"Lynne Scott Collins's mother dies on 17 December 2003" (18 December 2003)
"New Year's greetings from the Class Webmaster" (January 1, 2004)
"Ron Whaley's mother dies on 30 December 2003" (January 1, 2004)
"Adina Herndon Horner's sister loses her battle with cancer on 3 February 2004" (February 5, 2004)
"Sateria Hairston Tinsley's mother dies on 10 February 2004" (February 12, 2004)
"Reunion Committee announces plans for our Silver Reunion" (February 26, 2004)
"Billy Buff's father dies on 12 March 2004" (March 14, 2004)
As always, the guestbook is available for brief comments. You can simply offer your greetings to the class just to let everyone know you visited the site, you could throw out a query about classmate, etc. Of course, it never hurts to tell the webmaster what you think of the site, and the guestbook is an appropriate forum. You can use the Guestbook Form, send an e-mail with subject line "Guestbook Entry", or simply mention that your message may be posted in the Guestbook.
I encourage everyone to start a web page or web site; to help you get started, check out "Internet Resources" on the Links main page. A page or site will enable you to share more detailed info with your classmates. You can tell us about your family, your career, your hobbies, or whatever else you would like to tell us and the world. If we all had web sites, we could have an ongoing virtual reunion. Just send me your URL, and I'll add it to Classmate Web Sites and Web Pages in our Links section and your class directory entry as well.
Return to Contents
Absent Friends
I've continued gathering additional information on our deceased classmates and teachers for memorial pages for each individual. Using the Social Security Death Index, I think I've located three classmates and four staff members previously unidentified as deceased; I'll do more research and report back to you in the next newsletter. If you have more details on the remaining members of this unfortunate list, I would greatly appreciate you forwarding that info to me. If you have more info about our deceased classmates or need to notify us of the death of a classmate or teacher, please submit it using the Absent Friends Form.
Additions and updates in Absent Friends since last newsletter:
Classmates
David Scott (Scotty) Owens
Kathy Lorraine Reaves
Return to Contents
Finally, an "Administrative Note": If you receive an e-mail from me on any of the addresses I use for my various sites, please avoid the pro forma inclusion of my original message in your reply. I save both outgoing and incoming e-mail, so including my message in the reply is both redundant and unnecessary. This is one of my greatest Internet pet peeves. Aside from the acceptable use of brief snips for clarity, please, don't do it ... ever. This especially applies to this newsletter!
Until next issue, take care!
Contact the class webmaster, Matt Wallace, at efshs1979@yahoo.com.
