The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with the introduction of reunion classes and the 2012 Spaulding High School senior class.  Forty plus or minus awards will also be presented this evening.  Tickets eventually will be sold at the high school.  We plan to be at the school on the evening of June 6th, the SHS senior awards night, at 6:00 p.m.  Tickets will also be available on the 7th and 8th in the school main lobby from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Also, thank you very much alumni and friends for donating roughly $4,000.00 to date, to help with costs of the senior class meals.  Any remaining monies will go toward next year’s banquet.  We continue to accept donations.

The Spaulding High School Alumni Association, of which all SHS graduates are members, has been in existence since 1894. In its earlier years, the organization would meet several times during the year, invite various guest speakers to the alumni gatherings and sponsor socials for SHS grads during the long winter months. Over the years, activities sponsored by the association dwindled to just the annual awards banquet. In 2009 it was decided not to hold the alumni banquet, for a variety of reasons.

During the spring of 2011, a renewed interest in the association developed. The executive council increased from seven members to thirteen members. With this change and increased enthusiasm, the alumni association began to change its image and bring back the alumni socials. So, SHS alumni, mark your calendars for June 15th the date of the new and improved alumni banquet. The executive committee has received very positive remarks from the community regarding our renewed efforts.

The alumni association had its first ever float in the 2011 SHS homecoming parade in September. A very successful reception for alumni was held at the Mutuo Club in Barre after the football game that day. We are already busy planning for next fall’s homecoming weekend with the possibility of holding an alumni dance on Saturday night.

The association has purchased classy SHS shirts, jackets, and hats, which are being sold at Jerome the Florist in downtown Barre and at sporting events at the Spaulding. We are now discussing ways in which to make it more convenient for alumni, current SHS students and their parents, to purchase this merchandise.

To make any organization successful, many expenses are incurred. We want to thank Thygesen Sports for working with us on the clothing, Jerome the Florist for handling the items, and Richard J. Wobby Jewelers and Sidewalk Village for donations to help defray the cost of our advertisements. We are in the midst of developing a fundraising campaign to help us sponsor the alumni banquet. We plan to go back to the practice of providing a meal for each graduating senior, as it was done in the past. In order to meet the cost of approximately $3,000.00, we need support from alumni.

We have already received donations from the SHS Classes of 1955 and 1966, as well as a number of pledges from alumni around the country. We are soliciting all classes as well as individual alumni. Checks, made out to SHS Alumni Association, can be mailed to Mike Gilbert, Treasurer, SHS Alumni Association, 15 Willow Drive, Barre, Vermont 05641.

If anyone has questions, you may contact Secretary/Treasurer Mike Gilbert `66 via e-mail at shsalumniassocvt@gmail.com, or feel free to contact any other members of the executive council—President Francis Pinard `55, Vice-president Karla Finnie Wilmott `79, six-year term members Sonia Caplitcka Soucy `55, Judy Pinard Guild `83, Melanie Monty Moore `80, and Jamie Paterson `86; one-year term members Amy Giannoni Parent `82, Joseph “Ping” Puente `48, Jennifer Milne `77, Micky Lauzon Thompson `82, Cheryl Wilmott Zanleoni `66, and Mary Fortier Ronson `88.

We are developing a website with the assistance of Liz Martin `87. We hope this site will become a major communications point for alumni. The site address is shs-alumni.com. We also continue to supply information for the alumni link on the Spaulding High School website, shsbtc.org.

We hope to see a great turnout of alumni at the banquet in June, especially if it is your reunion year, or in the fall, at all Spaulding High School homecoming activities and the alumni social. The Spaulding High School Alumni Association greatly appreciates the continued financial assistance provided by its loyal supporters.

SHS athletic events this weekend include Girls’ Soccer Friday at 4:30 p.m., Girls’ Field Hockey Saturday at 10:00 a.m., and Boys’ Soccer Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Also, plan to attend the football game which begins at 1:00 p.m., after riding the Alumni float in the homecoming parade. Help decorate the float at 11:00 a.m. behind Aubuchon’s in downtown Barre. The parade kicks off at 12:00 noon. Please support all Spaulding High School activities!