December 2019 Newsletter

Atwater Alumni Association December 2019 Newsletter

A California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation IRS Tax #82-2320646

www.atwateralumniassociation.con

To all our Falcon classmates and friends.

As we close out the year and decade, we want to thank all of you who helped us in our goal to support the students and staff of Atwater High School. We are solely dependent on donation by the alumni and friends of AHS to fund our various programs and 100% of the money donated goes to these programs. In 2019 your donations went to:

  • Legacy Scholarship Program – providing support to deserving students at AHS
  • Freddy’s Closet – providing clothing and personal hygiene items to students in need.
  • Gym Graphics Project – help to finish the interior graphics in the new gym.
  • Miracles Do Happen – annual holiday program by AHS to make wishes come true for students and families of Atwater

We cannot thank you enough. You should feel good that you contributed to so many good causes. And of course, we will be back in 2020 asking for your continued support. We hope that during the year, if you want to donate to a worthy cause you will think of your Alumni Association. May you all have a wonderful year and a great decade. Falcons forever!

Reunion Updates

 The Class of 1970 has announced that they will hold their 50th Year Reunion on             Friday July 3, 2020. More information to come.

The Class of 1975 has announced that they will hold their 45th Year Reunion on Saturday September 12, 2020. Mark your calendars, more information to come.

The Class of 1980 has announced that they will hold their 40th Year Reunion during Labor Day weekend, September 5, 2020. Mark your calendars, more information to come.

  • The Class of 2000 Reunion Committee has announced they will hold a 20th
  •  Year Reunion on June 13, 2020. More information to come, mark your calendars and prepare to party with your classmates.

A group of alumni is working on organizing a multi class reunion for those who attended AHS from 1958 to 1965. This includes the original class at AHS and the first four-year Senior and Junior classes. They are looking for classmate information in order to contact them. If you were at AHS during this time and are interested in this event, please send your contact information to the association or to Geri Freitas through her Facebook Messenger site.

If your class year ends in a 0 (70, 80, 90, 00, 10). or 5 (65, 75, 85, 95, 05, 15). now would be a great time to organize a committee, have some fun and start planning for a reunion this year.  The Alumni Associate is willing to help, and we have some experts who have had experience in the organizing of these events and will be happy to share some best practices with you.

Milestone Year Memories

Starting a new section on the newsletter and website that will looks back at event that occurred during the month in each of the milestone years.

Milestone Year Events

The following class years are celebrating milestones this year. Here are some interesting things that happened during the months and year they graduated.  There were many interesting events in every month, and these were selected as only one interesting and, in some cases, fun example.

December

1964 – Dec. 10 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1969 – Dec. 1 – The US government holds is first military draft lottery since World War II.

1974 – Dec. 21 – The New York Times reveals illegal domestic spying by the CIA.

1979 – Dec. 3 – Eleven people are trampled to death at a Who concert in Cincinnati

1984 – Dec. 1 – “Beverly Hills Cop” starring Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold primers in Los Angeles

1989 – Dec. 17 – TV show The Simpsons premiers on Fox.

1994 – Dec. 15 – The first version of the web browser Netscape Navigator is released.

1999 – Dec. 17 – The United Nations General Assembly passes resolution 54/134 designation November 25th as the annual International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Woman.

2004 – Dec. 11 – “Drop it Like it Hot” by Snoop Dog reaches #1 on the and remains there for the rest of the year.

2009 – Dec. 10 – President Barack Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize. In Oslo.

2014 – Dec. 2 – Stephan Hawking claims that Artificial Intelligence could be a threat to mankind and spell the end of the human race.

Alumni News

  • Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Frank Buzbee (63) who passed away. Frank was the owner of Frank’s Beauty Shop in Atwater, a tradition in the city. He was also a US Army veteran.
  • We also send our condolences to the friends and family of Jon Lebeda (66). Jon was an active supporter of the Alumni Association and a driving force in the Class of 66. Jon was also a US Army and Viet Nam war veteran.
  • Congratulations to Ray Flores (61) and his wife Barbara who celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary this month.

Have a life event you would like to share with your alumni friends. You can submit items through the comment section of the website or sending an e-mail to AtwaterAlumni@outlook.com. Please include your graduation or years attend and a brief description of your even. Items will be published monthly on the newsletter and website.

AHS News  

  • The AHS Med Tec and Riggs Ambulance Service held a CPR training event for over 1,000 students at AHS.