Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I work through this Christmas, just as I have the majority of holidays over the last 15 years.

I won't be with family and there won't be a special meal & spirits. Christmas for me is absent of such things, but rich with much more.

Christmas for me is the period at the end of a year of gifts and this past year will go down as one of the best of my life.

Sharing with dozens of classmates over the last year has brought me so much joy. Caring for my wonderful client's children and pets has been more than rewarding, they've brought a flavor to my life that had been missing for nearly a decade. My continued service to the community of Speedway, Indiana has gifted me gratitude. Thank you.

Those of you that have suffered a loss this year, my hope for you in 2010 that you continue to heal your broken hearts and find comfort in the people around you.

My wish for all of you this Christmas and for the new year:

If these times have battered you, step away and seek out the opportunity to help someone else. Don't concentrate on what you lack, but on what you have to offer others. Act on someone's need and encourage those you help to pay it forward. I PROMISE, in short time, if you look over your shoulder, there will be someone coming up behind you to offer you a hand.

Near the end of 2010, let's all meet in Fenton for our 30th class reunion as old friends.

Merry Christmas and a joyous new year,

Wendy

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a nostalgic time for me. Although I've lived in Indiana two decades, the most magical Thanksgivings were while growing up in Holly. A short part of the day was sharing a meal with my extended family, with the remainder of the day in a semi-conscious Typtophan coma. The wood burner made the room too hot and I only opened my eyes when I heard the referee's whistle from the TV. In central Indiana, police call that a squat house.

Speaking of which, although I'll be working all day tomorrow, I'm thankful that those of you that don't work on holidays are enjoying some family face time.

The reunion planning is underway and we need 50 more ticket deposits to make our venue deposit. We are underwriting our own party, so these deposits are very important in predicting a budget.

We have tentative plans to celebrate on the Friday afternoon and evening before the reunion with a meet & greet over coffee at Ken VanWagoner's coffee house. Pizza at the Red Devil, followed by a nightcap and conversation at the Broadstreet Station south of the Holly Hotel.

On Saturday, the committee and support team will be decorating the lodge at Camp Copneconic. I dream big and plan on exceeding expectations. I have poured over the classmate roster over and over again and predict that 144 classmates attend, 216 including guests. I have some great ideas and I love to surprise people (a visit from the Marching Holly Broncos is not out of the question.)

So please send in a $15 deposit per person as soon as possible. At a later set date, if you find that you can't attend the reunion, we will refund your deposits.

Also, if you received a postcard from me recently, I need your email address. Please write me at fotonuvo1@yahoo.com, even if you will not be attending. My first goal 18 months ago was to contact all 270 plus of our classmates, so that everyone knew about the reunion.

For the Sunday after the reunion, I am looking for a hotel in the greater Flint area with Sunday brunch for those of us from out of town that no longer have family in the area.

Please be careful on the roads tomorrow and enjoy a loving Thanksgiving.

Wendy

Family Reunion at the Class Reunion

Recently,I learned from Randy Inman, that he and Warner Buell are first cousins. I don't know how often Warner returns to Michigan, but I'm thinking the weekend of November 20th, 2010 would be a great time to reconnect with classmates and his family.
Randy at graduation...

and Randy now.

Warner today.

From the Pacific Coast To The Fourth Coast In 2010

Rob Wagner is looking forward to our 30th reunion, as well as the opportunity to spend time with family in Michigan.
Rob and Karen, his wife of 25 years take a recent walk on the beach closer to home in northern California.

Old Friends Reunite on Facebook

There are over 90 class of 1980 alumni on Facebook. Recently, Kim Skibowski Lord & Stacy Forsberg found each other and wasted no time reuniting over lunch. What beautiful smiles on such pretty ladies. You two must come to the reunion.

Reunion Ticket Deposits Paid Now Aid In Our Overall Success

Greetings Classmates,

As we finalize the booking for our 30th class reunion at Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan on Saturday, November 20th, 2010, we need your help.

Whether you plan on attending or not, a $15 per person ticket deposit is needed in order to finalize our venue reservation. These deposits will be applied to your ticket purchase and the deposit is refundable if you later decide you are not attending the reunion.

Your early participation in our planning is a good indicator of how successful we are getting the word out.

Please send a check for $15 ($30 for a couple) made out to:

“Holly High Class of 80 Reunion Fund”

mailed to:

Holly High Class of 80 Reunion
c/o Wendy Liebert
140 N Main St
Zionsville, IN 46077

Please include your name, email address, (or mailing address if you don’t have an email) & phone number.

Send a check tomorrow and help the class of 1980 have a memorable reunion!

Big thanks!

The reunion committee:
Wendy Curtis Liebert-Class Historian
Dottie Rivers Knutson
Nancy Dryer Deeb-Class Secretary
Mark Grajcar-Class Treasurer & Reunion Treasurer
Jim Ferris
Kelly Mills Sherrill
Suzy Murphy Taggart
Jacqui Horchak Blackwood

Save the Date, November 20th, 2010

Hi Gang,

We have great news. A venue and date for our 30th reunion has been decided. I will be adding important details to this site as we mold and shape the plans, as well as sending out emails when all is finalized.

Our 30th class reunion will be on:

Saturday, November 20th, 2010 (the Saturday before Thanksgiving.)

at the main lodge of Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan.

Camp Copneconic (cope-neck-con-ick or as I've been referring to as Camp Cope-neck-Harry Connick Jr. until I've committed it to my thick skull) is a 700 acre YMCA camp, approximately six miles north of downtown Fenton. They are a popular venue for receptions, conferences, fundraisers, and parties. They have an impressive in-house catering facility providing a wide selection party menu.

This will be a "Jeans & Jewels" (in some circles referred to "Denim & Diamonds" aka dressy casual) event. It was important to me that we welcome our 4th decade out of high school feeling comfortable and celebratory without the typical class reunion awkwardness.

Check back for more details over the next year and look out for emails. If you don't think I have your email address, please write me at fotonuvo1@yahoo.com

I am still in need of digital files of old photos from school and recent photos of you, your family, or fun times with other classmates over the years.

High-fives and hugs,

Wendy and the committee.

Indiana University "Home"coming

Yesterday, Nancy Dryer Deeb, her husband, and her parents, hosted a lovely tailgate across from the football stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. This is the first time Nancy, Melanie (Payne) and I have been at the same IU location at the same time...we've tried in the past...and finally succeed.

Although, it was a bit cool, the sun did try to break through a two-day shroud to help warm our smiling faces.

I tell these stories over and over again. I don't remember a lot, but I do remember moving to Holly as a very shy first-grader and Nancy being assigned as my "buddy" to show me the ins and outs of Holly Elementary. One time we went on a field trip and we were first in a long line of kids. I remember Nancy having the energy of 20 kids and dragging me by the hand all over the place with the rest of the class behind us like pairs of ducks.

The other great memory I have of Nancy was as cheerleaders and at practice one day, I told her to stand on my windows instead of my shoulders. It remained an inside joke for quite a while.

The story I tell of Melanie is her sleepover birthday party in 3rd grade. We all slept on the Payne family pontoon boat on Holly Lake. In the morning, we woke up to bright sun breaking through thick fog and were all wet from dew. We were not our best selves that morning...late night, ha!

Indiana University has room for more kids of the class of 1980; great people, wonderful campus, beautiful town. Go Hoosiers!



Have you met with classmates over the years and have photos? Please share! Send them to me at fotonuvo1@yahoo.com

Details of our 2010 reunion are not finalized, but we are close. Word coming in the near future.

USS Blue Ridge & Classmate Thom Burke Make a Splash in Cairns, Australia

According to the local Cairns news, Thom and his crew had an interesting welcome on Monday. Click on the title above to read the news article with photograph of Thom.

Classmate Firefighters

I've been a police dispatcher for 15 years. Four years ago I became a 911/police/fire/ems dispatcher. I'm a dispatcher because I can't do what these guys do. Again, I can't say enough about Facebook. Eighty fascinating classmates, all from Holly, and now spread out all over the world. Join Facebook and find us (or we will find you if you enter that you are a 1980 Holly High School grad.)

On opposite ends of this great country we have:
Bob Lowande

Jim Laatsch

Thom Burke

I have been enjoying recent photos on a public flickr account & public website maintained by the Navy. I keep coming back to these wonderful images of our classmate, Thom Burke, Commanding Officer of the USS Blue Ridge. The ship also has it's own Facebook page (of which several classmates are fans) that is updated often with new images and video.

(April 20, 2009) PACIFIC OCEAN--Capt. Thom W. Burke USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) looks towards the horizon as Blue Ridge pulls into WHITE BEACH, Okinawa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew D. Jordan /Released)
BUSAN, Republic of Korea (Aug. 14, 2009) Capt. Thom W. Burke, commanding officer of the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), is welcomed to the Republic of Korea by Chon Yea Un, the daughter of a Republic of Korea naval officer. Blue Ridge is taking part in the 33rd annual joint military exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2009, where Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines participate in computer-simulated command and control training. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bobbie G. Attaway/Released)
BUSAN, Republic of Korea (Aug. 14, 2009) -- USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) Commanding Officer Capt. Thom W. Burke reaches for the hands of Chon Yea Un, the daughter of a Republic of Korea (ROK) naval officer, after being presented with flowers on the behalf of the ROK navy. Blue Ridge arrived in Busan in support of U.S. 7th Fleet, which is taking part in the joint military exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) 2009. UFG is a combined/joint computer simulation driven exercise conducted annually. It demonstrates the Republic of Korea-U.S. interoperability, capabilities, and the U.S. commitment to defend Korea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Cynthia Griggs /Released)

Chris Vaughan

Photographs by Jason Chao

One of the most remarkable things about subscribing to Facebook is not only communicating with over 60 of my high school classmates, but being witness to each other's lives through images shared.

Chief Master Sergeant Chris Vaughan recently retired in a beautiful Air Force ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. Photographs were taken by a talent named Jason Chao and posted on Facebook by Shawn Hamilton. Thank you Jason and Shawn, and congratulations, Chris. I can read by the expressions of these many faces in the Facebook photo album that you are an admired and beloved man.

Today's Lottery Numbers Are...

Old photographs like this are fun to look at for many reasons...today my reason is hair. Gosh, everyone has a lot of hair. (Factoid: five members of this team are part of our Facebook alumni group. You'll have to join to find out who.)

Dear Sue, Happy Birthday to Me (25th) & You (26th)...

The older I am, the more sappy nostalgic I become. I happy cry. Daily. Hallmark Hall of Fame movies? Forget it. I get the ugly face.

Sue Lau Hansen and I have been friends over 30 years. Just as I am finalizing child rearing, she is approaching it's peak. She and Jan have two adorable girls that I hate not seeing more. They, as well as Jan's family, always welcome me so warmly when I stop in for a visit. Again, not often enough. I hope to remedy that after Taylor is away at school.

Sue, love you. Happy 37th birthday.

Why I'm a New Fan of Facebook

If you are a parent of a teen, like me, and you have been spying on your teen's Facebook page for years, like me, you may not think Facebook is something we former teens would enjoy. Until of course you find a group of great people that all have an era in a great little town in common. So, if you are reading this and you are a 1980 Holly High School graduate that is not on Facebook, you are missing out on all the fun. As of today, we have networked 54 classmates into a tight little group of good wishes. If you choose to join us, when you fill out the "info" section of your Facebook profile, make sure to select Holly High School Class of 1980 in the education section and we will find you and send you an invite to the alumni group. Two out of three football captains can't be wrong.
Roger Yerian, Richard Seavey, and Gerald Baker in 1979.

Richard Seavey today; or perhaps yesterday. Thanks, Richard, for sending me the great photo scans!

and one of the nicest guys in our Facebook group, Gerald Baker today.

A Class of 1980 Classic Couple!

Twenty-seven years and going stong! Randy & Lynne (Geliske) Beardslee!

The Reunion Train in Colorado

Last Sunday, my daughter, Taylor, and I drove from Denver to Colorado Springs. We had lunch with Shawn & Sandy (Denton) Kelly and one of their two lovely daughters. After, Taylor and I drove to Manitou Springs for laughs and ice cream, followed by familiar and unfamiliar areas of CS. We met Suzy (Murphy) Taggart for dinner. I'm usually pretty sure what I want to write, but these two visits with old classmates and particularly my old friend, Shawn, who I had not seen since their wedding in 1984, have left me quite speechless.
My old classmate and new friend, Suzy, has agreed to join our reunion committee and I look forward to planning a great reunion.

Suzy was a real sport and allowed Taylor to record us. Please note that I had one small glass of house wine and seem confused as to what sauce was on my pasta (for the record "clams with alfredo sauce!") We had a great time. Suzy, you are a peach!

Daddy's Girl

Recently, Doug Pinter's daughter, Mary, wrote me requesting the file of my blog banner photograph, above. You'll notice Doug is sitting on the counter to the right with a beautiful smile on his face. She is creating a scrapbook of her father and I was happy to contribute.

I asked Mary to write something about her dad for our reunion blog. Below are the photos and essay she sent me.

Doug Pinter
So what can I tell you about Doug Pinter? Well, after high school, he married Cheryl Greene, and they had two daughters, myself (Mary) and Rachel. He worked for many years as a Cat Scan Technician for Henry Ford Hospitals, but found his true passion in computers. He received a CNE certification and worked as a “computer guy” at Chrysler. In 2004 he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), and he passed away from complications of that disease in May of 2007. I guess that covers the basics.

To say that he was a great man wouldn’t be saying enough. He meant, and still means everything to me. He instilled in me the drive and faith to follow my passion. He told me once that if you follow your passion, you will never have just a “job”, because you will love what you are doing. My dad truly cared about people. It’s really a hard thing to find these days. I have heard so many stories in the past few years of how my dad has touched other people. He reminded people of their love for life and for their families. He loved HIS family. He meant so much to so many people, and still does. All he ever wanted to do was to touch other people, to make their day a little bit brighter. I know that even with that disease he felt certain people on his heart. He remembered that there were people who NEEDED his love and concern, and maybe through his example they would understand. He was my biggest fan. He drove me to every little activity in my life (and boy I had a lot of them growing up). He was always present at every concert, football game, tennis game……anything I had going on. He was a great example to me. He treated people with love and compassion. He always cared about every other person more than himself. He made other people want to do their best. He led by example. He wouldn’t tell others how to act or how to be, but he would show them. He was a man of great faith. He discovered great faith through the apostolic church. He believed it was his responsibility to show his family that God was very important, and being involved in church was as well. He wanted to win souls, and he strived to help the backslider. He was in the church Easter play for years and loved reaching out to people through it. He is someone to be looked up to. I have been blessed with a wonderful man to have called my father. He was there when no one else was. He made sure I knew that God could do miracles. Through his example I know what love is, I know what courage is, I know what passion is, and I know what it means to have faith. I’ve realized that he had the greatest faith of any man I’ve ever known. Even staring down the barrel of an incurable disease he had faith that it was for a reason. He pushed through with a smile on his face even in the hardest days. I know every day I will strive to follow in those footsteps. There is so much more I could say about him, so many stories I could tell. But in the end nothing will ever fully capture what an amazing person he was. And nothing will fill the void he left when he had to leave us.

Please, if you look back into your high school photos and find one where he is even standing in the background, or if you have a story to share about him, email them to lucky.lady01@yahoo.com . I am working on a scrapbook of pictures and stories of his life so that one day I will be able to show my children or grandchildren the man who taught me so much in such a short amount of time.

A Classmate Success Story!

Many of our classmates have wonderful businesses that I am looking forward to visiting over the next 18 months.

Bob & Lauren (Evans) Beras are celebrating their first commerical for their boutique, Lorla's in Northville. Stop by!

Melanie Payne Rocks

Nancy Dryer and I have something very special in common. As of next fall, both of our daughters will have attended Indiana University. Melanie Payne is a
Associate Director of Orientation Programs.

Melanie and Nancy's reunion occurred while Melanie was leading a freshman parents program. Nancy approached her with that look of familiarity and there was a bit of shrieking and jumping up and down like teenagers.

Melanie, Nancy, and I have a goal of all meeting in Bloomington. I swear we will all be wearing IU shirts, so check back for that fateful day. GO BIG RED!!!!!!