Hi RHS ’92 Alums,
It was great to see you at our 15-year reunion on Saturday! If you couldn’t make it, hope to see you next time at the 20-year (?!). We had wonderful weather and enjoyed eating lunch, catching up with folks and watching the kids play at the park.
Thanks to everyone who attended and brought yummy side dishes to eat. There was a lot of great stuff to enjoy.
Jim Rowley is working on typing in the bios sent in and I’ll get them posted asap at http://rhs1992.blogspot.com/ . If you didn’t send a bio in and haven’t emailed me one yet, go ahead and do so and I’ll get it on the reunion blog. And if you’d like to add something to your bio, send it my way and I’ll add that too.
If anyone has LINKS to pictures they’d like to post, please send them my way (my email storage is too small to accept actual pictures). I hope to get some of our pictures posted and links to more available soon.
Special thanks goes out to:
* Careyana Brenham, who handled the money and related recordkeeping; priced, ordered and picked up the food; shopped for supplies; set up the food & drinks, etc. This reunion could not have happened without all her hard work.
* Heidi Andorfer, who tirelessly tracked down nearly all of the alums’ addresses despite sometimes daunting obstacles -- while pregnant with her first child, no less!
* Siamak Mostoufi, for designing lovely invitations, graphics and flyers and mailing out the invites.
* Nicole Spain (aka Stacy Meyer), who made terrific signs & decorations on a shoestring budget. We got to take a trip down memory lane by looking at our 8th grade pictures, senior pictures and yearbook layouts -- fun!
* Candice Rutter, who helped Carey with the ordering, shopping and set-up and furnished party supplies, etc.
* Jim Rowley, who posted flyers, helped with clean-up and is typing in bios.
* Jason Zara, who made the reunion blog, helped with clean-up, and listened to lots of reunion talk.
* Jen (Nelson) Curtis, who helped clean up.
* John Taylor, who carried one trash bag.
If you get new email or physical addresses over the next five years, kindly drop Heidi a note so she can keep our address list up to date and make our 20-year preparation a little easier. Her email is heandorf@comcast.net .
Take Care,
Rebecca Johnson Zara
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Hey all, just to clarify, I am mostly entering the bios from people who aren't attending and didn't send in a card, so they emailed me. Those who are attending and did fill out a card to send in to Careyana will be entered after the event, since those are sitting in Rochester while I sit in VA. Thanks! --Rebecca
From Kelly Jane (Hawkins) Murphy:
"Hi all,it has been really fun reading about what you are all up to. I havebeen hesitant to write because I don't even know where to begin. I guess I can start with graduation although I can barely remember. Ahh aging. I think I went to Lincoln Land for awhile then quit to do some traveling. (Thanks Jerry) A few jobs, a couple of boyfriends and several cities later I returned to Springfield for what I thought would be forever. I started my own business which was a Tea Room andFlower Shop called Petals n' Edibles. The business was very successful. Fifteen months later I opened a second one called The Yellow Rose. One day four years later an old Southeast High School friend of mine stopped by the shop. He came totell me that he was moving to Indiana then confessed his undying love for me. We started talking more, did the long distance thing for a long time, then he asked me to marry him. I closed one of my shops and sold the other. I was living in Bloomington, Indiana by January 2001. Tim Murphy and I were then married by June 2002. Our daughter Genevieve was born two years later. Genevieve is three now. She is the greatest little kid that I have ever known. She can be all attitude sometimes, that is when people tell me that the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. What's that suppose to mean? But seriously I havel earned a lot about myself just by knowing her. We love our little town. It is very beautiful and there is always something fun to do. Bloomington is very peaceful despite being a college town. Speaking of college. I did finally return. I have been attending Indiana University full time since the Fall 2004. I am studying Visual Art Education I will be finished this spring. I have also been working at 'G's' preschool as well developing an after schoolart and science program that I hope to have up and running by the time I graduate. I have to fullfill that need to be self employed. I still like to be the boss. That's me in a nut shell. The only other thing is to give a little shout out for my two very cute doggies named Monkey and Blue. My email is murphyk@indiana.edu for anyone who is dying to know more about my life. I am just kidding, it truly has been great learning about everyone. It would be fun to hear more. I will actually be home for the Illinois State Fair if anyone would like to get in touch! P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. Hopefully more will be availible to get together in five years!"
From Kelly Jane (Hawkins) Murphy:
"Hi all,it has been really fun reading about what you are all up to. I havebeen hesitant to write because I don't even know where to begin. I guess I can start with graduation although I can barely remember. Ahh aging. I think I went to Lincoln Land for awhile then quit to do some traveling. (Thanks Jerry) A few jobs, a couple of boyfriends and several cities later I returned to Springfield for what I thought would be forever. I started my own business which was a Tea Room andFlower Shop called Petals n' Edibles. The business was very successful. Fifteen months later I opened a second one called The Yellow Rose. One day four years later an old Southeast High School friend of mine stopped by the shop. He came totell me that he was moving to Indiana then confessed his undying love for me. We started talking more, did the long distance thing for a long time, then he asked me to marry him. I closed one of my shops and sold the other. I was living in Bloomington, Indiana by January 2001. Tim Murphy and I were then married by June 2002. Our daughter Genevieve was born two years later. Genevieve is three now. She is the greatest little kid that I have ever known. She can be all attitude sometimes, that is when people tell me that the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. What's that suppose to mean? But seriously I havel earned a lot about myself just by knowing her. We love our little town. It is very beautiful and there is always something fun to do. Bloomington is very peaceful despite being a college town. Speaking of college. I did finally return. I have been attending Indiana University full time since the Fall 2004. I am studying Visual Art Education I will be finished this spring. I have also been working at 'G's' preschool as well developing an after schoolart and science program that I hope to have up and running by the time I graduate. I have to fullfill that need to be self employed. I still like to be the boss. That's me in a nut shell. The only other thing is to give a little shout out for my two very cute doggies named Monkey and Blue. My email is murphyk@indiana.edu for anyone who is dying to know more about my life. I am just kidding, it truly has been great learning about everyone. It would be fun to hear more. I will actually be home for the Illinois State Fair if anyone would like to get in touch! P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. Hopefully more will be availible to get together in five years!"
From Staci (Groves) Loyd:
"I graduated from ISU in '96 with my elementary education degree in May and married my husband, Dave in June of '96. I taught for 8 years at Tri-City in Buffalo, IL after a couple of years of substitute teaching (which I don't ever want to do again!). I taught Kindergarten my first year and then I looped between first and second grade the rest of my time there which means I kept the same class for 2 years. In our eleven years of marriage, we have already moved 3 times and I know more is in our future. We lived for almost 5 years in Rochester; 4 1/2 years in Decatur, and now Morton. My husband, Dave, took a position as Controller at Ag-Land FS in '06 that brought us to Morton, IL. With the move, I made a change in my career, also, and decided to stay home with our 2 girls, Alli - 6 and Emilie - 3. I don't like the term 'homemaker' or 'stay-at-home mom', especially since it seems we are NEVER home! I am loving my decision and enjoy every minute I have with my girls. The move also brought us within 2 minutes of my best friend from high school/college, Laurie (Headley) Williams and her family. My parents still live in Westview Park outside of Rochester and my dad actually works part-time for the Village in the summer. We will be out of town the weekend of the reunion, but I hope everyone has a great time."
"I graduated from ISU in '96 with my elementary education degree in May and married my husband, Dave in June of '96. I taught for 8 years at Tri-City in Buffalo, IL after a couple of years of substitute teaching (which I don't ever want to do again!). I taught Kindergarten my first year and then I looped between first and second grade the rest of my time there which means I kept the same class for 2 years. In our eleven years of marriage, we have already moved 3 times and I know more is in our future. We lived for almost 5 years in Rochester; 4 1/2 years in Decatur, and now Morton. My husband, Dave, took a position as Controller at Ag-Land FS in '06 that brought us to Morton, IL. With the move, I made a change in my career, also, and decided to stay home with our 2 girls, Alli - 6 and Emilie - 3. I don't like the term 'homemaker' or 'stay-at-home mom', especially since it seems we are NEVER home! I am loving my decision and enjoy every minute I have with my girls. The move also brought us within 2 minutes of my best friend from high school/college, Laurie (Headley) Williams and her family. My parents still live in Westview Park outside of Rochester and my dad actually works part-time for the Village in the summer. We will be out of town the weekend of the reunion, but I hope everyone has a great time."
From Jason Zara:
"After tricking Rebecca Johnson into dating me in High School (she didn’t’ want a boyfriend, so I just wanted to be friends [wink-wink!]), we continued to date through college. When we both graduated from U of I, I hoodwinked her into moving to Durham, NC with me so I could get my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. I then proceeded to beguile her into marrying me; flim-flammed her into moving to Washington, DC with me so I could start my Assistant Professor position at George Washington University; and finally duped her into having my beautiful son Griffin. I think she is definitely stuck with me now :) I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion! And you can check out our son's blog at http://griffins-life.blogspot.com/"
"After tricking Rebecca Johnson into dating me in High School (she didn’t’ want a boyfriend, so I just wanted to be friends [wink-wink!]), we continued to date through college. When we both graduated from U of I, I hoodwinked her into moving to Durham, NC with me so I could get my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. I then proceeded to beguile her into marrying me; flim-flammed her into moving to Washington, DC with me so I could start my Assistant Professor position at George Washington University; and finally duped her into having my beautiful son Griffin. I think she is definitely stuck with me now :) I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion! And you can check out our son's blog at http://griffins-life.blogspot.com/"
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
From Jill (Wiggins) Patterson:
"I recently graduated college...that's right...I finally did it, from Millikin University. Presently I work in Human Resources for the Secretary of States Office and interview people for a living. Since graduation I am still undecided on what path to take regarding jobs, more school or just stay where I am. We still reside in Rochester in an area we like to call the "ghetto". As everyone knows there is no ghetto in Rochester but it's the place we like to call home.
I've been married for six years and have a five year old son Henry. There are no future plans of having more children (are you kidding me, you remember me from high school) and they say what comes around goes around so I'm trying to play it safe with just one child :-) Henry pretty much keeps us occupied with motocross racing. He started when he was four and says he never wants to quit. So needless to say, most of our time/energy/money is spent at the race track all spring,summer and fall.
With regret we will not be able to attend the Reunion. Henry is racing. So hello to all and I hope everyone has fun. If anyone wants to get in touch with me you can e-mail at jillgreg@sbcglobal.net. Again, have a great time, sorry we can't be there!!"
From Cindy (Berry) Rajlich:
"After graduation, I attended the University of Illinois where I earned a B.S. in kinesiolgy in 1996. After graduation from college, I married my husband Paul in August of 1996 in Champaign. We have been here ever since and love it! We actually live in St. Joseph, which is about 8 miles east of Urbana. It is very similar to Rochester. Paul and I have 5 kids and it is one adventure after another around our house. Jacob is 8, Joey is 6, Hannah is 5, Hope is 3 and Henry is 10 months (he will be 1 on Sept. 12). I am a stay at home mom, but I seem to spend most of my time out of the house running from one event to the next. I wouldn't change it for anything, though! My dad still lives in Rochester and I do get back to town a few times a year. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion."
From Rebecca Johnson Zara:
"After graduating from U of I with a teaching degree in '96, I got my first high school teaching job (English and History) in North Carolina and HATED it. Whoops! I managed to finish out the year and then took a job as a health care editor for a publishing company -- luckily my college newspaper experience came in handy there. Here I am nearly 10 years later with the same company and still an editor, but about 5 years ago I switched to working from my home office when we moved. Working from home is heaven.
Jason & I acquired two cats in '96 when we moved to NC (Puzzle & Pumpkin), got married in '98, moved to Washington, DC in '02 and had a bouncing baby boy almost exactly a year ago (Griffin). We like DC but the traffic is truly horrible. After a year in the city, we moved out to the No. VA 'burbs. Who knows, some day we may make it back to live in the Midwest. Currently we just come to visit my family and our friends.
Pre-baby we liked to travel (Australia, Japan, Carribbean, all over the U.S., etc.), but now we're lucky to make it to the grocery store. We did manage to visit New York City and the Virginia coast this summer."
"I recently graduated college...that's right...I finally did it, from Millikin University. Presently I work in Human Resources for the Secretary of States Office and interview people for a living. Since graduation I am still undecided on what path to take regarding jobs, more school or just stay where I am. We still reside in Rochester in an area we like to call the "ghetto". As everyone knows there is no ghetto in Rochester but it's the place we like to call home.
I've been married for six years and have a five year old son Henry. There are no future plans of having more children (are you kidding me, you remember me from high school) and they say what comes around goes around so I'm trying to play it safe with just one child :-) Henry pretty much keeps us occupied with motocross racing. He started when he was four and says he never wants to quit. So needless to say, most of our time/energy/money is spent at the race track all spring,summer and fall.
With regret we will not be able to attend the Reunion. Henry is racing. So hello to all and I hope everyone has fun. If anyone wants to get in touch with me you can e-mail at jillgreg@sbcglobal.net. Again, have a great time, sorry we can't be there!!"
From Cindy (Berry) Rajlich:
"After graduation, I attended the University of Illinois where I earned a B.S. in kinesiolgy in 1996. After graduation from college, I married my husband Paul in August of 1996 in Champaign. We have been here ever since and love it! We actually live in St. Joseph, which is about 8 miles east of Urbana. It is very similar to Rochester. Paul and I have 5 kids and it is one adventure after another around our house. Jacob is 8, Joey is 6, Hannah is 5, Hope is 3 and Henry is 10 months (he will be 1 on Sept. 12). I am a stay at home mom, but I seem to spend most of my time out of the house running from one event to the next. I wouldn't change it for anything, though! My dad still lives in Rochester and I do get back to town a few times a year. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion."
From Rebecca Johnson Zara:
"After graduating from U of I with a teaching degree in '96, I got my first high school teaching job (English and History) in North Carolina and HATED it. Whoops! I managed to finish out the year and then took a job as a health care editor for a publishing company -- luckily my college newspaper experience came in handy there. Here I am nearly 10 years later with the same company and still an editor, but about 5 years ago I switched to working from my home office when we moved. Working from home is heaven.
Jason & I acquired two cats in '96 when we moved to NC (Puzzle & Pumpkin), got married in '98, moved to Washington, DC in '02 and had a bouncing baby boy almost exactly a year ago (Griffin). We like DC but the traffic is truly horrible. After a year in the city, we moved out to the No. VA 'burbs. Who knows, some day we may make it back to live in the Midwest. Currently we just come to visit my family and our friends.
Pre-baby we liked to travel (Australia, Japan, Carribbean, all over the U.S., etc.), but now we're lucky to make it to the grocery store. We did manage to visit New York City and the Virginia coast this summer."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
From Ted Radtke:
"I graduated from the US Military Academy in 96; then spent 3 years in an Army airborne unit at Ft. Bragg, NC as a combat engineer officer. Then spent time in Missouri and Kansas. After 6 years in the Army, I took a role within GE Healthcare in Milwaukee, WI for a couple of years. Looking for a better climate, I transitioned to my current role as a Director of Service, also for GE Healthcare in Phoenix, AZ. I've been married to Kathleen for 9 years with 2 sons (4 and 6 years old). We spend lots of time on the soccer and baseball fields. I hope everyone is doing well and will miss the opportunity to catch up!"
"I graduated from the US Military Academy in 96; then spent 3 years in an Army airborne unit at Ft. Bragg, NC as a combat engineer officer. Then spent time in Missouri and Kansas. After 6 years in the Army, I took a role within GE Healthcare in Milwaukee, WI for a couple of years. Looking for a better climate, I transitioned to my current role as a Director of Service, also for GE Healthcare in Phoenix, AZ. I've been married to Kathleen for 9 years with 2 sons (4 and 6 years old). We spend lots of time on the soccer and baseball fields. I hope everyone is doing well and will miss the opportunity to catch up!"
From Gretchen (Brogdon) O'Byrne:
"Greetings from the Pacific Northwest. After RHS, I graduated from EIU with a BS in Recreation Administration. I quickly left the Midwest and headed to Seattle for a temporary stay which has turned into my home. I fell in love with the mountains and water. Salt water, that is. I know the sunset over a corn field is nice but I just can’t give up my mountains! I have spent the last 10 years exploring the wilderness all around the Puget Sound area.
I have turned my professional focus onto education and social justice. I earned a Master’s Degree in 2006 in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. More importantly, I married an amazing man (Rodney) and now have a 1 year old named Lucy. I’ve been blessed to spend the past year raising her. I’m sorry to be missing the reunion but with trips to visit family in Illinois and Florida each year, we’re pretty tapped out.
If you’re interested, we keep a blog for our family and friends. www.obyrne.blogspot.com. I hope you all are well. Look me up if you ever come to the Emerald City. I’d love to show you around."
"Greetings from the Pacific Northwest. After RHS, I graduated from EIU with a BS in Recreation Administration. I quickly left the Midwest and headed to Seattle for a temporary stay which has turned into my home. I fell in love with the mountains and water. Salt water, that is. I know the sunset over a corn field is nice but I just can’t give up my mountains! I have spent the last 10 years exploring the wilderness all around the Puget Sound area.
I have turned my professional focus onto education and social justice. I earned a Master’s Degree in 2006 in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. More importantly, I married an amazing man (Rodney) and now have a 1 year old named Lucy. I’ve been blessed to spend the past year raising her. I’m sorry to be missing the reunion but with trips to visit family in Illinois and Florida each year, we’re pretty tapped out.
If you’re interested, we keep a blog for our family and friends. www.obyrne.blogspot.com. I hope you all are well. Look me up if you ever come to the Emerald City. I’d love to show you around."
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