G F S A Gladewater Former Students Association A TEXAS NOT-FOR-PROFIT DEDICATED TO GHS ALUMNI P.O. Box 1425, Gladewater, TX 75647 Phone/Fax: 903-845-2631 Email: ghsalums@suddenlinkmail.com www.gladewaterformerstudents.com R E U N I O N 2 0 1 6 N E W S L E T A Message from GFSA President Shirley Elliott Willett 68 Hello Gladewater Alumni, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the GFSA All-School Reunion, Saturday, September 24, 2016. The Class of 66 will be the host for our event this year. They have been planning for months to make this an outstanding reunion for all! They are Looking for Former Students to come and be supportive of the All-School Reunion. The Class of 66 has some surprises in store for all of us!! You will find the Registration details on the orange form included in this newsletter. Make your plans and send your reservation by mail or for your convenience, you may also register on-line at: www.gladewaterformerstudents.com. Hope to see YOU at the All-School Reunion highlighting the 1966 graduating class of Gladewater High School. Sincerely, Shirley Elliott Willett President of GFSA/Class of 68 We are modern, up-to-date. Senior Class of 68 T E R
NOTE FROM THE CLASS OF 66: The theme for this year s reunion, The Spy, was taken from the 66 yearbook. The Reunion Committee has been really working hard to make this an enjoyable day to visit with classmates, attend the Forever Orange and Black Luncheon, and then to return for an evening of dinner and dancing. This year, two men will receive the OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARD at the luncheon - Jimmy Rowe, Class of 48, and Dr. Ronald McRay, Class of 53. In January, outgoing GFSA President John Paul Tallent was awarded the first GRIZZLY AWARD for his love and dedication to the Gladewater Former Students Association. During the luncheon, two additional members Leon Watson, Class of 59, and Roy T. Van Houten, Class of 60, will be honored with this award. DON T FORGET THAT YOU MUST BE PRE-REGISTERED TO ATTEND THE 2016 REUNION SO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS TO ATTEND ONE OR BOTH EVENTS ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 AND JOIN IN THE FUN. FOREVER ORANGE AND BLACK OUTSTANDING ALUMNI LUNCHEON EVENT (Doors open at 10:30 A.M.) 11:00A.M. REGISTRATION & VISITING 11:15A.M. WELCOME Shirley Willett, GFSA President INVOCATION Skip Butler, Class of 66 LUNCH catered and served by PERFECT CATERING of Longview 11:45A.M. 50 th REUNION CLASS WELCOME Danny Hobbs, Class of 66 GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN INTRODUCTION OF OUTSTANDING ALUMNI GRIZZLY AWARDS PRESENTATION KODIAK BEARS RECOGNITION 1:15P.M. ANNOUNCEMENTS Dick Tucker, Class of 66 CLOSING REMARKS Shirley Willett, GFSA President DINNER AND DANCE (Doors open at 6:00 P.M. and BYOB) 6:30P.M. CLASS PHOTOS - David Holcombe, Class of 62, Holcombe House of Photography will take class photos. (You do not have to purchase a class photo but if you want one, it must be pre-paid at the reunion. It will then be mailed to you within a few weeks. What a great keepsake of the reunion.) 7:15P.M. DINNER catered and served by PERFECT CATERING of Longview. 8:00P.M. PASSING OF SPIRIT BATON Class of 66 RECEIVING OF SPIRIT BATON Class of 67 8:15-11:30P.M. DANCING with music provided by DJ Sounds by Phillip of Longview. A SHOT IN THE DARK is returning due to popular request. So grab a friend or two or three and enjoy this throwback to the 60s provided by the Class of 66.
GFSA OUTSTANDING ALUMNI FOR 2016 The Gladewater Former Students Association Board of Directors is honored to announce two Outstanding Alumni who will be recognized at the All-School Reunion on Saturday, September 24, 2016. Make your reservations now for the Forever Orange and Black Luncheon. DR. RONALD McRAY, Class of 1953 Dr. McRay played on the State Basketball team in 1952 with Neal Williams under Coach Bill Waters. He also ran the mile at the district track meet before graduating in 1953. He began college at Florida Christian College in Tampa and was a full-time preacher for 35 years. He is the author of 40 books that are all over the world, and can be found at Amazon.com. Since then he has conducted many seminars. Also, he continues to write. He serves as president of the None Left Behind Corporation which is dedicated to revealing the meaning of obscure and often overlooked scriptures. He can be contacted at: www.eschatologyreview.com. Dr. McRay has three doctoral degrees -Ph. D in Theology, Ph. D in Letters, and Ph. D in Philology (linguistics). He was a referee in football, basketball, baseball, and softball for many years but the Gladewater BEARS and the Dallas COWBOYS games were his favorites. He made a special trophy for Coach Tom Landry upon his retirement and a cherry trophy case for the putter that Jack Nicklaus used in the Master s Gold Classic. Flying one of his airplanes was a passion. He has owned three airplanes at one time a 152 Cessna, a 172 Cessna, and a 182 Cessna. He also picked up 707 4engine jets. He has spent his life feeding the souls and minds of people worldwide but has fond memories of his years growing up in Gladewater, Texas. A bad day with the Lord is better than a good day without him. JIMMY ROWE, CLASS OF 1948 Mr. Rowe graduated from Gladewater High School in 1948. He attended Kilgore College and then continued his education at North Texas State Teachers College in Denton (now called the University of North Texas). He began teaching part-time at Denton High School for a year, but it didn t take long for him to return home to Gladewater. He and his wife, Jean, moved to Gladewater in August, 1953. All five of their sons are honor graduates of Gladewater High School. Mr. Rowe began his long teaching career here, teaching printing, photography, and yearbook. He also filmed the football games for over 30 years, until the more modern method of video came along. He retired from GHS in 1990, with a total of 37 years at GHS, but O. G. Johnston talked him into returning to the school on a part time basis for two more years to help with school printing and to train others for the future. School administrators realized what a huge cost it would be to have the printing done outside the school district. Numerous GHS former students have benefited from the print classes they took under Jimmy s expertise. Photographers from many classes have come back to show off their skills that Jimmy taught them. How beautiful and thorough the yearbooks were when our print shop at GHS did all the work to preserve each class precious memories. Since his retirement, the yearbooks have been sent off to a print company and have an entirely different format. They are much smaller and do not cover the entire year due to print deadlines. Just mention Mr. Rowe s name to any former student who was in his class! They will have a story and it usually is filled with warmth and admiration for their beloved Mr. Rowe. His kindness and helpfulness has been widespread.
Two Former Students are being honored with Grizzly Awards this year. These awards are being given to those who have gone above and beyond the call of helping the association. ROY T VAN HOUTON and LEON WATSON are the recipients at this year's reunion. Only one of these awards has been given in the past and that to JOHN PAUL TALLENT. This award is not given out lightly and these men are a big reason the Association has prospered and become what it is today. Without their time, effort and dedication we would not be the Association we are today. Please take the time to THANK these men. PULL OUT PARTIES FOR REUNION WEEKEND GFSA has been notified of the following class gatherings: Class of 68 members contact Steve Scurlock or Shirley Willett for details. Class of 66 will gather Friday night at 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, Longview. Class of 65 Friday night, 6:00 p.m. party at Jackie & Wes Ray s home, Lake Gladewater. Class of 62 Friday night, 6:00 p.m. at lake home of Beverly & John Paul Tallent. Mexican dinner served and entertainment by Mr. C. Class of 61, 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Clarksville City Hall. Contact Sherry Waggoner Beall for more information. The GFSA would like to RECOGNIZE and THANK the following alumni for their recent KODIAK BEAR contributions: GHS Class of 1965 and Shirley Elliott Willett, Class of 1968 We are pleased to add these contributors to our Kodiak Bear List! Other classes may be planning get-togethers so give your class contact a call to find out when & where. Or, if you are the class contact, let the GFSA know so that we can inform your classmates if they contact us! MORE IMPORTANTLY, make plans to attend one or both All-School Reunion Events! The Kodiak Bear designation is given to those Former Students who have donated $1000 or more to the Association. Their contributions have been invaluable and we cannot thank them enough.
GO NE BUT NO T FO RGO TTEN Our sincerest sympathies go out to the families of these former students: Helen Troxel Humphries '41 Barbara Wampler Phillips '43 Joan Crawford McCrary '56 Randy "Joe" Burney '70 Memorials... Remember a loved one with a "living" gift to the Gladewater Former Students' Association. If you chose to do this it can be made in the form of a monetary gift to the Association in memory of your loved one or in the form of a Brick to go in our Reunion Plaza. A gift card will be sent to the family and all donors will receive a card from the Association in appreciation for their donation. These can be sent to Gladewater Former Students Association, P O BOX 1425, Gladewater TX 75647. AUGUST 31st DEADLINE for BOARD NOMINATIONS DUES REMINDER In order to receive a ballot and vote in the 2017 Board Election, you must pay your dues by October 1, 2016. Time once again to begin thinking of joining the Association as a Board member. There are twelve seats on the board and each year, four directors have the option to either seek re-election or to rotate off the board. Terms are three years and there is no term limit. Directors whose terms expire at the end of this year are: Barbara Brooking Henderson '62, Mike Formby '64, Paula Jones Smith '62 and Larry Clemens '68. Some may decide to seek re-election to the board and have until August 31 st to make that decision. The Nominating Committee will be taking nominations for NEW board members until August 31st. PLEASE consider running for the Board. It's a three year term and is very rewarding. If you are interested PLEASE call the office or mail your resume to GFSA, P O BOX 1425, Gladewater TX 75647 -- or call a board member and they'll get your name on the ballot. But don't miss the deadline. YOUR Association NEEDS YOU.
GFSA UPCOMING EVENTS Wednesday, August 31, 6:00 p.m.: DEADLINE for 2017 Board Nominations Monday, September 12, 6:00 p.m.: Board Meeting Saturday, September 24: ALL SCHOOL REUNION (Honoring Class of 1966) Saturday, October 1: DUES DEADLINE in order to vote in board election Tuesday, Oct 25, 6:00 p.m. Halloween Party (costume) Covered Dish Monday, November 14, 6:00 p.m.: Board Meeting Monday, December 12, 6:00 p.m.: Christmas Party (Covered Dish) Monday, January 9, 6:00 p.m.: Board Meeting Gladewater Former Students' Association P. O. Box 1425 Gladewater, TX 75647 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED