Fall 2019 Newsletter

Time again to report on the happenings of the summer and fall.  Then a look forward to winter and 2020.

We had a great time at the get-together and luncheon in June.  This year we celebrated the 50th, 60th and 70th year anniversary of leaving Phoenix High School.  We had a great turnout.  There were many people from the celebrated classes as well as many from other years.  For those of you who couldn’t make it, I will recap a little of the happenings.

On Friday June 28, there was a casual get-together so everyone could just come and visit. The Centennial Golf Course provided a large outside tent on their beautiful grounds.  They also provided a lot of good food and drinks for purchase.

On Saturday June 29, at the Rogue Valley Manor, we started the day at 10 AM with a meet and greet.  It was so much fun to see everyone and have time to visit.  At noon we all enjoyed a delicious buffet.  When we finished eating, we had a short meeting.

The classes we honored this year were 1969, 1959, and 1949.  It was interesting to hear what everyone has been doing since their days at Phoenix/Talent High School.

Also attending the luncheon were 9 of the 10 scholarship recipients.  They all had a chance to speak and let us all know of their goals, what a great bunch of young people.  Included were:  Maria Mena 2015-2019; Miguel Ceron 2016-2020; Cedrus King 2016-2020; Jesus Ledezma  2017-2021; Troy Altunel 2017-2021; Amna Hoorain 2018-2022; Kassidy Hood 2019-2023; Ruby Peral 2019-2020; Julissa Villasenor 2019-2020.  Kade Beer 2019– 2020 was unable to attend as he was participating in a baseball game in Salem.

Our guest speaker was Mr. Toby Walker, the principal of the high school.  He has been very supportive of our organization and continues to help us.

The PHS Alumni Scholarship board was also introduced.  They include: Sharla Mankins Draheim-Connell President; Nancy Day Olson-Jones Vice-President; Julie Hague-Gray Secretary (absent); Darlene Flagg Ditsworth Treasurer; Dorothy Cotton Newsletter editor; Ron Williams Scholarship Chairman; Breeze Chapman PHS/Alumni Liaison; Polly Fowler Farrimond member-at-large; Celine Farrimond Media; Aleta Logan Barlett Directory (absent) ; Janie Chisum Moore Silent Auction Chairperson; Historian position is vacant at the present time.

An election of officers was held.  The position of President and Vice-President were due to be voted on this year.  Since no one wished to fill either position, Sharla and Nancy agreed to serve another term.  It was with a unanimous vote that Sharla Mankins Draheim-Connell will remain President and Nancy Day Olson-Jones will remain Vice-President.   They have both done such a tremendous job and we do appreciate them both.

For more information about the luncheon, pictures, etc., please check out our Facebook page: “Phoenix High School Pirates Alumni”.

Other happenings:

In October the Alumni Association participated in the Phoenix City/Homecoming Parade.  It was a lot of fun and our trolley was full.

The Tailgate party was a great success with a good turnout.  Everyone enjoyed chili and cornbread and then watched the Homecoming game.

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The next fundraiser planned by the association is the Annual PHS Alumni Scholarship Auction.  This year it will be held Saturday, December 7th.   The auction will take place in the high school commons with the doors opening at 5:00 PM.  The silent auction will be from 5:00—6:30 PM.  There will be over 75 baskets and items in the silent auction.  Dinner will begin at 6:00 PM., provided by the Olive Garden Restaurant.   At 7:30 PM the live auction will begin with lots of items to auction off thanks to a long list of friends and sponsors.

Anyone interested in attending the auction; tables are being sold for $100.00 per table with seating for 8.  There are also seats available for parties of one or two.  Call Sharla to reserve your seat or table:  541-890-1289.   To pay for the items purchased, cash, check or credit card will be accepted.

For more information or to see the reunion pictures, please check us out on:

Facebook: Phoenix High School Pirates Alumni

E-mail: board@phoenixtalentalum.com

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Now it is time to start planning for next year.   Reservations have already been made for the Friday evening Get-Together.  We will meet again at the Centennial Golf Course on North Phoenix Road June 26, 2020.

The Annual Alumni Luncheon and meeting will be Saturday June 27, 2020 at the Rogue Valley Manor.  We will be honoring the classes of 1970, 1960, 1950, etc.  

Mark your calendars and watch for more information in the Spring Newsletter.

HOW ABOUT OUR NEW SCHOOL !

Above is a conceptual drawing of how the new Phoenix/Talent High School will look.  For those of you who  haven’t heard, a bond was passed a couple of years ago to build a new High School in the same area as the old one.  The gymnasium and theater will remain but everything else will be new.  The current High School was originally built in 1948-1949 and has undergone numerous remodels since that date.  I’m not sure which remodel the picture on the front of the newsletter is but this is the look I remember.  The first phase of the building was started in June of this year.  It consists of a two story building just south of the current building.  The entire project is scheduled to be finished December 2020.   

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The classmates that have passed away that we have heard about since out last newsletter include:  Cathy Beeson Weber (74); Joan Kennedy (74); Crystal Cyphers (2003); Caroline Beeson (68); Rosemary Robertson Sauer (66); David Dudley (64); John Stewart (Teacher); John Smook (Teacher); Duane Smith (Teacher); Matt Zoll (91);  Scott White (2003).   If anyone knows of anyone else, please let us know.

If anyone knows of any changes to addresses and/or names, please let us know so we can keep our information as correct as possible.  Also, if anyone is receiving this newsletter by regular mail and would like to receive it by e-mail, please send us your e-mail address.  This will help us keep costs down.

Happy Holidays

Your Newsletter Editor, Dorothy Cotton