"My personal feeling is that it is not worth $10 a year because I do get that much out of the membership." Member Class of '91

This is a response that I found the most challenging to address because the value of the Association is so clear to me that I found it hard to comprehend that it was not clear to every alumni. This may sound overly simplistic, but the true benefit to you should be the fact that there is an Association. Intellectually, I can understand that the direct benefit may not be that obvious to you at this time and it may be difficult for to you to relate to the Association. I do, however, think as you become further removed from your high school days, that the value will become more evident and your desire to become more involved will intensify.

But the fact that you have not reached this level of intensity, should not diminish the true value of the Association and prevent you from becoming a member. Just because you do not presently participate in the events or utilize the services does not mean there is no value for your $10 membership dues. Because the true value is the existence of the Association, not any particular activity or event.

The activities are just a means to end, not an end in themselves. The Association serves as the platform to harness the spirit of the collective experience of growing up in Sidney and attending Sidney Schools that all alumni share, for the benefit of creating a link and fostering relationships among alumni and contributing to the vitality of the Community and School.

So there is a benefit to your membership, even though you choose not to directly participate at this time, and this applies to any alumni who shares your view. You benefit from the positive impact the Association makes to the vitality of the Community and School but more importantly your membership contributes to the financial health of the Association to assure that it will be around for you in the future.

Of course, you do not have to wait for the future to become involved. We welcome your participation and suggestions now. The Board of Directors is committed to making a stronger effort to appeal to the interests of all generations of Alumni.

A second issue that has raised concerned among the membership and deserves clarification, is the unauthorized use of the personal membership information from our data base. This information was compiled by the Association and is reserved for the exclusive use of the Association. To alleviate your concern and to protect your interests, the Board adopted a policy by resolution that strictly prohibits the sale of our mailing list to any outside party. Further the resolution, prohibits the use of the information for solicitation purposes by any outside person or organization. A protective statement prohibiting the use of the information is conspicuously displayed adjacent to the alumni directory section of our website. This has always been the unofficial policy of the Association and even prior to passing this resolution we never engaged in the sale of this information.

As you can tell from this article the Board of Directors have been hard at work confronting issues for the betterment of the Association on behalf of its members. As President of the Association, I want to express my gratitude and respect to the individuals who serve on Board for the responsible manner in which they have performed their duties.

Finally, I want to extend a personal invitation to the entire Alumni Community to join us for the Alumni Weekend in July. The reunion Committee under the guidance of the General Chairman, Ron Wischhusen '72, has been hard at work for the last 8 months planning and organizing a fun filled weekend for your enjoyment. As you will read in this issue, the new Transportation Center on the High School grounds will be site of this years' Sunday Luncheon. We are excited about this because we will be able to accommodate a larger crowd and expand our program. Because of this change in venue, we expect record attendance.

Join us for Alumni Weekend 2002 in Sidney on July 19-21 where you can relive old memories and create new ones. See you then.