Does your graduation year end in a "4" or a "9"? If so, then you are having a class reunion this summer! The following UAHS Classes will be gathering over the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate friendship and school spirit:

1938, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004.

See the details of each reunion and contact your reunion chairs here --->

The UACA Parade Theme this year is: "UA: There's No Place Like Home."

The Upper Arlington Alumni Association is extremely grateful to JOHN KOST, Class of 1974, for his unbelievably generous support of our annual UAAA Block Party following the UA Fourth of July Parade. John, a realtor with ReMax Premier Choice, has sponsored this event for the past eight years!

UAAA honored John in 2003 with our Outstanding Alumnus Award for his generous and ongoing support of our organization. THANK YOU, JOHN!

Dan Rohrs, a member of the UAHS Class of 1979, is an Upper Arlington High School math teacher whose dedication to the students both inside and outside the classroom is an inspiration to all Upper Arlington alumni. His many hours of patiently teaching and engaging UAHS math students, coupled with his inspired leadership as coach for the track team demonstrate the commitment he has to the young, bright minds who are walking the same halls that he did thirty years ago.

We applaud Dan Rohrs on his selection as the 2009 Upper Arlington Alumni Association Outstanding Alumnus and we appreciate him for being the perfect role model of what we hope every UA Alumnus will b be … OUTSTANDING!

The UAAA Outstanding Alumnus Award will be presented during the annual UAAA Block Party, to be held immediately following the Upper Arlington Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2009 at our UAAA tent behind Barrington Elementary School.

CONGRATULATIONS to Dan Rohrs, our UA Alumni Association Outstanding Alumnus for 2009!

See the names of other alums who have been awarded this honor!

The Upper Arlington Alumni Association has selected Beverly D'Angelo, Class of 1969, as this year's Distinguished Alumnus!

The UAAA Distinguished Alumnus Award honors a UAHS alum for his or her personal educational or career achievement. Beverly was chosen based on several decades of achievement in music and film, and the award will be presented to her at the UAAA Block party, to be held at Barrington Elementary School immediately following the UA Fourth of July parade.

Beverly was born to musical parents, Gene and Priscilla D'Angelo, and her grandfather was the architect who designed the Ohio Stadium (The Horseshoe) at The Ohio State University. She grew up here in UA and left shortly after high school to pursue her musical and acting career. During the years since she left UAHS, she has displayed her talents in animation/cartooning, appeared on Broadway, acted in numerous well-known movies, and shared her beautiful singing voice on the stage and on film.

Beverly was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire (1984), and also was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her role as Patsy Cline in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980).

After gaining roles in movies including Annie Hall, Bev had a string of hit movies in the late 1970s, appearing in Every Which Way But Loose, Hair and Coal Miner's Daughter in which she played the role of Patsy Cline and sang all her own songs. She later starred with Chevy Chase in the National Lampoon's Vacation series, playing Ellen Griswold. Many other films followed, in which she played a variety of characters from comedic roles to tragic heroines.

Beverly had a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU as a defense attorney, and she can now be seen on the hit HBO series Entourage.

Beverly is the mother of twins Anton and Olivia Pacino, who are now eight years old.

Congratulations to Beverly D'Angelo, our 2009 UAAA Distinguished Alumnus!

Beverly will be present for the Class of 1969 reunion parties and is looking forward to once again reuniting with many of the people who helped to shape her life. Following a visit here in April, 2009, Beverly wrote an essay reflecting on the significance of her home town, and the people with whom she shared her childhood in Upper Arlington. Her essay will be available on UA69.com soon.

Please see Beverly's full biography on the Internet Movie Database.

Lisa Craig Morton, Class of 1980, has a wonderful suggestion for a lovely place to stay when you come to Columbus for your class reunion!

Lisa and her husband, Jeff, own and operate the Victorian Village Guest House, which is located in Victorian Village on Neil Avenue. Conveniently located to Arlington, Grandview Heights, OSU, Arena District, Short North and Downtown Columbus, the Victorian Village Guest House offers a 950 square foot luxury suite tastefully appointed with antiques and modern amenities. The suite includes a full kitchen, private bath, bedroom with queen-sized bed and great room with soaring 17 foot ceilings. Situated in the rear lawn of the Morton’s completely renovated 1895 Queen Anne style home, the guest house provides privacy & delightful 2nd story views of the lawn, patios & perennial gardens. A peaceful retreat in an urban setting, Victorian Village Guest House is truly the best of both worlds.

Visit the Victorian Village Guest House Web site.

Those who live in Upper Arlington have been following the story of 2009 alum Blake Haxton, an outstanding student and star rower on the UAHS Crew Team. In March, Blake suddenly became terribly ill with what turned out to be necrotizing faciitis, also known as flash-eating bacteria. As a result of the infection, Blake lost both of his legs and nearly lost his life. He is recovering, but is still in the hospital.

The Columbus Dispatch web site has a video about Blake, which you can see here. In it you see the bravery of a young man who, through his strength, his faith, his determination, and the support of a loving family and a community who truly cares, has become a hero in our town of Upper Arlington.

See the video about Blake Haxton.

Read the June 11 article about Blake.

See the feature about Blake and his family on Glenn Beck - Palestra.net: June 15

Randy Skinner, UAHS Class of 1970, has just received his third nomination for a Tony Award. This year it is for his choreography in Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the stage adaptation of the beloved classic film. Even with a short run of six weeks, the musical was the top grossing show on Broadway for three weeks in a row, even beating out Wicked and Billy Elliot.

Randy was nominated for a Tony in 1993 for Best Choreography in Ain't Broadway Grand, and again in 2001 for his work on 42nd Street. His has also earned numerous other awards and distinctions for his choreography and stage direction, including two nominations for Drama Desk Awards for choreography.

In addition to his work on Broadway, Randy also teaches choreography and serves as a guest instructor on several campuses nationwide.

Randy was Valedictorian of the Class of 1970 and graduated Cum Laude from The Ohio State University.

Brad Moyer, Class of 1984, invites you to "No Right, No Wrong," an exhibit of his watercolors, being held during the month of June at the High Road Gallery, located at 12 East Stafford Road in Worthington, just north of 161.

Brad is the owner of Photographic Creations, a full service digital imaging center located at Kenny Centre, specializing in all kinds of printing and graphic design.

Upper Arlington High School now has its own coffee shop, located in the East Cafeteria and operated by students. UA Rise Café opened on April 7 and is totally donor-funded. Open to students and staff from 7:30 am to 8:00 am and from 10:30 am to 12:40 am, the café serves coffee drinks as well as smoothies.

Donors include the district's Innovation Council, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (Cameron Mitchell is a UAHS alumnus, Class of 1981!), the Upper Arlington Rotary, Huffman's Market, the student council, the high school's Student Foundation, Upper Arlington Career Development and staff members. They have partnered with local coffee roaster Crimson Cup, which supplies materials, training and ongoing support to the students. Money also was raised from mug sales.

See the article in the Columbus Dispatch about UA Rise Café
   

Steven Holloway, UAHS Class of 1969, ,has published his second book, Canadian Foreign Policy: Defining the National Interest. Though designed for college courses on foreign policy, the book serves as a good general introduction to Canada, its role in the world and its relations with the US.

Steven Holloway is currently chair of the Political Science Department at St. Francis Xavier University, in beautiful Nova Scotia. StFXU is a small liberal arts college (about 4000 students) which has frequently been ranked as the best small university in Canada.

More information about the book and ordering can be found on Amazon.com or on this link.
   

For those of you who have children in the UA Schools and also for those alums who still follow UA sports, we now have a new Web site, UAGoldenBears.com, which is the central directory for all UAHS sports.

It's a comprehensive site about everything related to UA athletics. Each sport has a page that lists its current coach, a link to its team web site (if applicable), any championship titles it has achieved, and photos of the team in action.

Because the site is just now being launched, we will be adding a lot of pictures and other information as it becomes available to us through the spring sports season. Please look for this Web site to grow and develop with time, and it will provide you with information about all of our Upper Arlington athletic teams!

Check the impressive list of State Championships we've had since 1937!

There's a page devoted to the Fans, too, where you can hear the Golden Bear growl, listen to the fight song (and sing along, because I posted the words), listen to our Alma Mater and sing slong, and learn where you can get UA logo apparel and other UA insignia items.

So please visit UAGoldenBears.com!
    

UAHS Class of 2005 alum Joe Dewey is featured in the Senior Spotlight section of the VirginiaSports.com Web site for his work with the children of Nicaragua. Through Love, Light and Melody, an organization directed by his sister, KC Dewey, UAHS Class of 2000, Joe made his first trip to the impoverished nation and felt he could make a difference in the lives of the children there through the game of lacrosse.

Please read the entire article here, and find out mroe about Love, Light and Melody and how you can help.
  

From local resident Mike Holman: My wife and I recently launched an internet radio station devoted to the City of Upper Arlington. WUAR is a full service station featuring music, news, weather and sports. We also broadcast a high school game of the week. We rotate between UAHS and Bishop Watterson. The games that we have broadcasted are also available for replay on the station archives section.

We do feature a weekly show (Thursdays at 10:00 am) called "he Upper Arlington Chamber of Commerce Talk at Ten." It is also available on the WUAR archives. One other show that would be of interest to UA alumns is our "City Insight Show" with the City of UA. This airs the first Friday of each month at 10:00 am. We replay it on the first Sunday of each month at 7:00 pm. This show is also available on the WUAR archives.

The station and web site carry local news reports, weather, and also provide archives of Upper Arlington and Watterson ball games. Please visit WUAR online!
   

One of our wonderful former teachers, Mrs. Elizabeth Richmond, has donated 23 Norwesters to the Alumni Association, and we are now offering them, along with other yearbooks that UAAA has accumulated, available to our alums for sale. We have always sold our extra yearbooks for $60 each (plus shipping, if applicable).

If you wish to reserve any of these books, please email Ellen and indicate which year(s) and we will set your book(s) aside. If you live locally, you can pick them up at the Board Office, located at 1950 North Mallway (next to Jones Middle School), and if you are out of town, we will ship your yearbook to you. The shipping costs will be determined individually, based on your location. We can discuss details once you have let us know which books you want.

Below is a list of the Norwesters we currently have available for sale. They will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis:

On December 1, a very exciting announcement was made regarding the UAEF, the UA Community Foundation and the UA Schools. An anonymous donor has given the UAEF and the UACF $87,500 each (totaling $175,000) to be used for technology at Upper Arlington High School.

Specifically, the gift will be used as follows:

$60,000 will be used to equip every classroom with a projector at the high school. Currently 30+ rooms already have projectors. This will equip the remaining 55 rooms.

$10,000 will be used to enhance a course management system. The Moodle course management system was demonstrated at the meeting, but the final decision on which system they will used has not been finalized.

$75,000 will be used to implement a "computers for teachers" program. This program is designed to "put technology in the hand of people who will hit homeruns." For qualifying teachers, a laptop will be made available with the understanding that these teachers will then act as mentors for other educators who wish to enhance learning with the aid of technology.

$30,000 will be used for professional (staff) development.

The UAEF has established a Technology Fund for any other member of the community who wishes to make a gift toward future technology in the K-12 program. Please visit the UA Education Foundation Web site to make a donation to this fund. Thank you! UAEducationFoundation.com
  

Each year, USA Weekend shines the spotlight on extraordinary high school productions across the country, and this year, they have selected Upper Arlington High Schools' 2008 production of Jekyll & Hyde as a Showstopper Runner-Up!

See the article and slideshow on the USA Weekend Web site! (Click "2008 Showstopper National Runners-Up" to see the section devoted to UAHS. )

See the UAHS Vocal Music Department's Web site here

Slammerz are oversized, high resolution, easy to apply and move, self-adhesive vinyl wall graphics that will not damage your walls. Slammerz are the perfect gift for players, coaches, students, alumni, or for any sports fan.

STOCK SLAMMERZ: Select from six designs that showcase the UA mascot and colors.

CUSTOM SLAMMERZ: Custom Slammerz are designed from an image or photo that you send to us. The better the image quality, the better your customized Slammerz will look! You can order a custom Slammerz up to 72" in height! Life size!

Your order, placed by phone, FAX, or by printing out and mailing in this Order Form, help support the Upper Arlington Schools Athletic Department, as a percentage of each sale goes to our schools!

Click to enlarge the designs below, and then print out the Order Form here. Thank you!

You can see samples of Slammerz in the main office at the high school!

The Alumni Association wants to thank ALL our members! Your membership dues and contributions allow us to do all that we do, including providing this Web site for your use - always at no charge to you!

We would like to extend a special THANK YOU to those alums who have chosen membership at the Life and Golden Bear levels. Your generosity enables us to provide services and opportunities for UAHS grads that would not otherwise be possible.

See our Golden Bear Members here --->

See our Life Members here --->
  

From kulr8.com: Some local doctors have been trading their stethoscopes and tongue depressors for guitars and drumsticks. At first glance the Mid-Life Chryslers appear to be a regular band. That is until you overhear a fan say the keyboardist delivered his baby.

That keyboardist is Obstetrician and founding member Doug Ezell. "I play piano organ and fiddle, and mandolin and autoharp and harmonica and bass that's all," he said. But does he practice as many different forms of medicine? "No, no, no, just one type," he said.

See the entire article >>>

THANK YOU to all our alums who support the Upper Arlington Alumni Association with their membership dues. We appreciate your interest in the organization and your contribution to the maintenance of our Web site, Bearalums.com. Your membership dues are the reason our site is FREE and AD-FREE!

Many of you have elected to become Life Members or Golden Bear Members, and we thank you for your generosity. Annual membership dues are $15, and as one alum recently pointed out, in just seventeen years of paying annual dues, a person has paid the equivalent of a Life Membership!

Making the one-time payment for the Life or Golden Bear Membership ensures that long after those seventeen years have passed, you will continue to receive every issue of Traditions and you'll be a member forever, without the necessity of paying additional dues!

We now offer Paypal to make paying your membership dues easier, faster, and very safe. See details!

Read more about the various levels of membership and please consider becoming a Life or Golden Bear Member like your fellow alums who have already chosen these levels. THANK YOU for your loyalty!!
  

WOLVES AT THE DOOR is the first novel written by Thomas A. Chown, UAHS class of 1961. Chown and his wife, the former Barbara Bain, 1961 Bishop Watterson HS, both graduated from THE Ohio State University in 1965, then moved to Venice, Florida in 1973. After raising their two children there, they retired to Dunnellon, Florida in 2003, where Tom embarked on a writing career. WOLVES AT THE DOOR is a fictional story of the real life wanderings of Tom's ancestors as they homesteaded across the Great American Plains in the 19th Century. It is the first in what will be a three book saga, bringing the family from participation in the Civil War's Battle of Westport ( 1864 ), frontier living and town building through the turn of the century, coal mining adventures and an epic move "back east" in the early 20th Century, and eventually in the third book, life in 1950's Upper Arlington.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com. It can also be requested at your local bookstore.
  

Which, of the 31 Zechariahs, Is Which?

To readers of the Word of God,

Why has no one ever thought to do this before? Of the 3,237 characters identified in the Bible, nearly half of them share their name with at least one other Bible character. For example, there are two Samuels, three Ezras, five Johns, six Marys, 13 Josephs, 20 Meshullams, and, would you believe, 31 Zechariahs! Most often, it is easy to tell them apart, but, when it is not, it may be a real problem to tell these same-named characters one from another. It took almost three years, but I have added subscript numbers to the names of all 1,443 of these same-named individuals so that you can instantly know, for example, that "the other Mary" mentioned in Matthew 28:1 is Mary(3), the mother of James. But then you may ask, which James is this? As a Minister or as a Bible School teacher or student, how often do you have or face such questions as, "Which James is this?" With this handbook at hand, you will know immediately 1) that there are four different persons named James in the Bible and 2) that this particular James is James(2), the Apostle James, also known as "James the Less."

This truly unique Bible handbook contains an Index of Bible Characters providing brief biographical information about every one of the 3237 different characters identified in the Scriptures. They are all listed alphabetically with the same-named characters sub-listed by subscript number. As I said above, why has no one ever thought to do this before? This book fills the void obvious in every other one of the many Bible resource books found in Christian bookstores across the country.This book, including the electronic Bible download, is available at WinePress Publishing/Pleasant Word for just $19.99.

To order this book (including a free download of the searchable KJV Bible), call toll-free (877)-421-READ (7323) or go to pleasantwordbooks.com

Right here at Bearalums.com, we can help you find employment or fill a position at your company! Please check the Job Board frequently for information about jobs desired by or offered by UAHS alums!

Please visit the JOB BOARD and see if there is anything of interest to you or someone you know!

Denny Dicke, UAHS Class of 1969, has published a book entitled Unleash the Champion, which is designed to help athletes reach their full potential. Those of you who live in the Columbus area can find the book and audio book at Frontrunner on West Lane Avenue. The book can also be ordered through the Web site, UnleashTheChampion.com.

A motivational speaker, businessman, and coach, Denny was an outstanding athlete in numerous sports at Upper Arlington High School, where he was the starting running back on our football team that won two State Championships in the 1960's. He was also captain of the varsity basketball team. In his sophomore year he won the State Championship in the 400 meters, in his senior year he was State Champion in both the 400 and 200 meters, and he became a high school All American by placing third in the nation in the 400 meters. More than 35 years later, he still holds the UAHS record in the 200 and the 400 meters.

Because of his passion for sports and working with young people he found time to coach football, soccer, softball, baseball, basketball and track and field over the last thirty years.

Brian Klemesrud, Class of 1997, has been busy with his film production company, Galatrax Pictures. His latest film, Static, has been accepted in to the Newport Beach Film Festival, one of the top international film festivals in the US, which will be held from April 19-29.

Brian's current project is a feature-length film called , to be produced by Black Bay Entertainment. See more about Brian and other films he has made.