We hope that ALL our alums will join us on the new UAAA Facebook page. If you already have a Facebook account, please visit this page, like it, and recommend it to all your UA alumni friends! We hope to be able to use this Facebook tool as a way to send out periodic quickie messages about upcoming events or news. See our Facebook page here.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to place an ad on one of the pages of Bearalums.com with a link to your web site. Bearalums.com has a steady flow of traffic throughout the year, with the highest traffic from January through July, when alums are involved in reunion planning and are looking up classmates and searching for reunion information. Traffic also spikes when Traditions is sent out (quarterly), as the newsletter contains links that direct our alums to various pages of the web site.

Your BEAR BANNER ad at the top of a Bearalums.com page will be viewed by thousands of people each week, as we have several hundred visitors daily. We believe that our alums value doing business with other alums, and it's one more way we can enjoy and benefit from the bond of being UA alums. The ads are priced very reasonably, with DISCOUNTS for EXISTING UAAA MEMBERS.

Please visit our Banner Ads page, where we have posted a chart showing banner ad prices according to the page on which they are displayed. Prices vary according to page traffic. Each ad will run for three months, and requests for placement will be taken on a first come, first serve basis. This is a cost-effective, productive way to share your business and web site with thousands of Upper Arlington High School alumni! While implementing your marketing strategies, you will be supporting our UA Alumni Association. We appreciate your help!

Read all about our Bear Banners Program.

Thank you so much to all of you who pay dues to the UAAA. These dues are critical to the support of our organization. Many alums think that funding for the Alumni Association comes from the school district. WRONG! We are completely self-sustaining and need these dues in order to maintain our database of nearly 30,000 graduates and to pay the costs of running our Web site, Bearalums.com.

We do not restrict our Web site to dues-paying members. We enjoy making it available to EVERYONE, members or not. However, over the past few years, we have seen our number of dues-paying members decline. We need YOU! Our tax-deductible dues are modest, so it is our goal to increase membership, and we hope that we can count on you. Membership in UAAA is available at four levels:

Some people are online a great deal and prefer to pay with Paypal; others prefer printing the membership form and mailing us a check. We appreciate your dues, and we want to make it easy for you, so please select your preferred method of payment.:

Congratulations to Hastings Middle School staff, students, parents and alumni who gathered on December 8, 2011 to celebrate the building's Golden Anniversary during a formal recognition and rededication program. Hastings opened its doors to 675 students in September, 1961, but the building was not officially dedicated until December 8 of that year.

At the celebration, Principal Robb Gonda read a Board of Education resolution commending the school's 50 years of academic, artistic, and athletic excellence. Hastings parent Tom English produced a video of the school's history for the special occasion. In addition, students prepared and buried a time capsule representative of the Golden Anniversary celebration.

You can read the history of Hastings Middle School in our February, 2011 issue of Traditions here.

During this 50th year celebration of Hastings, the Adopt-A-Chair committee has been busy raising funds to refurbish the chairs in the Hastings Middle School auditorium. Those of you who have been in the auditorium recently understand the need for this work.

The campaign is being chaired by Amy Chope Whalen, UA '79 and Lauren Schooley Schuermann, UA '79, daughter of the late John Schooley, Hastings architect and UAHS Class of 1946 alumnus.

As the campaign to restore the existing chairs in the Hastings Middle School auditorium continues, we would like to ask you to become a permanent part of the legacy of Hastings Middle School. We hope that as an alumnus, you will take part in this transformation and consider adopting a single chair, or a group of chairs. A nameplate will be included on the back of the chair with the inscription of your choice. We believe this is a wonderful way to recognize you, your family, or your business. You may also consider memorializing a special person.

Restoration of each chair is $150. The chairs will feature a cushioned seat, and a nameplate will be included on the back of the chair with inscription of the donor's choice. If you do not feel that you can adopt an entire chair, we are extremely grateful for any contribution you can make.

Read more about the Adopt-A-Chair Campaign, see Before and After photos of the auditorium chairs, and print the Donation Form here.

In 2009, Dan Rohrs '79 was selected as our UAAA Outstanding Alumnus for his superior work as a high school teacher and coach. Recently, along with Windermere teacher Pam Dobies, Dan Rohrs was given the distinction of being named the 2011 Upper Arlington District Teacher of the Year.

Each year, faculty members nominate teachers for the honor of being their bulding Teacher of the Year. Once a Teacher of the Year is selected at each school, those individuals are considered for the Upper Arlington District Teacher of the Year. Our District Teacher of the Year will then be considered for the Ohio Teacher of the Year award.

Congratulations to Dan Rohrs '79, our 2009 UAAA Outstanding Alumnus and 2011 Upper Arlington District Teacher of the Year!

UA Vocal music alums will be excited to know that this year's musical will be How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Guest stage director, David Bahgat '04, will work with UA Vocal Music Director, Eric Kauffman, to bring the stage to life this February as the vocal music department continues its tradition of excellence by bringing this musical to UAHS for the first time.

For more information about the musical including how to purchase tickets, to see pictures from previous shows, and to view a complete calendar of upcoming events, please visit the UA Vocal Music website at UAVocalMusic.org.

Our amazing UAHS Marching Band performed during the halftime show at the 2012 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 3. Band Director Mike Manser asked band member and Arlingtonian Staff Writer Cassie Lowery to write a summary of the experience to share with us, and here it is, in Cassie's words:

"Every other year, the Upper Arlington Marching Band goes on a trip to perform at one of the college football bowl games. This year, we went to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. While some bands spent most of their time on the trip playing, practicing and competing, with a few performances mixed in along the way, that's not the case for UAMB. Fortunately for all of us, our director, Mr. Manser, knew that while this was a band trip, there needed to be more to the experience than playing our instruments. He made sure that we came back from the trip with lasting memories, as well as an understanding of the culture in New Orleans, which is so different from our own, in addition to a halftime performance at the Super Dome. Read the rest of Cassie's story here.

In the early Fall of 1961, an Upper Arlington High School sophomore & four juniors began "jamming" in the basement of a Brandon Road home. Just weeks later, singer-sax player Jeff Shaw '64, drummer Jimmy Davis '63, guitarists Gary Hughes '63 and Jim Grubb '63 and keyboardist Gary Bonnette began playing at teen dances and proms as The Ravens. As just one of four high school-aged rock bands in Central Ohio in that pre-Beatles," do-wop" era, the group accompanied local disc jockeys at record "hops" and played at most all area high school and church youth group dances.

The group began opening for touring rock 'n roll acts at Veteran's Memorial Auditorium and theFairgrounds Coliseum and entertaining at fraternity parties and dances at colleges and night clubs throughout the Midwest and East. The Ravens have continued to perform at dances, wedding receptions, corporate outings and community events through the years. In 2003, The Ravens were inducted into the Columbus Nightclub Band Hall of Fame and Columbus City Council recognized the group for its musical contributions to the community. In 2004, The Ravens were honored by the Upper Arlington Alumni Association as "Distinguished Alumni of the Year."

Shaw continues to lead the group as it begins its sixth decade of musical entertainment featuring favorite hits from the late 50s, 60s and 70s plus smooth jazz and standards. Original members Jim Davis and Gary Hughes were still with the group until 2005.

During the current anniversary celebration, The Ravens will be featured in the 2012 Upper Arlington Independence Day Parade along with performances at other dances and summer events. In Spring of 1962, the band made a special appearance at the high school junior-senior prom and on July 3, 2012, The Ravens will once entertain those seniors from the UAHS Class of 1962 at their 50th reunion.

See vintage photos of the Ravens in the 1960's here.

A Golden Bear Alumni Cheerleading Reunion was held on Friday, September 30, 2011. Approximately 50 former UAHS cheerleaders participated. An hour long cheer practice was held for the alumni at the high school prior to the football game against Hilliard Darby.

Some of the alumni cheerleaders made a tunnel for the football team as they came onto the field, as alumni cheerleaders from the class of 2009 ran the B-E-A-R-S flags across the field. Alumni then cheered on the Golden Bear football team for the first half of the game. As the Golden Bears scored their first touchdown, the alumni, along with the current varsity cheerleaders, performed the traditional Stand Up and Cheer fight song dance.

Plans are already in the works for next year's event! Any former cheerleader interested in participating in the future should send their contact information to UAHSCheer@gmail.com and you will be added to the database! See pictures from the event here.

Congratulations to several UA alumni who were selected to The Ohio State University Marching Band for the 2011 season. These alums include:

Jocelyn Smallwood - 3rd year sousaphone
Khalil Silwani - 2nd year trumpet
Andrew Giljahn - 2nd year flugelhorn
David Sacolick - 2nd year baritone

Have you visited our Bearalums.com Alumni Web sites page lately? Many of our alums have sent in the addresses of their personal or company sites, and we've linked to each of them. They are organized by graduation year. You know how it is: people like to do business with people they know and trust, and it's interesting and fun to look through these Web sites to find out what kinds of businesses, organizations, and hobbies our fellow UAHS grads are involved in and enjoy.

Every couple of months, we will feature several of these Alumni Web sites. If you would like for us to link to your Web site, please email us your web site address and we will add you! You could be featured next!

FEATURED WEB SITES FOR JANUARY, 2012

We often receive requests from our alums regarding where they can purchase UA logo spirit wear and accessories. We have the answer!

BEAR ESSENTIALS, the UAHS School Store, is located inside the high school across the hall from the Attendance Office.

HOURS: Monday - Friday 7:45 am - 3:30 pm
PHONE: 614-487-5237
EMAIL: Lynn Lopper

ITEMS IN STOCK: Bear Essentials usually carries the following items:

Apparel: Sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, outerwear, golf shirts, sweatpants, shorts and socks. They also sell apparel in infant, toddler and youth sizes.
Spirit Items: Athletic bags, bumper stickers, mugs, umbrellas, blankets, pom-poms, pennants, water bottles, ornaments, stuffed bears and more!
Student necessities: Schools supplies, required reading

Bear Essentials accepts Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.

Jill Henderson Knowlden, Class of 1974, has set up a new Facebook page called "You know you are from Upper Arlington if ... " and you can go there to reminisce with the rest of us who grew up here and have wonderful, fun memories of our community and schools. The page has become a very popular place for alumni to reconnect and share their fondest recollections of growing up as a Golden Bear.

What special memories do you have of UA - things about it back then that made it unique, or qualities it still has that make it stand out as spectacular?

You can visit the "You Know You're from UA If ..." Facebook page here.

UAHS excels not only in academics,. music and the arts, but also in athletics! UAHS is home to 32 Golden Bear varsity sports, more than any other high school in the United States. Since 1937, Golden Bear athletic teams have won 121 state titles..

Even if you live far away, you can stay in touch and up to date with a number of these teams via their websites. In addition to hosting a specific page for each of the 32 individual sports available to UAHS students, UAGoldenBears.com also provides links to many of these individual teams' websites, including:baseball, boys basketball, crew (both teams,) swimming and diving (both teams,) football, ice hockey, lacrosse (both teams) boys water polo, soccer (both teams,) softball, girls tennis, volleyball, and wrestling.

Visit UAGoldenBears.com to see game schedules, upcoming events, opportunities for support and sponsorship, and feel the pride in our athletes' accomplishments! The tradition lives on -- GO BEARS!

If your class graduation year ends in a "2" or a "7" you are having a class reunion over the Fourth of July! The following classes will celebrate reunions this summer: 1942, 1947, 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007.

The 2012 UACA Fourth of July parade, Party in the Park and fireworks willl be held on Wednesday, July 4.

THE UAAA BLOCK PARTY: Every year, your Upper Arlington Alumni Association hosts a community Block Party under the tent behind Barrington Elementary School immediately following our fabulous UA Fourth of July parade. We've moved our tent from the playground area down toward Northwest Boulevard, so it's very easy to just walk up from the parade route and join us for great food , games for the children, and the best socializing in Upper Arlington! We have a table dedicated to each reunion class, and plenty of room for all our alums - and all UA residents - to come together and visit after the parade. Everyone is invited!!

We will be posting more and more details about our legendary Upper Arlington Fourth of July celebration in the coming months, so be sure to visit Bearalums.com often for more news!

If you are having a reunion, be sure to visit the Reunions 2012 page, where you will find a link to YOUR class page and all the details for your parties.

As graduates of Upper Arlington High School, we share a special bond that lasts a lifetime, and it is with sad hearts that we announce the passing of the following UAHS alumni and faculty. To their families and friends we extend our sincere condolences.

Because we respect our alums' privacy, we list names and email addresses on Bearalums.com ONLY when they are personally submitted by the alum. When we started Bearalums.com in 2000, we had approximately 320 email addresses in our database; we currently have more than 13,000 alums' email addresses listed on Bearalums.com!

If you are not listed on your class page but wish to be, please send in your information. If you notice that one of your classmates isn't listed, please contact that person and ask him or her to visit Bearalums.com and personally submit his or her information. And if you see someone's name on the Lost list at the bottom of each class page, and you know his or her location, please let us know, or contact that classmate and ask him or her to contact UAAA.

Our goal is to maintain the most complete and accurate database that we possibly can. We are asking for your help! And thank you to those of you who have helped us through your membership dues; your financial help allows us to provide the ongoing hosting and maintenance fees of our Web site.      

We hope that you will make sure that we have your current postal mailing address, phone number, and email address. Below are the email addresses to use to send this information to the correct person at UAAA: