AN E-NEWSLETTER FOR BORGIA ALUMS
Waffles with Women &
Donuts with Dudes
We started a new tradition last year, and Waffles with Women and Donuts with Dudes are back!

For this fun event, students invite a woman or man of their choice to enjoy a light breakfast with them. This can be a parent, relative, neighbor, coach - whoever makes the student feel special! Breakfast is from 7:45-8:20 a.m., so students do miss Advisory to spend some special time with the role model of their choice. 

Please RSVP for any upcoming dates to Moira Vossbrink at  [email protected]  or (636) 239-7871 x197.
 
Here are the dates:
March 27th - Freshmen girls invited any woman to enjoy Waffles with Women!
April 3rd - Sophomore boys invited any man to enjoy Donuts with Dudes!
April 10th - Junior girls can invite any man to enjoy Donuts with Dudes!
April 17th - Senior girls and boys can invite any woman to enjoy Waffles with Women!
2019 Car Raffle
Don't miss out on a chance to win this 2011 BMW 1 Series 135i, 3.0L, 16 DOHC, 24V Twin Turbocharged, 7-speed, Double-Clutch. This car has low miles, navigation, push button start, leather, heated/cooled seats, backup camera, heated mirrors, and cruise control. We think it could make a great Graduation gift!

Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25. Find your closest Borgia student and purchase a ticket today! Or stop by the Advancement Office to purchase one. The drawing will be held Friday, May 10, 2019.

For our students selling these tickets, for every 9 tickets they sell, they get THEIR name placed on the 10th ticket for free, so they have a chance to win it too!
Need not be present to win. Winner responsible for all taxes, tags, fees, and delivery.
February Winners
  • February 1 - Julia Swoboda '11 (sold by Nicholas Swoboda '21)
  • February 15 - Leann Straatmann (sold by Sophie Straatmann '19)

March Winners
  • March 1 - Peggy Poepsel (sold by Will Poepsel '20)
  • March 15 - June Armer (sold by Jack Roeback '20)
Here's what Rachel had to say about her days at SFBRHS:

"My years at Borgia are remembered fondly, and they helped to shape the person that I am today. I have so many good memories from that time, and I made friendships that I still have today. I recently had my 20 year high school reunion (eek!) and it just reminded me of how wonderful that time in my life was. The teachers there were also so helpful and they truly cared about their students. One thing that especially sticks out in my mind is my creative writing class with Chuck Bright. He was a huge inspiration in my writing, and I'm happy to say that we still keep in touch to this day. Thanks to Borgia for their support of me in my endeavor to get my first published novel out into the public eye. I'm busy typing away on my next book! I'm so proud to be a Knigh t!"
Rachel (Swederska) Moore '97 Publishes Her First Novel
Rachel will be at Neighborhood Reads in Washington on Tuesday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. for a book signing. She will also be at Barnes & Noble at West County Center in St. Louis on Saturday, May 4, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Michail Ratcliff '14 Wins State Leadership Award
Michail Ratcliff, a 2014 graduate of Borgia, recently was the recipient of the 2018 Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) Student Leadership Award. This award is presented each year to an exceptional student leader from each community college campus. Michail is the recipient from East Central College for his work with the Student Government Association (SGA).

Campus Life and Leadership Coordinator Courtney Henrichsen said, "Michail has worked diligently to reach out to other student organizations and provide any support that SGA can." Henrichsen went on to say, "He (Michail) has led with the intention of building the confidence of SGA and other ECC student organizations and has been remarkably successful in his efforts."
Joy Boland '93 Wins Best Supporting Actress
A huge congratulations to Joy Boland, Class of 1993, for winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role in The Little Mermaid. The award comes from The St. Louis Theater Circle. Joy was honored on March 25th at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts.

Congratulations, Joy!
Rachel Grayson '15 is Named to the 2019 Mizzou '39
Rachel Grayson, a SFBRHS alum from the Class of 2015, is among the 39 recipients to be selected for the Mizzou '39 this year. The award, given by the Mizzou Alumni Association Student Board, recognizes 39 outstanding seniors across all majors for their leadership, service, and academic achievement throughout their time at the University of Missouri.

The award is given in spirit of the service cornerstone on which MU was founded in 1839. Mizzou '39 recipients name a MU faculty or staff mentor to recognize at the awards ceremony.

Rachel is majoring in Textile and Apparel Management: Marketing and Merchandising. During her time at MU, Rachel has been a Marching Mizzou Trumpet Section Leader, 2018 Summer Welcome Leader, Textile and Apparel Management Student Ambassador, Sigma Alpha Iota Vice President of Ritual and Fraternity Education, and a 2018 TAM Advisory Board Student Showcase Participant. Rachel chose Dr. Amy Knopps, Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands, as her mentor.

Rachel is the daughter of Barbara (Schelich) '84 and Scott Grayson

C ongratulations, Rachel, on this prestigious honor!
Upcoming Reunions
CLASS OF 1969
50 Year Class Reunion
September 21, 2019
SFBRHS - Lochirco Family Pavilion
Contact Dale Gildehaus with questions or for additional information

CLASS of 1979
40 Year Class Reunion
September 21, 2019
Hummingbird Club
Contact Joe Holtmeier with questions or for additional information
Rev Kev Corner
On March 25, 1983, the legendary recording studio Motown Records celebrated its 25th Anniversary with an amazing television special. It was a star studded affair. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and the Supremes all performed. (Although Diana Ross played the Diva and got into a fight with her former mates.) This was also the moment when Michael Jackson (I can still talk about him, right?) showed off a little move called the moonwalk while singing his first big solo hit, Billie Jean . The crowd went wild. 

Meanwhile, way, way, way up in the balcony, a man names James Jamerson slipped into his seat to watch the show. He had purchased a scalped ticket for the evening. Afterward, he never told anyone what he thought of the show because a short while later he would be dead, a victim of alcoholism at the age of 47. But watching the show had to be brutal for him. This is a guess, but he had to be seething; he had to be incredibly angry. He must have been brokenhearted. He must have been overcome by bitterness and resentment. Sitting in that theatre that night probably accelerated his self-destruction, his slow but certain spin into oblivion and death.

Why? Because James Jamerson made Motown. James Jamerson was a huge part of what the Motown Sound was all about. James Jamerson was part of the greatest studio band ever , The Funk Brothers, and he was merely the greatest bass player that ever lived. 

The following is a very partial list of the hits that Jamerson helped create:
My Girl, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, The Tracks of My Tears, Dancing in the Street, I Hear a Symphony, What’s Going On, Shop Around, You Can’t Hurry Love, Dancing in the Streets, My Guy, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, You Keep Me Hanging On, Heat Wave, The Way You Do the Things You Do, Please Mr. Postman, I Second that Emotion, Nowhere to Run, You Can’t Hurry Love, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, Reach Out and I’ll be There, Stop! In the Name of Love.

You get the idea. In fact, James Jamerson and the Funk Brothers played on more number-one records than The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined . He revolutionized the art of bass playing and was generally considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th Century. Yet, on August 2, 1983, Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure, and pneumonia in Los Angeles. He was only 47 years old and was said to be flat broke and bitter about his lack of recognition at the time of his death.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you.”
 
Whenever I hear a heartbreaking and poignant story like that, I wonder about injustice in the world. There are a million stories in the naked city, county, and country, each one sadder than the next. Each and every one of us could tell countless tales of how brutal, how cruel, how absolutely unfair life can be. Regrettably, for James Jamerson, the place he was in his life was locked in fear, in bitterness, with resentment.

The good news of the Easter Season is that Jesus bursts through those locked doors. Jesus can penetrate through the bolted and secured places of our hearts. He walks through the barriers we place in front of him and enters into the places of brokenness, hurt, and regret and begins the process of healing. That is the story of our faith. That is the story of the Resurrection. That is the hope in which we trust. If the tomb couldn’t hold him back, certainly your locked heart can’t.

There are a lot of people in our world who not only doubt this, but actively disdain it . “A fairy tale, a myth, a legend, a fabrication,” they say. But they have nothing substantial to offer in reply. It is the easiest thing in the world to look on the outside and criticize, disparage, and ridicule. And, yet, how is someone to live, how is someone to work his or her way through this crazy world, without the hope, without the expectation of God’s justice and light, breaking through the locked doors of this world’s sorrow?

In my priesthood, I have had to deal with unimaginable sorrow, hurt, and regret. A four-year-old Down Syndrome child’s freak accidental death. An eighteen-year-old’s careless motorcycle accident. A two-year-old killed in a four wheeler mishap. A student’s suicide. Another student’s cancer. I have seen marriages crashing on the shoals of betrayal, hostility, and resentment.  I have witnessed families being torn asunder. 

So, where are the doubters? Where are the cynics? What do the critics have to offer in the face of this powerful heartbreak and pain? What would the naysayers say to James Jamerson as he lay on his deathbed poisoned not only by alcohol but also by rage and hurt?

Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you.”

All of us eventually get to a point in life when nothing makes sense outside the amazing grace of God. That is a terrifying place to be sure, a place often locked up in skepticism and uncertainty. But we have a God who can bust through that doubt, that hurt, that bitterness and anger and offer something that the world cannot, His Peace.

In the year 2000, seventeen years after James Jamerson died a pitiful, pathetic death, he finally got the acknowledgement, the appreciation, the admiration he so deeply craved in his life. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the first “sideman” ever honored. In 2002, he and the Funk Brothers were given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was described as one of the “unsung” heroes of the Motown sound.

It is the hope found in the risen Christ which allows us to trust that James Jamerson’s song is eternally sung.
Longtime Borgia Volleyball Coach, Mike Tyree, Goes to the Hall of Fame
A huge congratulations to Mike Tyree for being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Your dedication and loyalty to our volleyball program helped to put Borgia on the map. We offer our appreciation for your years of coaching. Thank you for all you've done!
Missouri Scholar - Matthew McGowan
Matthew McGowan, a senior at our school, has been selected for the 2019 Missouri Scholars 100, a statewide program that honors 100 of Missouri's top academic students in the Class of 2019.

The selection for this impressive honor is based primarily on a formula using the student's grade-point average and ACT or SAT score. The student must have a minimum GPA of 3.750, a minimum ACT core of 29 or a minimum SAT score of 1,600, be ranked in the upper 10% of the class, and have taken high-level courses in math, science, English, and foreign language. The student must also have excellent attendance, be an exemplary school citizen, and be involved in extracurricular activities at school.

Matthew will attend Vanderbilt University in the fall. His parents are Theresa (Tobben) '84 and Joe McGowan.
Missouri Association of Student Council Honors
Shane Becker '19 Distinguished Student Leader for Missouri Association of Student Council (MASC)

Shane Becker (senior) was selected as a Distinguished Student Leader for Missouri Association of Student Council (MASC). He received his award at the MASC State Convention at Lindbergh High School in early April.

MASC Distinguished Student Leader is the newest program sponsored by the Missouri Association of Student Councils. It has been created to motivate and challenge student leaders to extend their leadership skills and activities and to confer Missouri recognition upon those students who demonstrate superior student council leadership skills and knowledge, based on MASC criteria and evaluation procedures.

To become an MASC Distinguished Student Leader, students must be members of their student councils in MASC member schools and graduating at the time they submit their applications. The standards for the Distinguished Student Leader program reflect the core purposes and mission of student councils.
SFBRHS STUCO
 Gold Honor Council Award from the Missouri Association of Student Councils

St. Francis Borgia Regional High School's Student Council has earned the Missouri Association of Student Councils (MASC) Gold Honor Council Award. The Missouri Association of Student Councils awards schools for outstanding performance as a council. As a council, SFBRHS met the criteria to earn the highest level awarded.

This award was established to honor student councils that have a comprehensive program that promotes student activities and student leadership. The Honor Council Award is the highest honor that Missouri Association of Student Councils bestows upon one of its members.

A big shout out to the SFBRHS Student Council Moderator Nicole Addison. Thank you for your great guidance and leadership!!
The 2nd Annual Alumni Basketball Games
On Saturday, March 23, the SFBRHS Athletic Association hosted the 2nd Annual Alumni Basketball Game for all former varsity Borgia basketball players. The girls game was held at 3 p.m. with the boys game following. This fundraiser for the Athletic Association provided great fun and fellowship for both players and spectators.

If you have any questions or would like additional information for future events, please contact Caroline (Holtmeier) Meyers '90 at [email protected].
Mass N' More
Every Sunday evening at 6 p.m. a student-planned Mass is held in the chapel at SFBRHS. This weekly Mass is celebrated and led by one of our deanery priests. Come join us in this cozy setting and give glory to God with other members of the Borgia Family.
Sports Schedule
Welcome to another exciting season of Borgia Athletics. Together, let’s always, and in all ways, celebrate the efforts of our players and coaches as they strive to make Borgia #1 in class, style, sportsmanship, and competitiveness. Go, Knights!!

Click logo at right for a comprehensive sports schedule.
Winter Sports Update
Basketball (Boys)
Record: 16-12

District Champs
Basketball (Girls)
Record: 12-15

District Champs
Cheerleading


AAA Conference Champs
State Champs
Dance


AAA Conference Champs
State Champs
Swimming (Girls)
Record: 6-7

Isabella Rio was a State qualifier in the 500 freestyle.
Wrestling
Record: 7-9-1

Girls Volleyball Announces a New Head Coach
Clayton “CJ” Steiger has been selected to be the next Head Girls Volleyball Coach at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School. Steiger replaces Andrea Beaty, who recently took an assistant coaching position with the University of Texas-El Paso, after leading the Knights to a 3rd place finish in Class 3 this past season.

Steiger brings a wealth of volleyball experience to the Borgia Volleyball program as a player, club coach, official, and, most recently, the boys volleyball coach at Borgia. “We are very excited to have someone with the experience that CJ brings to the table to take over the highly successful volleyball program,” stated Chris Arand, Activities Director.

Coach Steiger will begin his duties as the head coach beginning with the volleyball youth and high school summer camps. The 1st day of official fall practice will be on August 12th.
Alumni Prayers
Each day we pray for our alumni who continue to generously support our school to ensure that all current and future students experience the extraordinary, lifelong privilege of a Borgia education.
Recently married? New baby or job?
Let us know what's going on in your life so we can share
it with your classmates in this newsletter!
Send information and photos to [email protected].
St. Francis Borgia Regional High School 

1000 Borgia Drive, Washington, MO 63090
P: 636-239-7871 
F: 636-239-1198