Connecting the Dots with Shawn Young

In this edition of connecting the Dots, we want to recognize this years winners for the Alumni Awards.

Archbishop McNicholas High School is pleased to announce the recipients for our alumni awards. In conjunction with the establishment of these awards, McNicholas is also pleased to announce a special event on October 23, 2019, in the Café and Student Union where these awards will be presented. (Archbishop McNicholas was ordained a Dominican priest in October, 1901.) The following day, October 24, the recipients will be introduced to the students at an all-school assembly.
 
Selection
The McNicholas community had the opportunity to nominate for this award.  All three awards were selected by a committee of school representatives.   Thank you for all of the nominations. All nominations received will be eligible next year.  If you would like to nominate someone for next year, please click here.

Awards

The Full Stature Special Achievement Award is presented to an alumni who exemplifies the ideals and mission of Archbishop McNicholas High School and the Sisters of St. Joseph. It is presented to an individual in recognition of his or her accomplishments which bring honor to self and school and whose service, leadership, and concern for McNicholas support, strengthen, and exemplify the school's mission. This award is bestowed as a lifetime recognition and will not necessarily be presented annually. This year's recipient is Col. William Butler '86

The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to one male and one female McNicholas graduate  who have honored Archbishop McNicholas High School by their outstanding professional achievements, volunteer activities, and community-organization advocacy. These alumni have shared their affection for McNicholas and its community and have been shining e xamples of high moral and ethical standards and values learned at Archbishop McNicholas High School.This year's recipients are Dr. Jack Selzer '66  and Lizanne Gundrum Ingram '77.

 
The Archbishop McNicholas Outstanding Service Award is presented to a member of the McNicholas community who has made, through years of tireless effort, significant contributions of time, talent, and treasure to the growth of Archbishop McNicholas High School. This year's recipient is Chris Gatio Haynes '74.

ROCKETOBERFEST - planned for Oct. 5

Please mark your calendar now and plan on joining us for the first ever Rocketoberfest from 4 - 9 p.m. in the Courtyard on October 5. We will have a variety of local craft brewers represented with many of their beer flavors available to sample. Food trucks will be available as well.  The price for admission is $20 and includes admission, one 14 oz. pour, and 4 -4 oz tastings. There will also be a VIP ticket for $30 which includes, plus 2 additional tastings, access to the event an hour early for VIP members only, and a lounge area inside the school. You will be able to register for the event in next month's alumni newsletter. 

Make a difference, and join the McNicholas High School "Explore" Program.

We're looking for alumni speakers/volunteers, to visit with students in the classroom, to share and provide real-world, or hands-on learning experiences, including career advice, skills or passion/hobbies.
The "Explore" sessions are scheduled on Thursdays, on the following dates:

September 12, 19, 26
October 3
November 7 
December 5
January 9, 16, 23
February 6, 13, 20
March 5, 26
April 2, 23
May 7
All sessions begin at 1:15 p.m. and end at 2:10 p.m
For more information, please contact Patti Benigni Dold '71, at padold@aol.com .

Alumni Bowling rolling into its 6th year

The McNicholas Alumni Association will be running a mixed-couples bowling league again this winter.  This mixed-couples league will begin on September 14.  We will be bowling the second Saturday of each month at Cherry Grove Lanes. The arrival time is 8 p.m.,and we usually start bowling around 8:30 p.m. We bowl 2 games per night.  The cost is $95 per person, or $380 for a team of four for a total of 8 weeks of bowling. Currently we have 44 people in the league.  Cherry Grove Lanes has allowed us to expand this year up to 56 bowlers, so we are looking for 12 more people. Sign-ups will end September 1 or when all spots are filled.  If you cannot get a foursome, we might able to pair you up! 
 
If you are interested, please contact Alumni Manager, Shawn Young at 231-3500 ext. 5850 or email.
 
You do not need to be an expert bowler-I am proof of that! This is about getting out and having some fun this winter.

Hall of Fame nominations

The McNicholas community is asked to nominate former athletes and coaches for a variety of recognitions:.
  • Hall of Fame - induction of former athletes for outstanding achievement in their high school athletic endeavors
  • Good Fellow Award - for outstanding support of McNicholas athletics
  • Honored Teams - to be recognized at the annual sports evenings for team accomplishments
  • Sr. Roberta Baumgartner Women's Sports Award - for outstanding dedication to the development of competitive sports for women
Criteria for Nomination to the McNicholas Hall of Fame
  • The athlete must have graduated from McNicholas at least five years prior.
  • The athlete must have demonstrated the highest standard of sportsmanship during his/her years of athletic participation while at McNicholas.
  • The athlete must have excelled in athletics during his/her years of athletic participation at McNicholas, ie. all-league, all-city, all-state recognition.
  • McNicholas accepts nominations of former coaches and administrators. Nominees must have served McNicholas athletics for a minimum of 10 years and must be inactive for at least 3 years prior to induction.
  • Collegiate or adult athletic participation is not a primary part of the criteria for selection.
It is preferred that nominations come from the community rather than the selection committee members. An individual making a nomination is asked to provide an address and phone number in case additional information supporting the nomination is required. No anonymous nominations will be accepted.  Deadline for nominations is September 1 of the year prior to the event.  Click here to submit a nomination electronically.



Open to all men and women 21 years and older
Rocket moms/dads, sisters/brothers, aunts/uncles, grandmas/grandpas, neighbors, alumni, and friends!

$25 per person
Includes beer, wine, pop & appetizers

Amazing raffle items
Free Gift at the door with pre-registration


Proceeds benefit the McNicholas Football program

Jill Borowski Vinson '99 
How a Rocket lands in Bangkok

As a teacher myself, I am very grateful for the high quality education I received at McNick.  It has served me well through earning two degrees and embarking on my own career in education.  I'm also grateful to have been encouraged to be curious about the world around me.  I'm glad that I was exposed to literature and art from around the world, and that I was able to study history and languages, knowledge of which I have applied in my travels and my career.  I'm an English and Spanish teacher.  I taught in South Carolina for a few years, and then decided to change it up a bit.  I signed up with a recruiting agency that places teachers at international schools around the world; that's what brought me to Abu Dhabi, UAE.  I've been teaching at a private girls' school here for seven years.  It's a demanding job but the perks are good; most notable is the ability to travel.  The UAE's central location and Dubai's massive hub of an international airport mean that within about six hours, I can be in Southeast Asia, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, or anywhere in between, which, as a girl from Ohio, is pretty cool.  Over the past seven years, at last count, I've visited 31 different countries spanning four continents.  Some of what might be included in a highlight reel of my travels include the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia; a five-day safari in Massai Mara, Kenya (including a three-hour flight delay because there were giraffes on the airstrip and they couldn't get them to move - seriously); the Great Pyramids and other ancient ruins in and around Cairo, Egypt; rice terraces and the most breathtaking natural beauty imaginable in Bali, Indonesia; art, food, and history all throughout Italy; and of course, all of the crazy glitz and glamor of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. One of the countries that I've visited repeatedly is Thailand, which happens to be one of my favorite places, so when I was looking for somewhere new to go and got an offer for a job at an international school in Bangkok, I was really excited.  I'll be saying goodbye to the Sandbox, as this region is affectionately known, and heading Thailand.  I'm definitely looking forward to the change of scenery; after seven years in the desert, I've had my fill of camels and sand.  I'm ready to see some rain! 

Thank you to my teachers at McNick they were people who truly cared about my education and also me as a person, and have strived to make my own students feel the same way.  McNick is a special place!


Save the Date for the Boosters Golf Outing

Boosters will once again be hosting the annual golf outing Saturday, September 21, at Legendary Run Golf Course.  Registration and lunch begin at 11:30 a.m. with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m.  Dinner, awards, and auction begin at 6 p.m.  Cost of this event is $125. Please contact Susan Rohlfs at 513-231-3500 x 5142 for more information. To sign up or become a sponsor of the event please click here. 

Alumni Association announces first Craft Fair

Calling all alumni who do crafts! Please save Saturday, November 9, for the first McNicholas Craft fair. We would like to know how many of you would like to participate. The McNicholas Alumni Board believes that there are enough alumni, parents, students, and friends of McNicholas who are talented crafters that we could fill the Café and more! All items must be handmade or handcrafted. We do not accept vendors. If you are interested, the pricing structure will be: 8' X 8' space will be $30.00 by Nov. 1, 2019; 8' X 10' space will be $35.00 by Nov. 1, 2019; After Nov. 1 all spaces will be $40.00

Each crafter is required to donate one craft item per space (minimum value $15.00) to be raffled off with proceeds going to McNicholas. All other money is yours to keep. We would love to see many of you get involved with the craft show and see all of the beautiful and unique items you will be selling. If you have any questions, please contact Sister Judi Keehnen. In your message please include your name, year of graduation (if applicable) and the craft/s you will be selling.

To reserve a space on line - Click here.

Reunions for 2019 has started

If your graduation year ends in a 4 or 9, you are up for a reunion in 2019. Many reunions are already starting to take shape, and the Class of '79 got the reunion season started last weekend!. The Class of '69 has selected September 27 and 28 to celebrate its 50th reunion. Please check our website to see as new reunion dates are announced. 


Rocket Service Corner - spotlight on alumni making a difference

This is a new feature for the newsletter, and it is one that I hope catches on, and that you find helpful.  Many people contact me about publicizing about service/ fundraising opportunities that would be interesting to our alumni community.  We would like to focus on service that you and your Rocket friends have done, or help support you in your effort to spread the word about an upcoming event to the Rocket alumni community. You can send in your request for help, or your story to Bridget Kahermanes '66 prior to the first of the month.  Bridget is the chair of the alumni service committee. 

Bill Deimling '61- May We Help

In 2003, three guys named Bill: Bill Wood, Bill Sand met with Bill Deimling from the Class of 1961, and eventually they would end up helping thousands of people. At the time, Bill Deimling and Bill Wood were each trying to help someone different affected by an illness. These people needed adapted devices to make their lives a little better. The two Bills started working together on the project. Then Bill Wood happened to stop by at Bill Deimling's factory, and the three decided to put together a non-profit company. The company would create commercial grade assistive devices. Soon after their discussion all three met at LaRosa's to solidify their new mission. That night over dinner they came up with the name and shortly began a word-of-mouth advertising campaign introducing themselves as "May We Help". They design, create, and build specialty devices for people with disabilities at no charge to their clients.

Over the past decade, they have expanded and expanded. They solicited volunteers and clients. Today they have close to 100 volunteers. May We Help works on dozens of projects per month. Both Bill Wood and Bill Sand have degrees in engineering. Bill Deimling has spent his entire life building and designing devices and molds for the injections molding industry. This experience lends itself well to making and designing devices for people with disabilities.

Bill Wood passed away in 2010, however the two Bill's continued to grow the non-profit. They now have a chapter in Columbus with about 35 volunteers, and a small one-man start-up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They now have four employees along with all of their volunteers. They do hundreds of projects each year, and this past year completed projects in 23 different states. They are continually expanding to help more and more clients.

To help fund all of their projects, they will be holding their annual fundraiser on August 24, 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at the home of Joe and Lorraine Maynernik's house in Coldstream. They hope that the Rocket community will come out and join them for an unforgettable night of hope, passion and spirit! May We Help's "A Million Dreams" gala is a night to celebrate dreams that defy limits. They honor clients who refuse to be defined by their disability, but rather dare to dream big. They will also pay tribute to our volunteers who use their skills and passion to help make dreams a reality!

There will be no tickets sold at the door that evening. Tickets can be purchased online at  MayWeHelp.org. Featured speaker this year will be Aron Ralston, the man who wrote "Between a Rock and Hard Place" which was made into the movie "127 Hours." Aron, with his arm trapped between boulders from a fall while hiking, amputated his own arm to escape. A true story of determination!

Please consider coming out for a good night and a great cause.


Alumni Updates


Any news?
Do you have news to share? Let us know what you've been doing since graduation! Update your information by completing our alumni update form on the McNicholas webpage or call the Alumni Office at 513.231.3500. ext. 5850

Rose Bohmann '66 has retired from the Berkshire Montessori School, where she was an assistant in the Children's House (3-6 year-old kids) classrooms, and after-school program co-ordinator. She will be moving to Verona, WI, just outside Madison, sometime in July, to join her sister Therese '65. Any fellow grads in the Madison area?? 

Steven Sinclair '15 and Lydia Holdread Sinclair '17 were married on June 2nd. 

In Memoriam

This list is generated from local obituaries and information received from the family and friends of our alumni and current students. Please contact the alumni office  if there is incorrect or missing information. 

Alumni

Susan E. Albonetti '65; Sister of Sharon Albonetti Markey '60, Joe '69, Mark '71, Quinta Albonetti Hoseus '75, and Lisa '76.

William K. Avery '79; Brother of Missy Avery Keely '81.

Douglas J.  Kamphaus '80; Brother of Bill '77 ,  Bob '78,  Linda Kamphaus Barrett '79,  Don '83, Todd '85, Chris '88, and Angel '89.

Carol Sullivan Carter '83, Sister of Linda Sullivan Collins '81.

Peter "Tony" Gettes '89.


Distinguished Family and Friends

Anna B. Roberto, Mother of Tony '65 and Greg (attended). 

Ellen J. Schoettelkotte, Mother of the late Michael '66, William '67, Lynda '69, Sandee '71, and the late Stephen '76. Mother-in-law of Jolene Esz - McNicholas teacher. 


Quick Links for Alumni