Alumni Banquet

Don’t forget to reserve your place at the 2011 St. Mary’s Alumni Banquet.  The banquet will be held Saturday, June 25.  The night begins with Mass at 5pm, followed by photos and social at 6pm, and then the banquet at 7pm.  Tickets are $20 per person.

Click here to print the reservation form.

The Missing Yearbooks

As most of you know as part of our Project 110 we are celebrating our past by digitally archiving photos, documents, and yearbooks.  We still have about 15 more year books to scan and upload to our website.  You can find the already uploaded yearbooks here: Archived Yearbooks.  Be aware that these are fairly large pdf files that could take some time to open, so please be patient.

After going through all or our archives in the school and the parish office we've noticed that we are still missing several copies of yearbooks from the past.  We are still looking for 1949, 1969, 1976, 1997, and 2002.  Of course, some of these will be easier to find than others, but if you have one you could either let us have or borrow to be scanned, please email frlorig@gmail.com.

By the way, check out this fun site called www.yearbookyourself.com.  Here are some photos of Fr. Lorig from 1954, 1968, and 1972.

         

Archived Photos Almost Finished

Almost all of our photos from the archives (1900-1970's) have been scanned and are now being edited and uploaded to Flickr.  We have over 3000 photos to sort through and categorize by decade.  Here's just a taste of what to expect in the near future.

“Good is the enemy of Great”

St. Mary's was proud to welcome back one of her own at the 2010 Athletic Banquet. Jake Peetz, a 2001 graduate of St. Mary's, spoke to students, coaches, parents and faculty about the competitive environment he works in everyday as a scouting assistant for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  "It's easy to be average, but anybody can be average," Peetz said. Reminding students not to settle for just being good because "good is the enemy of great." 

Peetz, who has worked for UCLA and the Indiana Pacers prior to joining the Jaguars, noted that at St. Mary's there are so many opportunities that other larger schools don't have.  "Capitalize on your opportunities here at St. Mary's...it was made by great people." Peetz graciously praised his former coaches and teachers who obviously impacted his life. He shared some of the lessons he’s learned over his young career that began at St. Mary's such as "You can outsmart some people some of the time, but you can outwork them all of the time." 

After high school Peetz ended up in Lincoln and graduated with a degree in Exercise Science at the University of Nebraska.  Playing a backup role for the Cornhusker football squad, Peetz found he had a passion for community service, twice being named to the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team. 

Telling the crowd of 250 that even though things have changed around St. Mary's, it still feels like home.  He wanted to remind the student athletes that they are part of something larger; they are part of the St. Mary's family. "We (alumni) do care about what's going on."  Peetz feels blessed to have had the opportunities he had at St. Mary's.  "St. Mary's is not average; you are not cut from average cloth."

Haiti Update from Dr. Joe Boyle ‘83

The following is from an email sent by Joe Boyle, class of 1983, following the devastating  earthquake in Haiti.  Joe is currently in Haiti helping with relief efforts and has been updating us frequently.  Check in tomorrow for updates.

Aid is slowly becoming available for anyone who can watch CNN to know where it is, travel there, wait in line for 18-24 hours, and has a loved one who is loud enough to draw attention.

We have simply driven our truck to a nearby slum, picked up people with obvious wounds and brought them in for care.
This is the model that Heartlinehaiti developed over the years to deliver prenatal care.

The death toll and misery toll have just begun.
Currently there are hundreds of thousands of people in PAP with infected wounds.  Many will progress to loss of life or limb.  Most could be helped greatly with simple things.

Most of the wounds we are seeing have been bandaged once.

These wonderful people are arriving at our clinic with clean garments and bathed (a mystery to me how they accomplish this).  The only filth is the foul stench from the several day old wound dressing and the rotting flesh underneath.

There is a severe lack of communication and understanding about the wound care. Unfortunately, Haitians dying from simple preventable problems is not a new development.  It is, I suppose a matter of degree.

I am proud of the work everyone here at the clinic is doing.  However there is this.

With us the situation is changed thus; Thousands are progressing daily toward amputation or excruciating death from sepsis-minus a few dozen every day.  I am not discouraged in the least by this fact.  But it is a fact.

The next wave of misery will fall with the rain.

The sanitation "infrastructure" is badly damaged.  Much of the waste flows to the "sewage processing" (ocean) in open canals.  These canals have caved in and are badly damaged.  It is not difficult to predict what condition the underground concrete drain tubes will be in.  The rainy season always overflows and causes some problem.  Again, I suppose, a matter of degree.

The spread of disease will take a death toll that will rival or eclipse the immediate toll.

Joe

More: Earthquake Hits Close to Home for Dr. Joe Boyle '83