Fillmore High Alumni Association

More than three hundred alumni members and guests filled the Memorial Building on Saturday for the 96th annual alumni dinner. Classes were represented for the years 1932 through 1939, with the last class celebrating its 70th reunion. Classes in each decade were represented for the '40's, 50's, 60's and 70's, and representatives from five classes from the 1980's were present, as were representatives from 1997, 2002 and 2004 and 17 scholarship winners from this year's graduating class. Alumni came from as far away as Alaska, with many coming from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The evening began with the posting of the colors by Boy Scout Troop 406, followed by the Invocation by Jacob Zellmer, one of the scholarships recipients. An excellent dinner was served by Gary Laird's Butcher Shop and B-B-Q.

Margaret Haskell, class of '42 was recognized for her years of service to the alumni association as Secretary, and also for her many years of assisting with the dinner. Ralph Rees, a retired teacher from Fillmore High was recognized for his 28 plus years of teaching.

Prior to the awarding of the scholarships, Sydia Lopez-Reese, class of '79 and Chad Fore, class of '02 told about their college experiences and how much the local scholarships had helped them during their years in college. Alumni Scholarships were presented to Juliane Sandoval, Brina Suttle, Natalie Garnica, Karli Chessani, Jillian Wilber, Rebeca Herrera, Aimee Orozco, Michael Watson, Jacob Zellmer, Bailey Pina, Kyla Hernandez, Miguel Alonso, Gabriel Manzano, Jonathan Escamilla, Stephanie Bolanos, Nathan Liu and Erica Rodriguez.

The Honored Classes from 1944, '49, '54, '59, and '69 were recognized and welcomed for their attendance at the dinner.

Door prizes that were contributed by Carmen Zermeno, Lupe Vasquez, Conway Spitler, Nancy Wallace, Gertrude Lovelace and the alumni association were awarded to twenty lucky attendees.

The present board of directors of the alumni association were returned to office for the 2009-2010 year, and they are already planning next year's alumni dinner for Saturday, June 12 at the Memorial Building, so put that date on your calendar, alumni members.

The evening was closed with the singing of the alma mater, lead by Mark Ortega, being assisted by Rebeca Herrera, Natalie Garnica, Aimee Orozco, and Jillian Wilber.

Next year's honored classes will be all those classes whose graduating years ended in 0 or 5.