Boca High Band and Guard Alumni Online Newsletter

(These articles are all written at different times, with the newest info on top.)

This page was last updated: June 26, 2002 with some additional information added December 13, 2005

A Guestbook

Please take a look at our new guestbook, which may take the place of our database and form pages. To sign, click here.

A New Logo

It's finally been done!! Thanks to Boca Raton High graduate Gary Garvin, ‘68, who used the original marching band member designed by John Zytko, ’82, we now have a logo. Take a look at it:

New Web Pages

A new web page has had its "grand opening" announced in The Boca News on July 1st, 2000. It's called, Boca High, The Early Years (1966-71). Please be sure to take a look at it. There's an interesting look into Boca's past. There are pictures of the way Boca used to be, and pictures of all who graduated Boca High during these early years. Be sure to take a look at this site.

Also, another alumni site is in the process of being made for the years 1972-1977. When the page is complete and ready to be seen, I will announce this new location and add a link on the links page.

Also, speaking of new web sites, check out the Boca High Band web site, now under new administration by Kelly Koch, Justin Quek, and Doug Fairall, current band members.

Email Address Crackdown

With the start up of an emailed newsletter, an unfortunate problem has occurred. We've found out that some email addresses don't accept our email, some are no longer working, and other various problems. Here are the people whose email addresses aren't working, with reasons for the problem listed beside the top of the list:

Email address no longer exists	Alumni	William Black
		Jenny Crutchfield
		Tony Corwin
		Karen Fischer
		James Graham
		Nathin Martin
		John Odle
		Sandy Parrish
		Holly Radcliffe
		Gordon Stallings
		Martin Wahl

New Email Address

Now there is a new email address to contact us with any alumni concerns. This address is bhsbng.alumni@welcome.to. The is the main address to send any alumni concerns to. Any questions may also be sent to Tony Reimann ('97), the webmaster, or Greg Kuzma ('93), the original creator of this idea and web page.

New Eligibility Ideas

To give complete fairness to all of the people involved with the Boca High Band and Guard throughout the years, we are adding the status of honorary alumni to anyone who worked for the Boca High Band or Guard as a band director or staff member. You'll be added to our database with a yellow border. If you also happen to be an alumni, you'll have a green border. These updates will be seen on the eligibilty page and the form page in the next coming weeks. Band and Guard parents who have done an exceptional amount of work to help the band and/or guard programs at Boca High will also be given this honorary alumni status.

Major Changes Underway

As this organization grows, changes need to be made. Therefore, here are some of the proposed changes:

Database entries would be separated so that there is only one entry per web page. With this change would also come a change in the layout of the entry. Pictures would be included, and if one isn't available, that would be noted in the space with the picture. This major change would also include finding web space solely for the purpose of holding this database. This would be very important for the purposes of a search engine to be added. More detailed information on this change would be posted if it occurs.

Another big change would concern the database as well. We would begin a new set up. Names would still be listed the same way, until the search engine look up can begin, but we would start posting infomation on spouses, if you would like this added to your entry. We also ask that if you wrote us before and your maiden name isn't shown (or maybe your married name isn't shown), please let us know at bhsbng.alumni@welcome.to so that we can make the changes right away. We also plan to add a band relationships page in time, to post information on band friendships and relationships, and to see how they ended up.

Also, there are many plans that are going underway that are changes outside of this web page. The basic idea for this alumni association is to get alumni of the band and guard to support those going through what they had anywhere from 1 to as many as 30 years ago. We want to bring back old traditions or start new ones. We'd like to try to have an alumni band. More of our ideas will be posted as work goes underway for them.

If you have any comments on any of these things, be sure to write us at bhsbng.alumni@welcome.to. Thank you.

Picture Pages

Look for a page of pictures entitled "Who Are They?" with pictures of the Boca High Band and Guard from years past. As noted below, I'll need some people to hold these pictures on their web pages due to my own limited space. See below. Plus, if you have any pictures to contribute, send them to my e-mail address or through ICQ at ICQ # 6439325. Even send a recent picture of yourself (or a link to where a picture of yourself is contained) to me for my database.

Holding Pictures

Do you have space on your web site that you'd be willing to hold extra pictures for the alumni page? If so, e-mail me at fizban@gate.net.

Quotes

Do you have some interesting or memorable quotes from years past? If so, make up a list on an e-mail addressed to fizban@gate.net.

Better URL?

Boca Raton High School Band had an easy-to-recognize and easy to remember URL, which they decided to stop using. However, I thought this was a good idea, so now, this site has an easy to remember URL (http://welcome.to/bhsbng.alumni). The events and the future band booster pages, I thought, would like this idea too. If you have any good ideas for short URL names that would be easy to remember (they can start as come.to; fly.to; listen.to; move.to; start.at; surf.to; travel.to; welcome.to; bounce.to; browse.to; get.to; redirect.to; zap.to; and many others I'm sure. Check this out at http://welcome.to), send an e-mail:

If you have any ideas for where a new Boca High Band Boosters web page can be started or info on what should be there, etc., e-mail me at fizban@gate.net or bhsbng.alumni@welcome.to.

Boca High being torn down?

Yes, it is true, construction has begun at Boca Raton High School. For more information, and the history of how the info was gathered, please browse through this section...

The information listed below is as I originally listed it. However, the construction is now through. The school remained in its original location.

There have been articles in the Sun-Sentinel newspaper about the possibility of Boca High School being torn down. Here's a link to one of the newspaper articles from the paper.

Another article has also been written about 5 Palm Beach County Schools being torn down, including Boca High. See this article too.

There is also a third article with mention of Boca High School. This is about the Florida Marlins discussing plans of possibly sharing a stadium with FAU's football team. This is not likely to happen, but does discuss with more detail FAU's plans for where to place its stadium. See this article.

Now, a fourth article has come out. It says with probability, Boca High will move to the campus of FAU, and FAU's stadium will also be built on the FAU campus. In fact, in an article in FAU's newspaper, the building of the stadium at FAU will start a month before FAU football's first game. Boca High will be rebuilt due to drainage problems and major necessary renovation, and it looks as though Boca High will be at FAU. See the latest article.

There were 2 more articles written since the last one. I don't have links, but here are some summaries I've found on them. Both are dated.

BOCA HIGH SCHOOL MAY STAY IN PLACE

Published on 05/01/99

Boca Raton High School may stay put after all. Florida Atlantic University spokeswoman Lynn Laurenti on Friday said that concerns from the community have led to a change of heart by President Anthony Catanese that would keep the high school on its current site and end a proposal to move it to university grounds.

Catanese, however, still wants to work with the school district to build two additional public school academies on the FAU campus: a teaching academy and a science and engineering.

BOCA HIGH, FAU PLANS DELAYED AFTER BUSH'S VETO

Published on 06/08/99

The decision whether to move all or part of Boca Raton High School to the nearby Florida Atlantic University campus will take longer to make than officials thought.

The governor's veto of $1.5 million that had been designated to expand FAU's Henderson School has sent university officials back to regroup.

A new article tries to clear up everything and tell all of the possibilities. Read on.

Here are 3 more articles to take a look at:

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

More of the latest information on the future of Boca High will be found in this section.

Check the Boca Raton High School web site for more information concerning the start of the actual construction project which began January 2002. Construction will be complete next year.

The news about Boca High being torn down surprised me, and I thought that other people might want to know about it, so I e-mailed everyone I know from Boca High that had an e-mail address. Here are a few of the responses I've received to this message.

Laura Pinkocze:

Hi Everyone-

Its kind of sad that they want to tear down Boca High. It has a very historical significance to the City of Boca Raton. Boca High was one the first high schools in Palm Beach County to be desegregated, and hire Black teachers. Boca High was also the only school to produce an incredible marching band of musicians, past and present that have represented her so well through the years. Before there was Spanish River, or Olympic Heights, it was Boca High Marching Band that was performing at the Orange Bowl, and traveling all over South Florida to crowds of thousands. Boca High has also had some of the greatest minds grace her threshold scholastically, and academically. Most of these young men and women have gone on to become civic leaders, engineers, designers, programers, artists, merchants, etc... Boca High has produced all of these people, and than some. But the need for progress out ways the history of our school. I think its great that they want to demolish Boca High. Boca High in my opinion is no longer able to keep up with what the working world needs. There is great need for technical, and higher educated people. I believe if FAU was to build another Boca High on its campus, the students who now attend Boca High will benefit from high education even more. If they allow access to the high school students to use the FAU library, those students will be able to benefit from mass information, that Boca High's little library could never even support. Maybe also the new high school students should also be given e-mail accounts on the system just like the college students. This would be the first I have ever heard, that a high school has access to not just other schools, but to the universities around the world. Progress today is not just about the history of a school, its about the technological/shared information a school can turn out. I think it would be very beneficial if the new high school was built on FAU campus, and the Faculty of the high school and FAU worked together, this would also make the high school students, better college students. I think I made my point.

Thanks,
Laura

Steve Cates:

Graduating from BRHS so long ago, I am sad and also encouraged to hear the news that several of you have passed along in regards to the fate of BRHS. My 4 years there were filled with many GREAT memories of friends and teachers who will always have a place in my memory. Never forget that the band WAS the GREATEST in the county as well as the surrounding area in the late 70's-early 80's. With numbers in the 200 range, I was extremely proud to have participated in such a great group of people. Cherish your memories, no matter what they are, because, believe me as you get older, your high school day memories of friends and places get farther and farther away--ENJOY THEM!!!

Greg Kuzma:

I have to agree with "FlexedNFla" (Steve) and Adam Bradley regarding this issue. Boca High is old, falling apart and in desparate need of repair (or destruction). However, there is nothing quite like high school once you've survived it. I've had some good memories even though the facilities were a bit under living conditions but hey, I've visited high schools in better shape (i.e. "newer") and I've been to high schools in WORSE SHAPE. I consider Boca High THE high school in Boca but, time has taken it's toll on that institution. I guess it's about time for "newer" facilities for the ol' Blue n Gold...The only thing I ask is, if they do build a new high school on FAU's campus, PLEASE DON'T CALL IT OLYMPIC HEIGHTS II...

Sincerely with no regrets,

Greg M Kuzma,
Class of '93

Look for the people listed above in the alumni database.

I'll post your thoughts on this page if you e-mail me. If you e-mail me, I'll assume you want it posted unless otherwise noted. All of the above was rewritten from e-mails with the e-mail writer's permission. Please e-mail me with ideas for the newsletter, or possible articles.

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