Diman Alumni Newsletter (April 2009)

New Business

Treasurer David Auclair delivered the monthly financial report . The Association is doing well despite the direction the economy is going. Solid investments with moderate returns have worked well for us. Note the change of day for the June Meeting.

Golf Tournament

The Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, June 13th at the Swansea Country Club. (Details here - PDF.) Tee time is at 1:00. The cost is $110.00/ person. Volunteers are asked to show up by 10:30 am. We can still use volunteers and donated prizes. Please remember, this is one of our largest and most successful fund raisers.

Scholarships

The deadline for scholarship applications was April 30. We had over 30 applicants this year: a record high. As in past years, the committee has had some difficult decisions to make. All the applicants were exceptional and deserving of scholarships, but we could only choose 8. Our congratulations are sent to all the applicants as they move forward to the next phase in their lives.

Retirements

The Alumni Association would like to acknowledge the following teachers and staff who will be retiring this spring.

• Rogerio Ramos, Over 25 years Superintendent Director, Instructor, Coach
• Martin Bernat, 31 years Machine Shop Instructor
• Ronald Silvia, 23 years House and Mill Carpentry
• Roger Dugal, 34 years Social Studies Instructor
• Kenneth Rapoza, 23 Years Electronics
• Thomas Librera, Administration

Our best wishes to all and thank you for your dedication and hard work all these years. Enjoy your retirement.

Anyone wanting to offer their best can send a note or card to the school.

Volunteers

The association is always looking for volunteers. If you cannot attend the meetings but would like to help out, please contact one of our officers. We will set up a volunteer list and contact people as needed. Volunteering can be anything from attending an event, posting news of an event at your business, or donating something for the event. Please contact any of the alumni committee members for more information.

Class Rings

The latest update for the class rings shows that we are still in need of the following years: 1950 1992 1993 1994 1996 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008. As you can see, the response has been overwhelming, with only the most recent rings missing. The DAA is continually collecting school rings from all years. We have a beautiful display case built which houses the rings, along with the owner's name. If you have a ring or know someone who has a ring, please contact Tom Branco. He has an updated list of all the rings collected so far. Please do not accept/donate a ring before you check to see if it is required. We do not need duplicates.

Car Show

The dates will be September 13 with the rain date the following week on September 20. We are now accepting donations of raffle prizes. The cost to sponsor a class is $45.00; to co-sponsor a class it's $25.00. We are always looking for volunteers to help at the show (organize the parking lot , help at the registration table, help serve food, help place signs prior to the show or clean-up after the show.) If your workplace would allow us to post notices about the show, that would be great. Call Tom Branco for flyers.

Memorial Scholarships

If any person or group is interested in setting up a scholarship in someone's memory and would like some information on how to do so, please contact Tom or Dennis. Please note: the Alumni Association is a completely separate entity from the school. Money sent to the school in the form of donations does not go to the Alumni Association. We have our own accounts and scholarship selection process. If you would like donated money to be given to the Alumni Association to be awarded as scholarships, you need to inform the school, or give it to us directly.

Website

The Diman website has been upgraded with many new features and links added. School happenings, sport schedules and results, upcoming events, and links to related pages including the Alumni page are included. Simply type in www.dimanregional.org to access all this information. Check it out, it's great.

Meetings

A reminder, all meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month, except during the summer, and when noted in the news letter. They are held in the tea room at 7:00 P.M. and coffee and pastry are usually provided. The meetings themselves generally last under an hour. We urge alumnus to try to attend one meeting per year. The association’s sole purpose is to raise money to provide scholarships to those qualified seniors who are continuing their education. Any input an alumnus can provide at a meeting is always welcome.

Ongoing Fund Raisers

The DAA currently has two ongoing fund raising programs. They are:

• Perpetual Fund

  With this program, a minimum of a $25.00 donation will allow a person to have their name or the name of person so named, to be inscribed on a brass plate and attached to a wooden plaque on display in the public entrance hallway outside the tea room. There are several different donation levels on the plaque, and the brass plate can be move as donations accrue over time. All donations are tax deductible. Call Tom Branco for more information.

• Newsletter Sponsors

  We are always accepting sponsorship ads for this newsletter. For $25.00, your business card will be included in the newsletter for a one year period. For more details contact Dennis Abdow at (508) 674-4552. We currently send out over 300 mailings a month.

Next Meeting

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 7:00 in the Diman Tearoom. Please join us.