El Proficio.....

Many phone calls were made and we became familiar with Internet search techniques, using the list that Merriem Hammer and Bill Johnston compiled from the reunion in 1982, to find about 40 schoolmates during the first 3 months. Let me tell you...we were ecstatic finding those first 40!! We pored over available yearbooks and we nagged and pleaded for any and all clues to help us locate anyone who attended Sevilla High School. Some of you found us through the Sevilla High web site that was created in February of this year. We have also had a lot of help from a lot of people and we appreciate everythng everyone has done to get the SHS group organized again. We now number more than 280...not bad after one short year, huh?

A dozen of us met in Dallas last May to become reacquainted and to discuss what, if anything, we should do about organizing a reunion. There was talk of possibly joining Madrid High at their August 1999 reunion in Arizona, but it was a unanimous decision not to do that and to look into options on our own.

And, so, Reunion '99 came to be! As you know, Sevilla High School is holding an all-class reunion June 25-27, 1999 in Kansas City, the Sister City of Sevilla. We made arrangements with the Wyndham Garden Hotel at Country Club Plaza, and plans were finalized within 6 weeks of that first gathering in Dallas! We have planned a poolside cocktail reception for Friday night, a dinner/dance on Saturday night and a farewell breakfast on Sunday. The rest of the weekend is gong to be free for everyone to mingle, reminisce, find old friends and make new ones. We hope everyone can attend and we look forward to personally meeting each of you.

Druci and I could never have imagined that our project would have grown to these proportions. We continue to marvel at the camaraderie of Sevilla High students, whether it be at the three mini-reunions we have had, in the bi-weeky chatroom meetings, or with email, cards, letters and phone calls. It is difficult to describe, but many of us have spoken about the friendships that have continued through the years and the friendships that have evolved during this past year. Maybe it was because we were a small American community in Sevilla with only each for companionship during those impressionable teen years; maybe it was the isolation from distractions teens experience stateside. In any case, we all agree that there is a bond that has endured and continues to endure. It is this bond that has made our project such a success!

Lot of phone calls, lots of internet searching, lots and lots of emails back and forth! It has been a great year, and Druci and I have enjoyed every minute. We wish for the next few months to be as productive and exciting as the past year. And it can be with your help. Take out your yearbooks, your old address books, photo albums..pick out a few names and try your hand at searching on the Internet. There are number sites that make finding people easier than in years past...Switchboard, Infospace, Infoseek, WhoWhere, to name a few. Give it a try!