Frankfurt American High School Alumni Association

June 2009

Dear Fellow Eagles,

I just returned from another fantastic reunion, this one in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by our youngest Eaglets, Ralph and Becky (Bowling) Blessing, of the class of 1973. And, as I recover from the lack of sleep and overload of good times, I am reminded that we are truly blessed to surround ourselves with our Frankfurt family once each year. To those who weren’t there, we missed you terribly. Each of us is a building block in the kastle that is Frankfurt and a treasure to the entire group.

Good news for attendees and for those of you who couldn’t attend. You can soon share in the fun through our web site PHOTO PAGE. Pictures will also be available on the web site RETAIL PAGE by purchasing a commemorative CD produced through the hard work and selfless dedication of our official Frankfurt photographer, John Neumeyer (69).

We also need to recognize and appreciate our Webmaster; Carl Fields (68), for all the time, work and innovation included this web site. Take a look. It is one of the best on the web. Our Association Historian, Bruce Garner (70), has spent many hours expanding the web site with photos, music, stories, and much more that represents our Frankfurt experience. Take a look and see all that is available on the web site about our Frankfurt past and present. These volunteers have made strong contributions to you and to our group and deserve our many thanks for their efforts.

We need a big web site because our group is growing. Traditionally, our group has included the years 1967 to 1971. Think about the inclusion of our class of 1973 brother and sister as an expansion of our family. We have earlier years and later years attend our reunions. Our connection with other schools and national organizations is very strong. We are rapidly becoming the center of not only the Frankfurt world, but a major force in the Brat world in general. We sit as the leaders to contribute to the Frankfurt and to the military BRAT legacy. FAHSAA is the most dynamic, the most attended, the most organized, the most historic of all the Frankfurt groups, and of many other school groups. Our web site is, by far, the most sophisticated and comprehensive, and new things are added every day. We have a live feed RSS, and a history section that will capture your attention for hours if not days. There are yearbooks, the music of our past, pictures of housing areas, bands, bars, events, menus, programs, and an endless parade of Frankfurt memories. Soon, you can view a detailed history of our Association with information about every reunion in our 22 year together.

During those years, we have expanded from a handful of members to over 600 on our roster. This does not including the classmates we have steered to other groups, other schools. We have accomplished more than just hooking up old friends and listening to stories of our colorful pasts. High school sweethearts have re-met, re-connected, and in some cases fallen in love all over again. New romances, new friendships, old friendships renewed, and old rivalries (and some new ones) restarted. What we have is wonderful and precious. It is a slice of life so thin, so different, and so uniquely Frankfurt.

The question I now pose to all of you is how do we preserve what we have, for the remainder of our lives, and as a legacy for future generations? What can we do to leave the world a better place for Brats of the future? Every day the children of our service men and women greet a world in which they have no specific place, no hometown. With the tendency of our military families to renew, some of these Brats are your children, your grandchildren, and maybe even your great grandchildren. What can we do to help them feel connected to something as beautiful as we have, and how will we leave a legacy that is uniquely Frankfurt?

The oldest members of our group turn 60 this year. Whew! Who would have ever thought we would live this long and still be dancing to rock and roll music. We have lost some of our group, our spouses, our friends and classmates, and that will be more and more common in the coming years. Though we are living longer, we will not live forever. We started out with only a handful of classmates and someday we will end up with only a handful as well.

During the next two years, my vision as your president is to honor the Frankfurt memory by developing our special legacy. With the help of our dynamic officer team (listed below), your class representatives, and a host of volunteers, it is my dream to create a pathway for something that will last, that will leave our signature, etched on the wall of this powerful fortress of military history.

To start with, I would like your help with rewriting our bylaws. These rules will steer us in the right direction by offering a standardized way of doing business and handling situations. They will release this group from dependency, and will allow the leadership to make quicker decisions.

But this is your Association and these are your bylaws. They must reflect what you, the Association members, see as the way you want your business handled. Your leaders are here to serve you and promote your ideas. Please read the bylaws (located on the web site at http://www.frankfurthigh.com/bylaws.php) contact us with your ideas. Come visit us on the web page often to see our progress. Your Frankfurt web page will be the center of all our plans and information. It will inform you of each successful step along the way.

Please accompany your leadership on our magical tour to revitalize our Frankfurt past, and help to guide us into the future. I am sure I speak for your entire board when I say we are committed to steering our group to always be EAGLES ÜBER ALLES.

My best to you all,
Steve Dean Contact Steve
President FAHSAA 2009 – 2011

Current FAHSAA Officers:
Grant Caughey – Vice President Contact Grant
Erik Thamm – Treasurer Contact Erik
Gayle (Spear) Cratty – Recording Secretary Contact Gayle