Seward alumni reunion attracts turnout from around the country

FLORIDA -They came from the State of Florida. From Virginia, Maryland. Jean Sicina Brac, Class of l954, flew in from California. Over 200 alumni and guests of the S.S. Seward Institute in Florida gathered at the Owen Murphy Inn in Goshen for the annual dinner/reunion. It was one of the largest gatherings in recent memory.The Seward Alumni Association has been keeping records since l896, the year of the first graduating class from Seward when it became part of the public school system. The original S.S. Seward Institute, named for its founder Samuel Sweezy Seward, was established as a private school in l848. In l892 it was reorganized as a public school. Several classes were given special recognition at the recent reunion. These included the classes of l979, l964 and l944. The main focus, however, was on the 50-year Class of l954. George Frizzell, a member of that class and a member of the Alumni Executive Committee, presented framed certificates to his attending classmates, a total of 22. Also recognized were those in attendance who graduated more than 50 years ago. Adam Weslowski, who misses few of these get togethers, represented the oldest class, the Class of l932. Alumni Association president James Sosler presented an engraved plaque to Paricia Lempka commemorating her fifty-year membership on the Executive Committee. Pat, a member of the Class of l954, joined the committee immediately after graduating and has held various positions on the committee where she currently serves as treasurer. Another plaque was presented to the evening's guest speaker, Col. Gary Stopa, Class of l974. Col. Stopa is the Operations Group Commander of the l05th Airlift Wing based at Stewart Field. A large contingent of the Class of 2004 also attended. Two members of that class, Alison Friedenreich and Heather Slesinski, were announced by high school principal Dr. Clement Ceccarelli as winners of $l,000 scholarship awards.