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11/06/08 Year-end Giving: Many of you may be looking at your charitable giving for 2008 and know that if you want to make a contribution somewhere and still get a write-off on your 2008 tax return, you have to do it in the next 55 days. Let me suggest a gift of any amount to the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Endowment at the Arvin High Alumni Association. (1) It's a great cause; (2) The scholarships go to deserving AHS graduates; (3) Many of you knew Rocky personally; and (4) It's a good way to give back to your alma mater and Arvin-Lamont kids. You can mail donations to: AHAA, P.O. Box 272, Arvin, CA, 93203. You can also donate by credit card or PayPal at www.arvinalumnin.org. If you donate by credit card, be sure to designate where the donation should be directed.
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06/03/08 The Inaugural Recipient: The annual scholarship awards were held at Arvin High School as planned on May 15th and the first recipient of the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship was honored with a scholarship for $1,000. Bradley Cowan received this award from our own James Williams and members of the Handy Family. Congratulations go out to Bradley and his family! We trust that he will be able to complete his education as planned and perhaps someday return to teach at Arvin High School.
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04/15/08 It's Official: On Thursday, May 15th, 2008, the Inaugural Rocky Handy Scholarship will be awarded to a forthcoming 2008 AHS grad. The selection of the scholarship nominating committee was confirmed by the board of directors of the Arvin High Alumni Association at their meeting on April 9th. The initial scholarship will be in the amount of $1,000 and is set to be handed out by our own James 'Weasel' Williams and members of the Handy Family. It's been a long haul to reach this point and a long time in coming...Special thanks to each and every one of you who contributed in any way to making this dream a reality.....
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02/14/08 Over The Hump: At last night's Board Meeting of the Arvin High Alumni Association the Treasurer's Report noted that the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Fund now totals a little over $15,000; you will recall that this was our initial goal. I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this to help endow a scholarship in Rocky's name. We now plan to continue to work to build the endowment for this scholarship so Rocky's life can reach out in the years ahead to touch the lives of even more young men and women graduating from Arvin High School. Our next Fundraiser is coming up in September in the form of a rummage sale being organized by Laura 'Handy' Downum. Start saving your 'rummage' to aid this very worthy cause.
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01/22/08 The Fund Keeps Growing: Over the past week the RHMSF has increased by approximately $1,200 to almost $15,000 as many of you have sent in donations earmarked for the scholarship in lieu of sending flowers to Fayez Handy's funeral. I can say that all of us associated with this effort are thrilled at the response and appreciate every donation, no matter how big or how small. I will let you know when we slip past the $15,000 threshold officially...Until then, keep up the generous and great work...
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01/15/08 No Time Better Than Today: When James 'Weasel' Williams and I agreed last summer to work together to create a scholarship in Rocky's memory it came about because I called James reminding him that if we kept waiting to do this, some of us weren't going to be around to enjoy it; I meant that some of us Class of 1972 characters wouldn't be around. I am saddened today to report that if we hadn't created the scholarship when we did, Rocky's Dad, Fayez Handy, wouldn't have been around to savor the moment. Alaina 'Handy' Divine (Class of 1973) emailed me to let me know that Fayez passed on during the night between Sunday-Monday; services are pending. What Alaina did say is that in lieu of flowers, the Handy family wants donations made in Fayez name to the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship fund. James and I exchanged emails today and we both are so pleased that Fayez lived long enough to see a scholarship successfully funded in Rocky's name. Donations to the fund should be sent to P.O. Box 272, Arvin, CA, 93203. Write RHMSF in the memo line...Fayez is pictured in picture #3 below...
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01/13/08 Fayez Handy: I have to report that Rocky's Dad, Fayez Handy, is currently struggling for his life after suffering a couple of strokes in just the past few days. Laura 'Handy' Downum sent me an email a couple of days back sharing these issues and how Fayez is doing. I know that despite our youths of sex, alcohol, drugs, and anything else we were big enough to try, many of you pray regularly and believe in a higher power. Fayez and the Handy's need you to remember them in your prayers ASAP...
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01/01/08 Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Criteria Announced: I previously failed to post the scholarship criteria that that 'Handy Family & Friends' decided on and announced at the November meeting of the Arvin High Alumni Association. I know that all of Rocky's old classmates would be interested to know their decision.
Rocky Handy Scholarship Criteria: 1 @ $600 Each
(1) GPA of 2.5 or Higher
(2) Must Be an Arvin High School Graduate
(3) Evidence of Community Service
(4) Evidence of Extra-Curricular Activities
(5) Planning To Major In Some Area of Agriculture
(6) Must Write a Five-Paragraph Essay on Why They Need/Deserve This Scholarship; and
(7) Willing To Cooperate With The Scholarship Committee In Mentoring Future Recipients
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01/01/08 Our Year Ending Total: As of December 31, 2007, we have raised a total of $13,400 to endow the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Fund. Our initial goal for the endowment is $15,000. We are making steady progress toward that number with pledges and another fundraiser planned for later this year. That fundraiser will be a yard sale that is currently slated to take place at the home of Dan & Laura 'Handy' Downum, late this summer. If you have any great stuff to donate, set it aside and we'll let you know when we need it. Of course cash, checks, and money orders for the fund are always appreciated!!!
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12/14/07 Setting A Course For The Future: At last night's meeting of the Arvin High Alumni Association, the $13,000 currently in the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Fund was placed in a 120-day Certificate of Deposit to begin building the interest that will be awarded annually for the scholarship. Rocky's oldest sister, Laura 'Handy' Downum was present at the meeting to detail for the AHAA Board, the qualifications that will be entailed in becoming a recipient of the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship. The first scholarship is scheduled to be awarded to a member of the AHS Class of 2008...Stay tuned for details!
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12/03/07 Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Fund Update: Thanks to a couple of generous Class of 1972 donors, the fund grew by $550 over the past couple of weeks. This brings our current total to $12,825. I just want to remind all of you that donations of any amount are appreciated and will help put us over the top in our efforts. Donations should be sent to: AHAA, P.O. Box 272, Arvin, CA, 93203. Be sure to write RHMSF in the memo line so it gets properly credited...
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11/15/07 The Fund Keeps Growing: Thanks to a check for $750 from an extremely generous neighbor of Laura 'Handy' Downum, the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship endowment fund has grown to $12,275 this week. This means we are less than $2,800 from reaching our initial goal of $15,000. If any of you want to donate and help push the fund over the top, the checks can be sent to: AHAA, P.O. Box 272, Arvin, Ca, 93203. Just remember to write RHMSF (Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Fund) in the memo line of the check...
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11/06/07 Look Closely: If you check these photos out closely you will see Steve Hallum, Dan Downum, Fayez Handy, Dolores 'Handy' Kjar, James 'Weasel' Williams, Heath Baughman, Jennie 'Handy' Stuart, John Culbertson, and Farrell Neeley...you just have to figure out which ones are which...While many old Bears were in attendance, we didn't get pictures of all of them so you'll just have to guess what Cyndy Blankenship, Marlene 'Leary' Baughman, Art McCombs, Gary Luckett, and all the others look like...
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11/01/07 The Scholarship Fund Grows: As of today, we have a total of $11,525 in the Rocky Handy Memorial Scholarship Fund. You can donate throughout the year so if you get a couple of extra bucks, think of Rocky and this scholarship...If you have stocks, bonds, property, or any other valuables, they can be donated and are fully deductible on your income tax returns...
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10/26/07 The Boil Down: Last night, Rocky's Mom, his sisters Laura, Jennie, and me met to count all the cash, checks, and pledges. Right now we have $10,325 in cash and checks. We also have $4,000 in pledges to be paid between now and the end of 2012. I am handing off the monies today to the Arvin High Alumni Association Treasurer so they can bank it. The address is : AHAA, P.O. Box 272, Arvin, Ca, 93203. It looks like we can initially get a 4-month CD for 5.10%. That gives us time to see if we can find a longer term with a better rate. At 5.10% the endowment would yield at least $510 over the next year. We are already planning the 2008 fundraiser for early September 2008 to cover any shortfalls and add to the endowment. More details will follow in the coming weeks...Thanks again to all who came out and donated...we couldn't have done this without you!
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If you want to make a donation, checks can be sent to the Arvin High Alumni Association (AHAA) with the words 'Rocky Handy' in the 'memo line' on the check. AHAA, P.O. Box 272, Arvin, CA, 93203. All donations are tax deductible...contact me farrellneeley@aol.com for mailing details.