Alumni donate money to media center

Five Blair alumni from the class of 1956 donated $1,800 to Blair's media center. The alumni presented the check and a commemorative plate on Monday afternoon in the media center.

The five alumni — Joyce DeMarino, William Lear, Stuart Balderson, John Rahn and Lou Naecker — are all on the Class of 1956 Reunion Committee. The donated money came from leftover funds from the committee's 50th class reunion, held in Sept. 2006, and donations from other members of the class. Some of the donators specifically requested that the money be donated to the media center, according to Balderson.

"We had funds remaining from our reunion and donations also," Balderson said. "We thought it would be nice to donate it to the library and we're proud to do so."

The media center is not yet certain how the money will be spent, but media specialist Andrea Lamphier has a few ideas in mind. "Ms. Hack and I have talked about how we'd like to purchase a work station or two with video-editing software," Lamphier said, adding that students have not had decent opportunities to work with video-editing software.

The alumni contacted Lamphier approximately three weeks ago about presenting a check and a commemorative plate to Blair's media center, according to Lamphier. The alumni did not say how much money they would donate and kept it a surprise for the media center. "In all the years I've worked in public schools, I've never seen a person give a donation of this size," Lamphier said. "It's like winning the jackpot."

The five former students, along with their spouses, gathered together in the media center to converse with the media center staff and look over the 1956 yearbook. Assistant principals Suzanne Harvey and Myriam Rogers and magnet coordinator Dennis Heidler were also present for the beginning of the event.