FALCON ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
“FANtastic”
Holy Family Catholic School

November 2003   Vol. 4 

 Email us at HFSALUMNI@aol.com
Visit our web site at www.holyfamily-school.com

250 - 78th Avenue NE
St. Petersburg, FL 33702

727-526-8194
Fax 727-527-6567 

Dianne Guettler Flannery,
Class of 1970
 Editor 

Sr. Florence Ann Marino, Administrator

Fr. John Tapp, Pastor

2003-2004 School Year

Back to School

This year we welcomed 263 students for the 2003-2004 school year.  The new 24 Kindergartners were excited about the big school with Ms. Ferguson and Ms. Reiss, and 8^th graders, anxious to grow up way too fast, were excited to finally be the oldest in the school.  Sr. Flo and her staff of 26 were ready to go in August and just hope they can make it to MAY!! 

The Early Childhood Center continues to expand with 45 three and four year olds. Ms. Nina Meyers is doing a great job of getting them ready for the big school.

Have you met the new Pastor?  While everyone wishes Fr. Robert Schneider all the best in his new position as Pastor at Espirtu Santo in Safety Harbor, we are pleased to welcome Fr. John Tapp.

Fr. John is the 4th of eight children.  He is a 1972 graduate of SP Catholic, and received his BA (Philosophy) from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami in 1980.

Fr. John was ordained in 1984 and he has ministered as associate pastor, pastor and campus minister over the years. In addition to his duties at HF, he is Secretary for the Office of Worship in the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Fr. John’s interests include sports (running, tennis, basketball, football), music, reading, and traveling.

Welcome, Fr. John!

Annual Appeal

Thank you to all the Alumni and Parents who contributed to our 2003.Annual Appeal. We received $1,075 and are most grateful to everyone who donated.

This year funds were used to paint inside the school, in particular the office, main hallway, and lunchroom. They look great!  Go to the school web site and you can see pictures of the final results.

When the 2004 Appeal Letter reaches your mailbox, please prayerfully consider a donation to your Alma Mater. Every dollar contributed is used directly by the school as there are no administration expenses. Thank you.

This year the following Alumni continue the tradition of a Catholic education by sending their children to HFS.

Distinguished Graduate Award

The 2003 Holy Family School Distinguished Graduate Award was awarded to Anthony Salliotte, a 1985 graduate, during Catholic Schools Week in January 2003.

After graduating in the top five percent of his high school class, Anthony received a scholarship to the University of Florida and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He is a staff accountant at Foelgner, Ronz & Straw, P.A. in St. Petersburg.

Anthony came back to HF after college and is in his 5th year as the youngest facilitator of a Renew Group. His group has been instrumental in assisting a family the church has adopted from Cuba. The group has provided clothes for the children, and has transported the mother to work and has acted as her emotional support.

Anthony will tell you his greatest accomplishment is his daughter, Ashley. Born 9 weeks early with a life threatening illness, Anthony believes his faith in God, developed at HF, and prayers enabled him to bring Ashley home the day before her original due date. You can find Anthony and his daughter at the 9 am Mass each Sunday.

Congratulations Anthony!



More news from Alumni

We have received more updates from Alumni...

Kathy Dillon Martin - Class of 1963

After HFS Kathy attended Notre Dame Academy and graduated in 1967. She has been a member of the parish since 1962. Kathy started working part-time at HF church 20 years ago as a bookkeeper, and has been the Parish Secretary since 1998.

Kathy has one daughter and two grandsons. She has traveled to the UK and Paris, and in 1994 went to the Holy Land with Fr. Johnson, a former Pastor. Last year she was lucky enough to travel to Ireland with her family.

Kathy is a member of the Holy Family Samaritans who visit the homebound, and take them to doctors, stores, etc. So if you call the Parish office, please give a big hello to one of your fellow Alumni!

Kathy’s email address is hfkathy@tampabay.rr.com if you would like to contact her.

Bonny Roam - Class of 1985

Bonny graduated with honors from NE High in 1989 and attended SPJC. She is currently employed at Aegon Financial Partners in St. Petersburg where she is the Supervisor of the Account Transfer Dept.

Bonny is a single mother of two wonderful children, Alan 14, and Ashley 4.

Bonny fondly remembers Ms. Brinsko’s and Ms. Ferguson’s Glee Club and the various concerts performed over the years. She remembers many of her friends from those days including, Stephanie Nelson, Brian Kelly, Connie Kaufman, Brandi Hughes, Rita Sulimay, Danny Duscheneau, Matt Delorey, Rob Stewart, Anthony Salliotte, Kelly Daniels, Anthony Beckett, and of course her twin sister, Anna Roam. She really enjoyed attending HF and having such a close knit of friends over the 8 years.

“I wish all my old friends the best in all they do and I hope that life treats them well. I thank HF for the wonderful Catholic education and experience they have provided me.” If you wish to contact Bonny her email address is boo_bear27 @yahoo.com


Jaime Hope - Class of 1992

Jaime graduated from St. Pete High IB in 1996 and the University of Central Florida in 2000 with a BS in Forensic Science. She married in October 2000 and has a 3 month old baby girl, Jaina. She and her husband, John, live in the Orlando area.

Jaime works at The Master’s Academy, a non-denominational Christian school in Oviedo, FL. She is in her 2nd year, and is a high school science teacher - mostly chemistry, but does teach anatomy and physical science.

You can reach Jaime at Jaime827@yahoo.com.

Brad Stigleman - Class of 1991

After HFS, Brad went to CCC and then attended Auburn University where he graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Finance. After trying several different jobs, he finally decided MetLife was the right fit. He is currently a Retirement Specialist, working with State and School Board employees.

Brad bought his first house in July 2003 in Safety Harbor, and in Feb. 2004 will be getting married to his college sweetheart. He still loves the outdoors, with fishing as his favorite. He is active in sports and coached the 9th grade basketball team at CCC for two seasons before taking off last season for career reasons.

Reach Brad at bstigleman@metlife.com.


Marilyn McNabb Mercer - Class of 1985

Marilyn and her husband, Russell, are expecting their first child, a boy, in September 2003. She is a teacher for Pinellas County Schools, and is entering her 10th year of teaching children who have Specific Learning Disabilities.

You can send a congrats to Marilyn at Wupita@aol.com.

Marlies Dunson - Class of 1983

Marlies graduated from NEHI in 1987, FSU in 1990 (BA), and USF in 1993 (MA). She currently works as a writer/editor for a non-profit higher education association in the Washington, DC area. Marlies writes fiction for adults and children and frequently draws material from the angst and fun she remembers at HFS.

Marlies is divorced and has a two year old son with bright red hair who likes to shout “Kumbaya” at strangers.

Marlies has fond memories of everyone in the 1983 class, especially Lisa Crockett, Erin Bailey, Jennifer Cleary, Joanne Wasko, Tammy Brophy, Maureen and Colleen Dowling, Andy Fernandez, Brian Knapp, Mark Henley, Christine Hammerschlag, Jennifer Humpel, and Wendy McConnell.

To contact Marlies, email her at marlies_annette @yahoo.com.

Rob Hosack - Class of 1977

Robb received a Bachelor of Science degree in Planning from Western Carolina University in 1985.

Rob joined Cobb County, GA in 1986 as a Planner in the Planning and Zoning Department. Since then, he has served as Senior Planner, Coordinator for Governmental Relations, and Planning Division Manager. He was named Interim Director in December 1998 and Director in March 1999.

Rob has received a number of management and civic awards over the years. Presently, Rob serves on the Executive Board of Directors of Girls, Inc. and the MPA Program Advisory Board at Kennesaw State University.

(In case you didn’t remember, Rob is Mrs. Patricia Hosack’s son, long time teacher at HFS.)

Steve Guettler - Class of 1972

Steve and his wife, Lori, their two dogs, Olive and Missy, make their home in St. Petersburg. Steve is owner and operator of Bayside Electric, Inc. a full service electrical contracting company.

Steve has two children, Melody and Steve, Jr., and two grandchildren, Kayla and Caleb. When not working he enjoys fishing, traveling, cheering for the Bucs, and eating sushi.

You can contact Steve at lguettler@ij.net.

Brian Kerekes - Class of 1999

Brian has attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He is a member of Troop 262.

Brian graduated from the Center for Advanced Technologies at Lakewood High School where he was a member of the National Honor Society and the Spartan Patrol and was President of the Technology Society. He is attending Florida State University and will major in meteorology.


Lisa Bridge - Class of 2000

Lisa is a Senior at SPCH and has been selected for membership in the National Society of High School Scholars.

Lisa has received the Princeton Book Award., an Advanced Placement Scholarship Award, and is listed in the Who’s Who Among High School Scholars. She is a member of the NHS, Spanish Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta. She has been a child care volunteer at the Center Against Spouse Abuse and has assisted teachers at the Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens and the Child Development Center. (She is also the daughter of Mrs. Bridge, HFS 3rd grade teacher.)


Megan Tarbox - Class of 2001

Megan finished her sophomore year at Dixie Hollins lettering in Academics and receiving the Lamplighter Award. At the year end ceremony she also received awards for being first in her class for Art and Writing.

Megan is currently working part time at Petsmart in St. Petersburg and is looking forward to being mentored next summer by Rick Berry... his latest art venture is the cover of the new Staphen Kin novel, The Talisman.

In Memoriam

In the newsletter last year we featured Susie Gillespie- Class of 1975. Sadly, she passed away June 13, 2003 after a short battle with cancer. After HF, Susie attended CCC, and in 1983 graduated from Emory University in Atlanta. Susie worked at Emory in the Athletics Department for 16 years. As a certified scuba instructor, Susie moved back to Florida in 1999 to join Bay Adventures, a travel company located in Miami. She most recently resided in Hollywood, FL.

Our condolences to the entire Gillespie family. If you would like to contact the family you can reach them through her sister Julie at Juliegsmith@yahoo.com.

Please remember the following deceased Alumni of HFS in your prayers:

Elizabeth Grimm ‘65
Thomas Lettelleir “64
Sarah Nold ‘78
James Weidner ‘75
William DeHaan ‘75
Paul Delaney ‘63
Bruce Kline “63

Alumni Updates

Please remember to keep us updated whenever you move or change your email address. It is easy to do. Just go to the school website at www.holyfamily-school.com and click on the Alumni tab.

At the same time, we would love to hear any news about you. In addition to the annual updates in this newsletter, we would like to post other updates such as marriages, births, even deaths, and any important events of our Alumni on the school website. Just use the Alumni link above or email the news to HFSAlumni@aol.com.

Long Range Planning Committee Questionnaire

As part of our the school’s Long Range Planning process for 2003/2004, the committee would like to gather as much feedback and input as possible from parents, alumni, faculty, and students. The school has posted on their website a questionnaire for Alumni. Your responses and input are very important to them and will be compiled with the others to help continue to develop HFS to meet future needs.

Please take a few minutes of your time and complete the form (under the Alumni tab). You can submit directly online to the school or print it out and send it to:

Holy Family School
Long Range Planning Committee
250 78th Avenue NE
St. Petersburg, FL 33702

Please disregard the 10/31 deadline. Your time, effort and input are greatly appreciated.

Adopt a Class

Would you like to be a sponsor for a class or program?  The cost is only $150. For you donation you are remembered in the students’ prayers every day. The students get to use the money for their classroom. If you would like more information contact Sr. Flo at famarino@aol.com or call her at the school.

The Principal’s Corner

It's always a pleasure to write this letter to alumni. Reading the newsletter probably brings back many memories for you - more good memories than not so good ones, I hope!   Being older, you probably look at things in a different perspective.  What was important when you were in school might be looked at differently in your young adult or adult life. Hopefully, one thing has not changed - the importance of your Catholic Faith in your life.  Basically, the school's mission has not changed, which is putting faith before academics and athletic excellence.

The purpose of Holy Family Catholic School is to teach the truths of the Catholic Church in an educational setting where each person is important, and learning is directed toward the needs of the student as an individual and as a member of the group. The school's intention is to work in partnership with parents who are the primary educators of their children.  The child becomes largely what he or she is taught; hence, parents must watch what they teach the child and how they live before the child.

Let me share with you what we are all about. Each year Holy Family School focuses on an aspect of our Catholic tradition and Gospel message. We've studied about the Beatitudes, Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy, and the Seven Sacraments; last year, we were on our journey to Sainthood, each student getting to know about his/her patron saint. This year, we began our journey with a family school liturgy on the feast of the Queenship of Mary which afforded us the opportunity to bridge last year's theme with this year's theme of miracles. We recall that Mary was our first saint; and we realize that Mary was the one who prompted Jesus to perform his first earthly miracle. "Get Caught in the Act of Miracles", this year's program, helps us to be more aware of daily miracles and our call to make miracles. Students, teachers, staff, parents "get caught" being kind to others, doing a good deed or random act of kindness, etc. This sounds a little like the movie Pay It Forward!!

We have a "vocation angel" that is passed from class to class weekly. The class that receives the vocation angel has the opportunity to pray for vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life, deaconate, and lay ministry. They will also pray for vocations to single life and faithful marriages. They also do an "action" relating to vocations. Join in prayer that all may be open to hearing God's call and responding to what God wants of us in our lives.

Do you feel that power of prayer? You, as former students of Holy Family School are remembered in the students' prayers.

On another note, if you have the opportunity to come into the school building, you will see some nice changes. And if you don't have that opportunity, go to our school's website and check out the pictures. Your donations to the annual alumni appeal helped to make these changes. We look forward to continuing to make an almost 50 year old building more modern, safer, and of course, a happy place to be!!

Guess what will be here before you know it? The school's 50th Anniversary!   We need to begin to prepare for this wonderful occasion. If you have any suggestions or would like to help in the planning, send an e mail through FANS! When we begin to work on this, you will be contacted.


In Mary's Immaculate Heart, I am,

Sister Flo, IHM :-)




The staff and students of Holy Family School wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Blessed Merry Christmas!