This Link Is No Longer Relevant

As Far As I Know, There is No Longer An Active

Far Rockaway High School Alumni Association

And The P.O. Box Has Been Closed...Sorry!  9/8/00

As far as we are aware, the FRHS Alumni Association is no longer operating as an organization.  It's been several years since anyone has received any official word from them.  We will continue to collect information so that if the Alumni Association reconstitutes itself, or, we create an 'On-Line' Association,  we will be able to keep the web site going and create a new, more updated Directory.

 If you have any specific questions, please write to me at rockaway@astound.net

Sincerely,

Alan 'Skip' Weinstock
Class of 1963


Far Rockaway High School
Alumni Association Up-Date
November 16th, 1999

The following was received from the Far Rockaway High School Alumni Association on November 16th, 1999.

Dear fellow Far Rockaway High School Alumni,

On behalf of the past and present Board of Directors of the Far Rockaway High School Alumni Association, I would like to apologize to you.  For reasons that do not matter, communications between the Association and its members and those who attended the 100th Anniversary have been less than satisfactory to this point.  To remedy the situation, we have reorganized the Board and will be communicating with all Alumni on a more frequent basis. We sincerely hope that we can work toward restoring your faith and trust in us.

For those of you who have not received a directory or anything else you might have paid for, please leave a message here or on the "form" link below.  The fulfillment of all will be handled both on the East and West Coasts.  A supply of directories is available through Skip Weinstock in California and through Susan Ballenzweig Beckerman in New York.  Mail can still be addressed to Post Office Box 375, Woodmere, New York  11598 and will be handled by Sharon Gabriel.

The Board met in early November and another meeting is scheduled for December.  The December meeting will be a "Mission" meeting wherein we intend to structure an agenda for the Alumni Association and develop a multi-year plan.  We have set deadlines for ourselves to insure that we function as a unit and we invite your comments, suggestions and questions.  It is our intention not only to have a main operative board, but to reach out to members across the country and form regional organizations as well.

Many of you have asked for a financial report.  The Association's finances for the year ending December 31, 1997 were as follows: Income of $146,080, interest income of $481, expenses of $99,347 and a balance at that year's end  of $47,214.  The Alumni Directory was printed and mailed in 1998, so those costs do not appear on the 12/31/97 financial statement.  The cost of the Alumni Directory, printing, binding, databases, mailing labels, consultants on getting the ultimate product produced, postage and some secretarial services totaled $39,942.  Additionally, the association had accounting expenses of $3,250; expenses for uniforms for the football and basketball teams of $4,285; and scholarships to deserving high school seniors at graduation of $2,000.  Virtually no money was made from any of the weekend's functions as the Association wanted to keep the prices reasonable so that everyone could attend.

We will keep you apprised of the state of affairs of the association and, in fact, it is our intention to publish an on-line newsletter each month.  Since one of our main functions is to keep this web site going and it does cost money, we invite any of you to place an ad in the newsletter, the size of  business card which will cost you $25.00.  Your card will run for one year and it will also give you an opportunity to let old friends know what you are doing.  We are aware that not everyone has access to the net, but we are certain that those who have computers will share the information with their fellow alumni until we can start re-instituting dues collections which will
help pay for actual paper mailings.

Our new Board is listed below and once again, feel free to get in touch with us.
 
Position
Name
Phone
E-mail Address
President Barbara Zacharia (516)  897-6322 (Home) BZacharia@aol.com
(212) 843-2400 Ext. 256 Barbara@way.com
Vice President Susan Ballenzweig Beckerman (212) 724-4126 Ext. 201 sb1118@aol.com
Recording Secretary Rhea Finkelstein (718) 471-8368   (Evenings)
Financial Secretary Warren Kramer (516)  569-6920 (Evenings)
Treasurer William Landberg (212)  724-9037 wmlandberg@aol.com
Board Member Sharon Gabriel (718) 474-8353  (Evenings)
Counsel Larry Schiffer (516)  791-5080 (Home) lpschiffer@yahoo.com
(212)424-8086 (Work)

 We want you to know that we appreciate your patience and hope that we can begin anew and make this organization everything we dreamed of 2 ½ years ago.  Once again, we invite you to become an active  participant in the organization and we look forward to hearing from you.

 Sincerely,
 

 Barbara Zacharia, President
 On behalf of the Alumni Association

Click here to provide feedback to the Alumni Association.

The following was received from the Far Rockaway High School Alumni Association on May 23, 1998

Dear Fellow Alumni:

It's been a while since we had the fabulous affair celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Far Rockaway High School and we are sure you are wondering what has happened to the Journal, Directory and the Alumni Association in general. Well, here's an update:

There was such an overwhelming response to our mailing that the data entry for the Alumni Directory became a monumental task. Our computer was so inundated, it had a nervous breakdown!!! After many months of treatment and therapy, it is now back on line and working hard to bring you the information as soon as possible.

The journal is being put in the mail as we write and it should be in your hands shortly.

The Alumni Association is alive and well and as a result of the outpouring from the graduates here are some of our accomplishments:

You may not be aware, but funds for the sports programs are generally not made available by the Board of Education. Therefore, the Alumni Association has made that one of it's priorities.

For those of you who either did not get the opportunity to purchase items or missed the affair, there are a limited number of mementos available.

For videos or class pictures you can contact the photographer at: Also, Kenny (Rosenberg, Class of 1960) Vance and the Planotones who entertained at the Gala Affair have made available a CD recording of that performance. You can purchase a copy by sending a check or money order in the amount of $15.95 (which includes a contribution to the Alumni Association) to: If there is any information you would like to share with us, please, please contact us at: Again, we apologize for any inconvenience and your patience is appreciated. Remember "Better Late Great Than Never".

THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

The following was received from Warren Kramer, President, Far Rockaway High School Alumni Association and posted on March 13, 1998. I will continue to up-date this page each time I receive new information from the officers of the Association. The information below will be sent to you (if you are an Association member) in printed form when you receive your Directory. I have left previous up-dates on this page and they appear below with the date they were received.

Please also note the address of the Association below. If you have any specific questions you would like to direct to the Association officers, please write to them. They will, in turn, let me know about issues and I will be happy to post their responses on this page.

Far Rockaway High School
Alumni Association, Inc.
PO Box 375
Woodmere, New York 11598-0375

ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY 1998

Dear Alumni:

This letter marks and historic event; it is appearing in the very first alumni newsletter in over 100 years since the organization of Far Rockaway High School! This newsletter was actually born six years ago but do to many circumstances, too numerous to mention, it is just now being published.

Your alumni association has completed the most successful celebration that was ever accorded Far Rockaway High School, or for that matter any high school in the City of New York! More than 4000 alumni participated in a weekend of centennial events. As a result of the rekindling of the great "Rockaway Spirit" we deemed this and excellent time to get the presses rolling!

With this newsletter, mailings have begun for the journal and very soon to follow, the long-awaited and anticipated alumni directory. The overwhelming and ongoing response of our alumni made it difficult to to start mailing these publications at the time we had originally planned. We thank you very much for your most kind patience and hope that you will find these books worth the wait!

We want this newsletter to be your means of communication with the Association and former classmates. It should serve to keep you apprised of events associated with the high school and you're graduating class. Therefore, we welcome your comments, items of interest, and other material that you feel appropriate to appear in the newsletter.

It is our intention to maintain and active Alumni Association and hope that you will continue to support and participate in events sponsored by your Alumni Association in the years ahead. Hearing about Far Rockaway High School alumni "happenings" held by alumni chapters in various parts of the country is very gratifying.

The Internet played a vital role of disseminating information about our centennial celebration. Therefore we are maintaining a permanent home page on the Internet where you will be kept informed of items of interest concerning Far Rockaway High School. Our site can be reached at http://www.farrockaway.com.

As part of this newsletter we are including a questionnaire that we would like you to complete and send to us. This will enable us to determine what type of future events you would like your Alumni Association to sponsor.

Again, let me thank you for your astonishing response to our Centennial Celebration and for your patience as we prepare to send to you the Centennial Journal and Alumni Directory. We are aware of your concerns and would like you to know that your alumni association will continue to support its alumni as this century draws to a close and as we enter the 21st century.

Very truly yours,
Warren D. Kramer, "62"
President

This was also received on March 13, 1998.

Centennial Celebration Feedback

The Far Rockaway High School Centennial Celebration was a huge success! The response was above and beyond anything we predicted or expected. People came in from all over this country and other points around the globe. Those who could not attend sent messages and congratulations via "snail-mail" and various Web sites on the Internet that were set up by alumni across the country. Attendance at all scheduled events throughout the weekend exceeded expectations by a wide margin. Fortunately the weather cooperated so we were able to utilize outside space. In addition to receiving letters of praise after this spectacular event, there were numerous laudatory comments on the Internet WebSites which included phrases like:

"You made a lot of people incredibly happy. Seeing all my old friends and even making a few new ones is a wonderful way to "grow older" and put one's life in perspective."

"I wish the weekend went on forever -- certainly the memories will."

"I literally ran into a friend I'd been thinking about and looking for for 20 years."

"I just kept thinking the whole time that I was such a lucky person to be experiencing so many wonderful feelings so intensely and for so many hours."

"The link with my past really seems to have been secured."

"It was hard to recognize some old friends immediately but glorious to discover who they actually were."

-- and on and on.

We hope to plan future events that will be of interest to our alumni and enable people to continue the connection to old friends and the new ones that were forged during the planning, execution and attendance at this unique event.

We need your help to do this!

We would appreciate your input on the enclosed questionnaire and any other comments or suggestions you may have. We all grew up in a very unique town and through an active alumni association we hope to maintain the "Rockaway Spirit."

Association Membership

Those who have sent in their dues to the Far Rockaway High School Alumni Association will be receiving their membership cards in the mail along with the directory, as promised. If you know other Far Rockaway High School alumni who would like to be part of the association -- dues are $20 per person or $36 per couple. This membership is valid until December 31, 1998. Dues should be sent to: FRHS Alumni Association, PO Box 375, Woodmere, New York 11598-0375.

Auditorium Seat Plaques

We have already received $100 contributions from a number of people for plaques on auditorium seats at the school. These plaques would be a dedication "in memory of" or "in honor of" someone. Those wishing to contribute can send their check to the association (see address above). Carl Icahn, Class of 1953 will match these contributions up to a total of $50,000.

The following information was received on January 8, 1998 and is a previous up-date from the Alumni Association which may answer many of the questions you have been asking me during the past few weeks.

Here are the names of the current Alumni Association Officers.

Warren Kramer - President
Barbara Fox Zacharia - Vice President
Barbara Tashoff-Saber - Treasurer
Alayne Lichtenstrahl - Secretary

The Directory is finally ready to go to press. Due to the holidays and family commitments among the volunteers working on this monumental project with over 8000 listings, they were delayed in completing their work and hope to be able to have them in the mail by the middle of February. I will keep you posted of any new developments.

Their is excellent financial news to report. The 100th Anniversary Celebration generated a $20,000 profit (approximate) and an additional $20,000 (approximate) remains in the Alumni Association Dues Account. The Association will be meeting to decide what to do with this money. One of the first decisions made by the committee was to fund this web site so it could remain on the Internet. Additional discussions, fund-raising efforts, planning, etc. will be happening soon and I will also keep you posted of the dates, locations and times. A formal financial report should also be available by the end of February. Please keep in mind that the amounts listed above are only approximate figures reported to me.

Well, that's it for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will post them for the Alumni Association members to answer or write them directly at FRHS Alumni Association, Dept B-1, PO Box 375, Woodmere, NY 11598-0375

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