Former Whiteface Band director, Ben Gollehon, has accepted an invitation to speak at the Hereford Alumni Roundup Dinner to be held on Saturday, October 6, 2007. The reunion dinner will take place at Love & War In Texas Restaurant in Grapevine, Texas, and will begin at 6:00 PM.

Mr. Gollehon, a 2002 inductee in the Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame, taught band in Hereford from 1960 until 1973. Over the years, his bands won eleven consecutive UIL Sweepstakes, Best in Class at the Tri- State Music Festival in Enid, Oklahoma, the 'Doc' Severinsen Jazz Band Festival, Six Flags Over Texas, the Buccaneer Music Festival at Corpus Christi three times, and the 1968 Honor Band award of the State of Texas.

The alumni community from Hereford High School has been given an incredibly unique opportunity to reconnect and stay connected with classmates, schoolmates, and friends through Hereford Independent School District's web site. Through the web site's Alumni Page Listings, each and every alum can offer up a short personal bio and list current and updated information including home address, email address, and phone numbers. This information is invaluable in a world where many school districts do not offer such web site for it's alumni at all. Let everyone you knew from your days at HHS know that you're alive and well by registering on the school's web site at www.herefordisd.net. We've made it easy for you. Just click onto the link below to register your "vital statistics".

Where are you? Who are you today? And do your old Hereford classmates even know you're still alive? These and other pertinent questions can be easily answered when you place an ad on the Sponsors page of the Hereford High School Alumni Association's web site. Your business and yourself will stand out and let everyone know where you're located these days. And in the process, your donation will help make the alumni web site possible and help contribute to the alumni association's expenses and needs. To place an ad, click onto the Sponsors page link below or call Lee at 817-267- 2608.

My definition of an unconventional class reunion is, A - the gathering of an alumni committee from a small- town school who, in the initial planning, decided that a reunion in the "big city" would generate a bit more excitement. And B - that small-town alumni committee decides that it's more advantageous to have a multiple-class event instead of a single- class event. Such was the case when last year's Hereford Alumni 2006 Multi-Class Reunion was held in Grapevine, Texas. And after I interviewed Bridgette Smiley, president of Old School Reunions, Inc. of Dallas for this article, I was totally convinced that everything that we've accomplished has been a good thing since my first email newsletter was distributed in October 2005 announcing Hereford's first multi-class reunion.

After my conversation with Ms. Smiley, whose reunion planning company has been in business for six years, I came away with an understanding that the economy has had an enormous effect on how class reunions are being planned these days. "In the past, you could count on one-third to one-half out of the complete manifesto (reunion announcement) to attend", says Ms. Smiley. She went on to explain, "unfortunately today, we're seeing fewer than one-quarter to one- third in attendance. Therefore a multi-class reunion means a larger crowd and a more successful reunion."

Some other facts that Ms. Smiley shared with me is that classes from smaller towns in Texas, more often than not, prefer to have their reunions in cities like Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, or Houston. In addition, one-half will bring their spouses to the reunions, while the other half will attend alone.

Now I am of the opinion that whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself - get to your class reunions. Life is too short not to. But Texas' larger cities has large international airports which gives the reunion traveler more options by offering more available flights. As a result, more classmates and schoolmates are able to be in attendance.

From the Editor - Lee Mays, a.k.a. Percy Mays (Class of 1970)

Upon graduation from Hereford High School, Craig Jones attended West State State. He earned a degree in marketing. In 1988, he began working for UST, Inc. as a sales representative and eventually earned a position at the corporate level of the company working as the Manager of Strategic Planning & Business Development. This required a move to the Greenwich, Connecticut area. While the move was very rewarding and a great experience for his family, his entrepreneurial spirit prompted him to start his own business. The Jones family moved back to Texas and to Pilot Point in 1999. In May of 2000, he opened the doors of Groggy Dog Sportswear & Graphic Design in Denton, Texas. In 2003, Craig started another division of his company called Elementary Spirit Zone, which specializes in kid friendly spirit wear for elementary schools.

Mr. Jones is a 1984 graduate of Hereford High School. He currently resides in Pilot Point, Texas with his wife Leslie, a Panhandle girl from Hartley, Texas and two daughters, Spencer, 14, and Schyler age 11. In his free time, he enjoys being the president of his daughter's gymnastics team booster club, watching them compete, church activities, and golfing.

With the Fourth of July being a few days away, you might be interested in knowing where to find the best in food, music, activities, and fireworks, as towns and cities throughout the state celebrate our nation's heritage. To assist you, we've linked a web site that can help you pin-point the best festivals throughout the Lone Star State. And for those of you who no longer reside in Texas, we look forward to seeing you again in the not so distant future. Perhaps that could be at one of our alumni reunions? Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Hereford High School Class of 1977 will hold it's 30th Class Reunion on July 27-28, 2007 in Hereford, Texas at the Hereford Country Club. The class' contact person in Hereford is Ms. Cathy Gilter. Ms. Gilter can be reached at her email address at frootloop989@yahoo.com. Further information on the reunion may be obtained on the Hereford Independent School District's web site which is linked below this article. Further details on the reunion can be found on the Class of 77's website at www.herefordisd.net.

Now here's a tip we can all use, if you're not using it already! With the price of gasoline in your local area still hovering at around $3.00 per gallon, depending on where you live, you can find the best prices this summer by locating service stations and convenient stores selling the cheapest gas with information provided through the Internet. Simply click onto the link below, enter your zip code, click "GO", and save!

Hereford High School Class of 1958 recently announced that their 50th class reunion will be held in Hereford on Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26, 2008 at the Hereford Senior Citizens Center. A formal planning session was held back in May and future organizational meetings and announcements will be forthcoming on this web site. All graduates from the Class of 1958 are asked to contact class organizer, Mr. Lookingbill, regarding details of the reunion at 1- 806-647-7619.

The 26th Annual Hereford Jubilee Day Parade & Celebration will be held on Saturday, July 28, 2007 with the parade starting at 10:00 AM in downtown Hereford, Texas. The Arts & Crafts Bazaar will be at the Hereford Community Center located at 100 Avenue C. Other events and activities will be soon announced as details become available. Also that same weekend, the Class of 1977 will hold it's 30th Class Reunion on July 27-28, 2007 in Hereford. Further details on the reunion can be found on the Class of 77's website at www.herefordisd.net.

Hereford's Class of 1970 will meet as they have every year in conjunction with the Hereford Jubilee and Celebration which will be held the weekend of July 27-28, 2007. The gathering of classmates over the past several years has become a tradition as word has spread of the two- day get-together. The reunion will start at around 6:00 PM on Friday, July 27 at the El Patio Mexican Restaurant in Canyon which is also referred to as the "Big Cowboy Restaurant" because of the Texas- size statue of a cowboy. The the reunion will end in Dameron Park in Hereford at around 1:00 in the afternoon of Saturday, July 28. Event organizer, Marsha Horton Smith will have further details and can be reached at 210-215-9991. Her email address is MSmith@loefflerllp.com.