Note: The only alumni websites officially affiliated with Brighton High School in Rochester, NY, are: bhsalumni.net, brightonalumni.org, brightonalumni.com and brightonalumni.net. We do not sell names/e-ddresses of alumni to commercial ventures or other entities.

Breaking news

BSAA inducts 2009 BSAA/BHS

Alumni Hall of Fame members

The 2009 members of the BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame were inducted on June 5 and represent the arts, environmental activism, philanthropy, business, medicine and international relations:

James Gollin, '76, finance professional and co-founder, Pacific Partners in New York; founder, Social Ventures Network; director, Angelica Foundation; board member, Rainforest Action Network, among other philanthropic and environmental activism commitments

Christine Gleason, MD, '71, Hodson Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and head, Division of Neonatology, University of Washington School of Medicine; teacher; author of a new memoir

Alan Shestack, '56, deputy director and chief curator, National Gallery of Art, 1993-2003; director, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1987-1993; former president, American Association of Museums

Sanford (Sandy) Gradinger, '54, founder and chair, Centra Financial Group; Andrei Sakharov International Committee; secretary, Sakharov Institute

Sandy Gradinger; Chris Gleason, MD; Jim Gollin; Alan Shestack before being introduced to the BHS student body at the 2009 BHS student awards ceremony, morning of June 5, 2009.

2009 honorees, then and now (left to right):

Jim Gollin, Chris Gleason, Sandy Gradinger and Alan Shestack.

This year's annual recognition dinner was a great evening! More details and photos to come shortly.

We are delighted to note that 2008 honoree Robert Weisbuch, PhD, BHS '64, president of Drew University, joined us at this year's recognition dinner; he was unable to attend last year.

If you couldn’t attend but would like to support the BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame in general or a classmate in particular, you may contribute as a:
Supporter – $75
Patron – $100 (includes recognition in program)
Other – $________

This year's free Symposium was held on the evening of Thursday, June 4, at BHS. Students not only had the opportunity to hear from and interact with the new members of the BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame, but even received academic credit for participating in the program.

We have a newsletter!

The BSAA has developed its own newsletter, primarily to honor those who have supported our Scholarship Fund and to let alumni and other supporters know what the group is all about. To download your copy of our first issue, just click here. If you would like to receive a print copy by mail or have us send one to someone who doesn't use a computer, just send a message with the mailing address in question to newsletter@brightonalumni.org with "BSAA newsletter request" as the Subject line.

Brick and benches available for

purchase in BHS Courtyard Garden

As part of the BSAA's work with BHS students, staff and faculty in beautifying a courtyard at the high school, we are selling commemorative bricks and benches. For details, click on the BSAA Projects button at left.

BSAA has a Facebook Group page

All Brighton alumni who use Facebook are encouraged to join our Facebook page for photo sharing, discussions, reconnecting and social networking fun. Here is the link for the BSAA Facebook Group page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2213191573 

BHS alum's painting of 12 Corners
in the '50s available in 3 print sizes

"12 Corners in the mid-'50s" by Jim Christy (BHS '57) (left);
the artist with his painting (right).

This delightful painting of Brighton's 12 Corners in the mid-1950s, by Jim Christy (BHS '57), was featured at the Oct. 16-18, 2008, Brighton Arts Festival at the Town Hall, is now on permanent display at the Town Hall - and is available for purchase as three different sizes of prints to benefit the Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA).

Christy did the painting for his 50th class reunion last year, and is having a great time making it a permanent part of local lore. It depicts a number of lost landmarks, such as Howard Johnson's, Neisner's, the Belmar, Don & Bob's and the Chateau. "This painting captures a special moment in time for Brighton residents and alumni," he said. "I think they will enjoy reconnecting with their pasts when they see the painting."

Each print will be signed by the artist and accompanied by a detailed legend identifyingthe buildings and most of the cars in the painting.

For more about the artist, go to his website (jimchristy.com).

Payment must be made by check. Because the BSAA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, a portion of each purchase is tax-deductible.

The prints are 16x13 with border, $30; 23x19 with border, $40; and 30x24 with border, $50, plus $5 per order for shipping and handling. To order a print, click here for an order form or just send payment by check to the Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) c/o Jim Christy, 127 Commodore Parkway, Rochester, NY 14625. You also may order by e-mail by clicking here.

For further details, contact Christy at (586) 586-0045.

BHS alum speaks at freelancers' meeting in NYC on February 17

Thanks to the BSAA network, BHS alum Meryl Gordon was the General Meeting speaker for the Editorial Freeelancers Association (EFA) on February 17, 2009, at the EFA office, 71 W. 23rd Street, New York City, NY. Fellow alum and EFA newsletter editor Ruth E. Thaler-Carter ('71) organized the meeting and yet another alum and EFA member, Trudy Balch, introduced Gordon at the event.

Gordon is a prolific freelance magazine writer and the author of Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008). The program will begin with refreshments and networking from 5:45–6:30 p.m. and Gordon will discuss her freelancing and book-research processes from 6:30–7:30 p.m. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing.

A native of Rochester, N.Y., and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Gordon began her career as a newspaper reporter for the Cincinnati Post and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle newspapers, and went on to cover economics out of Washington, D.C., for the Gannett News Service and USA Today.

Currently the director of magazine writing at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, Gordon has been a fulltime magazine journalist for nearly 25 years, including 15 years as a contract writer for New York magazine, with more than 150 major features to her credit in profiles, politics, business and lifestyle. She has profiled influential figures such as Kofi Annan, Mike Bloomberg and John Kerry, and stars such as Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon and Maggie Gyllenhaal. She has written major features for the New York Times Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, Gourmet, Elle, Marie Claire, More and Travel & Leisure.

Gordon now lives in New York City with her husband, Walter Shapiro, who is the Washington bureau chief for Salon.com. Additional biographical information is available at merylgordon.com.

Nominations ongoing for
BSAA Alumni Hall of Fame

If you know of a Brighton High School (BHS) classmate or other alumnus who has made important contributions in his or her profession, or to a community in some worthwhile way, you can nominate them for the BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame at any time. We have changed the nomination process so that you may nominate fellow alumni all year round - the nomination process remains open or rolling continually. For a nomination form in Word, click here; as a PDF, click here.

For more details, use the Alumni Hall of Fame button at left.

2008 BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame

members honored at June recognition dinner

Friends, classmates and members of the community honored the 2008 members of the Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) Brighton High School (BHS) BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame at BSAA's annual recognition dinner on Friday, June 6, at the Country Club of Rochester.

The 2008 BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame members are:

Daan Braveman (BHS ’65), president of Nazareth College, Rochester, NY;

Karen Noble Hanson (BHS ’61), chief financial officer (CFO) and canon for Finance, Resource and Community Development, Episcopal Diocese of Rochester; and

Dr. Robert Weisbuch (BHS ’64), president of  Drew University, Madison, NJ

Braveman Hanson Weisbuch    

The new members of the BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame were introduced to the BHS student body during award ceremonies on the morning of June 6 and inducted at the annual Alumni Hall of Fame Recognition Dinner that evening, at the Country Club of Rochester. For further details of this year's events, use the Alumni Hall of Fame button at left.

2008 BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame

members present first public symposium

The first-ever symposium of the Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) Brighton High School (BHS) featured two of this year's new BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame members, discussing topics of interest and importance to young people today. The June 5 event was free and open to the public.

Daan Braveman (BHS '65), president of Nazareth College in Rochester, discussed “Civic Engagement; the integration of community service into your lifelong learning and living” at the symposium. Karen Noble Hanson, chief financial officer (CFO) and canon for Finance, Resource and Community Development for the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, discussed “The Ethics of Making Money.” Plans were to break into two small groups after the 2008 BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame members presented overviews of their topics, for in-depth consideration of their topics and an opportunity for participants to have direct interaction with the Hall of Famers, but there was so much synchronicity between them that the group remained together.

"This was an exciting opportunity to hear insights from community leaders at the top of their fields," said Alan Ziegler, chair of the BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame Committee. "Their topics appealed to middle- and high-school students who are expected to incorporate community service into their Brighton educations and have an interest in the practicalities of their future careers, as well as their families and Brighton alumni from all years."

BSAA members served light refreshments after the program in the Alumni Hall of Fame hallway at BHS.

This year's BSAA/BHS Alumni Hall of Fame members, including Robert Weisbuch, president of Drew University, Braveman and Hanson, were honored at a dinner on Friday, June 6, at the Country Club of Rochester.

For further information, just use the Alumni Hall of Fame button at left.

Recent events

• Members of the BHS classes from the 1940s had another delightful Forties Fling over the weekend of October 4-5, 2007. More than 100 devoted BHS classmates enjoyed dinner at Woodcliff and a bag lunch at Lake Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill, followed by a bus tour of the city of Rochester. Dick Lee, class of 1933, joined in on Friday evening to represent his decade; now that’s a faithful alum! The moving force behind this delightful event is the energy and dedication of Kay (Heinrich) Clark (’46), with the enthusiastic assistance of Pat (Jones) Corbett ('47).

• The class of '47 got together for a picnic on October 6.

• The class of '65 came home over the BHS Homecoming weekend for a reunion, and several class members joined in when BSAA marched in the Homecoming parade.

• The BSAA provided serious rock-your-socks-off live music from East Coast Connection at this year's Coming Home Concert, held at 12 Corners before the Homecoming parade and games. Several BSAA members had a great time marching in this year's Homecoming parade as well.

2007 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees
honored at May 31 dinner at Oak Hill

About 100 BHS alumni, friends and family had a delightful time at the Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) Alumni Hall of Fame recognition dinner in honor of 2007 inductees physician Brad Berk, MD, Ph.D. (Brighton High School class of 1971), scientist Arthur Lonne Lane, Ph.D. (BHS '57) and business leader John Shoemaker (BHS 1960). All three of this year's inductees attended the dinner in person, held May 31 at Oak Hill Country Club. Highlights and photos will be posted shortly. Click here to see the program for the dinner. Click here for bios of the recipients that were included in the dinner program.

The new inductees were introduced to the BHS student body during this year's Awards Ceremony on June 1. Later that morning, Lane (below) and Shoemaker led classes at BHS in physics and marketing, respectively, as part of the BSAA's commitment that its Alumni Hall of Fame be a way to show current students where their Brighton educations can take them.

2007 Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Lonne Lane discusses space and earth science projects with BHS students after awards ceremony.

For more about these outstanding alumni, just click on the Alumni Hall of Fame link at the left. Contact the BSAA with any questions at (585) 442-6055 or (585) 248-8464.

BSAA launches scholarship program with two awards

Thanks to generous contributions from a number of alumni, the Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) has launched a scholarship program for Brighton High School (BHS) students. Alumni response to the inaugural year of fundraising for the scholarship program was so great that we were able to present two scholarships at $1,500 per year for four years, rather than the one that was expected. The first two recipients were announced at the BSAA's recognition dinner for its 2007 Alumni Hall of Fame honorees (see above for details).

Rachel Mantel will study veterinary medicine at Ohio State University and Jennifer Milton will study English and music at Connecticut College with support from the BSAA Scholarship Fund.

Courtyard plans advance

The school board has approved BSAA's plans to beautify a courtyard at BHS. BSAA board member Scott Miller has developed a dynamic design for the space, and a great group of current students is involved in the planning and design process. Details to come!

Herb Carlberg dies
The Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) regrets to note that Herbert "Herb" Carlberg died on April 2, 2007.

2006 All-Alumni Picnic photos are up!
Just use the Photos button at left to see what a great time was had by all.
This year's picnic is coming up on the fourth Thursday of July at Ellison Park.

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Our Mission:

The Brighton Schools Alumni Association (BSAA) was founded in 1999 to recognize the heritage of Brighton schools and their contributions by:

• Promoting alumni relations
• Supporting the educational mission of Brighton public schools
• Preserving the tradition of educational excellence in the Brighton public schools
• Coordinating and supporting reunion activities
• Maintaining archival materials
• Initiating projects that recognize individual and class accomplishments

BSAA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; contributions are tax-deductible under the IRS code.  

Contact Information:

Telephones:

(585) 442-6055 (BSAA Resource Room)

(585) 248-8464 (Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, BHS '71, Media Chairperson)

Postal address:

BSAA

2035 Monroe Avenue

Rochester, NY  14618

E-mail contacts for various areas:

General Information (click on the friendly icon):

 

Newsletter: newsletter@brightonalumni.org

Photo Submissions: photos@brightonalumni.org

Reunion Planning: reunionhq@brightonalumni.org

Donations: donations@brightonalumni.org

Webmaster: webmaster@brightonalumni.org

 

This website is updated regularly - please visit frequently to see how it is coming along.

Send mail to webmaster@brightonalumni.org with questions or comments about this web site
Last modified: March 30, 2009