| 1967 - 2009 42 Years Gone |
It's over - can't believe it.
We had a great weekend, weather
and classmates couldn't have
been better...
Thanks to all who attended - and to
those who didn't ... we'll see you at
our 60th BIrthday party!
We had a great weekend, weather
and classmates couldn't have
been better...
Thanks to all who attended - and to
those who didn't ... we'll see you at
our 60th BIrthday party!
| 40th Reunion Committee Co-Chairs: Leslie (Bjurstrom) Swords Mary (McDermand) Scott Committee Members: Candy (Burich) Koster Cheryl (Laughlin) Karr Jeri (Sandberg) Laud Lance Lawson Marji (Johnson) Fletcher Nancy (VandeKerkove) Prouty Neevie (Garcia) Smith Pam (Stannke) Walker Sally (Ekstam) Welvaert Sara (Early) Robinson Stephie (Sandholm) Laermans Sue (Bos) Nawrocki |
| Contact us by email at: |
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Moline High School - Class of 1967
Classmate Tim Kask has started a user group site for the Class of '67. He would like for any and all interested to use the link below to join the group. You need only to click on the "join this Group" and you will automatically send an e-mail to Tim (as Administrator) asking to join. As soon as he OKs you, you can post on it. This can be a great tool we can use to discuss ideas for potential upcoming events or activities, as well as spread information amongst ourselves. Tim would encourage you to check-off the option that lets you know whenever anything new has been posted. COPY and PASTE THE LINK BELOW into your browser to join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/M HS_Class_67 |
Former classmate Denny Lynch currently of rural Geneseo, Ill., separates donated golf clubs into bins of woods, wedges and irons — for both right- and left-handed golfers — in his garage before boxing them up for shipment to U.S. Military personnel stationed overseas. Story from QC Times Sept. 14, 2009 |
Byron Stanley, calling from somewhere in Iraq, joked about his golf game. He likes to take a swing at it, when he can. "But I'm
terrible," the 22-year-old U.S. Navy medic from Geneseo, Ill., said with a laugh. Right now he is in the Middle East desert. You
don't see a lot of lush golf greens and fairways in Stanley's current corner of the world. Instead, he sees a lot of serious
medical situations while on the job, and Stanley admits he has dealt with some pretty "horrible" things during his tenure
overseas. This is his second tour of duty in Iraq. The chance to chip a few balls would be amazing, he said.
It's men and women in the armed forces such as Stanley who inspire Denny and Teresa Lynch of Geneseo to keep up their
efforts on behalf of Operation Tee-Off to Iraq. In the past two years, with lots of help and donations from all across the
Quad-City region, the Lynches have been able to send a total of 3,300 golf clubs and an untold number of golf balls and tees to
members of the U.S. military stationed overseas.
Why golf clubs? Because they give the military personnel a chance to unwind in their downtime and play a game that gives
them a slice of home.
The couple's own son, Jeremy Lynch, inspired the idea. He was stationed two years ago with the U.S. Navy near Baghdad,
Iraq. He wrote home, saying he wished he could think of something else to do on breaks besides throwing around a football or
a Frisbee. So the family dug up about 20 old golf clubs and some golf balls they had lying around and mailed them overseas
to 32-year-old Jeremy, a chief petty officer with the Navy. "He e-mailed, saying - you wouldn't believe it - there were guys
walking a mile or a mile-and-a-half to his camp, just to swing those golf clubs," Denny Lynch said. "It's dangerous enough
without them walking that far. So we started sending more."
Now, the project sends enough golf clubs each time to supply an entire military unit. Usually, someone in that unit has ties to
the Quad-Cities, but that's not a rule. "It's word-of-mouth," Denny Lynch said. "We hear from people who say they have friends
or family over there and they give us names." The couple only mails golf clubs to soldiers who are referred to them, by name,
via a relative or friend. And they only mail them after they connect by e-mail and verify that their superiors are OK with the unit
receiving a shipment of golf clubs.
Any day now, Stanley's unit will be receiving two boxes full of clubs and balls from the Lynches - and the rest of the
Quad-Citians who donated to the cause. This will be the second time he has benefited from the project. When he was
stationed in Iraq last year, from February to September 2008, his unit received golf clubs the same way and "it was awesome,"
he said. "We just had a blast," he added. "It was a way to get our minds off of everything and just have fun." When they left, the
golf clubs were passed on to other military personnel to use. Now, after returning to the Middle East just a few weeks ago, the
U.S. Navy hospital corpsman 3rd class, stationed with the U.S. Marines out of Camp LeJeune, said the unit is expecting its next
shipment of golf supplies any day now. "We're really excited," he said. "There's not as much open space here. It's more
populated and condensed, so we've already been making plans on making up some kind of netting so we can hit balls into the
net."
Even though the Lynches are from Stanley's hometown, the couple and the young sailor have never met. But that doesn't
matter. Their hearts have been touched by each other's service. Speaking from Iraq, Stanley said it's hard to explain how
grateful he and his comrades feel about their golf-themed gift. "There is often so much going on here that we lose track of the
fun things and get into a routine of just doing the same stuff day in and day out," he said. "We forget about the fun,
stress-relieving activities we are able to enjoy freely back in the States. "I don't think I could even let them say thank you to me
for my service before I would want to say thank you to them for taking the time and effort to donate those items to help us relax
and let loose, if even for a couple minutes a day."
Can you Help!
If you have any golf clubs, balls or tees lying around that you can spare, they would happily take them for the cause. The couple
will accept men's and women's clubs, clubs for left-handed people and even clubs for kids. (They have received at least one
request for kid-sized golf clubs because someone wanted to teach Iraqi children how to play the game, Denny Lynch said.)
They also will accept monetary donations toward the postage needed to mail the heavy boxes overseas. It costs about $80 to
send two boxes full of supplies to one military contact person, he said.
A tax-deductible donation can be made to Blackhawk Bank in care of Operation Tee-off to Iraq.
The couple also is asking for more names of military personnel to whom they can send golf supplies, Lynch said. They can
only mail packages to specific people, not to units or branches of the military in general, he said.
To submit a name, send an e-mail to him at delynch@mchsi.com.
terrible," the 22-year-old U.S. Navy medic from Geneseo, Ill., said with a laugh. Right now he is in the Middle East desert. You
don't see a lot of lush golf greens and fairways in Stanley's current corner of the world. Instead, he sees a lot of serious
medical situations while on the job, and Stanley admits he has dealt with some pretty "horrible" things during his tenure
overseas. This is his second tour of duty in Iraq. The chance to chip a few balls would be amazing, he said.
It's men and women in the armed forces such as Stanley who inspire Denny and Teresa Lynch of Geneseo to keep up their
efforts on behalf of Operation Tee-Off to Iraq. In the past two years, with lots of help and donations from all across the
Quad-City region, the Lynches have been able to send a total of 3,300 golf clubs and an untold number of golf balls and tees to
members of the U.S. military stationed overseas.
Why golf clubs? Because they give the military personnel a chance to unwind in their downtime and play a game that gives
them a slice of home.
The couple's own son, Jeremy Lynch, inspired the idea. He was stationed two years ago with the U.S. Navy near Baghdad,
Iraq. He wrote home, saying he wished he could think of something else to do on breaks besides throwing around a football or
a Frisbee. So the family dug up about 20 old golf clubs and some golf balls they had lying around and mailed them overseas
to 32-year-old Jeremy, a chief petty officer with the Navy. "He e-mailed, saying - you wouldn't believe it - there were guys
walking a mile or a mile-and-a-half to his camp, just to swing those golf clubs," Denny Lynch said. "It's dangerous enough
without them walking that far. So we started sending more."
Now, the project sends enough golf clubs each time to supply an entire military unit. Usually, someone in that unit has ties to
the Quad-Cities, but that's not a rule. "It's word-of-mouth," Denny Lynch said. "We hear from people who say they have friends
or family over there and they give us names." The couple only mails golf clubs to soldiers who are referred to them, by name,
via a relative or friend. And they only mail them after they connect by e-mail and verify that their superiors are OK with the unit
receiving a shipment of golf clubs.
Any day now, Stanley's unit will be receiving two boxes full of clubs and balls from the Lynches - and the rest of the
Quad-Citians who donated to the cause. This will be the second time he has benefited from the project. When he was
stationed in Iraq last year, from February to September 2008, his unit received golf clubs the same way and "it was awesome,"
he said. "We just had a blast," he added. "It was a way to get our minds off of everything and just have fun." When they left, the
golf clubs were passed on to other military personnel to use. Now, after returning to the Middle East just a few weeks ago, the
U.S. Navy hospital corpsman 3rd class, stationed with the U.S. Marines out of Camp LeJeune, said the unit is expecting its next
shipment of golf supplies any day now. "We're really excited," he said. "There's not as much open space here. It's more
populated and condensed, so we've already been making plans on making up some kind of netting so we can hit balls into the
net."
Even though the Lynches are from Stanley's hometown, the couple and the young sailor have never met. But that doesn't
matter. Their hearts have been touched by each other's service. Speaking from Iraq, Stanley said it's hard to explain how
grateful he and his comrades feel about their golf-themed gift. "There is often so much going on here that we lose track of the
fun things and get into a routine of just doing the same stuff day in and day out," he said. "We forget about the fun,
stress-relieving activities we are able to enjoy freely back in the States. "I don't think I could even let them say thank you to me
for my service before I would want to say thank you to them for taking the time and effort to donate those items to help us relax
and let loose, if even for a couple minutes a day."
Can you Help!
If you have any golf clubs, balls or tees lying around that you can spare, they would happily take them for the cause. The couple
will accept men's and women's clubs, clubs for left-handed people and even clubs for kids. (They have received at least one
request for kid-sized golf clubs because someone wanted to teach Iraqi children how to play the game, Denny Lynch said.)
They also will accept monetary donations toward the postage needed to mail the heavy boxes overseas. It costs about $80 to
send two boxes full of supplies to one military contact person, he said.
A tax-deductible donation can be made to Blackhawk Bank in care of Operation Tee-off to Iraq.
The couple also is asking for more names of military personnel to whom they can send golf supplies, Lynch said. They can
only mail packages to specific people, not to units or branches of the military in general, he said.
To submit a name, send an e-mail to him at delynch@mchsi.com.