04
vernonia’s
voice the schools
june
2007
Congratulations Class of 2007!
Scholarship Recipients
Vernonia Lions Club Kevin Johnston $1000
Amber Abney $1000
Brittney Lindauer $1000
Natal Grange Danielle Robb $ 500
Micky Bruers Memorial Amber Abney $ 300
Vernonia Boosters Brent Thompson $ 500
Brittney Lindauer $ 500
Kevin Johnston $ 500
Danielle Robb $ 500
PEO Brittney Lindauer $ 500
Julianna Pelster $ 500
Gene Weller Memorial Kevin Johnston $ 500
Vernonia Education Assoc. Brent Thompson $ 800
Willie Hansen $ 500
Windermeere Brittney Lindauer $ 500
WOEC, Sam Hearing Brittney Lindauer $ 500
Erin Gehrke $ 500
VOLTA Colton DeWitt $1250
Travis Baker $1250
Izaak Walton League Erin Gehrke $ 250
Mist/Berkenfeld Helping Circle Kevin Johnston $ 750
VHS Alumni Brent Thompson $1000
Wauna Federal Credit Union Erin Gehrke $1000
Karen Pitt-Kilgore Memorial Nandi VanMeter $ 700
Holce Logging Brent Thompson $3000
Brittney Lindauer $2000
Christina Sohler $2000
Nandi VanMeter $1000
Danielle Robb $1000
Jessica Espinoza $1000
Zack Rumbolz Memorial Nicole Franz $4000
Jessica Leach $1000
Willie Hansen $1000
Brittney Lindauer $ 500
Kevin Johnston $ 500
Jeff Paleck $ 500
Megan Farmer $ 500
Do you know about VernoniaClassmates.com?
By Evangeline Doyle
And -- do you know the man behind the tattoo? And what a tattoo! A one-of-
a-kind, I’m sure of that. He launched VernoniaClassmates.com – a free online
service available to all past classmates that went to school in Vernonia (K-12).
Give up?
For the 300 members that are currently enrolled (classes from 1945 – 2006), the
answer is obvious – former VHS grad, Kelly Smith is the man behind the site, and
the tattoo. The site began as a tool to help organize and plan “That 70’s Thing”
reunion, July of 2005. It worked so well that Kelly decided to expand the scope
to include all class years.
For those of you who don’t know Kelly, his family moved to Vernonia his 6th-grade
year. Prior to that Kelly visited Vernonia every summer, attending Jamboree visit-
ing his Grandma Ruth Steers, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Though Kelly has since moved away, he still has family here,
and obviously has a passion for keeping us alumni in touch.
As for the tattoo, this is a recent addition – which begs the
question, “Is Kelly homesick?”
Kelly also runs an automotive enthusiast web site, with simi-
lar functions – but for nearly 6,000 members, making him
more than familiar with the tools to make this work. He’s al-
ways looking for ways to improve the VernoniaClassmates.
com site; recently Kelly moved the site to a new hosting
company, which enables the pages to load much faster than
before. He’s also updated the registration process so members can enter their
real names in addition to their username.
Unlike commercial sites, this site is absolutely FREE to join and does not force
pop-up ads or other obtrusive advertising on you. Kelly feels that all former
Vernonia classmates should be able to keep in touch with each other, without
having to pay an annual fee for unrestricted reading and writing privileges.
The site can be used to network with other classmates, plan class reunions,
share photos – or a good laugh. It’s capable of both forum-based discussions
– like, “what was your favorite high school memory?” and “PMs,” or private
messaging.
It’s always fun to reminisce about growing up in Vernonia and to hear about
people’s lives post-graduation. So come on
classmates, step up to your keyboard and
type in VernoniaClassmates.com. Send Kelly
a message asking about that tattoo – I dare
you!
Similar commercial services cost approxi-
mately $40 per year to join. At 300 members
strong, Kelly has already saved our virtual
Vernonia community a collective $12,000.
Pretty impressive Mr. Smith.