Welcome to www.RJRalumni.org ...
THE website for
RJ Reynolds High School Alumni and Friends!
Please check back at this site often, so you can keep up with what is on-going at RJR, what Class Reunions are being planned, as well as what initiatives are being undertaken by the RJR Alumni & Friends organization.
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The Verification of Information for the upcoming RJR Alumni Directory is Underway
A new Reynolds High School Alumni Directory will be published this year. The process of verifying the information for each alum is underway. (Because the last Directory had so much incorrect information, the upcoming Directory will only have information that has been personally verified). Post cards have been mailed out to the RJR alumni, and these ask that each alum call the Harris Connect firm (that is publishing the Directory) via an "800 number" to verify their information (that number being: 866-514-7057). All RJR Alumni are requested to call this number to verify their information (and these phones will be "manned" each weekday from 8 am to 9 pm). There is NO obligation to purchase a Directory.
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Dr. Art Paschal has announced he will retire on June 30th
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During the Staff/Faculty meeting held during the last week of April, Dr. Art Paschal (the Principal at Reynolds High School) announced he will be retiring on June 30th...so that he can spend more time with his family (and especially his grand-children). The process of the School Board selecting his successor is thus just in its initial stages....and it will probably be some months before that announcement is made. |
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A Football Stadium for Reynolds has been Proposed
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Kathryn Spanos is spearheading a movement to raise $5 to $6 million for the construction of a RJ Reynolds High School Football Stadium (pictured above). The stadium would be built essentially where the current Wiley Middle School gymnasium is located, and part of the above mentioned cost would be in replacing the gym. In a conversation with RJR Alumni President Harry Corpening, he told her that the RJR Alumni would support her efforts, but that raising that kind of money in this economic environment would be very difficult. He also informed her it recently took 2 full years to raise $300,000 for the design, creation and installation of a customized acoustical shell for Reynolds Auditorium, and the amount she is wanting to raise is 20 times larger than that (and the economic environment is not nearly as good now as it was when those funds were accumulated). To see a newspaper article that gives a lot more details about this proposed stadium (and which shows a picture of exactly where it would be built), click here ( * ). To read a later article that tells of some criticism of the planned stadium, click here ( * ).
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MORE MENTORS ARE NEEDED FOR CURRENT MEMBERS OF RJR'S SENIOR CLASS
Three facts about RJ Reynolds High School: * when looking at the graduating classes (for quite a while), almost 9 out of every 10 seniors goes on to some type of further education * almost 4 out of every 5 graduates goes on to a 4-year college or university * if you compare the students that enter in the 9th grade to those that graduate, RJR ranks only 7th out of 13 public Forsyth County high schools |  More mentors are needed...NOW! To learn more, click here ( * ). |
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Class Reunions and Facebook groups:
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RJR Class Reunions take place every year, and one of the most important reasons for this website's existence is to keep the alumni informed as to what is happening concerning each and every RJR Class, and their Reunions (that we know about). To see if your Class is staging a reunion (and to learn the details), or to supply us with information about a Class Reunion your are helping to organize, or to see if your Class has a Facebook.com site: click here ( * ) |
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The $300,000 customized acoustical shell has been installed at Reynolds Auditorium
 Click here ( * ) to learn about the $300,000 successful Capital Campaign. | A $300,000 capital Campaign has been sucessfully completed to acquire a customized acoustical shell for Reynolds Auditorium, and now the shell is installed. It was utilized for the first time on Saturday evening, October 10, 2009, when The Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra staged its "SHELL-ebration" concert. The shell was deemed a huge success! Click here ( * ) to learn what makes this acoustical shell special, read a review of the concert (and shell) in the local paper, and to see it being used during that concert. |
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RJR gets $30,000 via efforts to honor RJR alumus Judy Voss Jones
In successfully completing its $300,000 Capital Campaign to raise the funds to acquire a customized acoustical shell for Reynolds Auditorium (click here ( * ) to see it), "The Friends of Richard J. Reynolds Auditorium" organization staged a simultaneous $180,000 Capital Campaign to have the newly constructed building behind the Auditorium named the "Judy Voss Jones Arts Center" ($150,000 of those funds going to acquire the acoustical shell, and $30,000 of those funds going to the School for their programming needs). On September 21, 2009, this check was presented to the School Principal (Dr. Art Paschal). details... |  |
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A Filmed Conversation with the 3 Living RJR Principals:
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In the Fall of 2008, the 3 Living Principals (left-to-right: Dr. Art Paschal, Stan Elrod and Bob Deaton) were "interviewed" by Harry Corpening (the President of the "RJ Reynolds High School Alumni and Friends" organization). There are two 10-minute videos of this, that have been uploaded to YouTube.com. continue....
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"Pine Whispers" has been published 86 consecutive years at Reynolds High School. There are 8 editions per school year (one for each month except December). This year there are 28 students in Newspaper I, II and III. Subscriptions cost $25. Should you wish to make a subscription, or learn more about this, click here ( * ) to send an e-mail to Steve Hanf (the teacher that oversees this). Click here ( * ) to read some of the articles.
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"RJR Alumni and Friends" Initiatives & Awards:
Each Spring, the "RJ Reynolds High School Alumni and Friends" organization awards two $1,000 scholarships to "deserving" graduating Seniors (one male and one female), and a $1,000 Teacher of the Year award. We have posted the pictures (and some remarks) from these winners for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years. Also learn about the initiative to name the stage at Reynolds Auditorioum in honor of Robert A. "Bob" Mayer (who was the Director of the Reynolds High School Band and Orchestra for 20 years...and who was the RJR staff member who started the Dancing Boots "group"). continue... continue.... |  Robert A. "Bob" Mayer - RJR Band & Orcherstra Director |
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Reynolds High School is a big school, with a lot going on...and thus, news-worthy stories are constantly being written about it, its students, and its alumni. We try to keep the alumni informed of the major happenings ... such as RJR senior Robbie Mudge winning the NCHSAA 4-A tennis singles championship for the second consecutive year. continue... |  |
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Alumni News:
 | We at RJR Alumni want to keep you up-to-date with the MANY alumni that have newspaper (and magazine) articles written about them. We ask that you send us an e-mail when ever you see an article that has a RJR graduate featured in it (and that article is already posted into the internet somewhere). All we will need is the internet "address" of the posting of that article (and your info as to when that person graduated from RJR). We will then post these articles here (as can be seen below). You can send us the e-mail by clicking here ( * ) . Please put "article about RJR grad" in the subject-line of your e-mail). continue... |
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Link your Harris Teeter VIC card to RJ Reynolds! Our number is 4261 and your VIC card can be linked at any check out. Your VIC card has to be re-linked every August in order to qualify for the incentive. All incentive money goes directly to the school. |  |
 | Link your Food Lion MVP card to RJ Reynolds! Our number is 18351 and can be linked at check out. Your MVP card has to be re-linked every year in order to qualify for the incentive. All incentive money goes directly to the school. |
To learn more about the early history of Reynolds High School and the Auditorium, click here ( * ).
To go to the official RJ Reynolds High School website, click here ( * ).
To contact us at the "RJ Reynolds High School Alumni and Friends" organization: click here ( * ) to send an e-mail to Harry Corpening (who is the President of this organization). Please put "RJR alumni" in the subject line. Should you wish to call him, his number is (336) 575-9476.
