Show Your “Extra” McCaskey Pride!

Dear Friend of McCaskey,

Once again Lancaster’s largest day of online giving, the Extraordinary Give, approaches. So much generosity was shown to the McCaskey Alumni Association last year on this special day, and the abundance of our activity since then has been a testament to that support. In keeping McCaskey’s history alive and connecting our fellowship of alumni in service to the School District of Lancaster (SDOL), we have enjoyed a year like no other.

The Alumni Vidette

Thanks to our generous alumni and friends, we have continued to publish our bi-annual newsletter, which keeps our community in the loop about the latest endeavors of McCaskey students, past and present. We hope that you have enjoyed the quality of this publication. Though colleges and universities are famous for their magazines, we don’t know of any high school alumni association that achieves the quality of the Alumni Vidette!

The Barney Ewell Statue

On Saturday, November 19, the day after 2022’s Extra Give, we dedicated the Barney Ewell Statue in downtown Lancaster, drawing a crowd of hundreds. This partnership with the Barney Ewell Legacy Committee established a permanent monument to inspire future generations with the story of McCaskey’s only Olympic Gold Medalist Barney Ewell ’38.

Joe Philo Alumni Classic

On Friday, April 14, we brought the Lancaster community of alumni together for the Joe Philo Alumni Classic. These basketball contests included former players and graduating seniors.

85th Birthday Party

What can we say about this unforgettable event? Hundreds of people flooded onto J.P.’s front concourse to hear the McCaskey drumline and packed into the lobby for birthday cake, tours of the high school, and a massive exhibit of memorabilia spanning the decades. We all agree it was the most successful event in the history of the McCaskey Alumni Association!

Remembering the Forgotten War

On Thursday, July 27, in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, the McCaskey Alumni Association honored the veterans of that conflict who attended SDOL. MAA did so by welcoming veterans back to McCaskey and unveiling a plaque remembering the five known SDOL alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice in Korea.

The Distinguished Alumni Class of 2023 (From Left): Evita Colon ’09, Blanding Watson ’90, Maian Ly McCauley ’05, Richard Mendez ’93, and Kenny Myers ’89.

Distinguished Alumni Awards

On October 5, we held our annual Distinguished Alumni Awards, which puts the many School District of Lancaster success stories on display for the community. This year’s program honored Evita Colon ’09 (Lancaster’s Poet Laureate), Maian Ly McCauley ’05 (Banking VP), Richard Mendez ’93 (Police Chief), Blanding Watson ’90 (NAACP Chair), and Kenny Myers (Kegel’s Produce CFO). This year’s event was a dressier affair at Southern Market, and some called it “the best Distinguished Alumni Awards ever.”

On a Personal Note…

Your “Extra Give” on Friday, November 17 will mean more to me than ever, as this will be my last Extraordinary Give as the Alumni Director at McCaskey. November marks my departure from this role to give my full-time focus to one of the other great loves of my life—making theatre in Lancaster. I have great confidence in LEF’s new Executive Director Angela Trout, McCaskey Class of 1986, to select the right person to lead the McCaskey Alumni Association through the 2020s and beyond. It has been my great honor to serve the graduates of J.P. McCaskey High School for the last eight years, and I will remain at the very center of our beloved Alumni Association.

Once a Tornado, Always a Tornado,

Jeremiah Miller, Alumni Director