Benefit for PHS grad Eric Day planned

A 5K Run/Walk and a 1- mile Leprechaun run will be held to benefit Eric Day, a graduate of PHS, and his family. Eric is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor in Bloomington, Indiana. The event will take place on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. on the PHS Football Field and through the Centennial Park. Registration will be at 9:00 a.m. Entry fees are $15.00 for students and $20.00 for adults. Entry fees include a T-shirt.

Bruce Ruffing Grill will also be there with pulled pork sandwiches.

This event is sponsored by the PHS Pep Club. Eric was president of this club while at PHS.

More information may be found on Facebook - St. Paddy's DAY Dash. If you have questions, please contact Kelsey Flynn at kflynn1960@gmail.com

Riverside named state "School to Watch"

By Carol Anders
Correspondent

PLYMOUTH — Riverside Intermediate School has been recognized by the Indiana Middle Level Education Association (IMLSA) with their “Schools to Watch” Award.

Riverside Principal Donna Burroughs submitted a lengthy application to the IMLSA last fall.
Out of the numerous applications from all over the state, Riverside was one of only three schools selected for an on-site visit by the state’s “Schools to Watch” Award Committee.

Last week, reviewers converged on the school before the students arrived and stayed until well after the students left for the day. Interviewers included Randy Feola, Washington Twp. Middle School, Valparaiso – teacher; Maureen Farag, Highland Middle School Assistant Principal; Mark Anderson, Decatur Middle School, principal; and Shirley Wright, director of Indiana Middle Level Education Association.

According to Burroughs, to be considered for this award, the school has to meet the following criteria: Achieve academic excellence; be developmentally responsive to unique student needs; be socially equitable, democratic, and fair; and have strong structures for learning in place.
After touring the entire school, a panel met with Plymouth business/community partners to help understand how a school interacts with the community.

Burroughs said, “The steps in this award process fit right in with what we are trying to achieve at Riverside-teach the whole child.”

Prior to the site visit, the staff had to complete a seven-page self-study and rating sheet meant to pinpoint areas of excellence to areas of need.

As part of the recognition for this award, a community celebration will be held later this spring and educational leaders from the state will be in attendance with the local school community. Also, a few staff members from Riverside will attend the national recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C. from June 21-23, 2012 to be recognized with representatives from the other ‘Schools to Watch” winners from other states.

Reprinted by permission of the Pilot News

PAA President's Corner

I welcome you to the Plymouth Alumni Association. I hope you will find the Alumni Association as exciting, informative and worthy of your time and resources as I have.  The Alumni Association is a wonderful place for reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and learning of the new things happening with PHS alumni and the exceptionally talented students at Plymouth High School. 

In 2012, a new chapter will be launched in serving the PHS alumni.  The Alumni Association grows each day as more graduates take advantage of the information highway created by the web page and newsletter.  Many have contributed to the success of the association through time and resources in organizing new programs like “Rock on with the Rockies” and the “Alumni Pre/Post Game Radio Show” featuring live interviews with students, teachers, coaches and administrators at home athletic events. This is just a few of the new ways your association will work to reconnect with you, your classmates, and friends.  With the support and commitment of Supt. Dr. Dan Tyree; Jim Condon, Principal of Plymouth High School; Rusty Nixon, Director of Alumni Affairs; and the Alumni Board, I look forward to more exciting activities from your Alumni Association. 

With the enthusiasm demonstrated for the renewed purpose of the alumni association, my goal is to bring the resources together to build a network of information and programs which will benefit each graduate of Plymouth High School.  I envision an Alumni Association that serves as a social network, but also a place where graduates can gather and exchange information, identify employment opportunities and learn from other graduates on experiences in life since leaving Plymouth High School.

I envision an association that will establish a foundation for scholarships for students, teachers and alumni who recognize the cornerstones of success begin with an educational environment like the one found at Plymouth High School.  I see an association that will continue to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding and distinguished performance of PHS alumni in a new and expanded Hall of Fame.  A Hall of Fame that will tell a story of PHS graduates serving their communities.   Finally, I envision an association that will perpetuate the common bond we all share as graduates of Plymouth High School for future generations.

If you are a PHS graduate, regardless of where you are located, and want to become a part of the energy you will find in the Plymouth Alumni Association, join me today in moving forward to a new vision to preserve the past, celebrate today and advance into the future.  


I look forward to hearing from each of you on how your alumni association can better serve you.

DEAN A. COLVIN ('70)

Kinney named Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

PLYMOUTH - After graduation many college grads find their way to the bright lights and big jobs of the big city. After trying that route, one honor graduate found what he was looking for, right back in his home town.

Brent Kinney was a 2003 graduate of Plymouth High School, moved on to graduate with distinction from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and spent a time working in the corporate offices of Target in Minneapolis. Now he's the recently named Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year.

"It really wasn't the best thing for me," said Kinney of his Target days. "It really wasn't the kind of career path that I wanted to be on. They are a great company and Minneapolis is a great place to live. It was a great experience but it wasn't for me really."

Brent knew what was the right thing for him all along. He returned to Plymouth to work with his father Jack's company - J. Kinney & Associates an independent, full-service financial advisory firm.

"I think I always envisioned a day when I would come back home and get into business with my dad," said Brent. "I don't know if I knew what kind of business but I always just assumed we'd do something together. I guess I planned on coming back home all along, it just happened a lot quicker than I thought it might."

Like many Plymouth natives, Brent says he took a lot of his hometown with him wherever he's gone.

"Everywhere I've ever been and everything I've ever done, Plymouth made me what I am," he said. "You'd be hard pressed to find another place like Plymouth anywhere.

"A lot of people look at a small town and everybody knowing everything about everybody else and maybe to some that can be a negative but I think there is a lot of comfort in that. As I was growing up there was a whole community that knew me and knew my parents and they were all there to watch over me and help me make good decisions. Teachers, coaches, people in the community -  my parents didn't have to carry that all by themselves. Everybody looking out for each other, and I think of that as a good thing."

Brent and his Father Jack look forward to their partnership in the years to come and expanding their interests in J. Kinney and Associates. The lessons learned in Plymouth will help.

"It's really hard to pinpoint just one thing I learned growing up here but I think it would be if you want something you have to work for it," said Brent. "You have to put the time in if you want to be successful no matter what you're doing."

Martin lands fellowship

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

MANHATTAN, KS - Curiosity may have killed the cat but it's led 2005 PHS grad Erika Martin to a prestigious fellowship as she pursues her Ph.D at Kansas State University.

Erika - along with several other KSU grad students - has been selected to receive the EIDRoP
(Evidence-Based Inquiry into the Distant, Remote or Past) GK 12 fellowship. The fellowship is designed to help scientists be more involved in the community and relating research to the general public. As part of the fellowship she will be teaching a class at Junction City High School.

"It's exciting to me because it involves explaining research in real terms," said Martin. "As a scientist you should be able to tell people about what you're doing in terms they understand. It's getting out and doing real world science. Everyone should do science. It's everywhere."

Erika is currently in the Ph.D program in the Kansas State Biology Department doing her dissertation on "Ecological and ecosystem consequences of fish movement in a dynamic riverscape". The ecosystems of lakes and rivers has always held a fascination even since her first internship.

"I remember in my first internship doing my undergrad work at Ball State spending time on the Wabash in a boat," she said. "We'd go along and not see any fish at all and then suddenly would come on a log or a stone or a pool in the river and there would be literally hundreds of fish - huge amounts of fish - and I thought that was really cool. It really sold me. I wanted to know why that was."

It was that curiosity that drove her into the field at a very young age.

"I grew up living on the water at my parents house," she said. "Seeing all those things made me wonder how things do what they do. I guess I just thought 'why not keep doing that as an adult?'. I wrote in a journal when I was growing up that I wanted to be a marine biologist. It's just a lot of fun."

Erika carries that fun into her everyday work as she prepares for a career in research and teaching.

"I'm looking forward to the challenges to communicate what I do exactly," she said. "Mis-communication causes a lot of problems. It's very exciting and I feel this is really going to help me."

Plymouth surgeon finds there's no place like home

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

PLYMOUTH - In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy found out that there was "…no place like home…" and surgeon Dr. Brian Piazza has had a chance to find that out first hand.

After a 20 year career in Michigan Brian has come home to a practice in his hometown of Plymouth and is finding it to his liking.

"There seems to be a shortage of general surgeons around the country so when the group I was with disbanded there were no shortage of offers coming in," said Brian. "We interviewed several other places but (Plymouth) is still the great town it's always been. There is a real pride in community here that is really unique."

Brian spent most of his career in Port Huron, Michigan in his chosen specialty as a general surgeon - dealing with a broad spectrum of surgeries such as hernia, gall bladder and some cancer care. His decision to come home to practice was a considered one.

"Port Huron was a great practice to be involved in and we had a good 12 year run there," he said. "I had some familiarity with Trinity (the corporation that runs Saint Joseph Hospital of Marshall County) and knew that would be a good fit. And there is always the reassuring feeling of coming home."

Brian started his career in a smaller town near Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved on to a practice in Flint that involved teaching for Michigan State University. From there it was on to Port Huron. Each stop was a good one, but Plymouth has another type of appeal.

"I probably know anybody who's graduated from Plymouth High School," he said with a laugh. "Between my brothers and I we probably had a Piazza in every graduating class for 10 years so everybody probably knew one of us. It is really good to come home and renew those old acquaintances.

"It's really interesting to me the different way you see things growing up in a place and then coming back. There are just so many people that contribute to this community and keeping things running on a day to day basis and that's something that's hard to see when you are in school."

While in school Brian chose general surgery for a specific reason.

"I was drawn to it because its a rather broad specialty and maybe partly because it's really the closest thing to a general practice," he said. "I get to do a little bit of everything. I'm not going to be doing the same thing over and over everyday and I really like that variety."

The relationships with patients is another plus.

"A lot of folks we may see just a time or two but some we continue to see over a period of time," said Brian. "We continue to see many of our cancer care patients for quite awhile and it's very nice to get to know them and develop those relationships."

Dr. Piazza's family is also creating relationships.

"My kids absolutely love the school," he said. "They're involved in band and all sorts of other things and they've got lots of friends, they always tell me that they are really glad we moved here.

"There is just a real community pride here that you don't experience a lot of other places. The community is very conscientious working to grow and develop and provide opportunities for it's citizens. The place we lived in Port Huron was really a bedroom community - a very nice place - but you never really saw a lot of community pride.

"While things have changed some it's great to come back and see some stability like Hoosier Tire still being here. I needed to buy a new suit the other day and it was really good to see Gary Treat and their family business still here. And People's Drug Store - I started working there as a clerk when I was a boy, cleaning up and whatever. Change is good but it's also good to see some things that don't change."

Family and career real honors for Football Hall of Famer

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL - The early career is impressive.

As a football player PHS grad Pete Buchanan held the state career rushing record for 14 years after his graduation in 1977 rushing for 5,972 yards in his four years at PHS. He scored 69 touchdowns and ran for over 200 yards in a game nine times including the Rockies State Championship win over Jasper his senior year. He also had the highest number of points for tackles and assists in a state championship game and was an All American in 1977, on both offense and defense and in 2000 was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.

Just for good measure he was also a member of the National Honor Society.

As impressive as his football career was, Pete has had many more successes in life that mean as much. One is a marriage to wife Kathy (McClure) that has lasted for nearly 40 years.

"I guess we were meant for each other," he said. "We started dating when we were freshman. It's really kind of unbelievable really. We still get along fabulously. We have always been able to communicate and we seem to be on the same page on almost everything - how to raise our kids, how we see the world, everything. It's really pretty cool."

"I'm really, really proud of all of my kids," said Pete. "Caitlin is a Notre Dame graduate and in dental school at Florida. Allison is working on a graduate degree in accounting at Florida State and has a job at Price, Waterhouse, Cooper when she graduates. Courtney is a sophomore at Florida State and also studying accounting."

Pete's son John is a lot like his father. A 6'4", 250 pound high school senior football standout and three sport athlete John recently made a tough choice.

"He had some Division I football offers at places like Marshall or East Carolina," said Pete. "He decided he's not going to play football in college. He doesn't want to go to school at those places and would rather go someplace and get the degree he wants. I support that decision 100 percent.

"I love watching him play because he always works his butt off at whatever he's doing. He's a good football player but he's a great kid and a great guy and I think that's what makes me most proud of him."

Those lessons learned on the field have been useful in Pete's successful business career. A Vice President at Bateman, Gordon and Sands his company specializes on risk management for construction companies. They've been able to weather the economic hard times in south Florida without a lot of trouble but it hasn't been easy for others.

"Really the toughest part is watching clients you've worked with for years struggle," said Pete. "Some of our clients went out of business but most of them have been able to scratch to survive. Since January things have started to come around so hopefully that continues."

"I learned a lot of things playing football it's really hard to pin one down. I know it's kind of cliche but it's like they say 'The harder I practice the luckier I get.' Some things do fall into place but you don't get something for nothing. Work your tail off and be a good person. That's the advice I'd give anybody."