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PROFILE UPDATES

•	Phil Stockard * 8/4
•	Mark Ellis 5/18
•	Teresa Henderson (Mitchell-Horder) 5/17
•	Dennis Lang * 5/17
•	Danita Wright * (Jones) 5/17
•	Neal Paton * 5/17
•	Manolito Geaga (Geaga) 2/12
•	Anne Brock * 1/28
•	Christina Simpson * (Mitchell) 1/28
•	Manuel Rojas * 10/1
•	Mark Edward Smith * 9/14
•	Rosalie Circello (Wagner) 12/19
•	Jeff Williams 8/31
•	Karen Albright * (Lin) 8/30
•	Ha Pham 8/2
•	Terry McNutt 7/13
•	Donna Degges 6/20
•	Erick McEnaney 5/15
•	Alex Sachs 11/5
•	Monica Boyd * 10/29
•	John Wesley * 6/8
•	Lisa . (Hickok) 5/11
•	Bridgette Robinson (Brown) 2/3
•	Rose Becchina * (Dicus) 12/18
•	Julie Crist (Crist) 9/18
•	Dorothy Riviera (Trapnell) 2/24
•	Henry Levingston III 2/17
•	LaJeana Morgan (Morgan) 5/14
•	Sheila Avery * (Donahue) 3/18
•	Viktoria Gaw * (Gaw) 7/10
•	Craig Fisher 9/13
•	Laurie Calvert * 9/12
•	Teresa Jackson* (Rothfield) 8/23
•	Tonya Pickett * (Brown) 8/23
•	David Miller * 6/6
•	Robin Harris * (Winfrey) 3/6
•	Terry Ward 3/5
•	Robin Coleman * 1/17
•	Dan White * 11/17
•	Ann Walthall * (Hogg) 11/16

WHERE ARE THEY NOW

WHERE WE LIVE

Who lives where - click links below to find out.

2 live in Arizona
9 live in California
2 live in Colorado
5 live in Florida
1 lives in Georgia
1 lives in Hawaii
2 live in Illinois
22 live in Kansas
72 live in Missouri
2 live in Nevada
1 lives in New Jersey
2 live in New York
2 live in Oklahoma
3 live in Pennsylvania
1 lives in Tennessee
7 live in Texas
4 live in Virginia
2 live in Washington
1 lives in Chile
353 location unknown

Show Classmates on map

DONATE

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

•	Donna Degges 4/25
•	Antoinette Bynum * 4/26
•	Vernisa Cooper (Klapmeyer *) 4/27
•	Katie Hill* 4/30
•	Al Samuelson * 5/11
•	Henry Levingston III 5/16
•	Jamie Donaldson (Pils *) 5/20
•	Cathy Packlaian * (Cusumano) 5/20
•	Neal Paton * 5/20
•	Joni Peeler * (Lou) 5/20

JOINED CLASSMATES

Percentage of Joined Classmates: 28.4%

A:	141	Joined
B:	356	Not Joined

(totals do not include deceased)

MISSING CLASSMATES

Know the email address of a missing Classmate? Click here to contact them!

Welcome to the
Southwest High School
Class of 1976 - 1980

The Purpose of This Website:

Because not everyone is signed-on to FaceBook, or any other social media, we wanted there to be a centralized online location for our class. Donations to this site are appreciated. Donations can pay for this site's costs to eliminate advertising and fund the Reunion Fund. All donors who want their company logo posted, please contact the administrators.

HERE IS A LINK TO THE SWHS CLASS OF '80 FACEBOOK GROUP:

This site is for anyone who attended Southwest High between 1976 and 1980, and who was in the Class of 1980, EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T GRADUATE FROM SOUTHWEST. As we all know, many of the classmates who consider Southwest home, left due to the politics of the time and/or other reasons. So if you are one of them, sign up.

Southwest High School Today

Southwest High School was a comprehensive high school located at 6512 Wornall Road in Kansas City, Missouri. It was part of the Kansas City, Missouri School District. The school is in the Brookside neighborhood, two blocks south of Border Star Montessori. It was the only school in the Kansas City, Missouri School District that had on-site planetarium and science laboratories.

The school was founded in 1925 and grew throughout the years. The school slowly began to struggle, both financially and academically, and closed in 1998. The school reopened the following year as Southwest Charter School but closed again in 2005. The school reopened yet again in 2008 as Southwest Early College Campus but closed at the end of the school year in 2016.

The school offered many academic and extracurricular activities and programs and competed as the "Indians." The school colors were black and orange and the school yearbook was known as "The Sachem," a reference to the school mascot. Throughout its history, the school produced many notable alumni including the filmmaker Robert Altman, writer Calvin Trillin, the founders of H&R Block, actor Chris Cooper and rapper Tech N9ne, among others.

Southwest High School History

Southwest High School was established in 1927. From the 1930s through the 1960s, the school was recognized as one of the top schools in the area. In 1974 there was a six-week teacher's strike which led several students to transfer to other schools.

The school reorganized into a charter school in 1998, but failed and ended up closing. The building opened again in 1999 as Southwest Charter School. This lasted until 2005 when the school closed for a second time. Southwest became part of the school district again in August 2008, opening as Southwest Early College Campus. The new school was based on math and science and allowed students to
earn 20 to 60 hours of college credit from the University of Missouri-Kansas City

before graduating.

Academie Lafayette, a French-immersion charter school, was scheduled to have high school classes in the Southwest building starting with the 2015-2016 school year. The Kansas City School District announced this on June 9, 2014. After a group of ministers and public school advocates criticized the plan in March 2015, the Academie stepped back from the plan.

The school closed again after the last day of classes in 2016, with a graduating class of 70 students. The total student body at the time of the 2016 closing was 94% minority and 98% economically disadvantaged.

In the 2017-2018 school year, St. Peter's, a local Catholic school. moved into Southwest for a semester while the school was undergoing construction. The school remains closed as of October 2018.

Site Admin: Jennifer Lacy / Maria Clark

Class President: Mark Edward Smith

ANNOUNCEMENTS

•	SWHS Class of '80 and Alums - Happy 50th Birthday YEAR! This is an open invitation to ALL SWHS alums to help celebrate this year of 50th birthdays with the Class of '80. We are working through the details, but wanted to post the date so that any out-of-town classmates and alums can have plenty of time to make plans and arrangements. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 15th, 2012. Location/time and furthers details to be announced. If you missed the 30th reunion, please make plans for this 50th Birthday celebration. We don't know for sure, but we don't have plans outside of this 50th birthday gathering for any large event until our 40th reunion -- that's a long time, my friends! No time like the present! Please direct all non-Facebook friends to the Class of 80's website: www.southwesthighschoolclassof1980.com From there, they can sign in as class members, or 'friends' of the class. That way, EVERYONE can stay informed, regardless if they are on FB, or not. Stay tuned for further information!
•	One of our classmates, Kathy Brown, who currently lives in Japan, has taken it upon herself to hold a fundraiser dinner that supports Joplin relief/. Kathy has previously asked for my help. Unfortunately, I kept pushing her request down on my list, which I am not proud of. I am making an effort, on her final day for RSVPs, to help her achieve her goals for the Joplin Relief Effort. The fundraiser dinner event link is ^ above. It is scheduled for Sat., Sept 10th, 630p-10p, at the Plaza Library, KCMO. PLEASE MAKE YOUR RSVP VIA EMAIL, WITH A CONFIRMATION TO SEND A PERSONAL CHECK. They need the actual money in the bank by early next week, so today and this weekend is the last push. If you are not able to make the dinner, the "SW Supports Joplin" FB group page, has a link to the individual donations sites to The Joplin Humane Society and The Joplin Schools Tornado Relief Fund. A final note, I don't know how she's been able to do what she's done so far, given the fact that she lives in Japan, but what an effort she has made. Please help her in her goal to assist such a worth cause. I have yet to make any contributions to the Joplin relief, so this is my chance and I'm not going to let it pass. RSVP: Through FaceBook site or via e-mail: swsupportsjoplin@hotmail.com RSVP Deadline: Friday, September 2, 2011 Payment: $60.00 (includes dinner and donation) Payment Method: Check payable to: Southwest High School Reunion c/o Lisa Merrill Hickok 1901 W. 61st Terrace Shawnee Mission, KS 66208 Here is the FB app, that allows you to donate to The Joplin Schools Tornado Relief Fund: https://apps.facebook.com/fundrazr/activity/00de2e9ef70f43e8ba27042b06fba83e Here is the FB app, that allows you to donate to The Joplin Humane Society: https://apps.facebook.com/fundrazr/activity/acf942c6d7384302aab9e0456d3cb47d Thank you!!
•	Hello and a very Happy Thanksgiving greeting to you all! I have just received the approval from the group photographer at the reunion to post the group shot online. It was a terrific night and I hope everyone had a great time! I will be posting a video with pics of the reunion soon. Until then, let's all stay in touch!! Happy Holidays, my friends! (Reunion photo by Wilborn & Associates Photography. For a print, call 816-531-9000.)
•	Hey there all you awesome Indians. Our last reunion was such a blast. Thanks again to all of those who helped make the evening such a success. (make sure you check out Mark's Reunion Video in the left column.) I can't wait for our next one. Can't believe how fast time flies. Still not use to saying I'm in my 50s. LOL (I feel and act like a man in his 30s). So grateful for all the great training I recieved while at Southwest. Can't imagine how different my life would have been going to a school without art. Living my dream in Los Angeles, acting in TV and film; as well as singing on film scores and performing with the LA Master Chorale. If you're ever bored and want to check out my acting and singing demos visit: MeetMarkEdward.com To see if any of my TV or film appearances are coming up, see my IMDB page: www.imdb.com/name/nm2262149 If you're like me, and believe in doing what it takes to look and feel forever young; you may want to take a look at my other business adventure. Please feel free to email or call if you'd like more info on how to order products at a 35-50% discount and/or create a 5 or 6 figure additional income in your part time. MarkSmith.Arbonne.com Mark Edward Smith 818-988-8936 c1MarkEdwardSmith@me.com
•	I just would to say that everyone looked good and i enjoyed the reunion .i look foward to getting together again hopefully not in another 10 years!
•	Hello, Classmates: I apologize for being "silent" the last couple of weeks. As you can imagine, Jennifer and I needed a little rest from all the excitement. We hope the reunion was everything you hoped for and more. I believe it was definitely a night to remember. Please take an opportunity to thank everyone involved in the planning. Just because you see my name on everything you receive, doesn't mean there were not more people involved. Both Jennifer Lacy and Diane Simpson-Prigmore were instrumental in the overall planning and organization. They put lots of time and effort in as well. It's always nice to hear good comments, so please share. We've been receiving emails/calls regarding the status of the group photo and I'd like to do a follow-up, which will hopefully answer all your questions. For everyone that has ordered a print of the 8 X 10 group photo, you should be receiving it in the next couple of business days. The prints are being mailed out today, Fri 10/22/10. As a courtesy to the photgrapher, PLEASE DO NOT POST THE GROUP PHOTO ONLINE. The photographer will give me his approval to post online, but that will be after the 30-day, or so waiting period. The cost of the print is minimal. I'm sure you understand and can appreciate this request. There is not a preview available of the group photo. However, I'm sure the photographer has chosen the best shot out of all the group takes. There is a 30-day ordering period, but that has been extended. You can order by phone with a credit card, or visit their website to pay over the internet. Please specify "SW Class of 1980 Reunion" and the date of "10/8/10" at the Intercontinental Hotel. The details to contact the group photograher is as follows: Chris Wilborn, Wilborn & Associates 3101 Mercier, KCMO 64111 (816) 531-9000 www.wilbornfoto.com Color Print (8 X 10), $19.00/print I will also be working on centralizing everyone's individual pics on all sites (Class Creator, FaceBook and Classmates.com), that is if it's possible/feasible. You will also see further posts regarding the "roaming photograher" that night. We will make posts, once those are available as well. Thanks and I hope I've answered everyone's questions for now! MC
•	In my haste to post pics of a couple of our Class of '78 football heroes attending the Class of 1980's Rooftop Reunion, I inadvertently left out David Penner. There are lots of classmates you'll be happy to see on Friday. RSVPs for dinner are closed, but you can still arrive after dinner and pay $25 at the door to enjoy live music and see all the 100+ classmates from various classes, all together in one room, on one terrific night. See you on the rooftop!
•	SWHS Class of '80 30th Reunion - Part Deux! Hi Everyone! I hope everyone had a great night last night, I know I did. I'm an aspirin and a couple of cups of coffee into my morning. Just a quick reminder: the 2nd half to our reunion weekend will be today at Charlie Hooper's, in Brookside. Be there around 5:30pm-6:00pm. Hooper's address: 12 W 63rd St., Kansas City, MO 64113 (P) 816-361-8841, www.charliehoopers.com It was great seeing SO many friends. What an unforgettable evening and thank you for being there!
•	The SWHS Class of '80 Reunion committee has received many emails and responses regarding the deadline for dinner RSVPs. We understand that there are prior commitments that hinder attendance to the dinner (work, kids' games, etc.). We don't want to miss anyone, so we are extending an offer to everyone who could not make the dinner RSVP deadline. If you arrive after dinner (about 830 or 9PM), you can have rooftop admittance for $25/person. That's less than 1/2 the price of the regular dinner ticket. You can pay this at the door. While you're pondering that amazing deal, check out the pics of a couple of our Class of '78 Varsity Football players, Michael Haynes and Marc Prigmore. Both will be attending the Rooftop Reunion. Don't miss them! There will be a great band, good tunes and old friends! Bring your yearbook and don't forget to put your name on it!
•	Another faculty member will be joining us at the SWHS Class of '80 reunion, Mrs. Schell (English teacher). Please thank Elliott Threatt for making the arrangements for her attendance.
•	A big THANK YOU to Mitch Lichterman for his donation to the Class of '80's website. We appreciate the donation that helps keep this website up and running. Thank you, Mitch!
•	Dear SWHS 1980 Classmates: Spaces are filling up fast due to an increased interest from other classes. If you are planning to attend, the deadline is quickly approaching and you must make your reservations prior to September 1st. The number of reservations is limited. We want your presence there, so please secure your place at this once in a lifetime event. Thank you!
•	CAN YOU GUESS WHICH CENTURIAN WILL BE JOINING THE CLASS OF 80 AT THE “ROOFTOP” REUNION? Will it be Ronald Neame, (Oh, come on….the director of the Poseidon Adventure!) Or Roy Rogers, Vincent Price, Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball, Or hometown gal from Independence Missouri, Ginger Rogers?
•	So, did any of you guess the name of the Centurian that will be a guest at the Class of 1980's Rooftop Reunion? It's none other than Mr. Connor, our own Assistant Principal! Thank Dan French for making arrangements to have Mr. Connor attend. Dan will be escorting Mr. Connor from Columbia, MO to KC. Mr. Connor will be 100 years old in January 2011. Please secure your RSVP to the Rooftop Reunion and say hello to Mr. Connor!