Updated: May 23, 2014

Greetings classmates!

I hope you're 2014 is going well and you are enjoying great weather, wherever in the country you may be!  We will soon mark our 16th anniversary of our graduation at Maine West High School!

If you have come upon this sight and are a member of the Maine West High School Class of 1998, please take a moment and look up your profile and update any information as appropriate.  This will allow us to keep in touch with you as plans of the next reunion form.

Also, please take a moment and look at the "Missing Classmates" tab -- if you are in contact with anyone marked as "Missing", please either send us their email address through this website, or direct them to this site so that they may complete their own profile.

Have a great Spring and Summer!

Regards,
Eric Leys
Maine West Class of 1998 President

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January 6, 2012

Greeting classmates!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for staying a part of this site and keeping up-to-date with reunion information.  

It’s amazing how time flies!  In just a few short months, it will have been 14 years since our very own graduation at Maine West High School.  As a School Board Member in District 207 for the past 10 years, I have been able to witness all the changes at Maine West since we graduated.  In fact, there is an entirely new wing, “H-Wing” now!  One of the major topics of conversation under the heading of “Buildings and Grounds” in recent years has been a Field House for Maine West, but the cost ($10 million!?) and current economic state dictate that this project will likely not come to fruition in the near future.

In the coming year, I would like to get some “prep” work underway for our 15-year class reunion and would greatly appreciate your help!

1.  I need to make sure all contact information is up-to-date.  I will be working on this over the course of the next several months and would appreciate your confirming or making changes as appropriate when I contact you.

2.  I want to make sure as many of our classmates as possible are notified of our plans next year – so Check out our "Missing Classmates" list and let me know if you have email addresses for anyone on the list!  https://www.classcreator.com/Des-Plaines-IL-Maine-West-1998/class_custom2.cfm

3.  I once again will request that anyone interested in serving on the 15-year reunion committee step forward and contact me with you interest.  I received some emails of interest in the past, and have kept and noted those (but feel free to remind me of your interest, too!) but am seeking 3-4 people to assist with organizing the reunion.  I am confident the second will be easier than the first (our 10-year), given the knowledge of the process that Mike, Mimi, and I can off to new members of the reunion committee.  It is a great opportunity to re-connect with classmates and friends!

Best wishes to all for a fantastic 2012, and I hope to hear from and talk with many of you in the coming year.  Feel free to look me up on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ericleys or send me an email with your ideas, or just to catch up!

Best wishes,
-Eric

Eric Leys
Maine West High School
Class of 1998

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April 30, 2011

Hello once again, everyone!

In a little over a month, I will once again have the privilege of accepting the graduating class at our alma mater, Maine West High School, on behalf of the Board of Education.  I will, of course, be thinking back to our Commencement at Maine West nearly 13 years ago!

Check out our "Missing Classmates" list and let me know if you have email addresses for anyone on the list!  https://www.classcreator.com/Des-Plaines-IL-Maine-West-1998/class_custom2.cfm

A couple of items I would like to share on behalf of the "Reunion Committee"...

Mike Fitzgerald and I, with tremendous help from Mimi Barrientos, organized our 10-year reunion about 2 1/2 years ago at Grazie in Des Plaines.  It was a great event and wonderful to catch up with old classmates and see familiar faces.  Now, we could use some help organizing future events...

--Summer/Fall 2011: We would like to organize an informal mid-cycle gathering in the Chicago area for members of the Maine West Class of 1998.  Details TBA.  If you would like to help with planning this, please email eric@ericleys.com

--Fall 2013: 15-year Reunion... We would like to identify classmates that would be interested in organizing our 15-year Reunion.  Planning is typically best started about 9-12 months ahead of time, so that would be in late 2012/early 2013.  Please email me, eric@ericleys.com, if you are interested in serving in this capacity.

I hope everyone's 2011 is off to a great start and all are looking forward to a great summer!

Best wishes,
-Eric

Eric Leys
Maine West High School
Class of 1998

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January 17, 2009

Hi & Happy New Year to all!

I uploaded about 90 photos from our class reunion this past September into a Facebook album.  If you are not already a member of Facebook, you may have received an invite to join as well.  Please enjoy taking a look at the pictures posted in the following albums:

Reunion Photos Part 1 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15622&l=c89f8&id=1148394490
Reunion Photos Part 2 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15626&l=67651&id=1148394490

Also, please feel free to tag classmates at will!  (This is naming people in photos, for those not familiar with Facebook...) - I tagged as many as I could... but, of course, missed some people and only tagged those that I am Facebook friends with...

Hope all is well, and look forward to keeping in touch!  Also, if you have reunion photos that you would like to share and would like me to add to the album, please email them to me... eric.is.ooc@gmail.com

All the best!
-Eric Leys

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Sept 27, 2008

Thanks to everyone who was a part the Maine West Class of 1998's 10-Year Reunion.  It was amazing getting everyone together and catching up on the past 10 years!  This site will remain for as a place to keep in touch with fellow classmates through profile updates and posting of classmate news.

Our intention is to promote informal get togethers over the coming years promoted through evites and word-of-mouth until our next major reunion - when we hit 20 years in 2018!  For this reason, please keep your profile on this site updated with your current email address.

Fondly,
CLASS OF 1998 REUNION COMMITTEE

Eric Leys - eric@ericleys.com
Mike Fitzgerald - michaelsfitzgeraldjr@gmail.com
Mimi Hill (Barrientos) - mimiehill@gmail.com