Please plan to join us at Midland School on the weekend of April 25-26, 2009. The weekend will include a number of events covered elsewhere in this newsletter. I want to draw special attention to the presentation of the John Dreyfuss Distinguished Alumnus Award to Tom Mone '72, at 10 AM on Sunday, April 26. Tom Mone (in the photo above, when he was a Midland student) is a true example of the purpose of the John Dreyfuss Distinguished Alumnus Award, which is awarded to that person, "who, through distinguished service to the School and his community, has exemplified the ideals of Midland School."

Tom Mone is CEO of OneLegacy, the US's largest organ recovery agency, serving 19 million people, 200+ hospitals and 13 transplant centers. Tom is a leading figure in helping to make the miracle of organ transplant an almost "everyday" medical procedure. His tireless efforts have led to increases in both organ donations and financial support for organ transplant research. Tom is an active member in his community and has served with several non-profit organizations. Equally important, Tom has been a strong supporter of Midland School; he has made calls for the Annual Scholarship Fund, hosted alumni events at his home, and supported the School in numerous other ways.

Please join us on April 26 to honor one of our own, celebrate our community, and refresh our commitment to the "ideals of Midland School," as well as to have a great time!

Sincerely,
John Martin '66
President, Midland Alumni Association

Stephen Dane '59 dropped by for the first time in many years. He took a little tour with Head of School Will Graham, and was happy to see the lap system is still alive and well.

Eric Lauritsen '61 dropped by and had not been back since he was a student in the Ben Rich days. He remembers Midland with great fondness and learned important life lessons.

Megan McGrath '93 was a featured winemaker in the Santa Barbara News Press this month.

Christopher Abatemarco '06 is at Santa Barbara City College pursuing Engineering and Architecture.

Nathan Bindschadler '07 is coaching Middle School students in Lacrosse and intends to pursue Kinesiology.

Megan Smith '08, a freshman at Smith College, went on a two week geology trip to Hawaii. Megan made the varsity lacrosse team at Smith. She went to Florida for spring training and says, "I still can't believe I get to play Division III lacrosse...and on the east coast!"

Chana Hodosh '08 is pursuing a double major in Equestrian Studies and Biology. She won't get home for Spring Break this year as she's heading off to Eastern Montana on a cattle drive.

Naia Cobb '08 moves to Canada in June for Environmental Studies - all thanks to inspiration from the documentary film, Planet Earth.

Honored for Filmmaking: William Johnston-Carter '10 (in the photo above), is the recipient of Midland's 2009 Summer Internship Program Award! He will be attending Interlochen Center for the Arts summer program in Michigan, focusing on filmmaking. And, William won first place in the high school division of the SLO International Film Festival, March 6-15, 2009! View his winning short film, "The To-Do List."

Fundraiser for Darfur: Silviano Valdez '09 and Kevin Jung '11 are raising money to purchase "solar cookers" (solar ovens) to send to women in refugee camps in Darfur. The ovens ensure that the women will not have to leave the camps in search of firewood (often for days at a time), where they're vulnerable to attacks, rape, etc. So far, Silvi and Kevin have raised over $700 (in two weeks!), and their goal is to raise $1000, where their money will be matched, for a total of $2000 raised.

Midland Students Help Prepare Taxes: Midland School Finance students and seniors Patrick Holstein, Kevin Carney, Joey Hermosillo, Andrew Hurley, Cameron DeLapp, Colin Weaver, Bryn Puha, Silviano Valdez and Steve Herron are volunteers in the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. The program provides free tax preparation for low-income individuals and families. The students are certified by the IRS and completed their training by completing four actual returns for local families. The students are working with families from the Santa Ynez Valley in conjunction with People Helping People and the United Way.

The Trust for Public Land has the display case at the Main Library in downtown Santa Barbara for the month of April. They are going to feature three of the projects on which they have worked---Midland School, Ellwood Mesa in Goleta, and Rancho Monte Alegre in Carpinteria. The display will go up on April 1st and down on April 30th.