It's time that an issue is addressed that has recently been surfacing, whether it's in a group setting, or individuals wondering why their name is not on our Life Member List. As you probably know, we are the Sparrows Point High School Association Inc., founded in 1983 which was, if memory serves, pre-internet days. Our Association offers Life Memberships for $50, a real bargain compared to other High School alumni associations. These dollars, as well as any other monies received pays for requests from the school and/or student scholarships. That is our mission....why we exist. A list of Life Members is available for all to view on our website, and is by no means 100% accurate and we know that. We're trying hard to get it right, and rely on input from the membership. Recently, I have received multiple requests to add members names who they believe have been omitted. We do due diligence to verify as best we can, but one glaring issue has been surfacing. Enter AlumniClass, Inc, a company who by there own admission, is not affiliated with and is independent of any school, school district, alumni association or any other sites. They provide websites for what appears to be every high school in the country, and they have one for the 'Point. The name on their homepage is Sparrows Point High School Alumni. Members can join free of charge, but to use advanced features, one must either pay $20 for an annual membership, or $50 for a lifetime membership, and be recognized as an Honorary Alumni Supporter. They also sell apparel and will help sell tickets to reunions, for a fee of course. I want to point out that not one cent of any money sent to this organization goes back to the school or students. That being said, I am finding that some requests being received to add names to our Life Member List, are from alum who paid for membership to this other alumni site. Easy mistake to make, since their name contains the first five words as ours - Sparrows Point High School Alumni Association vs. Sparrows Point High School Alumni. This has resulted in the payment for membership from well meaning alum who presumably wanted to give back to their Alma Mater, and are now realizing that they were misled. Yes, there are disclaimers on the website, but one would have to navigate the site to see them, and how many of us really do that? There are currently (are you ready for this?), 1213 members on the non-Association website. I have no idea how many are paid members, but had they become members of SPHSAA, one can only imagine the benefit to our beneficiaries. Anyone who paid for a membership to the non-association site and meant to, this message is not for you, but those who THOUGHT they were joining the official SPHS Alumni Association, we are sorry and please, let us know. This is also for those who are THINKING of becoming members and giving back to the school, you are now better informed to make a choice.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I welcome any comments and/or suggestions.
Hank Rode Class of '68
President, Sparrows Point High School Alumni Association
