. class of 1981 .
7.2.10
John M. O'Connor, class of 1981, has been named one of nine members of the worldwide staff of the Associated Press to be honored and one of the top two to win the 2010 Oliver S. Gramling Awards for excellence. O'Connor's citation was a journalism award as a statehouse reporter in Springfield, IL, "who consistently breaks news that leads legislators to act."
AP President and CEO Tom Curley said "O'Connor's tenacious reporting in Illinois embodies AP's fundamental mission in every state capital of holding government officials accountable for their actions."
A committee of AP managers selected the winners. O'Connor's award carries a prize of $10,000, which he won for "repeatedly breaking news by digging through documents and by building relationships with sources. His stories became campaign issues, inspired editorials, forced changes in policy and prompted legislators to act," the judges stated. The winners will be honored at a dinner in New York in July.
O'Connor has previously won the Peter Lisagor award for exemplary journalism four times. That award is bestowed annually by the Chicago Headline Club, an affiliate of the Society of Professional Journalists. Last year, he won the Charles Rowe Award for Distinguished Statehouse Reporting from the Associated Press Managing Editors.
John has a bachelor's degree from Loras College in Dubuque, IA and a master's degree in public affairs reporting from Sangamon State University (now the University of Illinois at Springfield).
. class of 1982 .
. class of 1983 .
. class of 1984 .
. class of 1985 .
Aquin Grads on Chicago . NBC News 5
The following link is of a newscast that was shown on NBC news 5 on Friday, September 26 throughout Chicago. It was produced by Aquin graduate, class of 1980, Suzanne Richter (reporter for NBC5), during the Lincoln Douglas Sesquicentennial celebrated over Labor Day Weekend. In addition to featuring Freeport, it includes interviews with Aquin graduates; Tim Connors, Aquin Class of 1985, (playing the role of Stephen A. Douglas) and George Gaulrapp, Aquin Class of 1977, (Mayor of Freeport).
The Great Debate . Lincoln v. Douglas
. class of 1986 .
. class of 1987 .
. class of 1988 .
Rian Sanders, class of 1988, completed the Ironman Wisconsin on Sunday, September 7, 2008.
WOW! In case you don’t know what that means:
He jumped in the lake at 7:00 a.m.
He swam 2.4 miles (1 hour 20 minutes)
He biked 120 miles (another 8 hours)
Then for fun he ran a marathon – 26.2 miles
He finished at 9:34 p.m.
(Rian is pictured above at the Aquin 1986 State Champion Game.)
Joel Moyer, class of 1988, was tired just watching him all day, driving around, cheering, walking about 2.5 miles. But, whew, Joel had a good workout.
. class of 1989 .
Steve Murray, class of 1989, will be hosting the Andrew Murray/SMA Golf Outing and Silent Auction. Andrew (the son of Steve and Jodi Murray) is a 10 year old boy with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 2 who was diagnosed at 18 months of age, and has never crawled or walked. SMA is a rare genetic motor neuron disease that causes weakness in muscles throughout the body and is the #1 genetic killer of children under the age of 2. The often fatal disease that destroys the nerves controlling voluntary muscle movement, does not allow individuals affected with SMA to live a normal life. For more information on SMA visit www.fsma.org. There is currently no cure or treatment for this horrible disease.
2009-2010 UPDATE: On 12/18/09, Andrew endured a 9 ½ hour surgery to have his spine straightened during which 2 metal rods, along with several screws and springs were placed on each side of his spine. This was done because of the scoliosis Andrew had which is common among all SMA kids!
PrairieView Golf Club-Saturday, July 31st
Golf – 1:00 p.m. Shotgun Start
Dinner & Silent Auction- 6:00 p.m.
Contact Info/Questions:
Jodi Murray . 815-335-7423 murray0928@aol.com or Steve Murray . 815-234-4653 pvgolfpro@hotmail.com
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Andrew Murray Special Needs Trust and Families of SMA for research
__________$300 (Golf & Cart, Dinner, and Silent Auction for 4)
__________$85 (Golf & Cart, Dinner, and Silent Auction for 1)
__________$20/person or $30/couple (Dinner& Silent Auction only)
__________I can not attend but would like to donate an item to the Silent Auction.
__________I can not attend but would like to make a monetary donation.
Entry Deadline for golf: 7/16/10
Checks Payable To: Andrew Murray Special Needs Trust
806 Mitchell Drive
Winnebago, Il 61088
Name _________________________________________
Address _______________________________________
E-Mail ________________________________________
Phone ________________________________________
Steve Murray, class of 1989, qualified for the 2009 PGA Professional National Championship. Murray has won four Illinois PGA Tournaments and has twice finished in the top 10 in the Illinois Open.
Tim Hotchkiss, class of 1989, will be graduating from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary on May 2, 2009 with a Master of Divinity. He is currently serving as the pastor at North Grove Evangelical Church in Forreston, IL and will also be completing his training as an Army Chaplain later this summer at Ft. Jackson, SC. He will be accessioning into the Army Reserve after the completion of his training.
. class of 1990 .
Send any information you would like posted here to webmaster@aquinschools.org.
| 
