{"id":36655,"date":"2026-08-03T14:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/?p=36655"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:43:07","slug":"shs-class-of-1975-honors-50th-reunion-with-53k-gift-to-sef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/?p=36655","title":{"rendered":"SHS Class of 1975 Honors 50th Reunion with $53K+ Gift to SEF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n
\n\n \n \"\"<\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n
\n\n \n \"\"<\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n

Summit High School alumni mark milestone reunion by supporting SEF grants benefiting students, teachers, and administrators across Summit Public Schools.<\/p>\n

The Summit High School Class of 1975 marked its 50th reunion with a class gift of more than $53,000 to the Summit Educational Foundation (SEF), honoring the schools that helped shape their lives and supporting students across the Summit Public Schools.<\/p>\n

The gift reflects the lasting connection many alumni continue to feel to their years in the Summit school system and their desire to give back in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my fondest memories, and many of my closest friendships, go back to my time in the Summit school system,\u201d said Angela Ross (Valenziano), a 1975 graduate. \u201cThe teachers at Summit High were passionate in their vocation, encouraging all of their students to pursue their dreams. I was happy to join my fellow classmates in supporting the important work SEF does to create opportunities for current and future generations of Summit students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the Class of 1975 embraced the idea of a substantial class gift as a tribute to how meaningful their Summit public school experience remains even 50 years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Summit school experience touched our young lives in lasting ways, and that connection is still meaningful to us all these years later,\u201d said Eric Hillenbrand, SHS \u201975. \u201cThis gift reflects both our gratitude for what we received and our hope that today\u2019s students will benefit from the same strong foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea for a class gift began during the Class of 1975\u2019s 40th reunion and gained momentum as classmates approached their 50th reunion milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Summit High Class of \u201973 set a high bar with a class gift to SEF of $73,000 to commemorate their 50th reunion,\u201d said Peter Laughlin, SHS \u201975. \u201cThat example resonated, showing us that a goal once thought unattainable was more than possible. For our 50th reunion, we set a goal of $50,000, and exceeded it. Our hope is that future SHS 50th reunion classes will follow this lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

After considering ways to support Summit High School and the broader school system, the Class of 1975 chose SEF as the recipient of its gift because of the foundation\u2019s districtwide impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Summit Educational Foundation was the first choice as the recipient of our class gift because of the breadth of programs it supports,\u201d said Larry Lauer, SHS \u201975 Class President. \u201cThat broad impact appealed to so many of our classmates and made this a meaningful way to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The class\u2019s enthusiasm grew even stronger following a tour of Summit High School led by Principal Stacy Grimaldi.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur visit to the high school made a real impression,\u201d said Mark Di Ionno, SHS \u201975. \u201cStacy\u2019s passion for education and the well-being of students was evident throughout the tour. It was inspiring to see the forward-looking opportunities available to students today and to understand how SEF helps make so much of that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

SEF leaders expressed appreciation for the Class of 1975\u2019s generosity and commitment to public education.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly grateful to the Summit High School Class of 1975 for this thoughtful gift,\u201d said Susan Daniel, Co-President of the Summit Educational Foundation. \u201cTheir support helps SEF continue to fund innovative grants that benefit students, teachers and administrators across all nine Summit Public Schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About Summit Educational Foundation<\/h5>\n
\u00a0The Summit Educational Foundation\u2019s mission is to maintain and enhance the high quality of a Summit public school education through community funding of innovative and essential educational programs in a close working relationship with the school district.
\nFor more information about Summit Educational Foundation, visit SEFNJ.org<\/a>\u00a0or contact info@SEFNJ.org<\/a>.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summit High School alumni mark milestone reunion by supporting SEF grants benefiting students, teachers, and administrators across Summit Public Schools. The Summit High School Class of 1975 marked its 50th reunion with a class gift of more than $53,000 to the Summit Educational Foundation (SEF), honoring the schools that helped shape their lives and supporting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":36657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"post_flags":[],"class_list":["post-36655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summitchatham-local"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36655"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36662,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36655\/revisions\/36662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36655"},{"taxonomy":"post_flag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_flags&post=36655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}