When a newsletter is mailed to an alumnus who is over 100 years old, we truly don’t know if they are alive and well, deceased or if that newsletter is simply being thrown away.  Periodically our alumni registrar reviews public databases to see if any of these centurions are deceased in which we update our information.  This is not a foolproof process to fully know who should be on the mailing.  At some point in time, we make a cutoff to the mailing.  Please let Jeff know if you were removed in error.

Jeff Clutcher
5 S. Harding Ave.
Shamokin, PA 17872-7516
570-648-5282
jeff.clutcher@juno.com

Assuming we have the correct address, the alumni association can't control what happens when it heads to the post office and beyond.  We have heard reports of family members not always passing along newsletters or the item was thrown out accidentally.  Sometimes when mail is forwarded to a temp location for a period of time, it doesn't always process properly (but this is a guess on our part - 1st class items are OK, but bulk items may be suspect).  You can check with your local post office for expectations and exceptions.

In 2004, the United States Postal Service redefined and renamed the classes of mail. Fourth Class Mail was split into several categories including Library Mail, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail and Parcel Select.  The alumni association uses this class to send out the newsletter.  The great rate for processing has the drawback of – possibly – taking days or weeks to be delivered.  It depends upon the capacity of the local post office making the delivery. 

You can call, write, or email Jeff Clutcher to verify we have the correct information on file.  Current and older newsletters are available on the website.

Jeff Clutcher
5 S. Harding Ave.
Shamokin, PA 17872-7516
570-648-5282
jeff.clutcher@juno.com

The short answer is that we either updated the incorrect alumni entry by mistake or received incorrect death information which got posted to a person in the database who is alive.

A more involved answer, including how to correct.....

We have over 21,000 names in our alumni database.  Several thousand of these entries are listed as "Deceased" or "Missing" and are on our website.  Some alumni have been on this "Missing" list for decades, where we truly do not know if they are alive (and we could use their mailing address) or deceased.  Once a year we provide a mass mailing to over 11,000 alumni with our spring newsletter.  Over 1,000 newsletters are returned with revised address information or "Address Unknown".

The maintenance to our database is an ongoing process, a truly moving target to keep current.  We need to update thousands of entries each year.  This includes updating with regular address changes (someone moves), address changes made by government (PO Box gets renamed to a street name), name changes due to marriage, adding new graduates and updating the database with deceased members information.

Jeff Clutcher is our Alumni Registrar.  He has been faithfully maintaining the database since 1986.  As part of his duties, he routinely updates entries through newspaper obituaries, letters, personal contact, email and telephone calls.  He receives information from family and friends who have reviewed the "Missing" members on the website, informing him that an alumni member has died.  Sometimes this information is incorrect. Obviously, the data we have on file is only as accurate as the corrections which are given to Jeff.

If you know any entry which may be inaccurate or missing, please feel free to call, write or send an email to Jeff with the name, class and US mailing information.  Include deceased information (date of death) if available.  His contact information is listed below.  Your help by contacting friends, relatives, or alumni directly to verify information before reporting back to Jeff is appreciated.

Our database information is confidential and is only used for alumni associated activities.

Jeff Clutcher
5 S. Harding Ave.
Shamokin, PA 17872-7516
570-648-5282
jeff.clutcher@juno.com

The short answer as of April 2025 is no.  We fully realize this would be a convenient way to donate and pay dues to the alumni association.  The alumni association is not able to implement and maintain such a process at this point in time.  We will keep this in mind as opportunities present themselves in the future.  Most importantly with this response – thank you for any contributions you can make to help the alumni association.  Thanks to you we are making a difference with some impressive – and needed – scholarships.

If you get an email from any of our alumni officers please check the email address compared to our website records.  If it doesn't match please report as spam and delete.  We will never request electronic gift cards or other funds.   Always use caution with emails and texts from unknown addresses. If you have any questions, please reach out to any of our Alumni officers. 

The alumni association does not keep that information in our database.  We only enter and maintain addresses for graduates.  Individual classes may maintain their own list of members who may not have graduated to invite them back for class reunions and activities.

The membership question states the following when you try to join:

Did you graduate from Shamokin? If yes, what year? Note - Only graduates of Shamokin or Shamokin Area can join. Include maiden/graduation name if different than current name.

We recommend only alumni being able to join.  We have run into some verification problems when friends or relatives have asked to join on behalf of a graduate.  Our recommendation is to have them create their own Facebook account and join.

As of 2022, the President of the Coal Township Alumni Association is Sam Weaver - 1148 W. State St. Coal Township, PA 17866.  Telephone 570-644-1005.

The alumni association greatly appreciates contributions which come from an estate or other areas.  To properly process, be sure your bequest states Shamokin Area High School Alumni Association and designate if it is for the General Fund, Scholarship Fund or another specified purpose.  Please contact our Alumni Association Treasurer if you have any questions by reviewing the officer's tab.

The alumni association maintains a database of names and addresses which are used to produce labels for class reunions, our annual newsletter, and occasionally an urgent mailing when needed.  The name we keep on file may reflect your maiden name or a name change.  In general, it will include your name at graduation.  This association with your graduation name is helpful for those reviewing mailings or if a name is posted on a necrology list.

Examples:
• Sue Jones (graduation name) gets married to Bob Miller.  She now goes by Sue Miller on a regular basis.  The alumni database would list her last name as “Jones Miller”.
• Bill Smith (graduation name) had a name change to Bill Martin and goes by Bill Martin on a regular basis. The alumni database would list his last name as “Smith Martin”.

GED (General Educational Development) is an exam. It is a series of four subject tests a person can take to demonstrate their high school academic knowledge.  Earning a GED diploma from your state is the equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma.  Some students choose to take this certification exam if they were not able to complete a traditional high school program. The Alumni Association will place those receiving a GED diploma in our database under the class year they would have graduated.  Please contact the high school for more information on how to take and secure a GED.  If you have received a GED diploma, contact the high school so that they can process and pass this information along to the Alumni Association Registrar.

Each class is responsible to fund their own class reunion.  The alumni association does not get involved at that level.  You can reach out to the class representatives listed on the webpage to see if they can provide input. Those class representatives are not necessarily involved with individual class reunion planning, but they may be able to give some direction.  To review the class representative list, see:
Alumni Information / Class Representatives (indians.k12.pa.us)

Jeff Clutcher '78 - the alumni association registrar - can provide your planning committee mailing labels from our database for your group to send out a letter to classmates about what your committee may be planning, location, cost, cutoff dates to receive payment, etc.  It would be a good idea for you to contact him for additional details, including the coordination of revised addresses you may get back to have Jeff update our database. How to contact Jeff, see:
Alumni Information / Home (indians.k12.pa.us)

Ashley Miller Yeager '03 can post details about your reunion out on the alumni association webpage when information becomes finalized. See:
Alumni Information / Class Reunions and Related Activities (indians.k12.pa.us)

At our annual alumni association banquet in May, we acknowledge various anniversary classes.  Many times, those classes make a financial contribution to the alumni association for the general or scholarship funds or both.  Thanks to those contributions, we are making a difference to help graduates continue their education.  See past newsletters (minutes on the 2nd page or so) for details.  Donations may not be finalized until a point in time after their class reunion.  See:
Alumni Information / Newsletters (indians.k12.pa.us)

Generally speaking, any names received between March 1st and the following end of February will get placed in the Necrology list in the spring newsletter (mailed in April).  Those names will also be placed in the May banquet program.  The banquet program could also include additional names received in March, April, and early May, prior to the program publication.  If we get older information (someone died several years ago but we just were informed), those names will also be placed in the next available newsletter and banquet programs.  Due to the publication dates of the newsletter and banquet programs, it's possible for an individual to be on a banquet program Necrology list for two years.  In this example, we received the name before the current banquet program went to press and used it again the next year in both the newsletter and banquet program since it qualified for the May 1st/Feb 28th cycle.

No.  Email entries you receive which say "Shamokin Area High School Alumni Reminder" (pointing you to a website outside our webpage) or a request for you to open an email because "Someone is looking for you. Find out who!" are not created, endorsed, or maintained by our alumni association.  If someone is trying to have you log onto a website outside of "Click here.", it is not part of our alumni association.

Some examples of email which are not supported by the Shamokin Area High School Alumni Association:
- From: Reunion Seeker (renuionmatches@holidayroundworld.com) "Someone Has Searched For You, Find Out Who"
- From: Reunion Searches (fyuykgnhdkid0a2vfi@yardjewel.com) "You have 3 New Search results, December 30, 2008"
- From: Alumni (alumni@mychallenge.com) "Shamokin Area High School Alumni Online"
- From: Alumni (alumni@my-challenge.net) "It's now possible to see if anyone has been searching for you including former classmates from Shamokin Area High School...... To find out if someone's searching for you go to Click here."

Be careful when using social-networking sites.  An example is Reunion.com.  When filling out information on the site, you may be giving permission to use email addresses in your contact list.  This could send out email from you.  Reunion.com is a legitimate service.  The site didn't hack your e-mail account.  You gave it permission to access your contact list at setup. To be fair, this is easy to do accidentally when not reading the details of joining.

Another example is alumni@mychallenge.com (or a variation from alumni@my-challenge.net).  This site said the following in a recent email:  "We have found a great place for Shamokin Area High School alumni to meet online.  It's free to register.  To see who has recently joined go to Click here..  Regards Michael Davies".  Once again, this is NOT part of the Shamokin Area High School Alumni Association.

Our Alumni Registrar (Jeff Clutcher) maintains a database of over 21,000 graduates.  Our yearly mailing goes to over 11,000 members.  These addresses are provided to our publisher (Paulhamus Litho, Inc.) for the annual spring mailing.  They take those addresses and compare them to a database they have purchased from the US Postal Service.  It reconciles the alumni provided address with what they have on file.  An example of this would be an address which we have as "RR 2 Box 123", may get changed to "123 S. Snyder Rd."  Individual mailings may be sent to the "RR 2 Box 123" address - these are the labels printed by Jeff.  Larger mailings, which qualify for bulk rates, go through Paulhamus Litho, Inc. and would have the "123 S. Snyder Rd." address.  Jeff continues to update the database with the most accurate information.  It's an ongoing process.

The Class of 1942 meets on a regular basis.  They fill out get-well, thinking of you and wish you were here cards to be signed by those at the meeting.  The price of the card is insignificant, but the signatures bring great benefit.  They encourage other classes to consider providing this support.

The problem may be associated with the old data from a link still residing on your PC for quick review.  If you are having problems accessing the most current web information using AOL, you may want to do the following:  At least this is what has been done in the past using AOL 9.0 Security Edition (SE).  You may want to check with AOL prior to doing this process to verify it will help you with your problem.

Select "Settings" from top tool bar
Select "Internet (Web) Options"
Select "Clear My Footprints" Tab

Contact our SAHS Alumni Association Treasurer. 

We provide alumni scholarship awards through a test given in the spring to seniors who register.  We also administer the fund distribution of alumni subject awards, Lynch and De Piante Scholarships.  Details on these items are located on the alumni web page under "Educational Fund".

Some additional information...

The Alumni Association maintains some scholarships created by others (ALUMNI SUBJECT AWARDS) and is directly responsible for the main scholarships given at the alumni association banquet (ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS).

The ALUMNI SUBJECT AWARDS are given to students who may qualify for a specific achievement.  Example - The Richard Hilbush award is given to the male and female student who earned the highest combined average in Applied English 10, 11, and 12.  These awards are often created by family members or classes to honor a graduate or teacher.  The alumni association combines the funds of many of these awards into appropriate savings investments for growth and distribution.  As of 2022, we have 21 of these types of awards to maintain.  Additionally, we maintain the Lynch and De Piante Scholarship Funds.

The ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS are given by the Shamokin and Coal Township Alumni Associations to high school students through placement testing.  While the exact amounts and quantity of scholarships may change, in 2022 we award 16 students scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per year for 4 years.  Your education fund contributions help fund this impressive program.

Some classes will collect a one-time donation funds to be donated “In memory of….”.  Often, this is to honor a classmate or teacher.  Example – The 50th anniversary class would like to honor the memory of our class advisor with a $1,500 donation to the alumni association.  $1,000 could be designated to the scholarship fund while $500 could be placed in the general fund.

If you have any questions about these funds, please contact the SAHS Alumni Association Treasurer.

We only provide a listing for Century Club donations from the past year.  Prior years donations are available for review at the alumni association banquet in a book.  As always, thanks for your support.

The Alumni Association does not keep extra past yearbooks.  Old yearbooks are sometimes available on eBay.  However, at times we do have extra copies of a yearbook when an estate or family member provides them to the alumni association.  Contact our alumni association registrar Jeff Clutcher '78 to see if a particular yearbook is available and to work out details. A modest donation is appreciated to help offset the cost of shipping.

Jeff Clutcher
5 S. Harding Ave.
Shamokin, PA 17872-7516
570-648-5282
jeff.clutcher@juno.com

At our alumni meeting on January 11, 2012, the following statement was produced to describe the relationship between the school district and the alumni association concerning the sharing of address information.  See the minutes from the meeting for additional details.

The alumni association works closely with the school district to maintain and share address information.  Urgent school district communications (mailings) may occur and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the alumni association. 

Policy from the October 6, 2010 Alumni Association Meeting.

The alumni association receives worthwhile requests to post information on our website or newsletter from individuals, classes, or businesses promoting many causes.  Requests will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be honored fully or in a limited way.  Example: instead of posting a link to a website in the newsletter as requested, we may reference the item in our "Other Links" section of the website.

Discussion at an alumni business meeting will include how directly this request is associated with our core values of alumni business.

Any item being considered would require us to review the availability of resources needed to implement and maintain the request.

We may have policies already in place which limit honoring the request. Example: our website is hosted through the school district and could have restrictions.  Length of the request and space availability in the newsletter are additional factors. 

We don't promote individual businesses or fundraising opportunities outside the alumni association unless it directly impacts our core values.

• Communication via newsletter & website
• Annual banquet program
• Scholarships funding process

We are sorry, but we cannot give out individual addresses of SAHS Alumni.  This is our policy.

From the September 24, 2003 Alumni Association Meeting.

Alumni database information: The Alumni Association cannot give out any database information on an alumni member that does not pertain to the function of the alumni association.  Giving a class database to the class representative for class reunion usage is an acceptable request.  The association cannot give information on a member to another member, family member, long lost friend, etc.