By Jennifer Osborn
Attention all Highlanders! It’s the event you’ve been waiting for: the first-ever Alumni All Class Picnic. The Helix High School Foundation and Alumni Association is proud to host this event and all alumni and families are invited to attend.
The picnic will take place on Sunday, Aug. 16, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Helix Charter High School campus. The event will feature music and entertainment, food, activities for kids and more. Parking will be available in the student parking lot, located at 4200 Lowell St. in La Mesa. The main gathering area will be in the quad area near the girls’ gym.
The Student Store will be open from noon to 2 p.m. so alumni can purchase Scottie gear, including shirts, hats, sweats and more. Bring a chair, picnic basket, ice chest and shade. Please note, no alcohol, pets or glass are allowed on campus. Food will be available for purchase from noon to 3 p.m., provided by the Kiwanis Clubs of La Mesa and Lake Murray, our local Boy Scouts and the Lil’ Miss Short Cake Food Truck. Please RSVP to [email protected] to help with food estimates.
Helix staff will present the “Excellence in Education Tour,” a one-hour program and campus tour to highlight the history, accomplishments, needs and future of Helix Charter High School. There will also be a bagpipe tribute to fallen Highlanders at 3:45 p.m.
Special guests slated to attend are: San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob (class of 1957); La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis (class of 1985); Barry Jantz (class of 1977), former La Mesa City Councilmember and current CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District; retired La Mesa Police Chief Ed Aceves (class of 1982); La Mesa Police Chief Walt Vasquez (class of 1981); comedian Russ T Nailz (class of 1975); Rick Epps (class of 1975), political consultant for Fox 5 News; the Helix Cheer Squad; and our mascot, Scottie.
Musical entertainment will include Helix student groups and alumni member bands. The Helix Pep Band, Bagpipe Band, and Drumline will play, and the Vocal Music Department will perform. Other featured entertainment: The Sound and the Fury (Helix teacher band); Bon-a-fide Brass (Gerry Kirk, Helix instrumental music teacher and band director, 1971-1981); Mojave Green (Shawn Upchurch, class of 1985); Gary Seiler (class of 1972); The Ideas Rock & Roll Trio (Chris Brogan, class of 1979); and Charlie Kirk (class of 1976).
The King Pins Car Club will show their cars on campus. The club was founded as the first Helix car club in 1954-55. They set up safety rules and designed and produced club plaques to put on their cars. The main purpose of the club was to promote safety in their cars and all hot rods. Today, King Pins members are still going on rod runs and participating in car shows. Alumni who own hot rods, vintage cars, lowriders, rat rods or just-for-show cars are invited to participate. Please contact Junior Garcia at [email protected] or 619-590-3607 in advance to ensure we have parking to accommodate everyone.
For more information and questions, contact [email protected].
