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Other than an unfortunate outcome in the football game, Homecoming 2016 was a big success!
Alumni Association Board Annual Meeting
For your North Salem Viking Alumni and Friends Association, it started with the Board of Directors' Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 20.
Financially, we are healthy, with a closing balance in September of over $41,000, most of which is earmarked for the Fitness Center (weight room) renovation. Between October 2015 and October 2016, the Viking Association spent over $60,000 on North High and its students in scholarships, book purchases, the Aspire Program, and the Fitness Center.
We now have over 1,700 self-identified members, up 500 in one
 year. Over 2000 more are reached via Facebook. We continue to upgrade our webpage, with Viking yearbooks from 1966 and 1976 added to our collection online and available free.
Newsletters have come out once a month for nearly 5 years, and we are now sending out via snail mail to those not online.
Our major project currently is the renovation of the weight room which will be called a Fitness Center. 
Over Winter Break, a new floor will be put in, courtesy of a grant from the Larry Epping Family Foundation. In addition we will be installing 8 new weight racks and 4 stationary bikes as well as a new drinking fountain. As more donations come in, we will continue to add weight machines, weight benches, and other needed equipment.
As previously announced in newsletters, we gave three seniors $1000 each in scholarships honoring Sen. Mark Hatfield and Rep. Edith Green, both graduates of Salem High School. We spent nearly $20,000 to purchase new junior English textbooks that meet Common Core standards and $10,000 to help launch the Aspire mentorship program at North.
Four new inductees joined the North High Hall of Fame (see story below).
Reelected to the Board of Directors were Doug Bolton and Ken Simila (both class of 1958) and Steve Chambers (1962). Newly elected to the Board are Sasha Spencer-Atwood (1997) and Jonathan Castro Monroy (2011). Spencer-Atwood was ASB  president while at North as well as a sprinter on the track team (she still has the fastest 400 meter time for an Oregon girl). She attended Georgetown University and currently works for Tracktown USA planning their big events, like the Prefontaine Classic, the PAC12 and NCAA Championships, and the Olympic Trials.
Jonathan Castro was involved in JROTC, cross country and track,
 and Leadership Youth while at North. He is a board member of the Salem Keizer Education Foundation, the Inspire Foundation, the NAIFA (National Association of Fee Appraisers) Salem Chapter, City of Salem Parks and Recreation Board, and serves as the chair of the Salem Human Rights and Relations Advisory Council. A graduate of OSU, Castro is a managing associate in financial services for Massachusetts Mutual Financial.
Officers elected at the meeting were
Steve Chambers
as president,
Homer Wood as vice president,
David Rhoten
as secretary,
Ken Simila
as assistant secretary, and
Vijitra Boonkoom
as treasurer.
Homecoming Day
The big day for Homecoming was Friday, October 21.
The Homecoming Pep Assembly was a high energy affair. Four
 North staff members were introduced as nominees for the Crystal Apple Awards, recognizing the top educators in the city. They are  Leo Aguilar-Weaver, instructional assistant;
Monique Aguilar-W
eave
r, Spanish teacher; Brian Bell, band teacher; and Devin Brown, student mentor. The Aguilar-Weavers are the first husband and wife couple nominated in the same year. Since the inception of the Crystal Apples, North High has dominated the winners of this prestigious award.
Also at the Assembly, the new inductees to the Hall of Fame were introduced, and, of course, the Homecoming court was presented. This year's Homecoming Queen was
Daisy Godinez
and the King was
Armando Ruiz Arroyo
.
After school the Class of 2016 Hall of Fame inductees were presented in a ceremony in the library. In the category of Achievement,
Carrie Halsell Ward
(class of 1921) was inducted. She was the first African American to graduate from both Salem High School and what is now OSU. Accepting her award was Willie Richardson, president of Oregon Black Pioneers. In Athletics,
Doug Brown (1964) joined the Hall. Brown is a member of the Rodeo Hall of Fame.
James C. Nelson
, a long-time principal and staff member of Salem High, was inducted. And in the category of Distinguished Lifetime,
David Chambers
(1961) joined his brother in the Hall of Fame. Chambers is a national leader in dental education and medical ethics.
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Michael T. Smith with James Nelson; Willie Richardson with Carrie Halsell Ward; Doug Brown; Steve Chambers with David Chambers
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At 4:30, the 3
rd
Annual All-Class Gathering took place with grads from as far back as the 1940s and up to the 21
st
century enjoying each other's company and swapping stories of their Viking years. A raffle of Viking gear and a silent auction netted nearly $600 for the Fitness Center project.
 Tim Garrison and Shane Baker
At 5:00 pm, the annual Homecoming Parade strutted its way down D Street, led by JROTC and the Pride of the Vikings Marching Band and North cheer leaders. Classes and clubs had floats and the Homecoming Court rode in open cars. Lot of candy was passed out to the eager children watching the parade.
And at 7 pm, the Homecoming Game kicked off against McKay, with the Vikings falling short of victory.
All in all it was a great day, with Vikings showing a lot of class.
Marching Band Wins Trophies at PCI
At the Pacific Coast Invitational band competition October 1 at Sprague High School, the North Salem Pride of the Viking Band took top honors in Class AA, and 3rd overall. In addition, the Band came away with trophies for High Visual, High Color Guard, and High General Effect.
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