Hail Hail to U City High: A Baby Boomer High School Class, Then, Now, and Next - Softcover

In Hail, Hail to U City High, author Alan Spector shares the journey of his class of early baby boomers from pre-high school days, through their high school experience in the early 60s, over intervening decades, to their lives today in their early 60s. Alan then dares to look into their collective future. Alan feels fortunate to be a member of the University City High School Class of 1964. In the early 60s, U City was a benchmark of academics, athletics, arts, and activities. Their high school experience, as it should, provided students with a solid foundation for their futures. However, when classmates left U City for those futures, they could have never predicted how they would still be close four-plus decades later. Alan is among the hundreds of classmates who are connected electronically, attend reunions, plan and enjoy mini-reunions all over the country, go on class cruises, provide support to classmates in need, and feel as though they have a second extended family. Alan’s story runs throughout the book as does those of other classmates. He follows the paths of their individual life histories, the collective class history, and human history; all inextricably intertwined. Since graduating in 1964, classmates have been separated by time, geography, and their individual life stories—yet, a large percentage remain remarkably close. There is much to be learned from their journey.

Where were you when President Kennedy was shot? Alan Spector was in Mr. Fendelman’s English class at University City Senior High School in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Alan grew up in the back alleys and on the sandlots, playgrounds, and ball fields of the city of St. Louis and of suburban University City and went on to play football and baseball in high school. He and his class of 600 attended U City High, widely recognized for its academics, athletics, arts, and activities. He continued his academic and sports careers in college, where he earned his BS-Electrical Engineering and played four years of varsity baseball. Upon graduation from college, Alan joined the Procter & Gamble Company and retired 33 years later, having enjoyed a successful management career. In retirement, Alan has continued to pursue two of the passions of his youth, baseball and books, while also applying the skills he acquired in his business career to help others. In his early 60s, Alan still plays baseball, about 75 games each year around the country and around the world. In 2007, he published his first book, Baseball: Never Too Old to Play “The” Game, enjoyed by readers across the country. The book captures life lessons learned from continuing to play baseball while growing older at the same time.Alan and Ann, his wife of 40+ years, are returning to St. Louis—it is time for them to “come home.” They travel the country and the world to play baseball, visit family, sightsee, and visit classmates. When Alan is home, he volunteers as a management and quality assurance consultant for social service programs and community initiatives. He has been on the Board and Executive Committee for Every Child Succeeds, a prominent Cincinnati program that addresses the needs of at-risk families having their first child. Recognizing the work he does for this program, the Cincinnati United Way selected Alan as their Impact Leadership Award honoree in 2006. He has also been instrumental in the development of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence.As a result of his work to bring business systems and practices to non-profit social programs, Alan has been asked to speak at the RAND Corporation Promising Practices Network Conference in Denver, at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Domestic Corps Conference, and at the Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium. He has also appeared on numerous radio and television shows and spoken at many organization events associated with the promotion of his first book. Alan has been selected to speak at the prestigious St. Louis Jewish Book Festival in November 2009.One of many areas of Alan’s focus in retirement is staying close to the hundreds of his high school classmates who stay connected electronically; come together at reunions, regional mini-reunions, and on class cruises; and actively support those classmates in need. It is the closeness of his class and the desire to share their story that inspired his second book, Hail Hail to U City High.