Fifty years after the class of 1973 broke free of the halls of Sahuaro High School, they are back, improving the Sahuaro community. On Monday, April 1st, representatives from the class of ’73 came to Sahuaro to take a photo in the Cougar Hall of Fame and present a check to The Cougar Foundation which will benefit the class of 2024. After “generous donations from a number of classmates” to pay for reunion costs, the class of ’73 had residual money, and Michael Frost, a Cougar alum, said, “We decided the most appropriate thing to do with the surplus, because it came from Cougars, is to give back to the Cougars.” Michael also explained that their hope is that the money, “helps some Cougars that might not be able to continue their education without financial assistance.”

While watching the class of ’73 representatives glow up their novelty check, I got to learn a bit about who this donation was dedicated to – Steven “Steve” Weinstein. Steve passed away in December of 2022, leaving a huge mark on his class and everyone he met. After 60 years of knowing Steve, Marc Chesin spoke about his memories of him. “He was a big boy. He was an athlete – he was a wrestler, he was a football player, he threw the shot and was a great athlete and a great friend, but his heart was bigger than his body. He’s a big man with a good heart and he’s a good friend to everyone, from the time I knew him until this moment.”

Michael also shared some of his memories about what an amazing person Steve was. “He was one of the kind of guys that, you know, back in school and after school, he was everybody’s friend. Everybody knew him and he knew everybody. They knew him and he knew everybody. We’d greet people by name, walking down the halls and stuff.” Steve cared deeply about his school and was a proud Cougar Alum. Marc even shared that he chaired the class of ’73’s 40th reunion, and what a great pleasure it was to work with him.

The Cougar Foundation does so much for Sahuaro besides the yearly scholarships. They have a Cougar Hall of Fame to provide recognition to alums deemed worthy of such recognition. They often hold other fundraisers to support our school, such as the annual golf tournament. Even more important, however, than the monetary funds the Cougar Foundation provides for Sahuaro, is a sense of pride. Each member of the Cougar Foundation has extreme school spirit, wisdom, and as I’m learning, humor. The class of ’73 is absolutely hilarious and I felt proud to be a Cougar in their presence.