Class of ’94 claims ‘best ever’ title
By Sandy Meindersma CORRESPONDENT

Although some alumni might disagree, Chris Kazarian calls Wachusett Regional High School’s class of 1994 “the best class ever.”

Fifteen years after Mr. Kazarian and his peers graduated, a group of classmates remains committed to promoting class spirit, even to the point of “trading” certain class members for members of other classes.

To stay in touch, Mr. Kazarian, who was class president, has established pages on MySpace and Facebook, naturally under the title “Best Class Ever.”

He also keeps a blog that chronicles the activities of class members.

Mr. Kazarian readily admits that he was the class clown, and that much of the information is written tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at one classmate or another.

“I like to have fun with it — hence the odd stories and boasts of being the best,” he said. “But I also think it is important that beyond simply having fun, for us collectively to give back to the community we grew up in.”

For the third year in a row, the class collected food and funds for the Wachusett Food Pantry. “We chose the food pantry because of their direct impact to the community,” he said.

Mr. Kazarian, who lives in Falmouth, said donations were down from last year’s high of 20 bags of groceries and $175 in cash, which he attributes to both the difficult economy and to the December ice storm.

“Hopefully it will compel other classes to do their part, because no matter how big or small, every little bit helps, whether they donate to the food pantry or another charitable cause that helps the Wachusett community,” he said.

In addition to its collection for the food pantry, the class has collected donations for a classmate’s sister whose home was destroyed in a fire and for a scholarship fund in memory of another classmate’s sister.

Ruth L. Briggs, treasurer of the Wachusett Alumni Association, acknowledged that the class of 1994 has a lot of class and school spirit, but said other classes might dispute Mr. Kazarian’s claim.

“The class of 1960 is really incredible: They keep track of everybody, and the classes were really big back then,” she said. “And the class of 1959 is working on planning its 50th reunion.”

Mr. Kazarian hopes his claims of being the best class and the class’s mission of giving back to the community will inspire some of the more recent graduates to give back as well. “It’s fun to have reunions, but it’s nice to give back to the community where you grew up,” he said.