Kris Vigue (Rousseau)
J.C.H.S. Class of 1995
Kris graduated from Joseph Case High
School in 1995 and was "hyper-involved" in the music department. At the
conclusion of her senior year, Kris was awarded the John Philip Sousa Award,
an honor that would run in the family as her sister Jennifer won the JPS Award
in 2000. When she was at Case, Paula Remick was the band director. Both her and
Mr. LaFlame were huge influences on Kris and her career choice. Ms. Remick was a
friend of Dr. Peter Martin, who was the band director at the University of
Southern Maine and suggested that Kris look into that program. Kris attended the
University of Southern Maine as a music education major and then moved even
further north to take a job teaching in Millinocket, Maine at Stearns High
School and Millinocket Middle School, where she has been ever since. She taught
high school chorus, middle school jazz and elementary band for three years,
before moving into the position of grades 6-12 instrumental instructor and is in
her third year of that position, which she
loves. At her high school they do not have
a marching band like she remembers at Case, but they do have a very active pep
band that plays for home football and basketball games. They also have a
competitive jazz band, show choir, concert band and chorus that compete often in
out-of-state festivals.
Her sister Jennifer graduated from UMASS Lowell and is in her second year of law school at Suffolk Law in Boston. She lives in Reading and is very happy being an urbanite. On the other hand, Kris is just as happy in the Maine woods, were she lives with her husband and pet beagle. Kris has many fond memories of her years in the band room and has expressed how happy she is to see that more memories are being made every day by the students there today.
February 2006
Nancy R. LaFond (Holderness)
J.C.H.S. Class of 1980
Nancy graduated from Joseph Case
High School in 1980. She relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina (after several
years of traveling the Southeast) in 1996. Nancy was in chorus with Mr. H.J.
Laflamme and both the marching band and concert band with Mr. Michael Moniz. She
won the 1979 and 1980 Gong Shows at the school and was in several plays. In
1980, she joined her first "real" band with her cousins, Steve Flanagan (current
Superintendent of Schools) and Brian Mulvey (former English teacher) and have
continued singing professionally. In addition to singing at weddings (in the
church) and with many various bands, Nancy sings the National Anthem (a
cappella) at professional sporting events and local town events.
She is very proud and pleased to say that her children are musically inclined. Her oldest is thoroughly enjoying marching band and her youngest is looking forward to joining in two years when he begins high school.
April 2005