Class of 2000 Project:
Millennium Time Capsule & Art Sculpture
Come join us on June 14, 2025, when we reveal the contents!
What do you recall about the year 2000? Did you know that TRW developed the fastest microchip in the world or that the Mira Costa’s girls volleyball team won the state championship? The LMB Class of 2000 collected memories from the millennium year. Memories to be shared with the community in the year 2025. Time capsules that are buried are often lost or misplaced. Our time capsule won’t be forgotten! It is encased in an art piece that thousands of joggers and dog walkers pass by on Veterans Parkway across from the Joslyn Center.
How We Did It
At each step, the Class of 2000 went the extra mile.
To get the whole class involved, we designed five committees (City Relations, Contents, Design, Fund Raising, and Public Relations) with each having an equally important task. There were obstacles to overcome in a limited amount of time. Getting approval from city council to just bury the time capsule would have been simple. Adding the art piece to the project meant there were a number of hurdles to cross. (Plan B was to put the sculpture in Merit Shoucri’s backyard.) A carefully constructed timeline with coordination between the committees was critical to successfully jump each hurdle and complete our goals.
City Relations
Several appearances at City Hall.
Karen Ackland, Gary Osterhout, John Tawa and Gabe Smith did more than just informally talk to our city council members. They scoured the city for the best site, engaged Public Works engineers in giving us blueprints illustrating underground pipes or lines, met with the Parks and Recreation Director, got us on the council’s agenda, and coordinated with Public Works for placement of the base.
Contents
… set up a command post at the Police Department.
Captain Dave Maggard, Jim Gill, Devin Kingdon, and Zeeshan Merchant solicited the community at large to make contributions to our time capsule. To add a fun component to our collecting, Captain Dave set up a command post at the Police Department. He divided the class into teams each covering a different section of town. We reconvened at a class member’s house to count our booty. Prizes were given to the best team for creativity in collecting and presenting the items.
Design
We learned about patina.
Tweet Coleman, Candy Duncan, Steve Nicholson, Merit Shoucri, and Laura Rosenberg had a double challenge—one for the capsule and two for the art piece. They acquired a stainless steel capsule along with the professional vacuum service to safeguard our contents against all elements. Three artists presented their design to the class. Once we selected Simon Ouwerkerk, the challenge was to design a piece that would not attract skateboards or incur any liability for the city. At the Manhattan Beach Chamber Expo, we set up a display and sought feedback on the wave and its alternative designs.
Fund Raising
… MB Chamber businesses saw the opportunity …
Julian Garside, Ken Johnson, and Erin Carey were assigned the task of fundraising. Our goal was to raise money to cover the capsule, professional packing, artist’s expenses, and a base for the capsule. With a $10,000 cap on the project, we carefully budgeted and set out to cover expenses. We were greatly rewarded when the city council suggested that the city cover the $1500 cost for building the base. With a sketch of the sculpture and design of the plaque, several class members and MB Chamber businesses saw the opportunity to be part of the best millennium project as sponsors.
ublic Relations
… a full-fledged dedication of the time capsule …
Liz Mueske, Donovan Daughtry, Katy Keen, and Debbie Terrill worked on public relations including Beach Reporter and Sand Dollar articles. Giving the time capsule to the city would have been enough. Instead, we had a full-fledged dedication of the time capsule at the park along with the Mira Costa High School Marching Band, a cub scout color guard, several dignitaries and speakers, historians, and twenty-three LMB Class of 2000 members donning team shirts. A couple hundred people attended the festive, balloon-clad unveiling.
Class Members:
Mira Costa High School Juniors:
Erin Carey, Donovan Daughtry, Katy Keen, Devin Kingdon, Zeeshan Merchant, Laura Rosenberg, Gabriel Smith
Adults:
Karen Ackland, Cynthia Cohen, Tweet Coleman, Candy Duncan, Julian Garside, James Gill, Kenneth Johnson, David Maggard, Elizabeth Mueske, Steve Nicholson, Gary Osterhout, Merit Shoucri, John Tawa, Debra-Lynne Terrill
Employers Represented:
Chevron, City of Manhattan Beach, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Easy Reader, FAA, Manhattan Beach Community Church, Manhattan Beach Police Department, Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, TRW, USAF Space & Missile Systems Center, Verdict Success.