Plans for the 2023 RULH Alumni Dinner are underway. Pictured is last year’s alumni dinner.
Plans for annual alumni dinner underway
In 1933, the Ripley Alumni Association was formed, and the first event that year was a dinner for class reunions. In the early 1970’s scholarships for graduating seniors were added to the dinner. Today, in almost fifty years of scholarships, thousands of dollars have helped Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington High School students with funds for college.
On Feb. 23, the first meeting of the alumni association planning committee was held to prepare for the dinner and scholarships event with eleven members of the planning committee in attendance. The committee members this year include officers Matt Carpenter, President, Amber Dudley, Vice-President, Lynda Coleman Haley, Treasurer, Julie Carpenter, Secretary, as well as Kim Stauffer, Betty Campbell, and Greg Haitz. Judith Gray is also a planning committee member. Phil German and Susan Polly represented the Fifty-Year class at the meeting and said most of the members of their class have been contacted about the dinner.
This year’s dinner will be held on May 20, at the RULH High school. Social hour begins at 5 p.m. and the dinner and a short meeting begins at 6 p.m. The Mayslick Dinner Bell is doing the catering again this year with a choice between fried chicken and pork, two sides, salad, drink, and dessert. The 2023 Fifty-Year Class (Class of 1973) has prepared a short video of the members of the class for the alumni night dinner. There will also be a raffle that night for a seat from the old high school gym that has been painted blue and has a Blue Jay on the back of the seat.
Tickets for the dinner will be sold online for $25.00 plus a small surcharge, at the Alumni Facebook pages, beginning Wednesday, March 1.
The Facebook page is at: https://www.facebook.com/RULHAlumni. You do not need to be a Facebook member to order tickets. If you wish to buy your tickets in person, they will be available at the Union Township Library (Ripley) starting March 15th. The cost of the ticket goes to pay for the dinner and the scholarships given out that year.
To help the alumni association fund scholarships for students, there is a current GoFundMe Page at:
https://gofundme.com/f/v6zvn-rulh-alumni-association-scholarship-fund)
“For 90 years, the RULH Alumni Association has existed to celebrate the past and look to the future. One of the key missions of our association is the presentation of scholarships to graduating seniors. While as an association we celebrate the past, the scholarship presentations prepare a brighter future,” it said in a statement from the RULH Alumni Association. “Most of our funding for scholarships comes from ticket sales from the yearly events. We ask anyone who would be willing and able to donate to our scholarship fund this year to do so. This fund will go towards deserving applicants of the 2023 Senior Class of RULH in their future endeavors. Any amount would be appreciated.”
RUHL graduates should also consider joining the Alumni Association.
“Being a member of the RULH Alumni Association can have many benefits,” said the alumni association. “First and foremost, it allows you to stay connected with your former classmates and teachers. This can be especially important if you have moved away from your hometown or lost touch with people over the years. By joining the Alumni Association, you can attend events such as our Annual Dinner and Meeting, reunions, social gatherings, and reconnect with old friends.”
Help support current graduate scholarships and come out to see some old friends at the RULH Alumni Dinner on May 20 or consider supporting the association through their GoFundMe page.
