ROCKINGHAM — About six months ago, Jerry McGee had the idea to bring all graduates of the former Rockingham High School together, which has turned out to be quite a task.
On Tuesday, McGee, Class of ‘61, and several other graduates met at Pattan’s Downtown Grille to discuss their next steps.
They already have a date: June 13.
They already have a location: Cole Auditorium.
They already have a caterer.
All they need now are people.
McGee said he told the caterer “we’d have between 200 and 3,000 people.”
“The biggest challenge is getting a ballpark number,” he added.
The plan is to have surviving graduates, dating back to the early ‘40s up to the final graduating class of 1972, when planning member Catherine Pasko Jones donned her cap and gown.
Other members of the group include Cooper McLaurin, who graduated with McGee in ‘61; Keith McLester, Class of ‘62; and Jean Thomas Way, Class of ‘63.
Way returned to her alma mater to teach after graduating from college.
Instead of the small group trying to contact all graduates on their own, they decided to reach out to a representative from each class for that responsibility.
“Most classes have somebody, we just have to identify them,” McGee said.
Only graduates of the school will be invited, not those who attended before the high schools were consolidated.
McGee said they are also trying to get a sponsor to keep the out-of-pocket costs to a minimum.
“I don’t want anyone not to come because they can’t afford to,” he said.
For more information, email McGee at mcgee1992@wingate.edu.
