he Ryan High School Alumni Association held its bi-annual alumni banquet over the recent Labor Day weekend.
The highlight of the weekend was the banquet held in the high school cafeteria/auditorium where the majority of the people in attendance walked across the stage to graduate from Ryan High School.
Nearly 100 alumni, family and friends gathered for the banquet that was highlighted by a catered meal from Branding Iron of Wichita Falls, TX.
Rob Givens, a 1975 graduate of RHS, was the featured speaker for the afternoon.
Givens recounted the story of how Brown Brothers Dry Goods in Ryan got its name and a little history behind it.
The last operator of the store was Givens’ dad, Bob Givens, who was known to most everyone in Ryan as a businessman and supporter of all Ryan High School activities.
Bob Givens, for whom the athletic complex is named at Ryan, was the public address announcer at the high school football games for 50 years.
After the elder Givens graduated from high school at Ryan, he joined the army and his son told the story of his dad being missing in action at one time, but returned home and never left Ryan again.
The presentation and introduction of classes was done by Tommy Johnson.
Following the introduction of the classes, the oldest graduate, youngest graduate and the graduate who traveled the furtherest were recognized and awarded a copy of the book, “The Pride of RHS: A Sports History of Ryan High School.”
Earning the oldest graduate present was Nell Largent. The youngest graduate was Alana Miranda. The person traveling the furtherest was Gary Reynolds, who came from Jackson, Tennessee.
The reading of RHS graduates who have died since the last banquet was done by Angela Sullivan, T. Johnson, Furman Clark and Don Johnson.
Since the banquet was interrupted by the pandemic, it had been three years since the association had gathered for the banquet held every two years. A list of 98 names was read to the crowd.
D. Johnson, president of the alumni association, read the names of the scholarship recipients for the past three years. The alumni association awards two scholarships to the top two seniors of the Ryan graduating classes each year.
In the program, it was noted that 35 scholarships have been given through the years in the amount of $46,350.
All of the current officers were re-elected to serve again and they will be tasked along with other volunteers to put together the next banquet which will be Labor Day weekend of 2024.
Plans are being made to try and encourage increased attendance at the banquet – especially among the local people. Many RHS graduates traveled across the state and beyond and this event would be enhanced by the participation of local people.
The class of 1972 sponsored an event on Saturday night at the American Legion as they were celebrating their 50th year since graduating at Ryan.
The class of 1962, celebrating their 60th year since graduating, also had a good representation present at the banquet.
