New alumni association forms for Lind, Ritzville

As a representative of the Ritzville High School Alumni Association board, I would like to share with your readership some changes and new plans that are occurring within the association as it relates to the academic cooperative. Up-to-date information can always be found at http://www.ritzvillealumni.com. The following is an excerpt from the welcome at the 108th banquet:

Welcome to the first annual alumni banquet for Lind-Ritzville High School! Thank you all for attending this evening! I am Donna Koch, class of 1982 and current president of the Alumni Association. Now if you are wondering if you are in the right place, let me explain the changes that have taken place in the past year. As of August 2012, Lind School District and Ritzville School District formed an academic cooperative to provide the best possible education for all students in our area. Preschool through fifth grades have remained in their home elementary schools. The middle school of sixth, seventh and eighth grades is located in Lind, and the High School is located in Ritzville. The last class to graduate from Lind High School and Ritzville High School occurred in June of 2012.

Because of this, Ritzville High School Alumni Association held their last official meeting on May 26, 2012 reporting a total of 107 years of educational excellence and Bronco pride with 3,945 graduates.

The alumni board debated as to how best to address the changes that were being made within the local educational system. We felt that the best way to continue our long-standing traditions, while honoring the new graduating classes would be to establish a new alumni association. Thus was born the Lind-Ritzville Alumni Association.

The class of 2013 is the inaugural class from Lind-Ritzville High School. Lind and Ritzville formed an athletic cooperative in 2002, so these students have been Broncos since they were about seven years old.

Throughout their academic careers the class of 2013 has seen their school enrollments decline, and their communities shrink. They have had to be a flexible class as they have been presented with many changes and challenges, particularly in their senior year. But they have weathered the changes, and are maybe better prepared for the uncertainty of real life than others that graduated before them.

The Ritzville High School Alumni Association will continue to operate and thrive as long as there are living members. The only change will be that we will not add any new members. The RHS alumni board will maintain the business needs of the association and the Lind-Ritzville High School Alumni Association. At some point, the LRHS Alumni will hopefully fill positions on the board to preserve both associations. The Ritzville High School Alumni Association held its first meeting on May 25, 1905. Doesn’t it seem pre-ordained that we would be holding the first meeting of the Lind-Ritzville High School Alumni Association exactly 108 years later?

In 1914, the Alumni Association decided a photograph of each class should be on display in the high school. Originally, the class composites were in individual frames lining the halls of the old high school. In 1983, when the high school moved to across the street, the class composites were placed in a fan style display in the entryway of the building. These methods of displaying the pictures happened before anyone knew about acid free paper and archival storage. Some of the older pictures are starting to show their age and are beginning to decompose. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of class composites, the Alumni Association would like to begin raising money for the archival preservation of our history. We would like to reframe each composite and have them once again line the walls of the high school. We are challenging every class to adopt a frame and raise money to place your class composite in an archival frame. Any extra funds will be placed in an account to purchase frames for orphan classes – those classes who have no living members or a class where no one wants to donate to the project. This is a big undertaking and we don’t know all the specific details yet, but we need to take a step forward to preserve these valuable pieces of history, before it is too late. We want classes 100 years from now to be able to look back and see those who came before. If you would like to help in any capacity or have other suggestions, please let us know.

To the class of 1970, thank you for the donation of the reader board. It has served its time well, sharing messages from students to the community from the front of two schools for the past 43 years. However, it is time to retire the old board with the plastic letters and move into the 21st century. Lind-Ritzville High School Associated Student Body has been working this year to earn money to purchase an electronic reader board. With the help of a rural community grant from Northwest Farm Credit Services, the new reader board will be installed this summer. Announcements will be able to be changed in an instant from a computer in the main office. No longer will students have to climb a ladder and create new letters when changing the board.

To the class of 1967, thank you for the money you donated to purchase 40 chairs.

Thank you to all the alumni who were in attendance on Saturday evening. The alumni association would never continue if it weren’t for members coming home to celebrate our heritage. If at any time you have questions or concerns, please contact me at [email protected]. Go Broncos – onto year 109!

Donna Koch

Ritzville High School/Lind-Ritzville High School

Alumni Association president