FLEETVILLE – For homecoming weekend, there will be a reunion for Lackawanna Trail Junior-Senior High School.
Unlike most reunions, it won’t just be for one class.
It will for past students who graduated any year. The Lackawanna Trail Education Foundation (LTEF) is organizing the first-ever Lackawanna Trail Alumni Association All-Class Reunion at the Fleetville Fire Company Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 8.
The reunion will be both a tailgate party and social event. Alumni will park their cars according to their graduation years.
“The All-Class Reunion is a fun way to bring everyone together building relationships and opportunities for students and alumni,” said Brian Petula, LTEF’s secretary. “Since Trail is a small school, we developed friendships with staff and students in classes years ahead and behind our own. I know several alumni traveling from out of state to join the event and look forward to getting caught up.”
Parents of Trail’s volleyball team will staff a concession stand, in which proceeds will benefit both the LTEF and the team. Burgers and hot dogs will be provided by Trovato’s Meat Market. There will also be ice cream from Manning’s Mobile. A bonfire will be lit at sunset pm Thursday. The school’s yearbook committee will be selling yearbooks from previous years.
The All-Class Reunion was started by a group of local alumni, who are still connected to the school in various capacities. They have been advertising through social media and word of mouth.
Although she currently resides in Denver, Colorado, LTEF board member Ginger Nichols (Class of ‘91), an award-winning instructional designer, helps with the reunion’s social media campaign. She recalls making good friends at Trail.
“The reunion allows everybody to come back and meet up with old friends not necessarily from their class but class years around them,” she said. “It will be exciting that you get to see people that you haven’t seen in years from the classes as well.”
The idea for the reunion began with a new initiative called Lions Mentor. This new endeavor connects all high school seniors with alumni mentors to career opportunities to their fields of interest.
“LTEF sees successful Lackawanna Trail alumni as a tremendous resource for students and young Trail graduates,” said Petula. “The goal is to double the number of senior high students having some meaningful school-to-career connection over the next four years.”
According to principal Mark Murphy, the LTEF is interested in working with the administration to support clubs, scholarships and activities that fall outside the operating budget.
“Many of our alumni want to know how they can help current students and support the school, and this is the perfect event to kick off those initiatives,” he said.
Murphy believes that the reunion will be a great opportunity for the alumni to gather in a social setting and share stories and memories from their time at Trail.
“We hope to make it an annual event to strengthen our alumni network and be able to celebrate the homecoming weekend,” he said.
Mark Carpenter, the LTEF’s president, organized the event with Petula. He is a 1995 graduate of Lackawanna Trail.
“Its a great way to bring current and past alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, and friends together that all share the Lion Pride of Lackawanna Trail,” he said. “You never really know how an inaugural event will turn out, but so far we’re excited about the initial response and RSVPs spanning several decades! As president and co-founder of the Lackawanna Trail Education Foundation; I must admit that it’s the passion and determination of my fellow volunteer board members, alumni, and LT friends that have pulled this event together. I am just proud to be a small part of it.”
