Alumni Association Seeks Graduates To Mark Group’s Silver Anniversary

COURT HOUSE – If you are a graduate of Middle Township High School, the Alumni Association is looking for you. As it celebrates its silver anniversary of school spirit and scholarship giving, alumni will be sharing their triumphs and life experiences at the annual scholarship dinner June 5 at 7 p.m. at the Avalon Links Restaurant, Swainton.
“We are always looking for younger graduates with new and fresh ideas,” alumni Rick Rixey said. “We hope that the younger group will step forward to help continue the tradition and service to our youth.”
The Association’s primary purpose is to give scholarships to Middle Township seniors who apply through the school’s guidance department. A committee of trustees and members make the final selection. Over $30,000 has been given in scholarships over the past 25 years.
This year’s scholarship winners, Samantha Gerhard and Chelsea Fossett, will be presented with their awards at the dinner. Lea Westcott is president and historian for the organization.
“Usually we give two scholarships each year, depending on the treasury,” Rixey said. He serves as treasurer of the association and has chaired or helped with the annual scholarship dinner since 1998. While the scholarship amount can vary, Rixey said they try to give at least $1,000 to each recipient.
When selecting scholarship recipients, Leigh Downie, scholarship chairman, said the committee reviews the statement of purpose of why the student wants to go to college and why a scholarship is needed.
“We also look at leadership accomplishments, community involvement, honors and awards,” Downie said. “We ask for three letters of recommendation from a teacher, school official and from someone outside the school. Then we look at their high school transcript (a minimum GPA of 2.5 is required) and SAT test scores if the student has taken the test.”
Typically, 10-15 applications are received per year.
Funds for the scholarship are derived from annual dues, life membership dues and fundraising. Classes having reunions are also encouraged to donate to the scholarship fund. Another avenue for funding is through memorials established upon an alumni’s death.
One such memorial, for Bill McCarty, collected nearly $700 according to his widow, Jeanette. She and Bill met in the eighth grade when she moved to the area.
“I remember the teacher having me stand at the front of the class and being introduced,” she said. “The teacher then went up and down the rows and had each of the other students introduce themselves. When Bill introduced himself, I remember thinking ‘what a good looker he was.'”
The two were friends until Christmas of their senior year in high school, when they started dating. They graduated in 1951, and were married December 1952 before Bill joined the Air Force. They returned to the area in 1956, where they lived about a quarter of a mile from where Bill was born and grew up.
“We had five children and eight grandchildren who also graduated from Middle Township,” McCarty said. She has five other grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and all live in the area or in Philadelphia and Hoboken.
“I’ve only missed one annual dinner,” she noted. That was in 2005 when her husband was in the hospital. “Our best man, who graduated in 1949 and lives in Texas, comes every year to the dinner. It’s very nice because those of us who graduated together all sit together and talk about our lives.”
There were 45 students in her graduating class, about half are still alive. McCarty is still active in the Alumni Association, having been a charter member and past president.
“I am slowing down a little bit,” said the 82-year-old who taught in the district for 20 years, “But I am still active. It would be nice, though, to have some younger alumni active in the association as well. We were more active when we started, but we still have monthly meetings and fundraising for the scholarships.”
Another charter member and the first president of the association, John Ludlam, recalled how the group started. One of the long-time administrators had gotten the idea of an alumni association for scholarship giving from another district and Ludlam and a few others set up the non-profit group, establishing a board of directors, membership fees and sponsoring a float in the homecoming parade. He graduated in 1960, but no longer is active in the association.
The original charter elected trustees, officers and members from 1990 were:
John Ludlam-President
Kay Aspell-Vice President
*Barbara Turnier-Recording Secretary
*Joyce Goodman-Treasurer
Betty Burnley-Corrresponding Secretary
Jeanette McCarty-Trustee
Keith Maund-Trustee
Marie Reynolds-Trustee
*James Callaway-Trustee
*Marie Stone-Trustee
Jackie Stites-Historian
*Edmund Webb-Annual Dinner
*Dot Hagerty-Membership
John Roberson-Scholarship
Ron Uetz-Event Chair
* Deceased
Alumni or anyone in the community interested in helping the youth of the community by attending the dinner may register before June 2 by calling Rick Rixey at 463-0612 or registering online at http://goo.gl/4G9eeb (case sensitive).
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.