The Kanawha Alumni Association celebrated its 95th annual reunion on Saturday, May 24, 2014 with a parade beginning at 10:00 a.m. that ended on the football field. Nyal Jeffries, Class of 1949, and Joanne Harris Jeffries, Class of 1955, served as parade marshals.
At the post-parade ceremony at the football field, Lois Ramsey Budd from the Class of 1964 sang the National Anthem and led the salute to the flag.
After the ceremony, many had lunch at the town park pavilion where a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life was held.
From noon to 2:00 p.m., the Burnsville Public Library had a themed open house devoted to a “Spotlight on Crafters.”
At 2:00 p.m., a memorial service for Darryl Morrell, BHS Class of 1957, was held at the Burnsville Community Building.
Throughout the day there were gatherings and special activities organized by and for the reunion classes. At 4:00 p.m. there was an open house for tours of the schoolhouse and the Alumni Room.
Everyone gathered in the school auditorium at 5:00 p.m. for the presentations of scholarships and awards, the business meeting, and an auction.
The meeting was called to order by President Tom Crutchfield. The invocation was led by Jennings Dancy (Class of 1967) and the salute to the flag was led by Vice President Butch McPherson (Class of 1966). Crutchfield read the names of the alumni who had died during the year and a moment of silence was observed in their honor.
Crutchfield presented the Bruin Awards for 2014 to Shirley Singleton Lloyd (Class of 1953) and Jack Stalnaker (Class of 1948). He also introduced the oldest woman present – Mary Moran Bush (Class of 1959) and the oldest man present – Fred Kuhn (Class of 1941).
Seven 2014 Braxton County High School seniors who live in the Burnsville area were introduced to the assembly. They were Coleden Belknap, Kaylee Butler, Anthony Conrad II, Brady Heater, Jordan Peters, Kayla Pritt, and Thomas Pritt. These seniors took the Kanawha Alumni Association oath and became members of the Association.
Paul Peck presented $500 Lions Club scholarships to Kayla Pritt and Conrad. The Tom Casto Memorial Scholarship, in the amount of $500, was presented to Chance Graff, a rising senior majoring in engineering at Fairmont State University. The Casto Scholarship, also awarded by the Lions Club, is given to a currently-enrolled college student from the Burnsville area.
The first John Godwin Scholarship in the amount of $500 was awarded to Kayla Pritt. This presentation was made by Andy Godwin and Carla Godwin Dittman.
KAA scholarships in the amount of $500 each were awarded to Belknap, Butler, Conrad, and Kayla Pritt.
The Claud “Bud” Mick, Jr. Scholarships ($1,000 each) were awarded to Belknap, Butler, Conrad, and Kayla Pritt. Previous recipient Taylor Bragg (Class of 2013) received a renewal Mick Scholarship, also in the amount of $1,000.
The 2014 Alumni of the Year were Brenda Jo Conrad Dancy (Class of 1967) and Thomas Julian Blake (Class of 1964).
Closing acknowledgements and announcements were made. The alumni and guests sang “The West Virginia Hills,” “Take Me Home Country Roads,” and the school song. Shirley Singleton Lloyd played piano to accompany the singing. The benediction was given by Jennings Dancy.
After the meeting, Dick Graff (Class of 1960) held an auction of items that had been donated to the KAA that raised just over $400.
At 6:00 p.m. dinner was served to around 200 attendees. The festive day concluded with music for dancing and entertainment performed by the Kowboyz at the stage on the football field.