The Evarts High School Alumni and Scholarship Association’s annual reunion will be held Aug. 30-31, with community reunions scheduled for Sept. 1. Over 300 alumni and friends are expected to attend the event, which will feature numerous traditional activities this year.

“On behalf of the city of Evarts, I would like to formally welcome everyone home for the Evarts High School alumni reunion,” said Evarts Mayor Eddie Manning. “Whether your memories go back to playing in the Cloverfork River, going to the five and dime after school or sneaking into the Verda Drive-in, we all know that there is nowhere like home.

“As we all age, we understand that these were actually some of the best years of our lives. There truly is “no place like home”. In closing, we once again want to wish you the warmest of welcomes back to Evarts High School, Home of the Wildcats.”

A highlight of this year’s gathering will include recognizing all current and former coal miners in attendance along with all veterans who are honored annually. Recognition will take place during the business meeting on Saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m.

“We will honor this amazing group of Wildcats to show our gratitude for all the hard work, dedication and sacrifice they have shown to our communities and nation over the years,” said Scott Pace, EHS Alumni Association’s spokesman.

In addition, the classes of 1949, 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999 and all of the classes from the 2000s will be honored. This will be the 50th class reunion for the Class of 1969.

“We really hope to see great attendance from all of the honored classes, especially the class of ‘69. We want them, along with all former alumni, to be involved with this organization. Please spread the word and join us,” said Pace. “We are challenging everyone to bring as many people as possible whether they graduated from EHS or not. We have a great number of individuals that never attended EHS, but have done so much to help our organization and we would love to see them come out and be with us on Labor Day weekend.”

In addition to honoring alumni, 12 Cloverfork area students will be awarded scholarships during the business meeting on Saturday morning. During the 2018 reunion, 15 students were awarded scholarships totaling $7,500.

“Everything we collect, including admission fees on Saturday, go directly toward providing scholarships. Due to increased attendance and generous donations in 2018, we are able to increase the award amounts this year. To date, our association has been able to provide approximately $570,784 dollars in scholarships to Cloverfork students,” said Pace. “When you take matching scholarships into consideration, well in excess of one millions dollars has been provided through our association. Without the support and generosity of our alumni and friends, this wouldn’t be possible and we are so thankful for all of the support that has been shown to us over the years.”

Harlan County School District Superintendent Brent Roark said this is an important part of the alumni association’s mission.

“On behalf of the Harlan County Board of Education, the Evarts High School Alumni Association is to be commended for the work it does in our community to help assist Harlan County students with attending college,” Roark said. “The association is made up of a dynamic group of people who value education and are dedicated and persistent in helping their scholarship recipients in pursuing their education and careers. It is a special organization that garners much respect from the community for its nearly three decades of work.”

The Harlan County High School band will perform the school song and a number of additional selections on Saturday.

The agenda for the event is as follows:

Aug. 30

Meet and Mingle at Evarts High School from 6-9 p.m. The Corner Café in Evarts will be open throughout the evening for any alumni that want to stop by.

Aug. 31

Registration begins at 10 a.m. with a business meeting in the Evarts High School gym, including scholarships and hall of honor awards at 11 a.m. and a silent auction from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.

At each reunion there is a silent auction to help fund scholarships for Cloverfork students while also providing great deals on items such as University of Kentucky basketball and football tickets, clothing and more. Anyone wishing to donate to the silent auction can do so by dropping items off at Coleman’s Hardware located at 101 Bridge Street in Evarts or by bringing them to Evarts High School on Aug. 30 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Corner Café will be serving lunch after the business session at the diner downtown and a portion of all sales for the day will go toward the alumni association for scholarships.

Individual class reunions will take place from 1-7 p.m. with a dance and social gathering from 7-11 p.m. This allows the alumni to visit with each other. A DJ will be taking requests giving attendees an opportunity to dance or to simply sit and talk/listen to music.

Sept. 1 – Community Reunions

Highsplint, Shields, Louellen and Ridgeway alumni will meet from noon until 5 p.m. at the shelter house in Ages.

Black Mountain alumni will meet from noon until 5 p.m. as well.

“We thank you for your support and for all that you do, not only for our organization, but also for the students of Cloverfork,” said Pace. “We look forward to many years working alongside our alumni and growing together!”

For additional information, photos and more visit the Evarts High School Alumni and Scholarship Association online at www.evartsalumni.com and via Facebook at www.facebook.com/evartsalumni.