By SHERRY DIGMON
News Publisher
The annual Escambia County Training School Alumni Gathering was held Friday, October 18. This marked the 20th anniversary of the reunion which spans all grades at ECTS.
“This year’s event was very special because it paid homage to nine teachers who are still with us dating back to 1957,” program coordinator Anne Powell said.
The theme for this year’s event was Honoring the Past – Embracing the Future. The theme Scripture was Jeremiah 29:11.
The group heard from representatives of Main Street Atmore, Habitat for Humanity, and Gulf Coast Family Network.
The Gathering was hosted by the Class of 1967: Barbara Poole Harris, Rachel Brown Wiggins, Rosie Robinson Jones, Helen Henderson Arnold, Arthur Pierce, Anne Travis Powell, Thelma Rudolph Grant, Annie V. Brown, and Shirley Gray Smith.
Attending were the following:
1949: Willie J Grissett (former teacher)
1951: Elnetta Johnson Thomas
1955: Rosetta Johnson Sims
1959: Harold “BuBu” Dailey, Thomas Adams
1961: Glender Grissett
1962: Leslie Cunningham Hill
1965: Linda Hubert Baldwin, Elouise Smith Spruiel, Robert Longmire
1966: Carol Price James
1968: Patricia Dailey Reynolds
1969: Gwen Dale Frye
1972: Ann McNeal
1973: Sandra Davison Gray
1974: Twila Roberts Pierce
1976: Pastor Wayne Johnson
1977: First Lady Rhonda Autry Johnson
1980: Paulette January German
1987: Russell Robinson
Former teachers: Mrs. Voncille Stallworth, Mr. Willie .J. Grissett
Guests: Shinora Redmond, Stacey Bugaj, Shae Hines, Carolyn Hart
Founder: Barbara Poole Harris
Advisor: Annie V. Brown
Advisor Assistant: Rachel Brown-Wiggins
Graduates and teachers Willie J. Grissett, Class of 1949, and Dr. Ullysses McBride. Class of 1951, were honored as Rainy January and Paulette January-German are dedicating a book to them, ECTS Golden Eagles: The Storyteller.
Principals and teachers honored were Mrs. Mary Ethel Bolden, Mrs. Yvonne Davison, Mr. W. J. Grissett, Mrs. Tessie Lyons, Mrs. Mabel McBride, Dr. Ullysses McBride, Mrs. Lois Montgomery Smith, Mrs. Voncile Stallworth, and Mrs. Mavis Torrence.
Original founder and advisors for the Gathering are Barbara Poole Harris, Rachel Brown Wiggins, and Annie V Brown.