By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Two weeks after they graduate, select members of the Yukon High’s Class of 2023 will return to the school to accept scholarships presented by the Yukon Alumni Association.
The annual Yukon Alumni Banquet and Yukon Alumni Golf Tournament will be Saturday, June 3.
YHS alumni activities will kick off that morning with the golf tourney at Surrey Hills Golf Club, 11340 Surrey Hills Blvd. Thirty teams will tee off in the four-man scramble with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Entry fee is $65 per player and sponsorships are available.
The banquet will start at 6:30 p.m. that day inside the YHS food court, 1777 S Yukon Parkway. Tickets are $20 each and may be purchased at YNB Bank or Conrad Marr Drug.
There will be a memorial honoring Joe Rose and Mary Huckaba.
More than 20 alumni scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors during the June 3 banquet, which will feature a catered dinner.
Several dozen YHS seniors applied for an alumni scholarship, which typically are $1,000 or more.
“The recipients are selected based on merit and need,” YHS Alumni Association Board Member Neta Duke explained.
The 2023 graduating seniors wrote an essay to answer the question, “In your years at Yukon High School, who are what has had the most influence in helping you to become who you are today?”
Some $440,000 in alumni scholarships have been awarded to YHS students over the past 45 years.
Golf tournament proceeds and donations fund the Yukon Alumni Association’s scholarship program.
As a bonus, the Yukon Alumni Association will sell special T-shirts with the “original” Miller Man mascot logo at the upcoming banquet. Cost is $25 each, will proceeds benefitting the scholarship fund.
“This is the Miller Man most of these alums remember,” said Duke, a retired Yukon teacher.
17 HONOR CLASSES
These “honor” classes will be recognized during the 2023 YHS alumni weekend:
1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023.
Yukon’s James VanHorn started the Yukon Alumni Association and remains active today.
A 1965 YHS graduate, VanHorn said he’s been on the Alumni Board “a little short of forever.”
He organized the first alumni golf tournament in 1975. The banquet followed a few years later.
Yukon Alumni Association board members are President Phil Kastl, Vice President Johnny Rose, Treasurer Sandy Bohannan, Secretary Michelle Hancock-O’Dell, Janice Wilkins-Bedell, Glenda Carson-King, Bill Logan, Irene McAlester, Danny Rose, Duke, and VanHorn.
“We’re trying to get more YHS graduates involved,” Duke said.
The YHS Alumni Association is a 501c3 nonprofit, so all donations are tax-deductible.
For more information on the June 3 golf tournament or banquet, call VanHorn at (405) 324-2456 or (405) 826-4914.
