Galion Alumni Association

2010 In Review

The Galion Alumni Association continued to be a presence in both the Galion City School System and the Galion Community at large. Though there were no large projects during the year, the Alumni Association contributed to the advancement of several on going projects.

We were once again involved in the Galion Connections Weekend.  Most notable is the Associations role in sponsoring and involvement in the Hall of Fame dinner and presentation.  Contributions included planning time and monetary contributions.  The 2010 Connections Weekend was a great success with an opening social gathering at the Galion Theater on Thursday, September 30, A Career Day for the high school students on Friday, October 1, and the Homecoming Game that evening. A golf outing was held on Saturday, October 2, and concluded with the Hall of Fame Induction and Dinner in the evening.  A written description and pictures of some of these events can be found on the Galion Alumni Association website. 

The Association contributed $700.00 to the Galion City Schools to help provide assistance to those less fortunate individuals who needed help in obtaining the required Campus Wear clothing.   A donation of $2500.00 was made to help fund the study for the possible construction of a Performing Arts Center.  A $75.00 donation was made to pay for the rental of a movie that was made available to students during testing week of the 2009/2010 school year.  Continued efforts will be made in the future to determine areas that the Alumni Association can assist the Galion City Schools provide its students with the best educational environment.

In an effort to promote Galion as a great place to live, the Association made a $200.00 donation to the Come Home to Galion event which took place on December 4, 2010.  This event is a prelude to the Holiday Season and includes a parade as well as other planned events.

As with all organizations, there are other areas that required expenditures.  Money was spent for maintaining a PO Box and membership mailings.  We purchased a canopy for association use at the events such as home football games and Oktoberfest.  Money was spent to promote the Association in several venues such as newspaper ads and Drama Department Programs.  Paper costs for mailings have been minor as most were purchased prior to 2010 or have been donated.  One item incurring a cost was the printing of the tickets for the annual raffle.

Now that the money has been spent, where did it come from?  Our greatest income is derived from our membership dues.  Memberships provide nearly $4000.00.  Money was also generated by the joint raffle held by the Galion Alumni Association and the Galion Tiger Alumni Band.  Proceeds are split equally between the two organizations.  We sell a limited number of old yearbooks and the coins minted to show the old high school on the front side and the location of all of the old schools on the back side. Another source of income has been a small number of donations.  In 2011, we hope to increase our paid membership.  Just as a side, the Association has fifty paid Lifetime Members.  Thanks to their generosity we have been able to achieve some financial stability.

The Galion Alumni Association Board is a group of non-paid volunteers that donate their time and efforts to give back to the school and community that they enjoyed as young people.  The board is made up of all age groups from those of retirement age to those that have just started raising families.  As with any organization, finding people willing to get involved is a major problem.  There are probably many other activities that could become a part of our organization if there were people willing to get involved.  One of the projects that may take off in 2011 is the is the fund raising drive needed to fund the construction of a Performing Arts Center on the Galion City School Campus.  This will most likely be a multi-year effort due to the cost of the project.  Once again there will be the planning involved in putting together the Galion Connections Weekend and the Hall of Fame Dinner that will be held October 6 through October 8, 2011.  The raffle ticket fund raising efforts and the drawing to be held after the Homecoming Football Game on October 7, 2011 is another project.  Is it possible to once again have an Alumni Basketball Tournament or other alumni related activities?  If you or someone you know might be interested in becoming directly involved, please contact us.  Any ideas that might further the efforts of the Galion Alumni Association are certainly welcome.

In closing, we would like to promote the services of our website.  We would like to have you become a registered user of the site.  This is free and is not the same as a membership in the Association.  The information you provide is not sold and is a means of keeping contact with our alumni.  We do make the information available to classmates in the planning of reunions.  Each class has its own page and menu intended to contain information of interest to that class.  This was not intended to be a social site, but as a registered user, you can Email other registered users.  You can post personal photos on your profile.  We encourage registered users to post a profile photo.  Questions and help can be directed through the Contact Us menu. Through our website we have been able to connect lost family members, classmates and friends. If you haven't done so, please give us a try, and thanks to those who have.