2021 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The following individuals have been selected to be inducted into the 2021 Class of the Hall of Fame for their accomplishments and contributions to their communities since graduating from Galion High School.

Gene Bosler                                        - GHS Class of 1961

Martha Bell (Herdon) Boyd                  - GHS Class of 1917

Lupe Campo                                        - GHS Class of 1973

Mary Court                                           - GHS Class of 1962

Chet Foraker                                        - GHS Class of 1954

Debra Garverick        Esq.                    - GHS Class of 1976

Max Ness                                              - GHS Class of 1961

2021 Connections Weekend Letter

 The following represents the content of a letter being sent to supporters of the Galion City Schools and Connections Weekend:

Dear Galion Community Member:

It is with great pleasure that I share with you an exciting event that will take place in the Galion community October 14-16, 2021. We hope that you will be a part of the wonderful events and activities taking place!

Connections Weekend is a celebration of Galion, a learning experience for Galion students, and a way to meet and reconnect with friends and family in Galion.

The Galion City Schools, the Galion Alumni Association, the Galion Community Education Foundation, the Galion Tiger Alumni Band, and the Galion Community Foundation have joined together for Connections Weekend.

This year's Connections Weekend promises to be even more exciting than previous ones, with many featured events.  Here are the scheduled events for this year:

Thursday, October 14, 2021:

●Old Fashioned Pep Rally - 6:30pm - 7:30pm - Practice Football Field - Bonfire & GHS and

Alumni Band

Friday, October 15, 2021:

●Career Day - 7:30am - 2:30pm - GMS - Returning alumni share their success stories

●Homecoming Football Game - 7:00pm - Unckrich Stadium- Galion vs. Lima Central Catholic

Saturday, October  16, 2021:

●Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast - 8:00am - 10:30 - Galion Intermediate School

●Connections 5K Run/1 Mile Walk - 8:30am - 10:00am- Galion Middle School

●Alumni Hall of Fame Induction Dinner - 6:30pm - Galion Middle School Cafe

EVENT SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY

You are receiving this letter because you have been identified as a Galion graduate or outstanding contributor to the Galion community. We need you and your support to make this weekend a tremendous success.

Potential sponsorship and support materials are enclosed.Please take a few minutes TODAY to read this information and to respond.  Connections Weekends in the past have been tremendous successes, but we need your support to make this year's Connections Weekendan even greater one.  Please add your support!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Allerding

Galion City Schools Superintendent

Call for Hall of Fame Nominations

 The Connections Committee is calling for nominations for the 2021 Galion City Schools Hall of Fame.  The nominations are due to the Galion City Schools Central Office by June 24, 2021.  Forms for nominations are available at the Galion City Schools Central office, at the Galion Chamber of Commerce office or online at the Galion City Schools or the Galion Alumni Association websites. 

The selected nominees will be honored at the Hall of Fame Dinner on Saturday, October 16, 2021 as part of the Connections Weekend and Galion High School Homecoming Celebration.  More information will be forthcoming regarding this dinner.

Eligible nominees for the Hall of Fame must be either a Galion graduate or have been a member of the faculty or staff of the Galion City Schools.  Nominees are selected based upon their contributions to their community or field after their graduation from Galion High School or in the case of former staff their impact upon Galion students. 

"Due to the COVID pandemic, we postponed the Hall of Fame induction one year," said Connections Weekend chairman Brian Treisch.  "We are confident that we will hold the ceremony this year and want to have a great group of nominees to choose from."

The Hall of Fame Dinner is part of the Connections Weekend.  This weekend involves a Career Day for Middle School students on October 15, the traditional Homecoming bonfire and pep rally on Thursday, October 14, the return of the Galion Alumni Band at the Homecoming football game on Friday, October 15 and the YMCA 5K Race in the morning of October 16.  The Hall of Fame Dinner is the evening of October 16, 2021.

"Connections Weekend is an event to bring together our community, to bring successful Galion graduates from many fields back to meet with students, and to highlight our school campus," said Treisch.  "We urge Galion graduates to nominate classmates for their achievements and to return to Galion to celebrate our great hometown."

More information about Connections Weekend will be available on the websites of the Galion City Schools and the Galion Alumni Association.

2021 Membership Drive 

2021 has arrived with a lot of uncertainty and unanswered questions.  This, of course, includes a lot of organizations such as schools, churches, and organizations like the Galion Alumni Association. Questions, such as where do we go from here and how does the future impact the efforts of our organization?  The most important issue for the Galion Alumni Association is finding younger Galion Alumni to take the reins of the organization by accepting to serve as officers and board members to guide a positive energy in providing support to the Galion City Schools, the Galion Community and Galion Alumni, past, present and future. The second issue is supporting the efforts to fund and build a Performing Arts Center (Auditorium) that is capable of providing an acceptable arena for the theater and music departments of the Galion City Schools.  When the time comes to move this project forward, it will require the efforts of many different groups, as this is a very large and ambitious project.  To do this, we need your support through the renewal of your membership in the Galion Alumni Association.  Your continued participation will be greatly appreciated.

Membership in 2020 was at 143 dues paying members, of which 88 are Lifetime Members.  There were no new Lifetime Memberships during 2020.  Most of our annual members are individuals or couples that maintain their memberships year after year.  We would like to encourage those members that are local to participate by attending the monthly meetings and becoming a member of the Board of Directors or participating in the activities of the Alumni Association.  There is always the opportunity for all to relay suggestions for activities that would appeal to you.  Alumni Association information and activity updates may be found either on the Galion Alumni Association website or Facebook page.

Galion Alumni Association

2020 Update

Income:

The Alumni Association did maintain the sale of 300 Club Tickets, but fell short of all tickets being sold.  For those not familiar with the 300 Club Ticket, it involves the sale of 300 tickets at $20.00 each.  At each home game during football and basketball seasons, two tickets are drawn to determine winners of $100.00 each.  Those tickets are then returned to the container and are eligible for future drawings during the season.  Due to COVID restrictions, there were no drawings held during the 2020 football season, but the drawings were started for the 2020/21 basketball season using a modified system to ensure that a total of thirty tickets were drawn.  Membership dues provided the other source for revenue for 2020. Total income for 2020 was $6853.86.

Expense:

Money was spent to promote the Association through an ad ($100.00) in the Drama Department program. A $250.00 donation was made to a sports travel fund.   Expense Items this year included $64.00 for Post Office Box fees and postage and $125.00 to maintain our Chamber of Commerce Membership for 2021, $2782.78 for 300 Club drawing winners and ticket printing costs. . Fees for our 2021 website hosting were $287.88.  Total expenses for year totaled $3609.66.

The Galion Alumni Association continues to be a participating member of the Connections Weekend Committee.   This Committee is responsible for the production of the Galion Connections Weekend which was to be held October 15-17, 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID 19 restrictions.  Plans for a Connections Weekend event have not been formulated for 2021.  The Alumni Association plays a large role in the Hall of Fame event and encourages the submission of nominations for Galion High School graduates that deserve recognition.  Nominations for the 2021 Hall of fame inductees are due by June 1, 2021.  The Connections Weekend Committee maintains a file of nominations submitted, but not selected from previous years for future consideration.  All of the Connections Weekend events are open to the public and are not restricted strictly to Alumni.  Please join us.

The Connections Weekend is intended to serve as a fund raising vehicle to provide funds for building a Performing Arts Center on the Galion City Schools Campus.  This is an extremely ambitious undertaking continues to be a priority project as this will be a multi-million dollar project and will require some large donors to step forward. Planning is in process for establishing a formal fund raising drive with the help of several 2019 Inductees to the Hall of Fame. 

You are encouraged to visit the Galion Alumni Association Facebook Page or the Galion Alumni Association website.   The Alumni Association Board generally meets once a  month unless there is a cancellation or rescheduling. The meetings are currently being held at Ralphie's in Galion, usually at 6:30 p.m., on the third Monday of the month.  All who wish to participate are cordially invited to attend.