The 100th will be done with full fanfare.

That’s the word from the planning committee of the Powell High School Alumni Association, which has been meeting for months to make ready for the centennial anniversary alumni weekend on June 26-27.

PHS alumni have been gathering for an all-class reunion weekend every year for 100 years. When the core alumni planners, admittedly weary, said the100th might be the last of the annual get-togethers, graduates from the past rallied to be a part of the celebration this June.

“Quite a few classes have sent cards out to their members, even if they’re not on a reunion year — a 10th, or 20th, or a 50th,” said Nancy Hall, longtime committee member. “This might not be the last reunion. We’ve got a number of new people who may want to keep it going. We’ll just have to see.”

Meanwhile, everyone is committed to a full-blown100th anniversary alumni party.

The official lead-off activity for the

reunion weekend is a golf tournament Friday morning, June 26, at the Powell Golf Course, open to everyone.

The Park County Fairgrounds figures prominently in the two-day weekend in June, said Pat Graham, another of the veteran alumni committee team.

A Friday night “kegger with bonfire” at the fairgrounds will be a starter for weekend activities. Classes can make plans for their own reunion Friday evening, attend the fairgrounds opener, or do both. Food and drink vendors and music will be part of the kickoff event.

The annual fun run/walk sponsored by the Powell Recreation District is scheduled for 7 a.m. Saturday, June 27, to open a full day of activities.

The annual alumni breakfast will be served at the fairgrounds from 8-10 a.m. Saturday. After breakfast, an alumni parade from the fairgrounds to downtown and back will wrap up the morning.

“Any class that wants to get a flatbed trailer and pile the class members on back, they’re invited,” said Graham. “We’re going to have a car show, and we’ll have the old cars in the parade. We hope to get the Powell High Band or Pep Band to take part. We just want it to be fun.”

“We’re thinking about inviting some of our oldest alums to be the grand marshals of the parade and ride in some of the classic cars,” added Hall.

Saturday afternoon at the fairgrounds will feature the classic cars, an art show, horseshoe pitching and “a blast from the past” jam session. Eight bands with PHS alums who performed together through the years will take turns jamming on the fairgrounds stage under the pavilion.

The next meeting of the alumni reunion planning committee is set for at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Elks Club. The meeting is open to everyone.

At heart, it’s a campaign to make the 100th anniversary reunion of the Powell High School Alumni Association a lasting memory.

What has come to signal campaigns? You got it. Yard signs.

The committee carrying the ball for the June 26-27 alumni weekend has unveiled orange and black yard signs with which to “Pantherize” Powell in coming months.

The yard signs are available for $10 each at the office of the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce. They are both a promotional tool and a fundraiser for the alumni effort.

— Dave Bonner