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August 21, 2010

Asgland High class of 1960 gives back to the community

Anonymous Associated Press Sat Aug 21, 2010, 06:00 AM EDT

ASHLAND — The Ashland High School graduating class of 1960 is not the first class to give something back to the community, but the $110,000 members of the class raised to create a Youth Education Endowment Fund for the Paramount Arts Center certainly is the most impressive gift from a graduating class. The class will be presenting the gift at Paramount on Aug. 27 as part of its 50-year class reunion. to the Paramount.

Retired Ashland school administrator Kay Gevedon said the idea for the gift was formed during a mini-reunion shortly after the class’s 45-year reunion five years ago.

“People were sitting around talking, like we always do, and somebody asked, ‘What gave we done to give back to this community that has given us so much?”’ Gevedon recalled.

What followed was talk about donating fountains, planting trees or doing something else to beautify the city, Gevedon said. Instead, the class opted to do something even better.

Instead of just raising money for a one-time gift to the community, they created an endowment that will produce revenue that will continue boosting the Paramount’s outstanding youth education programs from now on. By not touching the $110,000, the endowment will keep benefiting the young people of this community long after members of the class have completed their time here on Earth. In our book, that’s a whole lot wiser investment in this community than any fountains or trees.

“We reached this goal in three years. We started with zero,” said Norma Meek, another committee member and a long-time educator in the Boyd County School District.

Geveden said the repsonse from members of the class of 1960 who have not lived in this community for many years has been tremendous,

“Everybody has fond memories of the city and community,” Meek added.

The money was funnelled through the PAC so even members of the committee would not know which class members have contributed and how much they have given. “We wanted everybody to be equal,” Gevedon said. “That’s why we asked the Paramount to administer it.”

Meek hopes the gift to the comunity from the class of 1960 will inspire other to launch similar efforts.

“We do not think it is unique and maybe other classes would follow suit with a similar project,” Meek said, even going so far as to suggest one: “If several classes got behind the Putnam Stadium project, just think what we could do?”

The Ashland High class of 1960 had 316 graduates and 81 have died, Geveden said. But the class will continue to live on forever through the youth education programs it will help bring to this community.

What a wonderful gift to this community, and we hope it does inspire other classes to make similar gifts to this community. Certainly the class of 1960 has set the standard for other classes by creating what PAC executive director Kahy Setterman has correctly called “an incredible legacy.”

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