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“Most Likely to Succeed” is the tongue-in-cheek honor bestowed upon graduating seniors by their classmates. Traditionally, one senior boy and girl are recognized for their potential to go forth and do great things.
Like the senior votes, Ponca City High School’s Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes Wildcats doing great things. Their stories and portraits are on display in Po-Hi to serve as a reminder that giants tread these halls and you, dear student, can join them.
Sandy James, HoF Committee member, says the Ponca City High School Alumni Hall of Fame was established in 2017 to honor Po-Hi alumni, living or deceased who have made significant achievements in their post high school careers.
The group also provides scholarships to Po-Hi graduating seniors. The goal is to provide scholarships in an amount great enough to provide significant financial relief for the graduate’s continuing college and/or vocational education expenses. Funding for these scholarships is provided through the Po-Hi Alumni Hall of Fame Scholarship Endowment Fund.
The Scholarship Endowment Fund aims to grow both the dollar value and number of scholarships awarded. For those thinking this is a duplication of Ponca City Public School Foundation efforts, Sandy explains the important distinction, “We differ from the Ponca City Public School Foundation in that they were established to provide grants to teachers for supplemental teaching materials and educational aids. The Hall of Fame Endowment was established strictly to provide
scholarships to graduating Po-Hi seniors to help them reach their goal of furthering their education.”
A scholarship benefit event, ”An Evening with Mike Boettcher” will be held Friday, May 17 at Pioneer Technology Center’s Conference Center. Mike is a Po-Hi Alumni Hall of Fame inductee. The 1972 graduate gave the very first broadcast journalism report via satellite while working for the then fledgling Cable News Network. This live report signaled a paradigm shift in the reporting of world events that continues to this day.
Mike has since won Emmy and Peabody awards for his coverage of global conflict and foreign affairs. As a war correspondent, he has survived being shot at, bombed, kidnapped and chased through the streets by guerilla mobs.
For the Evening with Mike Boettcher event, Mike plans to share his insider’s insight into global events as few other humans can (that aren’t restricted by government security measures, that is). Mike will also field questions from the audience. Adam Leaming, Superintendent of Ponca City Public Schools, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Hors D’oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available.
General admission tickets are $30 per person and are on sale now exclusively at the Ponca City Board of Education, 613 E Grand, and at the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce, 402 E Grand. Cash or check, please. Checks should be made out to Po-Hi Alumni Hall of Fame. Host for the evening is the law firm of Boettcher, Devinney, Ingle and Wicker.
For more information, contact Sandy James, sandyspack@gmail.com .
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