All of the graduates from William Winans High School, Centreville, have never met at one time and at one place together; however, like all things, it is time for change. The last class to graduate from WWHS, the class of 1989, is in the process of organizing the first-ever WWHS Reunion to include all classes from 1970-1989, all students who attended the school and all principals, teachers and staff who worked at the school.

“So many people have admitted to me that they’ve tried to organize a class reunion. However, many of them fail to get their plans off the ground because people are scattered all around, they’ve lost contact with each other, and simply put, many of the graduating classes were very small,” said Rico Lee, one of the organizers.

Members of the class of 1989 have had several meetings already to organize the reunion. Most of the plans are solid, but they are subject to change depending on the participation and the availability of funds.

The Class of 1989 has an official Web site set up at wwhsreunion.ning.com, which is a public Web site where people can meet and learn about events and activities in their social network. The Web site was designed by Francis Montgomery and Lisa Johnson Smith. Presently, only a few people have signed up, but once someone joins, they can learn about all the activities planned for the reunion, offer suggestions, participate in various forums, share their own life stories, and invite others to attend.

We need specific information from people, too, like their addresses, phone numbers, year of graduation or last year of attendance. We are also in the process of gathering information for the memorial program, which is the first activity to take place Friday, July 3, 2009. We want to be as accurate as we can be in getting the event organized.

We hope to raise money so that we can help offset the cost of the reunion because our goal is to get as many people as we can to participate, especially Saturday, July 4, 2009.

We will have a few fund raisers, and we hope that everyone come out and support our endeavors.

Other activities planned include the following:

Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 — Fly with the Eagles Old Skool Party, Green’s Place, Gaulden Road, Centreville

Friday, July 3, 2009 — Tour of William Winans Middle School (former WWHS) and Memorial Program (Refreshments served)

Friday night, July 3, 2009 — Homecoming Party, Green’s Place, Gaulden Road,

Saturday, July 4, 2009 — Family Day on the Yard, WWHS former football field (Picnics for classes or families)

Saturday night, July 4, 2009 — Black Tie Affair at the former Fruit of the Loom Building, Woodville (Refreshments served and pictures available — limited two guests per ticket)

Sunday, July 5, 2009 — Special Worship Service, Winans CME Church, Centreville

The overall goal of the WWHS Reunion is to get people more interested in what is going on in Centreville. The reunion organizers hope that this activity spurns more participation in the educational system and other community activities in Centreville.

“We want the reunion to be a catalyst for change,” said Lisa Johnson Smith. “We want people to come out, support the reunion, and come back to Centreville more often.”

Local businesses have expressed a desire to help organizers. Super II Foods, which is the only major food shopping center in Centreville, has pledged to help in any way they can.

Francis Montgomery

WWHS graduate