ORHS Reunion supports Emory Valley Center Campaign

 

Last September’s 50th Reunion for Oak Ridge High School Class of 1964 was typical in many respects. Somewhat unusual was the class commitment to a reunion service project. Before, during, and after the Reunion, class members contributed financial support to the Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign.

On February 2, Reunion Committee Chairman Tommy McIntyre and several Committee members presented $550 to Emory Valley Center President Jennifer Enderson as the final class campaign contribution for this reunion year. The check brought the total contribution to $8,190.

Representing the Center with Enderson were Cathy Thompson, Phillip Boatner, and Michele Craft, who receive support from the Center; Boatner’s Caregiver Kathy Bunch; EVC staff members Janet Wood and Daisy Mullins; and Campaign Co-Chairs Gene Caldwell and Dottie Thompson.

Among the ’64 Class members present were Glenda Carringer Langenburg and Janice Pugh Craft. Carringer Langenburg’s mother, Juanita Carringer, served as principal of the EVC school in its early days. Pugh Craft’s daughter, Michele, was a student there and now works for The Erb Agency-Allstate Insurance in Clinton through the EVC Supported Employment Program. Michele also fundraises for Alzheimer’s Tennessee as a volunteer. Other ORHS 50th Reunion Committee members were Tommy McIntyre (reunion chairman), his wife Jean Pemberton McIntyre, Judy McGown Russell, Mary Kuhaida Lowery, Reverend Robert “Bob” Cantrell, and Jean Ann Norris.

Located on Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge, the EVC began in 1955 as a public school for children with cognitive disabilities, the first such school in Tennessee. It now serves 850 children and adults with disabilities in a 16-county area, providing education, socialization skills, job training, employment, transportation, and housing, as well as counseling and support to families and caregivers.

Because the current facilities of the EVC are too expensive to remodel, they will be demolished. In 2009, EVC Board members initiated a capital campaign to raise $3.5 million for new facilities. To date, $2.75 million has been raised. Campaign Co-Chairs Caldwell and Thompson anticipate that the additional funds necessary to begin construction will be in place soon.

In a letter expressing their thanks for the support of the Class of 64, Enderson, Wood, Caldwell, and Thompson also expressed the hope that “in the near future, we will have a beautiful new building for you to visit, beautiful not necessarily for its architectural splendor, but because it was built with many loving donations from caring people. Your gifts…provide a tangible investment in this regionally-centered program by improving the quality of life for those we serve. We are most grateful for your generosity and kind thoughtfulness.”

Online donations to the Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign can be made at emoryvalleycenter.org. Checks can be mailed to: Emory Valley Center Capital Campaign, P.O. Box 5328, Oak Ridge, TN 37831.