Stockbridge Community Honors the Class of 2020 at Plaque Unveiling

by Mary Jo David

May 31, 2020: An enthusiastic crowd assembled at the Stockbridge Township Square today to honor the Stockbridge High School Class of 2020. With so many graduation traditions having to be canceled, postponed, or redefined for this class due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the community came together to show its support of these resilient high school seniors.

Graduates made the most of photo opportunities against a large Stockbridge Panther backdrop erected for the occasion. At promptly 3:20 p.m., Senior High School Principal Jeff Trapp, Junior High School Principal Meghan Kunzelman, and representatives from the Stockbridge Area Chamber of Commerce were on hand for the unveiling of a special tribute plaque honoring the Class of 2020.

Trapp spoke at the event, emphasizing the importance of community coming together in support of this special class. He thanked the Stockbridge Area Chamber of Commerce for approaching him to ask how their organization could help recognize the Class of 2020.

The unveiled Class of 2020 tribute plaque, which lists the class members by name, is truly representative of a community effort as many of the Chamber’s area businesses had a hand in making it a reality. RTC Enviro-Fab, Inc., of Munith, built and donated the plaque. Then Stockbridge businesses stepped in to finish the plaque, including efforts on the part of the Kightlingers’ My Body Shop (painting), Marcy Tracy’s Main Street Printing (graphics), and CG Lantis’ The Auto Shop (transport/set up).

Behind the plaque in the Stockbridge Gazebo was a large screen for showing off a video of this year’s seniors. The beautiful sunny day was perfect for the unveiling but, unfortunately, made it difficult to view the video. However, Trapp reminded the assembled crowd that the celebration would be continuing with an Honors video being emailed out to class members this evening and a commemorative lighting of the stadium at the high school scheduled for 9:20 tonight. Stadium lights will be turned on for 20 minutes and 20 seconds in honor of the graduates and residents were encouraged to turn on porch lights during that same time to show their support of the Class of 2020.

One of the seniors attending in cap and gown was Emmalee Laraway, who explained her feelings this way, “The end of the year has been super confusing and put a damper on graduation. It feels kind of like our senior year was taken away from us.” A trio of graduates—Josh Lewis, Chris Hall, and John Morris—admitted that it’s hard to know how to feel since this is the only high school graduation year they’ll ever experience. However, all three wished they could have finished the year out in a normal fashion.  Cassandra Chapman, also a graduating senior, had a bit of a different take on the situation, “It’s sad how it ended, but I view it like our class is making history. We will always be a class to remember, and I think we should be known for our perseverance and flexibility.”

A good crowd turned out to honor the Class of 2020 at the plaque unveiling in the Stockbridge Township Square. Here, families are assembled to take photos at the Panther backdrop. Photo credit: Mary Jo David

Graduate Paige Wooden and her parents, Tracey and Dan, arrived early to get their photos in front of the Stockbridge High School backdrop. Photo credit: Mary Jo David

Prior to the plaque unveiling, Stockbridge High School Principal Jeff Trapp is joined by Junior High Principal Meghan Kunzelman (left), as well as the Panther mascot and representatives of the Stockbridge Area Chamber of Commerce to explain the community effort that went into this day of honoring the SHS senior class.

The Class of 2020 plaque will be displayed in the gazebo for a few days and then moved to its new home at Stockbridge High School.

Photo Credit: Jenny Smith