Tradition and Strategic Plan

This past week (September 24-29) was Homecoming Week for El Dorado High School and USD 490. During this week, students, alumni, parents, patrons and staff carry on many traditions. Most people involved do not know why or when these traditions started, but these traditions are a “Partofthepride”.

But if a person looks closer, these activities are not only traditions from the past but are also written into our most recent strategic plan. A key element of our strategic plan is community involvement. Anyone would have a difficult time finding an event with more community involvement than the 2018 Fall Homecoming Parade.

I want to take a minute and recognize the people involved in making this event happen. The most visible and easiest to identify are the more than 50 entries in the parade. I would guess we had people in the parade from ages 3 to probably close to 90. Entries included: Classes from as far back as 1958 to 2019, All USD #490 buildings were represented, Local Clubs and Groups (School and Community) as well as Local Businesses.

But there are some many more community members that are instrumental to the success of an event like this that are behind the scenes. Planning of the 2018 Parade began as soon as the 2017 Parade ended. The biggest challenge in trying to identify the people (community members) behind the scenes is unintentionally leaving someone and hurting their feelings. Sometimes these individuals or groups go unrecognized but they are definitely appreciated: Transportation—This group would include all the businesses and individuals that provided vehicles, trailers and drivers for the parade, it would also include any transportation of parade participants to and from the parade.

Administration—This group would include planning and organizing personnel from the city, the school district and entries in the parade.

Setup and teardown—This group would include the employees from the city that setup and removed barricades on all the side streets, people that setup and removed sound equipment used during parade and assembly.

Spectators—Main street from Gordy to around 5^th Street of El Dorado, KS was filled with people.

So, if you enjoyed the parade, please find a way to express your gratitude. Especially to the people behind the scenes.