5 Things To Know About Today’s Brandon High School Graduation

Caps and gowns are the order of the day for the graduating seniors of Brandon High, who in preparation for tonight’s commencement, along with their teachers, families and friends, are offered these things to know and review as the hour draws nigh:

• Commencement commences at 8 p.m., at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, at 4800 U.S. Highway 301 North in Tampa. Graduating seniors have been told to arrive at 7 p.m., with lineup required by 7:30 p.m. Traffic might be a factor, so plan accordingly. (Note: last-minute gifts, including stuffed animals wearing graduation caps, are available for sale outside the Expo Hall.)

• This year’s graduating class walks the stage in the 97th anniversary year of Brandon High. The year “2014” is painted in white letters on the red building that stands outside the football field, facing Kings Avenue. Brandon High in 2014 will celebrate its 100th year, in reference to the Brandon School, which opened in 1914, where McLane Middle School is today, and served students in all grades. That means this year’s freshman class will graduate in the year the school’s centennial is celebrated.

• “Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle” is the rallying cry of Brandon High graduates, many of whom will swear to you they bleed “maroon and white,” the school colors.

• The Brandon High School Alumni Association welcomes your membership. It meets monthly and holds annual alumni events, including the grand reunion in the spring. Lots of new blood is needed, as the group is driven to widen its reach to alumni from more recent classes. The organization maintains the “” wall for alumni in the school’s cafeteria and is a great source for first-hand historians who can tell you the history of not only Brandon High School, but Brandon itself. In that regard as well, the Brandon High School “” meets on the even months of the year at the Golden Corral off Providence Road in Brandon.

• Today’s graduates, as Brandon High alumni, share an affiliation with other Brandon High alumni, including Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and former Hillsborough County School Superintendent Earl Lennard (’60), Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee (’77), former state Senate president Tom Lee (’80), this year’s Honorary Mayor of Brandon Lisa Bullard Rodriguez (’75) and Richard A. “Dick” Stowers (’47), the namesake of Stowers Elementary School and the Stowers funeral building on Brandon Boulevard.

To prep for the day, here’s a bunch of links to relevant information, including what your parents might be feeling, Sir Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 and Brandon Patch stories on your peers’ graduations from Armwood and Riverview high schools.

• Musical Post: Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1

In closing, Brandon Patch extends to each graduating Brandon High School student, and each parent, teacher, guardian, grandparent, sibling, friend, school administrator, neighbor and other family member who helped them reach this pinnacle of their childhood, a hearty congratulations.