Brandon High Alumni Make Plans for School's 100th Anniversary

With the 100th anniversary of Brandon High School taking place March 1, 2014, alumni and friends of the school aren't waiting for the last moment to plan the big celebration.

Following a kickoff meeting June 3 at the Original Beef O' Brady's, organizers are moving full steam ahead to make the anniversary one to remember.

"Everyone, not just alumni, are welcome to come out and lend a hand, give ideas and just help us in the planning stages," said Cheryl Stanbro. "Our goal is to make this about the Brandon community as a whole as much as for Brandon alumni."

The school originally opened in 1914 on the current site of McLane Middle School. Known simply as Brandon School, it housed students from kindergarten to 12th grade.

In 1972, the high school moved to its current location at 1101 Victoria St. in Brandon where it was the area's only high school until Armwood High School opened in 1984.

During that time, said Stanbro, Brandon High School was the focus of the community. 

"For many years, the Brandon School was the site for much of the community activities," she said. "The football stadium was always packed on Friday nights; it was the only game in town. Everyone walked to the Dairy Isle or the general store soda fountain after the games. Life was simple then."

Today, said Stanbro, there are generations of families who attended Brandon High School and have memories to share and stories to tell. 

"Many of our alumni have gone on to become professional athletes, politicians, entered academia and have become leaders in industry and law enforcement," said Stanbro. "Brandon has a great story to tell."

Alumni include state Sen. Tom Lee, former state Sen. Ronda Storms, former Hillsborough County schools superintendent and supervisor of elections, Earl Lennard, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee, State Attorney Mark Ober, former professional baseball players Jody Reed, Chone Figgins and Danny Graves, former pro football player David Galloway and current Washington Redskins player Mike Pucillo, and professional basketball players Joey Graham, Stevie Graham, Dwayne Schintzius and Jeff Turner.

First on the anniversary planning committee's agenda, said Stanbro, is to come up with a design and logo for T-shirts and other memorabilia that will be sold to raise money for the celebration. 

"We'll have a big community celebration on March 1 but we're planning other special events throughout the whole 2014 year," said Stanbro.

Anyone interested in participating is invited to attend the planning meetings the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at The Original Beef O' Brady's, 210 S. Kings Ave., Brandon. The next meeting is July 1.

"We really want the whole community to rally behind this wonderful milestone and help us bring some awareness to the area and the wonderful small town that was Brandon to the big town it's become," said Stanbro.

For information and updates, visit the BHS 100th Anniversary Celebration Facebook page or email bhs100th@yahoo.com.