2012 Slater H.S. Business Meeting: An Alumni Association in Search of a President

"It's been a good ride. Everybody has cooperated, and we've been fine."

Those words from Slate Alumni President John Hogans, upon his last reunion as head of the Slater High School Alumni Association of Bristol, Tennessee.

Hogans is stepping down after almost 16 years leading the Slate Alumni through parades, meetings, gatherings and banquets, partnered with its Bristol, Virginia counterpart, Douglass High School.

"Every time you have one of these reunions, there are little glitches that have to be worked out at the last minute, but everything runs pretty smoothly. Our joint banquet was well attended, and we appreciate our Slater family coming out to celebrate our heritage."

Click here to see a slideshow of the 2012 Douglass-Slater Reunion Banquet.

Hogans was especially complimentary of the enthusiasm of the Slater Alumni who attended the 2012 business meeting, just before the Reunion Banquet.

Click here to see a slideshow of the 2012 Slater High School Business Meeting.

"The excitement of the business meeting was evident in the factc that the group wanted to continue the reunion," he says, "even though they don't have a president. That enthusiam is good, and we're hoping to find a president soon."

Because no one stepped forward at the business meeting to volunteer to be Slater's next president, Hogans, whose term doesn't officially expire for another few months, will reach out into the Slater alumni community at a later date.

"It's a good thing to reach out to the younger people, the descendants of Slater graduates," he says. "Our numbers of actual graduates are dwindling and getting shorter. IT would be only a while that we, the older ones, won't be here anymore, and somebody has to step up and take over, if there's going to be a continuation."

Hogans says, once a president is found, the announcement will be made during the alumni association's mailings in October.

"I would encourage everybody to come and help, and to be enthusiastic," he says. "We have to keep the school spirit built up among our descendants, so that Slater High School's memory will stay alive."