‘I hope (the seniors) feel honored’ — banners on display at softball complex
Published 4:57 pm Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Photo by Gracie Byrne Banners featuring graduating high school seniors line the loop through Hansel King Softball Complex in Brookhaven as a way to honor the students who were not able to celebrate with a traditional graduation ceremony.
Photo by Brett Campbell Brookhaven Academy displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along its front fence line.
Photo by Brett Campbell Brookhaven Academy displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along its front fence line.
Photo by Brett Campbell Brookhaven Academy displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along its front fence line.
Photo by Brett Campbell Brookhaven Academy displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along its front fence line.
Photo by Brett Campbell Brookhaven Academy displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along the fence line of the Hansel King Softball Complex.
Photo by Brett Campbell Bogue Chitto displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along the fence line of the Hansel King Softball Complex.
Photo by Brett Campbell Loyd Star displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along the fence line of the Hansel King Softball Complex.
Photo by Brett Campbell Loyd Star displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along the fence line of the Hansel King Softball Complex.
Photo by Brett Campbell West Lincoln displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along the fence line of the Hansel King Softball Complex.
Photo by Brett Campbell West Lincoln displays posters of 2020 graduating seniors along the fence line of the Hansel King Softball Complex.
Smiling seniors dressed in their drape apparel can be seen while making the loop at Hansel King Softball Complex. The students aren’t out there, but their likenesses printed on banners are.
Due to COVID-19, schools have been closed since mid-March. For graduating seniors, this meant the end of their senior year and forgoing a traditional graduation ceremony.
“The seniors needed to be honored,” said Jennifer Calhoun, owner of Photographic Creations.
While alternate graduation ceremonies have been organized, Calhoun wanted to find a way to honor the class of 2020. She worked with area schools and sponsors to provide the banners.
“I’m grateful to the sponsors and to everyone else who made this possible,” Calhoun said. “It was a little harder than I thought it would be, but it was worth it just to see the parents and kids go out there and see them.”
She emailed a flyer to area principals in order to gauge interest. While she had sent it to principals across the state, local principals were the most interested.
Her original idea was to have the banners attached to poles and placed around town, but she and city officials worried about possible traffic issues. Because Calhoun works with the Lincoln Civic Center regularly, she was able to get permission to display them at the softball complex.
“To me it was the perfect way for the whole town to see them,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun and her husband hung a majority of the banners, and they even had some help from the schools’ staffs. Each banner is 3.5 feet by 4.5 feet.
The area schools that participated in displaying banners of their students were Brookhaven High School, Loyd Star Attendance Center, Bogue Chitto Attendance Center, West Lincoln Attendance Center and Brookhaven Academy.
Calhoun said the banners have been well received by the community.
“I deal with seniors all the time,” Calhoun said. “They love these banners and getting to put them up.”
She hopes that by doing this the class of 2020 and their families can feel better during the pandemic.
“I hope it gives them a little pride, since graduation was canceled,” Calhoun said. “I hope they feel honored, just a little bit.”
Story by Gracie Byrne
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