Buoyed by the recent success of August’s Main Street dance, and by comments from Canadian High School alumni here for September’s well-attended homecoming events at Wildcat Stadium, members of the Canadian Education Foundation and CHS Ex-Student Association have decided to join forces, share resources and make some changes in plans for next year’s All-School Reunion.

Last week, reunion organizers announced that the next event—which is held every five years*—will be slated for September 26-27, 2025. It is scheduled to coincide with the annual Canadian High School Homecoming football game. 

The thought behind merging the two celebrations, CEF committee members said, was to make it easier for all to attend—particularly those travelling from elsewhere—and to share the resources used to stage the combined events. 

Another compelling argument for delaying the event into the fall was made by CEF member Courtney Trolinger, who said, “It’s stinking hot the first of August.”

“This was a decision not taken lightly,” said Heath Mitchell, who added that, since the news has spread, “we have received an outpouring of support for these changes.”

Trolinger emphasized the importance of re-energizing homecoming, bringing more alumni to town, and raising more money for the CEF scholarship fund. That was the impetus behind starting a pre-game tailgate party several years ago, she said. 

In addition, Trolinger said, “We started doing honor teams every year, and it got to be that we would look up [in the stands] and there were classes having their reunions at homecoming, in conjunction with everything else we were doing.”

“So it really made more sense to do it then, because you’re going to have your individual classes wanting to do it at that time, too,” she explained. “You typically get people in town to visit on the Fourth of July and at homecoming, and it just made sense. The people I’ve told [said], ‘Oh, I wish you’d done that a long time ago. I really like that idea.’”

Another benefit of combined events is providing more activities for the families who accompany their alumni to homecoming and class reunions. In addition to the traditional pre-game tailgate party and football game on Friday night, and the increasingly popular CEF Golf Scramble which raises money to endow scholarships for graduating seniors, Cheryl Hohertz said, “We thought, let’s do a street dance [on Saturday night] and involve the families as a whole, so you don’t have to find a sitter or leave them with your parents.”

Bringing the homecoming crowd to Main Street Canadian for an evening of music and dancing also offers the opportunity for local businesses to entice celebrants into their stores, and for food trucks to feed the hungry crowd. “We want to make every attempt to keep it local, if we can,” said Mitchell. 

Plans for this revamped All-School Reunion are already progressing. Organizers have coordinated with school officials to confirm the date will coincide with Homecoming.  

In a recent report on the event, Mitchell said that the street dance is still the committee’s plan and the pavilion has been reserved as a back-up due to weather. The evening’s headliner, The Solano Project, has already been booked. 

In addition, he said, “We have three alumni and one current CHS student who are going to open. These include Drew Hill, Emily Alexander Fanning, Mya Sanchez, and Bridger Burrus. We will also continue our efforts to have local food booths and other things at the street dance.”

As more details are lined out, Mitchell said, CEF will begin promoting the event and getting everything in front of the public. “We are excited about the possibilities with this event and the chance to highlight Canadian High School, alumni of CHS and our wonderful community.”

*NOTE: The All-School Reunion scheduled for August 2020 was reluctantly cancelled due to health concerns during the COVID pandemic.

For More Information:

To share your thoughts about plans for Canadian High School’s 2025 All-School Reunion, please contact Canadian Education Foundation member Heath Mitchell at 806.255.3129.

To Update or Change Your Contact Information:

If you are a Canadian High School alum, and want to update or make changes to your address information, please contact Becky Wilson via text or email at Becky.Wilson@canadianisd.net. 

Canadian Education Foundation members:

Courtney Trolinger, Becky Wilson, Haley Ward, Amanda Lefever, Deana Stephens, Tessa Cox, Brooke Richardson, Mathers Hale, Colby Leach, Heath Mitchell, Cheryl Hohertz, Michelle Thompson, Theresa Holdstock, Sally Whittle, Alexis Beck, Dr. Julia McMains, Josh Mayhew. 

NOTE: All members of the Canadian Education Foundation either graduated from CHS, have family members who have attended and/or graduated from CHS, or have a strong connection to Canadian and its public schools.

Canadian Education Foundation Scholarship Funds

The following funds are either endowed by or managed by the non-profit Canadian Education Foundation: 

CEF Academic Scholarships, $44,000; Eddie Meek-Forever Black Always Gold Scholarship, $27,500; Kirk Morrow Scholarship, $35,875; Kim Parnell Scholarship, $21,500; No Worries Scholarship, $16,000; No Worries Camp Scholarship, $12,698; Ex-Student Scholarship, $17,500; Wildcat ’81 Scholarship, $15,000; Corky Guthrie Scholarship, $11,000; Share The Love Scholarship, $1,000; Texas AgriLife Scholarship, $10,000; Chris Koetting Scholarship, $3,000; Teacher’s Grants, $83,514.91; AIMS Testing Scholarships, $85,587.50; Dual Credit, $15,600; Window On A Wider World, $17,880; Back Packs for Baker Elementary Students, $1,329; “Willie Wildcat” Shirts for elementary students and teachers, $5,290; Back To School gifts for teachers, $4,400; Homecoming Tailgate, $23,832.06; “Pam Spencer” Passion Awards, $10,700; Endowed to “Opportunity Funds,” $53,930.81