news-record.com

EDEN — For 17 months, members of the seat replacement team for Morehead High School’s Duane Best Scholarship Fund have been brainstorming how to raise enough money to replace 1,700 badly worn seats in the school auditorium.

Their slogan? “Let’s Get ’er Done.”

The team, made up of former students, faculty and community members, is facing a Monday deadline to get money for the seats. That’s a requirement in the contract made with the company that will install the seats this summer.

This large-scale effort to raise $255,000 (seats cost $150 each) is rare for any small group, particularly in a down economy.

“The push is on,” said Gloria Best, coordinator of the seat project.

As of Wednesday, the team was looking for funding for 377 seats.

“The goal is attainable,” Best said, but the need to buy or pledge is urgent. “Ownership now is a guarantee of a stake in the community’s future,” she said.

The group had an incentive to plunge into this difficult project. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Morehead High School auditorium. A choral reunion concert is planned for the fall to celebrate the anniversary, along with the dedication of the new seats.

The new seats will honor or memorialize students, faculty, friends and others. Those names will be placed on a wall plaque in the auditorium lobby.

Another important motivation for the team is a responsible reaction to the community’s need for a usable, spacious auditorium. 

If persistence is the mark of success, this group has it. Each month, beginning in September 2010, the team has sponsored fundraising events.

Team members are: Lynn Tuttle, president; Janice Harold, vice president; Debra Stowe, recording secretary; Ann Fair, corresponding secretary; Susan Cunningham, treasurer; and members at-large Wanda Harris, Kay Miley, Rose Mary Nolen, Fern Ragan, and Amanda C. Rorrer.

They have sold tickets, made phone calls, attended meetings and appeared at events, often dressed in their yellow campaign
T-shirts. The shirts tell the story: The front says “Got Seats” and the back says “Got Yours?”

Rod and Betty Snow of Denver are on the list of contributors after arranging for 50 seats to be donated in honor of their 50th class reunion at Morehead High School. 

Sheree and Allen Mills returned to their hometown in January, from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., to coordinate a “Wine, No Whine, Tasting Benefit!” at The Front Porch in Eden to raise money for the project. Their class, from 1974, has raised enough to replace 23.5 auditorium seats.

The team doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Recently, a group of daredevils such as Eden’s Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Tuggle, and City Council members Gene Hagwood and Jerry Ellis were “locked” in a bank vault to raise money for seats.

Some “hostages” paid their bail by buying four replacement seats; others cajoled donations by telephone to get out of the vault.

At the end of a night of jazz, food, beverages and long telephone talks, participants earned $4,640 and pledges of $4,980. 

On June 4, there will be a Morehead High School Yard Sale at the old Merita Bread store on Kings Highway. Donations for the yard sale can be dropped off at the store on Thursdays from 1-6 p.m. and at other times by calling 623-6826, 623-2932 or 627-5905.

This small group, honoring the high school’s winning spirit, can and will finish the seat project.

The community of Eden owes them a mighty cheer for devoting so much time to providing a comfortable cultural and community center.

An Eden native, Rachel Wright is retired as a teacher at Morehead High School and an instructor at Rockingham Community College.