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Members of the Simmesport High School Alumni and Faculty Mega-Reunion Committee stand at the entrance of the former Simmesport High School. Committee members, from left, are (seated) Wanda Brown, Janine Mury, Patra M. Coco (event organizer), Carolyn Guidry, and (standing) Kirk J. Guidry (event organizer), Chuck Mury, Kenneth Marsh, Mayor Leslie Draper and Renè Whitmore.

Simmesport High ‘Mega-Reunion’ slated for Aug. 4

BY PATRA M. COCO
About 600 Simmesport High graduates and their guests are expected to gather from 1-4 p.m. on Aug. 4 at their alma mater to share memories of days gone by. However, organizers of the “Mega-Reunion” are trying to reach even more alumni.
This will be a free event for students who attended Simmesport High and the staff and faculty who worked there.
It will be held at the “Old Simmesport Gym” -- renamed Riverside Elementary after the high school grades were consolidated and moved to Avoyelles High (formerly Moreauville High) in 1987.
The school is located at 529 Norwood Street. Those wanting to attend must register at tinyurl.com/SHSMegaReunion1. Former SHS Principal Kirk J. Guidry came up with the idea in February. 
“I woke up during the night with this Mega-Reunion idea, because of all the interest in our Facebook Alumni Group,” Guidry said. “This year marks 30 years since SHS closed its doors and my last year as principal.”
Patra M. Coco (class of 1987) administers the alumni group and began the task of organizing and planning the event for the more than 600 scheduled to attend.
“We don’t want to exclude any classes, so everyone is included,” Coco said. “The response has been phenomenal.”
“Simmesport, past and present, has some amazing people,” she continued. “It’s about time we celebrate the positive and reacquaint with those who made our town a wonderful place to receive an education.” At 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 4, the original school bell (circa 1928) will be rung by Annie Maddie Ducote, (class of 1946). Beryl Couvillion Moreau, a 1958 graduate and former faculty member, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Former Avoyelles School District Superintendent Dwayne Lemoine, of the Class of 1978, and 1959 graduate former District Attorney Eddie Knoll Sr. will participate in the program. Simmesport Mayor Leslie Draper III, a 1982 graduate, said the “anticipation of the Mega- Reunion has steered the pride of the SHS Eagles. It has provoked an interest that’s timeless and necessary for community empowerment.” Each class/decade will have a table to display memorabilia and yearbooks.
Some alumni plan to wear letterman’s jackets, class rings and other SHS gear. Choir director Wanda Kimble Moreau, of the Class of 1965, will lead former choir members in “Now is the Hour” and “On Eagles Wings.”
A video has been created using each class song and the graduates from 1958-1988.
Event T-shirts are available for $20 by messaging (225) 921-8305. Simmesport High produced many teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, pharmacists, and businessmen/women. There are housewives, who remained at home to raise their families and hard-working graduates who made their living on the mighty Atchafalaya River, which has and always has had, a significant role in the Simmesport community.
Although there may be more than 600 different stories to be shared during Simmesport’s special event, they will all have one thing in common: they are all based in an “Eagle pride” evident in this tight-knit community.
Based on comments shared so far, those stories also reflect that the products of Simmesport High will not forget the town or school that made them what they are today.
“The red and white may be a tad bit faded, but the fire and majesty of the ‘Mighty Eagles’ burns strong in these Avoyelles natives,” Coco said.

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