LUSK – Alumni events in small towns are just that, major events. They are an opportunity for the entire community to welcome back those who have left and support those that stay.

The Niobrara County Alumni Association board works hard all year to coordinate and plan the major events of the weekend. While individual classes are responsible for picnics or tours or outside activities, volunteer boards made up of past alumni plan the main events.

In Niobrara County this means many hours of planning, phone calls, emails and coordination to pull off the Alumni Golf Tournament (the Alumni Association’s main fundraiser) and the Alumni Banquet. The golf tournament results were reported in the June 26 Lusk Herald Sports section. This tournament is hosted by the Alumni Golf committee and is the primary venue for the Alumni organization to raise funds for their scholarships. This year’s tournament was a huge success and thanks to the support of the teams and local donors the tournament was able to contribute $5,000 towards the association.

The Alumni banquet is open to all alumni including those that are doing a formal reunion. Anyone may attend any year. It is hosted by the Niobrara Alumni Association and includes a cocktail hour, formal served dinner, speaker and class pictures.

This year’s reunion weekend was held June 22-24. Hickory Creek Catering served the dinner. Key-note speaker was Justice Kari Gray and class pictures taken by Savanna Simmons Photography. 265 attendees were served and 8 decades of classes from 1944 to 2009 were represented. Following the banquet, alumni danced to sounds from Maple Street Productions.