Roosevelt High School Alumni Association

The Class of 2026 has proved they are an incredible group of young adults. We are so proud to welcome them as our newest alumni and as important members of our community. We look forward to seeing what they achieve next as they head into their many different walks of life.

Remember, once a Roughrider, always a Roughrider! Congratulations.

Meet the newly elected officers of the Roosevelt High School Alumni Association! At the May Board of Directors meeting we held elections and would like to introduce you to:

President Jim Kennison, Class of 1974
Vice President Megan Hall, Class of 2013
Secretary Shawn Looney, Class of 1971
Treasurer Wade Nelson, Class of 1975

Jim has been with our organization since its inception in 2011. He served as our VP for a long time and worked closely with Mike Verbout over the last few years, taking on more and more duties.

Megan joined our organization in 2016 and has been our Communications Chair for several years. She will continue with dual duty as that committee continues to expand.

Shawn has also been with us since the beginning, and has been our Secretary for just as long, keeping us organized, on time, and moving forward.

Wade joined us in 2017 as our Treasurer, keeping our books in order and helping guide our finances as the organization has continued to grow.

We have much to look forward to during this 2026-2028 term!

Our Veterans Memorial Garden on campus is a special place, where alumni, students, and the community can reflect. We are looking for one or two volunteers interested in lending their time for occasional upkeep: pulling weeds, wiping the memorial stones, clearing debris. A small but impactful role for someone looking to help care for a space that serves as a place of remembrance.

If you are interested, please send us a message or email [email protected].

On Monday, we held a ceremony to dedicate our Fallen Alumni memorial in the Veterans Garden on campus.

It was a special and moving event, with about 35 people in attendance. The weather was kind to us, and there wasn't any rain. The sun even came out for a while.

Please see the captions on each photo for more details.

Tomorrow, May 25th, we will be hosting our RHS Veteran Memorial Dedication Ceremony. Our Veterans Committee has put a lot of work into this special event. We last held a similar ceremony in 2023 as part of our Centennial celebrations, did you attend? Here are photos and a recap of that event.

Last night we held our spring Board of Directors meeting, which marked the final of our three full board meetings this school year. Our agenda was quite packed, covering many topics across the different areas of work within the RHSAA. Here are some highlights:

- Held elections for our officers and our senior Student Representative (we'll celebrate this in another post soon).
- Our Student Representatives shared updates on recent student achievements and the many summer fundraisers student groups are already planning in anticipation of upcoming budget cuts.
- Discussed finances and future planning around donation solicitation.
- Talked a lot about the budget cuts PPS is facing and the impact on Roosevelt, both in terms of loss of staff as well as lost funding for student activities. This is a big topic we'll be sharing more on soon as well.
- Reviewed our '25-'26 goals, we are very close to meeting all of them!
- Identified new goals for the coming fiscal year, around more volunteer recruitment outreach, legacy donations and financial planning, and bylaw revisions.
- Heard from both the Picnic and Executive Committees about the support they currently need from the board and our volunteers.
- Shared upcoming events, including the Memorial Day ceremony, Senior Awards, All-Class Picnic, and future meetings.

This sunset photo was taken as we left right at 8:00pm!

It is with a heavy heart that I share the sorrowful news of the passing of Michelle Hall, our dearly valued Alumni Picnic Chairperson and Megan Hall's mother. Michelle left us this morning after bravely and courageously battling cancer throughout the past year. Her strength and determination inspired each of us, and her loss will be deeply felt by our entire community.

As we mourn Michelle’s passing, please keep Megan and their family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We know they will need our support and compassion in the coming weeks. As soon as we receive any information regarding a memorial service, we will share those details with you.

Michelle truly touched the lives of so many and will be greatly missed. We honor her memory and the positive impact she had on our organization.

Sincerely,
Jim Kennison