Senior pride on view with TMSA banner program
May 22—Graduating seniors from Tahlequah High School and Sequoyah High School are celebrated with banners hanging from light poles along Muskogee Avenue and Norris Park.
Two-sided banners with participating seniors' photos and names are displayed through a program with Tahlequah Main Street Association that isn't affiliated with the schools, said Marketing Coordinator Kelton Weaver.
One side of the banner displays a photo of the senior, his or her name and graduation year. On the other is the TMSA logo. The banners will hang on the light poles through May and June. At the end of June, the banner is given to the graduate. The cost to sponsor a banner is $150.
"It's a community event — an appreciative thing — for all of the schools, and a way for the community to honor seniors," Weaver said.
The TMSA Senior Banner program is a fundraiser that began in 2021, said Executive Director Jamie Hale.
"Each year, the program has gained more excitement — anyone can purchase a banner for a senior. We have had parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even teachers, purchase banners for a senior they wish to honor," Hale said. "Now that the program is off and running successfully, we are looking into the addition of a scholarship opportunity for students in 2025, [but] those details have not been worked out completely."
Three of the seniors whose banners are on display are in Florida on a beach vacation.
"I guess my parents bought it for me because it's my senior year, and they wanted my face on main street because they love me so much," said Brooke Settle.
Settle plans to attend the University of Arkansas and get a bachelor's degree in advertising and public relations.
"I plan on minoring in strategic media and working in social media after college," Settle said.
Lauren Payton said her mother wanted to buy a banner so Lauren would have a nice souvenir and be able to take photos with it.
"I plan on going to Oklahoma State University and study labor and delivery nursing or [in the Natal Intensive Care Unit]," Payton said.
Payton said she is enjoying the beach with her friends, and in a couple of weeks, she is going to go to Destin, Florida, to continue having fun on her summer break.
Daily Molloy bought the banner because her mother is involved in TMSA.
"She thought it was really important that we honor that and put some money toward it," Molloy said. "We are on the Bright Futures Tahlequah board and we know a lot of the [TMSA] people."
Kristy Eubanks, owner of Junie's Closet, said "Bright Futures" is a program brought to Tahlequah through Leadership Tahlequah Class 25 in 2023 to connect the unmet needs of underprivileged children in the Tahlequah Public Schools to the resources available in the community.
"Our community is full of resources. Bright Futures brings them together to ensure connections for success," Eubanks said.
Molloy plans to go to Fort Lewis, Colorado, for school in the fall.
"I'm going to Fort Lewis College and looking at going into dental hygiene, so I'll either get an associate's degree or go into biology," Molloy.
Nikki Molloy, Bailey's mother, said she wanted to have her daughter's banner displayed on the street.
"It's just good school spirit and [TMSA] does so much for our town and our schools," Nikki said. "It's a way for them to give back to the schools and that school spirit, and it was just a good fit."
