Triway High School forms new alumni association
Triway High School graduates coming together to form the Triway Titans Alumni Association are Travis Snyder, left, President Angie Giltner, Jennifer Hatfield, Angie Perman, Melissa Snyder, Grace Perman, Kevin Root and Katie Starr.
Once a Titan, always a Titan.
A newly formed Triway Titans Alumni Association is sporting that tagline to let graduates know they are forever part of the school’s history and community.
Led by President Angie Giltner, the association has been gathering an alumni database and planning activities to help alumni reconnect with each other while also making new connections.
“Whether you graduated last year or decades ago, live in the area or abroad, we believe that being a Titan is a timeless and unbreakable bond that should be celebrated and cherished,” Giltner said.
The group’s mission is to foster a strong and enduring connection among alumni, students and the community. It also aims to support and celebrate the achievements, contributions and traditions of Triway High School.
Monthly meetings are a hybrid of in-person and virtual, so alumni in other time zones can be involved, said Giltner, a 1989 Triway High School graduate and Triway Board of Education member.
As Triway plans its move to a new one-campus building this year, one of the association’s activities will be to bring alumni together to tour the old buildings one last time before they are torn down and to visit the new facility being constructed on the current site of the high school and middle school.
“We really need to honor our traditions while we’re moving forward into the future,” Giltner said. “One way to do that is to have a strong alumni association.”
Giltner and a few other Triway graduates began discussing the idea of an alumni association a couple of years ago and visited various alumni groups around the state to learn about their successes and failures.
They learned the key to a strong association is to start building a connection with students early. The Triway group is doing that in several ways.
It is working with the school’s GenYes class, consisting of student technology leaders, to design a logo for the association. She said members will critique their design proposals so the students can learn and grow while they vote on what they want the logo to look like. GenYes students also helped design magnets and logos for the association to sell during the Christmas season.
Money raised from the sale of the ornaments and magnets will fund T-shirt purchases for each Triway High School senior. The seniors will receive their T-shirts the day of their senior picnic, Giltner said.
During a Triway girls basketball game on Feb. 3, the association will ask student volunteers to join the group as it gathers contact information from alumni.
“It’s a way to get them involved and engaged,” Giltner said.
The students are future alumni. “We want them to know that just because you graduate and walk out those doors, we are still here for you. We will be a support for you, and you’re always welcome back,” Giltner said.
She said the association also will fundraise for Triway Titans Association scholarships and is reaching out to class presidents, asking them if they want help planning reunions and finding classmates.
Additionally, the group is working with the Triway Athletic Association to plan a couple of alumni events during sporting events when alumni would be recognized and offered discounted admission for wearing Triway gear.
Giltner said the collaboration with the school, teachers and community has been exciting.
“Coming together and supporting each other is a great thing for not only the school, but the community,” association member Aaron Boothby said.
One of those benefits is providing a network of like-minded people who are interested in volunteering for and supporting the school.
To join the association, email or call Giltner at angie@angiegiltner.com or 330-465-3281.