AMERICUS — THe Americus High School Class of 1986 celebrated their 30th year class reunion on June 17-19.
The weekend’s activities included a Friday night social at the Windsor, a barbecue Saturday at the Sumter County Fairgrounds, a Saturday evening banquet at The Carnegie House, and Sunday morning worship with classmates at a church of their choice.
But that’s not all! These Americus High alums wanted to go beyond the normal activities of reuniting with childhood friends; they wanted to give back. They wanted to serve their community by giving of their time and resources. Hence, coining the phrase, “Panther Day of Service.

A few local agencies were contacted and the idea became a reality. The two organizations chosen were Harvest of Hope Food Pantry and the Americus-Sumter Transitional Housing Ministry.
At 8 a.m. Saturday,  the graduates reported to Harvest of Hope. Upon arrival, they were given a brief orientation as well as a tour of the facility and then were assigned to two different packaging stations. Collectively, the group packaged approximately 400 meals; that’s about 6,700 items. The classmates were asked to bring items such as corn, green beans, mac & cheese, noodles and water to donate to the food pantry, and boy, did they! Over 600 items were donated.

According to Sonny and Ginger Pinckard, cofounders of Harvest of Hope Food Pantry Inc., the pantry feeds approximately 750 USDA qualifying families per month. The food pantry is located at 606 McGarrah St. in Americus.
While the women volunteered at the food pantry, the men traveled to the Americus-Sumter Transitional Housing Ministry.   This future transitional home for homeless women and children is located at 402 College St. in Americus. Kirk Lyman, local covenant partner, guided the group on a tour as well as provided a brief history of the project. The graduates were assigned to a landscaping/grounds beautification project; they bagged leaves and debris, weeded, edged and removed bricks from the site.

“We are planting the seeds for future generations,”said Valorie Tyson-Johnson, class community service organizer. “It is our hope that others will come along after us and water them. We may not see a harvest in our generation, but it all starts with planting the seeds. We would like to challenge the other classes of Americus & Sumter County High School to incorporate a Panther Day of Service into their class reunions and homecoming activities until it becomes a part of their everyday life! Together we can build a ‘paw’erful Panther Nation”!

Members of the Class of 1986 who attended the reunion are Earl Cladd, Chris Shope, Leon Banks, Michael Ethridge, Deborah Stamper Peacock, Sophia Floyd-Muldrow, Mikki Tanner-Owler, Tammie Tyson-Holmes, Valorie Tyson-Johnson, Sonia Williams-McKenzie,
Terri Battle, Roderick Wilkerson, Joyce Hunt, Kelvin James, Emma Jackson, Harriet Kay, Jennifer Ledger, Mary Lanier Banks, Kellye Minter-Pittman, Vincent Seay,
Gerald Hicks, Terry Williams , Lynn McGrother, Loren Carter , Earl Holmes, Joanne Griffin, Ira Jones, Anthony Craig Flint, Carleen Wise, Tracy Sims, and Lee Ledger.