The Greene County Training School & South Greene High School Alumni Association held its first reunion of classes in 1976. That reunion was actually inspired by individuals who were actively engaged in another community organization, currently known as the Greene County Improvement Association. The GC Improvement Association was founded in 1971 with a host of goals but its principal mission, at that time, was the construction of a Community Center. In the early ‘70’s there was no place for the black community to hold civic meetings, repass after funerals, family reunions, wedding parties, birthday parties, etc.
We propose to tell the story of how members of the Greene County Improvement Association demonstrated a ‘unity of purpose’ that resulted in building a Community Center. Acquiring the land and actually building the building was the result of numerous meetings, lots of compromises, much physical labor, the investment of personal resources and, most importantly, the involvement of citizens’ and organizations throughout the community. The Association used a number of fundraising efforts to finance the project: sale of memberships, donations, pledges, loans, and hosting its first Harvest Banquet in 1974.
The idea of hosting a reunion of classes in 1976, by members of the GC Improvement Association, was an idea borne out of a need to address outstanding financial obligations. The reunion of classes was actually another fundraising idea that resulted in the birth of the Greene County Training School & South Greene High Alumni Association, Inc. As noted, a very successful 1976 reunion was held and the profit from that event was used to help settle the indebtedness.