New generations of athletes enter PLHS every year, with the common goal of leaving their mark and keeping the ”Tradition Of Excellence” going. This school year the Monarch Booster Club and Athletic Director Dr. Jeff Govier decided to revamp and create a new mural for the past alumni athletes of PLHS.
The project was lengthy and took a lot of effort from various groups and leaders in the community, but it was well worth the effort in the end.
The new mural represents PLHS All-State Athletes starting from roughly 1973 to present day athletes. It features around 200 students and displays their hard work and dedication to their respecive sports.
“The pictures that were up were at the point where just the sunlight and the age of them were starting to deteriorate,” said Govier. “It was a way to put everybody all on the same wall all together.”
There are two main parts to the new mural. There are the All-State Athletes, but also the large pictures below that showcase alumni and past coaches from PLHS.
“I wanted to represent our school and the meaning of what our athletics have been about,” said Govier.
During the creation of the display, the team made sure that they were inclusive to all sports and genders from the past years, but also made sure to choose leaders from the school.
“Those aren’t just good athletes, but they were all Americans, in highschool, or all Americans in college,” said Govier. “They were unique and there is a lot of meaning behind everyone who is on there.”
Since the mural showcases so many important and special alumni, Govier made sure to get the word out to them of the new exhibit.
“We had an alumni group that was coming through, just for volleyball, so for them to see our girls compete, but then to walk through the hallway and stop and take pictures was really neat,” said Govier.
With the huge impact that this project has had on the PLHS community of past and present athletes, Govier is proposing more projects to feature alumni including a new display of the Monarch 10 Award.
