Alumni from the Class of 1956 presented a check for $3,000 to the Pampa Fire Department on Thursday, April 4.
Dan Teed, the scribe for the class wanted to figure out a way to make a meaningful impact after the recent wildfires that devastated the Texas Panhandle in February.
“When the wildfires became really serious in the Panhandle, I began to think about how I could help in a meaningful way. Any small donation I could make seemed to be unimportant in the grand scheme of things, however, a number of my classmates felt the same way,” Teed said.
“I posed the idea to the class. Among others, Johnnie Lee Smith Griffin, wife of Gary Griffin of PHS basketball fame and a member of the Class of 1955, came up with the concept of a donation to the PFD. Even though such a donation would not directly and immediately address the wildfires problem, we believed it had merit.
• The donation would go to a Pampa organization, an idea that a number of the class believed was key.
• The donation would likely be something unique and something of which the class could be proud.
• County Judge Porter had an article in the News concerning the PFD that resonated with us.
• A donation to PFD would help both present and future homeowners in Pampa, because a community with a fire department that has well-maintained and up-to-date equipment would likely mean favorable property tax rates for them.”
They challenged the class to meet the $1,000 in private donations and they doubled it, resulting in a $3,000 donation given to the Pampa Fire Department.
Presenting the check to the fire department was Dick Dunham, classmate and member of the Pampa High School Hall of Fame, Gene James and Eldon Maxwell.
