2011 Heroes poster unveiled: Rhonda Russell, Donovan Campbell, Tommy Bailey and John Dean
Vinyl records, Polaroid cameras and fanny packs have all made comebacks in recent days, and now one Lake Highlands tradition is making its own comeback – the Heroes poster. The project, first sponsored by the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands and the LH Military Moms in 2007, was the brainchild of John Dean and Rhonda Russell, who led the two groups back then.
“It was a continuation of what we were doing at the high school,” recalls Dean of the poster, which features men and women serving in the military who live in Lake Highlands, are graduates of LHHS or are spouses of LHHS grads. “We have posters for the Wildcat athletic teams, the Highlandettes, the Wranglers and other groups. This was a way to support young people going off to serve.”
“That was such an interesting time,” agrees Russell. “We were at war, and we had people fighting. I would watch people go up to the poster to look, and they’d walk away wiping their eyes.”
Russell’s son, Lee Jr., was on the first poster while serving in Iraq and later when he went to Afghanistan. He’s retired, now, after 20 years of active service, but his recently-deployed wife will be on the new Heroes poster.
“The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands stands for two primary values – service and community,” adds Christopher Poteet, who recently completed his year as president of the club. “There is no better way to honor both than in recognizing our local heroes.”
In addition to paying for the printing of the poster, ECLH supports the LH Military Moms’ care package program, which sends goodies by mail to service members overseas.
If you’d like to submit an LHHS graduate or LH resident serving in the military for the Heroes poster, send their digital photo, LHHS graduation year, rank and division to Russell at LHmama1@yahoo.com. Deadline to be included in this year’s poster is Aug. 31, 2019.
