Magnolia Alumni Officially Inducted in the Hall of Fame
Post Published On:Applause filled the Thomas University gymnasium as over 300 alumni of Magnolia High School were honored during an induction ceremony on Saturday, July 27, 2024.
Alumni and family representatives of alumni who achieved academic and athletic success walked across the stage as their names were called and presented a certificate by former Magnolia High School faculty and staff.
The presenters were Gwendolyn Jones-West, Charity Jones Conner, Charlie Ward, Sr., and Eugene Conner.
Gwendolyn Jones-West is the daughter of the only principal of Magnolia High School, Johnnie J. Jones, the first and only principal of Magnolia High School. Charity Jones Conner was the math teacher. Ward Sr. was the football coach, and Eugene Conner was the baseball and football coach.
After the presentations, the alumni were officially inducted into The Magnolia High School Teacher, Academic, Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame was opened in June in the Chappelle Building on Magnolia Campus. It features a photo plaque of Johnnie J. Jones.
It also includes name plates of all the students inducted into the Honor Society, student-athletes on the football, baseball, basketball, and track teams, along with the year they graduated.
The name plates of faculty and staff included their names, the subjects they taught, their administrative role, and the sports they coached.
Bill Simmons, president of the Magnolia High School Alumni Association, said the success of Magnolia High School alumni continued as some became doctors, educators, and engineers, among other things.
“Mr. Johnnie Jones would be so proud,” Simmons said. “Excuses? There was no room for it. Hè would not allow our education to be secondary to anybody. When we left his school, we were prepared to compete and perform on a world stage because he taught us how to compete.”
