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CampusBY SCARLETT ANTHONY NOVEMBER 24 2014
The original Rose campus was much different than the campus we have today. Greenville High School began downtown on 5th Street and then relocated to what is now Eppes Middle School. The athletic facilities at these two locations were not adequate for the school’s 4-A athletic potential. There were no baseball or football fields, so the games had to be held at Guy Smith and Ficklen Stadium. As Rose progressed on Arlington, improvements were needed in order for Rose to live up to its potential.
Rose 2000 was a capital campaign that was started so that sports facilities such as the soccer field, track, softball field and tennis courts could be improved. A group of alumni decided to raise private funds because public funds were not available. After a five year period, they raised over $1 million. “We wanted Rose’s athletic fields to match the quality of its athletic teams as well as the quality of its academic programs,” Rose 2000 co-chair Griff Garner said. Marvin Jarman Drive was completed, and the entrance to the football and soccer field was built. Many sports facilities were improved, but the primary project was the Ronald Vincent Field House. This facility cost over $600,000 including weights and equipment needed for training. The project started in the late 1990s and was planned to be completed by 2000. The goal of $1.4 million was not met by then, so the Scales-Aldridge-Garner Memorial Golf Tournament was started in 2002. When the Rose 2000 campaign ended, the golf tournament became a Rose Athletic Booster Club event. “We have recently completed our 13th tournament and have raised approximately $300,000 for athletics at Rose High,” Jeff Aldridge said. Academic boosters and the Rose 2000 committee decided to donate 15 percent of their net profit from the golf tournament to Academic Boosters. Rose also added the 800 Hall, which moved classrooms that had been in trailers into the building. “All the teachers in the trailers had to relocate into [the new hall] or somewhere else in the building around 2007,” social studies teacher Brian Callahan said. The trailers had advantages such as their own bathrooms, heat and air conditioning and quieter classes. “The students liked being able to have more classes outside, but it was the days that it rained that made students not like the trailers,” Callahan said. Rose 2000 and the additions to the campus today have helped all sports programs and a large number of small projects over the years. Each addition to our campus has improved the high school experiences of students at Rose. |
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