Local fraternity men played a role in Project Graduation for Dresden High School students. Over 75 students chose to take part in the event targeted toward providing a graduation party free of drugs and alcohol.
Laurie Dacus has been on the planning committee for Dresden’s Project Graduation since her son Matt’s junior year. She is one of several parents in Dresden who wanted to help their child celebrate graduation in a way that does not involve drugs or alcohol.
Dacus says that she and the other members of the Dresden High School Class of 2004 committee were wanting to plan events that would keep the students involved and genuinely interested in the night’s activities. That’s when she turned to her other son, Joe, who is a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at UT Martin.
The fraternity men set up a casino for the graduates. Each graduate was given $500 in “Chuck Bucks.” Chuck Bailey is the class president. The students could spend the $500 playing at the casino or use the money to buy a chance at winning a prize.
Dacus says that in total, there were more than 10 thousand dollars worth of prizes that were given out at the event. Many of the prizes were donated by local businesses. The Dresden National Guard Armory did their part by providing a place for the group to host the event.
“We couldn’t have done this event as well as we did without the help of the SigEps. The kids could go in the casino and have a good time without parents being there. It was just a much better air and the graduates were able to be themselves,” Dacus says.
SigEp President John Lankford says that the Dresden graduates were not the only ones having a good time. “We had just as much fun as the students did. I think the event went over very well. It’s important to remind young people that people can have a great time legally and safely,” Lankford says.
In addition to the prizes that were drawn for, the students were given some other gifts that they didn’t expect. Each student was given a bag that contained a $10 gas card, a senior video and $50 in cash. There was a large amount of food donated by the parents as well.
“This has been a year-long project but it was worth every minute of it,” Dacus says. “To the graduates, the casino was the night. Without a casino, the night just would not have been the way it was.”
Dacus says that she and other parents on the committee are going to cook dinner for the SigEp fraternity when the fall semester begins. The parents want to do this to show their appreciation for SigEp helping out with Dresden Project Graduation.