For the first time in Brownwood ISD history, family and friends will be able to watch their loved ones graduate even if they are not able to attend the 2011 Brownwood High School Commencement Ceremony which will be held at 7:00pm on Friday, May 27th at the Brownwood Coliseum. Although a few hours after the actual ceremony, the online broadcast of this occasion can now be seen firsthand by relatives and friends, some of which are deployed in the military overseas.
Brownwood High School’s Senior Class will participate in their final act as students when they walk the stage during the Commencement Ceremony. Friends and family will gather to watch the 197 students receive their diplomas. Speakers during the event will be Brownwood ISD Superintendent Dr. Reece Blincoe, BHS Principal Bill Faircloth, valedictorian Luke Chastain, and salutatorian Caitlyn Cloy. A special military recognition will be presented by Colonel Morgan Lamb. The BHS Class of 2011 will disperse to universities and employment opportunities across Texas, including five who have enlisted in the armed services.
This online broadcast is an additional treat for parents, relatives and friends who live out of town and cannot attend but will now have the ability to view the ceremony online. Several students are the children of military parents who are currently deployed and Superintendent Blincoe said that he made it a priority for the ceremony to be broadcast.
After utilizing the website for the championship football game last fall, the district technology team will be using those capabilities to help bring Brownwood families together again for this important occasion. The video will be available just a couple of hours after the ceremony closes, with links on the homepages of the District and High School websites. [www.brownwoodisd.org or www.brownwoodisd.org/bhs] A QuickTime or Flash plug-in may be required to view the video, and a link will be provided if necessary.
Faircloth stated that this is another service that Brownwood ISD is offering to the community as a whole and that it is exciting to be able to include those who cannot attend.
“I think it’s just fantastic, it’s one of those things that is a service to the community,” stated Faircloth. “There will be 6000-7000 people at the ceremony, and there are grandparents, BHS graduates that have moved away, and others that cannot attend but that are still a part of Brownwood High School that can now view it. It’s still their school and I’m excited about it.”
Brownwood ISD Superintendent Reece Blincoe said that the online broadcast was a goal of his since this past summer. Blincoe recounted meeting a parent who told him that he was not going to see his son Josh Reece graduate because he was getting deployed to Afghanistan. Blincoe told him, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I gave him my word, that I’d see what I could do,” stated Blincoe. “We’ve also got a lot of grandparents that live out of state that now can watch it too.”
The broadcast should be up for a while after graduation so that those in a different time zone or out away from a computer while serving in the military should be able to see the ceremony according to Blincoe.
“The recorded broadcast in ways will be better,” stated Blincoe.
By recording and then broadcasting, Blincoe explained that people can watch it on their own time and not have to worry about being available during a one time live broadcast.
Another special addition to graduation will be Colonel Lamb’s visit and special recognition of the seniors who have enlisted as well as families who have loved ones serving in the military/deployed.
