FVHS has plans in the works to construct a Legacy Patio in recognition of the school’s 50th anniversary. The patio is set to be placed between the concessions stand and the bleachers at the football field and will feature the school logo. It is a way to preserve and honor the long history of FVHS.
Assistant Principal Benjamin Olin said, “I came up with the idea last spring when we were talking about ways to commemorate our 50th year at Bengal Blvd. That area of the stadium is kind of ugly and ends up just being a place where kids are running into each other. I was thinking of ways we could use that space.”
Olin expressed how people believed the empty space was wasting the field’s potential and felt a creative solution was due. The school was already thinking of ideas for the field, so the legacy patio seemed to tie everything together.
“We were also talking at the time about the naming of the field for Graham Myrick and had drawings of the brick wall/sign that will eventually go outside the stadium gate,” said Olin.
The naming of the football field is meant to honor Graham Myrick who was the school’s first varsity football coach in 1964 and coached at the school for 28 years. With the tribute to Graham Myrick decided, Olin had to figure out how to make the patio convenient and cohesive.
Olin said, “The walls would be counter height so people can use them to stand around and talk, eat their food from concessions, etc. and still see the field. I wanted to call it the Legacy Patio because it would represent the generations that have come before now but also have room to continue into the future. It’s a way to connect the past to the future.”
Olin put a lot of thought into the layout of the patio to make it a functional piece of school history. To make the patio come to life, the school is launching a fundraiser that will allow members of the FVHS community, past and present, to purchase a customized, engraved brick that will be included in the design.
Olin said, “The timeline depends on the fundraising, as the initial goal of $80,000 is to cover the materials and installation. Any additional funds generated would go directly back to the school to support adding new walls to the patio and funding other projects.”
The community will play a major role in the project because their purchasing of bricks will go into funding future projects to support the current students and those attending in the future.
“We are also using companies in the community to complete the work, so we are supporting local businesses. FVHS gets a lot of support from the community, so I want us to be able to help support local businesses when we can,” said Olin.
FVHS is honoring their long history but they are also honoring the community which they had a hand in creating. The school is hiring local businesses to work on the patio which furthers its outreach into the community.
Though the timeline is currently unknown, the Legacy Patio will bring a glimpse into the school’s history, and the community can look forward to its construction.
