September a Busy Month for ER Alumni and Supporters Assocation

September is shaping up to be a busy month for East Ridge High School and for the East Ridge Alumni and Supporters Association.

The Pioneer football team is off to a 2-0 early-season start with wins over Stone Memorial out of Crossville and Polk County. Lorenzo Stewart was named the Chattanooga Times Free Press’s All Star Player of the Week for his performance on both sides of the line in the Polk County game.

Officials with the East Ridge Alumni and Supporters Association are gearing up for the official dedication of the newly refurbished Raymond James Stadium. The organization continues to raise money in an effort to build ancillary facilities at the stadium, including a field house and restrooms.

The association is reminding all Pioneers of three important dates:

Friday, September 8 — Tailgate party at 6:00 pm on the site of the future field house at ERHS. Dedication ceremony honoring former teachers, mentors and coaches Mac Franklin and Ed Woodham. All former ERHS football players will be recognized at halftime, by decade.

Monday, September 11 – ERHS Alumni and Supporters meeting at 7:00 pm at ERHS library. All alumni and supporters are invited to the meeting even if you are not a member. Attending a meeting is an excellent way to find out more about what the association is all about and what you many do to help.

Saturday, September 16 – Community wide work day at ERHS. There will be a list of projects and tasks to be completed. Materials and tools will be supplied. Time to be announced – mark your calendar now with the date and spread the word to everyone you know.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.