Rotary Club honors FHS class of 2020 with Luminary Walk

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

With the song “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by Vitamin C providing the backdrop, members of the Fernley High School graduating Class of 2020 were given a hearty round of applause by the 200 or so people who turned out Friday as the Rotary Club of Fernley honored the graduating seniors during the a Luminary Walk hosted by the Rotary Club of Fernley Friday night at Carpet King Interiors.

About 400 bags were filled with sand and candles to form a pathway and spell out 2020. Each bag making up the shape of 2020 was tagged with the name of a graduate, and as the music played, the graduates in attendance held their bags for photos with friends and family.

The event was one of many ways the Fernley community has come up with to honor the graduating class of 2020, who have lost the last three months of high school, their spring sports season and other extracurricular activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be prevented from having a traditional graduation ceremony.

Instead, the graduates will receive their diplomas in a drive-up ceremony June 5, which will be broadcast and streamed live.

Banners with photos of the graduates have been placed along Main St. and in other locations, and more than 940 people have joined a Facebook group to adopt seniors, providing them with gifts and treats.