BRIDGEPORT — Bulldog alumni will see some familiar faces and celebrate graduates during the 141st Alumni Association weekend Friday June 27 and Saturday June 28.

This will mark a “golden anniversary” for the Class of 1975, marking the 50th year since wearing their caps and gowns at Bridgeport High.

A banner welcoming the returning alumni will be hung across U.S. 40 at the village offices.

Events will kick off Friday with an alumni social 6-10 p.m. at the J.B. Martin Recreation Center in St. Clairsville. This will include the crowing of the king and queen of the alumni weekend, with the royal couple selected randomly from all alumni.

The main event will be the alumni Banquet on Saturday, at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville, Ohio. Class photos start at 5:30 p.m. and cost is $10 each. Organizers are asking for pre-payment. Beginning at 5 p.m., a golf cart will be available at the banquet to take guests from the parking lot to the front entrance at Undo’s West.

Dinner is at 6 p.m. The alumni association will present scholarships to three new graduates.

There will be a Sunday breakfast at 10 a.m. at Wilson Lodge at Oglebay.

The Saturday banquet will feature some exceptional Bulldogs to be inducted into the 2025 Hall of Fame. Class of 1975 graduates Don Cash Jr., Jeff Grandstaff, George Kryston and Brian Schambach will be honored.

Cash is a member of the board of education who has helped steer the course of the district for 28 years. He is also a 26-year member of the Advisory Council of the Bridgeport Educational Assistance Foundation and an executive director of the organization, which financially assists students’ educational opportunities. He was a high school basketball official and officiated in 28 state tournament games. He was inducted into the Ohio Valley Athletic Commission Hall of Fame in 2023 and into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame in 2024. Upon retiring from officiating, he became an observer for the OVAC. In 2024 he became commissioner of the Buckeye 8 Athletic Conference.

Grandstaff was active in many clubs during high school, followed by an impressive career in banking. He served as a board of education member for 13 years and helped lead during a turbulent time, when the district was facing the possibility of closure or consolidation. He was part of the decision to build the current district building in 2004, resulting in more students who sought new opportunities. He was also a board member of the Belmont-Harrison Joint Vocational School for 12 years. He is a board member of the Bridgeport Education Assistance Fund and Mountain Movers, and has been a treasurer of the Alumni Association.

Bridgeport High left a lifelong impression on Kryston. He took those lessons with him when he became a heavy equipment operator and later started an industrial sweeping service, Property Maintenance Services, Inc. Community involvement is central to his life. He is a member of the Lansing Sportsmen’s Club, the Masonic Lodge Weyer 541, Scottish Rite, the Osiris Shrine of Wheeling, and the Royal Order of Jesters Court 13. He is grateful for his time at Bridgeport High and happy to see the newer school building and construction of a multipurpose expansion to be dubbed “the Bridge.”

Schambach had an impressive career, founding BlueChem Chemical and establishing BlueAerospace, as well as working in real estate. He co-founded the BEAF with Cash and Al Scheid. Cash and Schambach were also part of the Phil Niekro Golf Classic until it ended in 2021. As director of the LeeAnn Foundation, he works to assist cancer patients in need throughout the Ohio Valley. He also established the LeeAnn Scholarship for Bridgeport High.

Cash and Grandstaff attended the June 12 meeting of the Alumni Association to help plan. Cash said he and his fellow honorees have all contributed to the school district in different ways, financially or through their time and hard work.

“It’s an honor, being recognized by your town, your school. It’s not something you go looking for, it’s just something that happens based off things you did,” he said. “There’s many people who probably deserve it more than I do.”

Cash reflected on the commitment of he and his fellow graduates.

“We were born here, raised here,” he said. “This is a way for all of us to give back.”

Grandstaff is humble about his contributions.

“It’s not me, it’s the result of what people’s invested in me before. That’s what came out.”

He and others invested time and effort into the success of the district community.

“The best thing about it is our class was so close that we all supported each other no matter what came up,” Grandstaff said. “What you’re going to find with the ones going into the alumni hall of fame this year is they’ve continued that all their lives.”

Grandstaff and Cash are also optimistic about the future with the Bridge.

Cash and Grandstaff will be leading tours through the district building and football field starting at 11 a.m. June 28.

Bob Weaver, member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, said this marks the first time all the honorees have been from the same class.

“They had four individuals in that class who accomplished a lot.”

Preparations for the alumni weekend often begin when the last weekend ends. The Class of 2000 is organizing the banquet this year.

“We’ve got some good people who’ve really stepped up,” Weaver said.

Andrea Criswell of the Class of 2000 is serving as association president. She thanked the alumni who came out in support of the groundbreaking for the Bridge.

“It shows solidarity from generations before to current generations and future generations to show how important the roots are here at Bridgeport area.”

She said being president during her 25-year reunion is a special moment. They are anticipating a big turnout.

“We’re expecting over 150 to be there.”

The alumni association meets 6 p.m. the second Thursday monthly at the school district administrative offices. They do not meet November and December.