The LJHS Alumni Association was created to promote communication among Viking alumni, keep alumni connected to their alma mater and preserve the history of La Jolla High School.
The Association employs a part-time administrator who maintains the alumni data files, processes memberships, provides support to reunion committees, and oversees the extensive collection of donated Viking memorabilia.
The Association is an affiliate of The Foundation of La Jolla High School, a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation that raises funds for the benefit of LJHS.
The history
In 1988 the 50th Reunion Committee of the LJHS classes of 1937 and 1938 donated $350 to the school for the establishment of an Alumni Center on the campus.
In 1989 LJHS principal, J. M. Tarvin, asked the Foundation of LJHS to underwrite the establishment of an Alumni Association and they began the search for someone to lead the project.
In 1990 Sandy Coggan Erickson ’62 offered to set up the Alumni Center and start the search for Viking alumni. Organizational meetings were held in early 1991 and a steering committee was formed. It wrote by-laws, established sub-committees, elected officers and launched the LJHS Alumni Association.
In September 1991 the first edition of the AA newsletter, Viking Reflector, was sent to over 12,000 alumni who had been located. Membership dues, donations of cash and memorabilia began to flow into the Alumni Association.
During Homecoming 1991, the Association hosted an alumni pre-game reception and after-game dance. By the end of the Association’s first year of operation, over 550 Viking alumni of all ages had responded to the request to support the AA by becoming Annual Members.