I was asked last week a question I had not heard the previous 15 years: "What do you ‘get' out of homecoming?" Other than a modest (but much appreciated) stipend, I went home and thought about that question.

I got to see every student in Portage Schools, most of them in orange and black, cheering the parade. I got to see fireworks bursting over an excellent band performance. I got to see almost 600 high school students doing the cha-cha slide and singing "Sweet Caroline" during the dance. Above all, I got to see Portage students showing great pride in their school and demonstrating positive school spirit, all while having fun. As long as students continue to do this, I will "get" something out of homecoming.

As always, there are many people to thank for the success of Portage Homecoming 2008: the student council and its officers (Olivia Mueller, Ashley Hartwell, Sam Anderson, Erin Scharenbroch and Brandi Dohmen) for organizing the whole week; the teams and the clubs of PHS for participating in events; Hill Ford for donating vehicles in the parade; Design One for producing the class T-shirts; and the students, staff, faculty and administrators of Portage Schools for their time and effort. Thanks for a great week.

James "Marsh" Marshall, Portage High School Homecoming adviser