A large crowd was on hand as a new street name was unveiled by the Columbia School District and the city of Columbia Tuesday afternoon.
The former Bryan Avenue was renamed Wildcat Way in honor of the Columbia School District’s mascot during a brief ceremony before the school board meeting, held at Columbia High School.
“We are all excited,” CHS Principal Sheila Burbridge said. “We have our Board of Trustees, our Superintendent Jason Harris, our Mayor Justin McKenzie, our Board of Aldermen and other elected officials here. We have so many people here who all help to make up such a great town. It’s a great city and a great school district.”
Harris thanked those in attendance and explained the street’s renaming.
“I kind of came up with this idea a few years ago when I was at Tupelo High School,” he said. “We had a street, a major thoroughfare and it seemed like we needed a better way to come home. We needed a name that reflected the high school, which was always a place where everyone came home for homecoming and various things that happened. Now, here in Columbia, we will always find our way back to Wildcat Way. I’m every excited.”
McKenzie thanked those present and the Columbia Board of Aldermen and School Board.
“When we received this recommendation from Mr. Harris and School Board, there was no hesitation from the Board of Aldermen to change the name,” he said. “We want to do everything we can in a collective effort to work together with the Columbia School District and that’s exactly what we’ve done here, just as we’ve done before. This is a small token of our intent for unity and working together to move forward in the city of Columbia. There has been a big leaf turned over in Columbia and this is a part of it.”
CHS Assistant Principal Jay Rayborn then pulled the cover off the sign to thunderous applause from those gathered at the corner of Broad Street and Wildcat Way. The only buildings on the former Bryan Avenue belong to the Columbia School District. Columbia High School’s new address will be 1 Wildcat Way.
Pictured Above: CHS Principal Sheila Burbridge speaks to the crowd. | Photo by Mark Rogers
