Stories
Raider Rock placed on campus for generations to remember
A 14,000-pound new addition to the Richmond Senior High School was lowered in place, on a hillside overlooking the circle drive, by skilled workers from Superior Cranes.
The 14,000-pound Raider Rock sits in its final location overlooking the circle drive at Richmond Senior High School on Friday, June 9, 2023 (Photo by Mark Bell)
After months of planning and visiting the quarry at Vulcan Materials Company multiple times, the RSHS Student Senate’s vision to leave its mark was a big one come true hours before graduation.
Every year Richmond Senior Principal Jim Butler asks the Student Senate how they want to leave their mark. The Raider Rock was the answer for the Student Senate class of 2023.
“They came up with that idea and came to me and said, ‘We’re the biggest school in the county, and we should have our own rock,’” he said. “We did not have one, and it made sense, so we reached out to Vulcan, and they were all on board.”
EJ Davis, a senior and the outgoing Student Senate President said some people might find it childish, but they really wanted to go out in a big way.
“We can use it for football games, spirit week, and clubs can use it,” she said about people painting the rock, “It will just be a good way for people to kind of unleash that inner childhood. I never got to paint on the rock when I was in elementary school. I was kind of jealous, but not anymore.”
Davis said people that want to paint the rock would have to make a small donation. That money will go back to the Student Senate to help fund programs throughout the year.
Vulcan Materials and Superior Cranes, both local businesses, donated the rock and resources to move the massive rock to the Raider campus.
“They have always been good to the schools,” Butler said. “They’ve donated rocks to other places in the county, and Superior has been a wonderful partner in the community.”
Butler said Richmond County Schools has always been supported by local businesses and the community.
JC Everett, Darrell Springs, and Ray Morgan from Superior Crane slowly guide the heavy crane operator to place the 14,000-pound rock into place overlooking the circle drive at Richmond Senior High School on Friday, June 9, 2023 (Photo by Mark Bell)
“We are always working to keep that connection with the community,” he said. “It’s important, especially when you’re the one high school in a county, and we are one of the main focal points for everybody. We want to keep all our business partners and partner with new businesses. It just creates more community feeling, and this high school represents the entire county.”
JC Everett, the vice president of Superior Cranes, said donating the equipment and labor was a way he could give back to the community.
“One thing is we like to do outreach and try to reach out to younger people, to show them what we can do, and donating our time and effort into doing something like this is special for us,” he said.
Everett said his company employs graduates, and that makes this job a little more meaningful.
“You might get one kid out of this graduating class that will come work for us, and that affects a community,” he said. “That one person will be able to feed a family, and Richmond County is our big extended family.”
The high school now has its own rock, but Superior Cranes has placed several throughout the community. “It’s nice to be able to help the community,” Everett said. “God put me in a position where we can make money to be able to donate our time where people can’t afford to pay for stuff like this. It fills my heart with joy knowing we can help our schools with these rocks that will last generations, and stories will be told about this rock.”
Davis said she would return to the Raider campus and tell the story about how her senate members planted the rock on graduation day.
“Your mama helped put that rock here,” she said about those future conversations. “I can’t wait to tell my story to my children about my time here at Richmond Senior.”
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