All Alumni Are Members

The Bright School Alumni Association seeks to promote the interests and welfare of the school, to create and maintain an ongoing mutually beneficial relationship between the school and alumni, and further the school's mission and values through its alumni.

Every person who has graduated from The Bright School is a member of the Alumni Association.

Awards

Fletcher Bright ’43 Distinguished Alumnus Award

This award is given to alumni who have exhibited brilliant and distinguished lifelong work in a significant field of endeavor or service.

Recipients include:

Mai Bell Hurley '40 in 2014
Franklin McCallie '52 in 2016
Henry Aldridge '55 in 2018

Jack McDonald ’45 Service Award

This award is given to alumni who have contributed significantly to the welfare of Bright School and exemplified the highest standards of the school through selfless devotion to the interests of the school.

Recipients include:

Gordon P. Street Jr. ’50 in 2014
Lucy Bright Thatcher '41 in 2016
Fontaine Patten Moore '55 in 2018
Emily Hon '86 in 2023

Citizen of the World Award

This award recognizes alumni who are fulfilling the school's mission: "The Bright School builds a foundation upon which students become wise and compassionate citizens of the world. Its century of progress fosters the intellectual, artistic, physical, and moral growth of young boys and girls." To be eligible for the award, alumni must be current students in high school (grades 9-12), college or graduate school. The winning alumni demonstrate leadership in service to others in the broader community.

Recipients include:

Mimi Vance '10 in 2017
Ben Workinger '10 in 2018
Pierson Brown '11 in 2019
Sana Nisar '13 and Julia Fisher '13 in 2020
Lauren Yim '14 in 2021
Meghan Boehm '16 in 2022
Claire Holtzclaw '16 in 2023

Alumni Groups

Fort Wood Society

Fort Wood Street Location

The Bright School has been located at six different addresses in Chattanooga since its founding in 1913 by Mary G. Bright. The current location off Hixson Pike in North Chattanooga has been the site of the school since 1963, graduating its first class that spring.

Prior to the current location, the school was located at 833 Fort Wood Street on what is now the campus of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1924 to 1962. Alumni who attended The Bright School at this location have special memories of the building and Miss Bright that the school believes are important to its history. All four previous locations of the school were at various addresses along McCallie Avenue.

The Fort Wood Society was established in 2017 for all alumni who attended school at this location.

Bright Legacy

 

Bright Legacy, established in 2022, is an alumni program that honors and recognizes families with multiple generations of graduates and students. There are currently about 40 families with enrolled students that include parents who graduated from Bright School, and of those, several include grandparents who went to Bright. Legacy families help preserve traditions and the history of the school. 

Want to Get Involved? Contact Me.

Elizabeth Davis

Director of Alumni Relations

Bright alumna '86 
Joined Bright staff in 2015
B.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville