Emma Witherspoon, Sherman Co. Class of 2020 (Jeremy Lanthorn) Catherine Rhodes senior picture was turned into a banner by photographer Jeremy Lanthorn.
Jeremy Lanthorn of Grass Valley has been doing senior photos and shooting sports events in Sherman County for several years. A self-described “wrestling nut” Jeremy is a talented sports photographer and learned to photograph by listening to podcasts on his commute from Sherman County to Heppner, where he worked for Community Counseling. “To stay awake, I listened to talk radio but switched to podcasts on photography,” Jeremy says.
In 2018, Jeremy started working for Mid-Columbia Bus Company in Sherman County, where he is now in a manager position.
In recent years, Jeremy started to make banners of Sherman County athletes and they were hung in the Sherman County gymnasium and football field.
This year, Jeremy saw the need to honor the seniors of Sherman County and neighboring schools. “I wanted to do something for the seniors, something to recognize them,” he said. “Spring of my senior year was one of the best times of my life.”
Jeremy graduated high school in Silverton, Oregon but his father and wife are both alumni of Sherman County High School. He saw that the community wanted to do something special for kids who were missing out on the last semester of their senior year.
Jeremy thought that he could offer to take senior photos and to make all of them into banners, not just for athletes but for all seniors. The idea quickly caught fire and people in the Sherman County community jumped at the chance to help cover the costs. “Within 30 minutes of putting it on Facebook, we had an offer to do them all,” Jeremy says. Sherco Electric and some family farms and ranches were early supporters.
News of the banners traveled quickly and now, banners are being constructed for seniors in Condon and Bickleton, Washington.