Richmond Hill High School held its annual Winter Formal on Saturday at the Richmond Hill City Center in J.F. Gregory Park.

RHHS student council advisor Jennifer Lynch said the venue was chosen by the student council in hopes of encouraging students to shop local.

“Richmond Hill City Center was an exceptional venue for our Winter Formal. It was wonderfully decorated, and offered a much better situation for travel and traffic coming and going,” said RHHS Principal Debi McNeal. “It was really nice being in our hometown for an event as special as this – I am thankful for organizations like Richmond Hill City Center for supporting our events so we can stay close to home.”

Oliva Woodworth and Emily Hackmeyer, RHHS upper classmen who have attended the event in the past, said the City Center was an “awesome alternative” to other venues that have been used before. The students said they loved the convenience of using a venue that was local and agreed that having an indoor/outdoor space was a plus, as well as having better restroom facilities and refreshments.

“This year’s winter formal was excellent,” said RHHS staff member Suzanne Clardy. “The location was convenient because it was so much closer, and the staff of the City Center was helpful and friendly. Students really seemed to enjoy themselves and the staff did, too.”

City Center officials were also pleased with the evening.

“The students were such a great reflection of RHHS,” said Caitlin Hawkins, director of sales and conference services at the City Center. “As an alumni of Richmond Hill High School myself, I have made it my mission to make our facility accessible to our school system – I am so glad to have had the opportunity to keep the Winter Formal local to our community.”