El Centro hosts reunion of former Sanger-Harris employees

DALLAS - Oct. 4, 2016 - PRLog -- As part of the institution's 50th anniversary celebration, El Centro College hosts a reunion of former Sanger-Harris employees on Thursday, October 20, 7:00 p.m. in conjunction with the current historic fashion exhibition, "Before El Cento: Sanger-Harris," at the H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery which opens next week:

WHO: Former Sanger-Harris employees
WHAT: Reunion mixer and gallery exhibit tour
WHEN: Thursday, October, 20, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery, El Centro College, 801 Main St. (@ Lamar), in downtown Dallas
HOW MUCH: Free and open to the public, but reservations requested via Eventbrite.

In 1873, Sanger Brothers Department Store opened its first downtown location at the intersection of Elm and Lamar, where El Centro College resides today. In 1961 the company merged with long-time competitor, A. Harris & Co., to form Sanger-Harris, and four years later the expanded company moved to its most recent home at Akard and Pacific, where the Dallas Area Rapid Transit headquarters currently resides. The Dallas County Community College District purchased the old Sanger-Harris building on Main Street, and El Centro College began offering classes there in 1966. Sanger-Harris stores were later purchased by Foley's of Houston in 1987, and that company was eventually acquired by Macy's in 2005.

Several former and current El Centro College employees have unique ties to Sanger-Harris. For example, now retired El Centro College Executive Vice President Dr. Michael Jackson served as an elevator operator at Sanger Bros while he was still attending high school. Jackson was manning the elevators at the downtown Dallas store when John F. Kennedy was assassinated only a few blocks away in nearby Dealy Plaza.

Belinda Allen, who now heads the Surgical Technologist program at El Centro College's Center for Allied Health and Nursing, worked at the Big Town Sanger-Harris store before becoming a registered nurse. (Allen is loaning both her Sanger-Harris employee ID card and her personal Sangers credit card to the exhibit.)

"At 16 years old being a sales clerk I was expected to greet EVERY customer that walked into my department," said Allen. "This could at times intimidate me but the goal was to 'make them feel welcome and assist them in finding what they were looking for.'  It became second nature, and I've found myself doing this throughout my professional career." Allen added that she spent most of her earnings purchasing clothes from Sanger-Harris, and she remains a loyal Macy's customer.

El Centro College Food & Hospitality Director Steve DeShazo's first job as a teenager was working as a temporary stock clerk during the department store's annual inventory.

Marilyn Sullivan, who founded El Centro's fashion marketing program, worked at the Akard and Pacific headquarters building as an apparel buyer before becoming a faculty member and program coordinator.

"I got absolutely my best training in retail at Sanger Harris," Sullivan said. "The management was outstanding. They took so much time training and re-training their employees. Sangers was truly ahead of its time. We still teach many of their guiding customer service and sales principles to our fashion marketing students today."

The Sanger-Harris reunion at El Centro College will be catered by students from the school's renowned Food & Hospitality Program. Admission to the Sanger-Harris reunion is free and open to the public, but reservations through the Eventbrite site are strongly encouraged. The exhibit, "Before El Centro: Sanger-Harris," presented by El Centro College, Vintage Martini, and the Dallas Public Library, opens Monday, October 10, and runs through Friday, November 4, at the H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery.

To RSVP for the free Sanger-Harris reunion on Thursday, October 20, at 7:00 p.m., visit the Eventbrite reservation system at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sanger-harris-reunion-registration-27897269484. (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sanger-harris-reunion-regist...)

About El Centro College
Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, El Centro College (http://www.elcentrocollege.edu/) is a vibrant, urban community college located in downtown Dallas that is fully committed to a seamless educational process and life-long learning.

The H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery seeks to showcase local, regional and national artists working in a variety of media as well as host exhibits traveling nationally.

El Centro College's Food and Hospitality Services Institute provides training through classroom instruction, hands-on participation and work-study classes for three different food service careers: Culinary Arts, Bakery/Pastry Arts, and Food and Hospitality Service.

The Fashion Marketing program at El Centro College is a nationally renowned vocational education curriculum that specializes in the business side of fashion – combining modern business principles with ambition, creativity, and enthusiasm.