Pomp and circumstance was in the air and on the field Saturday as Dawson County High School hosted its annual graduation ceremony.

Members of the Dawson County High School class of 2015 paraded into Tiger Stadium wearing smiles as bright as the early morning sunshine Saturday. Flanked by teachers and administrators, the 252 young men and women waved as they made their way to their infield seats.

"Graduation is exciting," Madison Adams said.

The event marked a milestone for the individual students as well as families.

"Graduating is pretty cool," said Logan Wood, the first in his family to graduate high school.

While for other families, DCHS graduation was a family tradition.

"I'm happy to be out," said Justin Chumbley, a life-long resident of Dawson County and whose mother is also a DCHS alum. Chumbley hopes to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Dawson County superintendent Dr. Damon Gibbs shared his remarks and then presented diplomas to the eager graduates. This was the first graduation for the newly-hired Gibbs.

"I am very excited to be a part of the graduation ceremony for the class of 2015," Gibbs said. "This event is not the closing of a book, but rather the end of a chapter in the lives of our graduates. The class of 2015 is full of opportunity and promise. The future is bright in Dawson County."

After the ceremony, parents scrambled to find their sons and daughter amid a sea of maroon to give congratulatory hugs, kisses, handshakes and flowers.