By Michael Worrell
Staff Writer
This year’s Homecoming weekend was a success, according to the Alumni Office.
The annual homecoming event aims to keep alumni involved in both the current Bryan community and in each other’s lives. Tracy Bridwell, advancement assistant in the Alumni Office, says that, “it is just a sight to see,” old schoolmates who have not seen each other in years reconnect during the weekend.
Alumni Director Paulakay Hall said she had been told by several alumni that this was the best homecoming weekend they could remember. Planning Homecoming weekend involves literally hundreds of details, but once the actual event begins, things get easier and volunteers assist with the actual running of things, she said.
Normally, Homecoming weekends share a set order of things, but this year, the Tailgate lunch was held in the Triangle instead of near the soccer field, and the Tuscany dinner, usually held outside of Latimer on the Traylor Patio, was held in the Mercer lobby, since there was a high chance of rain.
Additionally, the second annual Paw Pounder races, also scheduled as part of Homecoming, were successes, according to Scholarship Fund Director David Holcomb. There are two races: Extreme, oriented to serious runners, and the Glow Run, geared toward casual runners. The races are open to Bryan students, alumni, and the Dayton community.
Holcomb says the main purpose of the races is to build awareness for the scholarship fund. Before the runs began, there was an explanation of what Bryan is doing for its students and the importance of the fund.
There are two kinds of payoffs for events like this, Holcomb said. There is direct payoff, where people are convinced and give donations immediately, and there is future payoff. Future payoff builds possibilities. People who might not donate based on one day’s experience can still go back to their home circles and share with others about Bryan and what it does, leading to potential gain.
Besides enjoying Pocket Wilderness and other activities they enjoyed as students, the alumni also did some things off the planned event schedule. In honor of Professor of Music Dr. David Luther’s retirement, several alumni formed a choir and performed an orchestral piece written specifically for the occasion.
The piece was a follow-up to a gift they gave to his wife Dr. Sigrid Luther, former professor of music, last semester. Donations that were accepted for these two gifts. Any donations in excess of the amount that they needed were given to the Bryan Scholarship Fund.
