Homecoming 2012 might be officially over, but fun and wonderful Memories were made on the Mountain! In typical LMC alumni fashion, a good time was had by all and it was fun seeing so many happy faces. Numerous alumni noticed and complimented the beauty of campus and seemed very pleased with the state of the campus. It certainly goes without saying that Lees-McRae, now, more than ever, is a place that alumni can be so proud to come home to for any occasion. Outward appearances are one thing, but alumni left the Mountain knowing that LMC is now ranked with US News and World Report as one of the top 100 colleges in the South; the College had just received a generous gift to fund the new Career Exploration Center which will be housed in the once dilapidated stone cottage across the street from the Chaffee Administration building; and, the number of student applicants for fall 2012, compared to fall 2011, has surged ahead at a pace that indicates Lees-McRae is on the rise again.
Working with reunion planners over the past year has been an amazing. These alumni leaders had so much enthusiasm in their work to make their reunions the best ever. They have really kept us busy these past months, but it was worth it. When reunion planning results in alumni coming back to campus for the first time in 40 or 60 years, it’s enough to bring tears to your eyes.
The games, the tailgate, having the alumni association annual meeting at brunch, the honorable Hall of Fame dinner, honoring the Class of ’59 for their generous gift to the College, celebrating scholarship by connecting donors with their student recipient for Founder’s Day, the Class of 1955 reached their $50,000 goal and renamed their class scholarship after beloved classmate, Carl Edward Hipps… WOW!
And that’s not all… someone asked me over the weekend what I thought Reverend Edgar Tufts would have thought about Homecoming 2012. I would imagine that he would have been pleased with it all.
