Home Sweet Homecoming Celebrates Traditions and Generosity

Last week’s Homecoming celebration featured regular events, including class reunions, the parade, and a poetry reading, and also included three dedication ceremonies. See the Homecoming Sweet Homecoming video montage here: Homecoming

Seniors Amy Cate, of Knoxville, and John-Mark Brown, of Talbott, were named Carson-Newman’s 2011 homecoming queen and king during halftime of the football game. C-N President Randall O’Brien and Marilee Betz, last year’s queen, presented crowns to the campus royalty. See full story

Cate, a special education major, is the daughter of Gary and Kathy Cate. Brown, a religion major with minors in biblical Greek and sociology, is the son of Mark and Cathy Brown.

Other senior homecoming queen nominees included Andrea Beck, a psychology major and mental health minor; Kayla Beth Moore, a double major in English and religion with an Oxford studies minor; and Hannah Williams, a double major in literature and graphic design. Senior king nominees included religion major Daniel Elliot, Adam Tarver, a double major in applied psychology and religion; and religion major Adam Tilson.

Junior class representatives were Katelyn Davenport, Matt Gossett, Caroline Hudson, Luke Konkle, Rachel Tucker and Neil Whitehead. Sophomore representatives were Analyn Borthick, Jon Morgan Keene, Randall Nored and Bethany Parker. Freshman court members were Chelsea Buchanan and Ryan O’Neal.

Jane Sasser an Oak Ridge High School English and creative writing teacher for more than two decades, was selected to read her work in the third annual Henrietta Jenkins Poetry Reading. Mary Patton Sarros, a 1963 alumna, honored her former professor by establishing the event in 2009.

Three dedications were included in the weekend’s activities:

JoAnn and Howard Chitwood were recognized during Friday afternoon festivities when the second stage of remodeling efforts at the JoAnn and Howard Chitwood Alumni Center at Hale Pale were celebrated. The facility will include space for the College’s Alumni Relations Office as well as a conference room, kitchen, gathering area, outdoor gardens and a barbeque area.

C-N’s Women of Vision organization unveiled the Colleen Keebler Harmon Parlor in Sarah Swann Residence Hall. Those on hand for the ceremony included Dr. Harry Harmon, Brad Harmon, Dr. Tom Harmon and Ralph Harmon who gathered with some of their mother’s close friends, including Mary Nickell, Imogene Brewer and Nell Gibson. The event drew scores of C-N alumni, faculty and friends from across the region.

Some two dozen of Bobby Wilson’s former baseball players returned for the dedication of an indoor training center in his memory. Alumni included members of his first squad, which won the National Championship in 1965, and spanned his career on the banks of Mossy Creek. Martha Wilson and members of her family cut a ribbon and unveiled a framed jersey and plaque in the late coach’s honor. The Bobby Wilson Indoor Training Facility includes batting cages, pitching mounds and retractable netting for multiple uses.