ASU Alumni Association announces Homecoming 2009, set for Saturday, Oct. 24

August 18, 2009 -- The Arkansas State University Alumni Association announces plans for Homecoming 2009 which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24. All alumni and friends of the university are invited to attend. The schedule for ASU's Centennial Homecoming includes the All-Alumni pre-game tailgate party at the Cooper Alumni Center; the 5^th Quarter Party after the football game in downtown Jonesboro;  recognition of Distinguished Alumni at halftime of the game; reunions; alumni seminars; luncheons; tailgates, and activities by academic colleges. For general Homecoming information, contact the Alumni office at (870) 972-2586.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, the ASU Alumni Association will sponsor a pre-game tailgate party at the Cooper Alumni Center from 4-5:30 p.m. All alumni, friends of the university and their families are invited for food and fun. Wings-to-Go will serve tailgate food, and popular local band Snap Crow Legs will be performing live. The Cooper Alumni Center is located just north of the Convocation Center and west of the stadium on the ASU campus. The event, which is free to the public, will be sponsored by Clopton Clinic and Simmons First Bank of Jonesboro.

For the first year, the ASU Alumni Association's 5^th Quarter Party will be held on Main Street in downtown Jonesboro. The party begins right after the football game.

Arkansas State University will honor four outstanding individuals in its 26^th year of recognizing Distinguished Alumni. This year’s honorees, selected by the ASU Alumni Association board of directors, are: Wayne Baker, class of 1955 and Virginia Robinson Baker, class of 1945, business and community leaders of Jonesboro; Jake Bell, class of 1974, a theatrical stage manager and technical production manager of New York City; and Dr. F. M. Wilson of Jonesboro, class of 1948, a noted area physician. The Distinguished Alumni presentation ceremony will be held at halftime of the Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Marking the 100^th anniversary of the Model T Ford, a special event in honor of ASU's Centennial celebration will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m., as a parade of antique Model T cars will proceed to the entrance of the Cooper Alumni Center where they will gather on the lawn in front of the building. Model T enthusiasts from around the region will be driving their cars to participate in the event. At 3 p.m., a historic re-enactment of an iconic photo in the 1959 A-State yearbook will be held using the actual car and many of the ladies who were originally photographed 50 years ago.

The Strong-Turner Alumni Chapter (S-TAC), a chapter of the ASU Alumni Association focusing on African-American alumni and friends of the university, plans several S-TAC Homecoming events. On Friday morning, Oct. 23, the S-TAC golf outing will be at Sage Meadows Golf Course beginning at 8 a.m. The S-TAC social that evening will be at the ASU Pavilion. At noon, S-TAC hosts the Linual Cameron Scholarship Reception honoring this year's scholarship recipient and Outstanding Alumnus in the Student Union's Mockingbird Room. That evening at 10 p.m., the S-TAC alumni dance will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn on Caraway Road. For more information on S-TAC Homecoming activities,  contact Shelia Sanders, S-TAC Homecoming Chair, at (870) 243-1657.

Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m., the College of Communications Journalism Alumni Speakers Series for 2009 will feature guest speaker Rob Roedel, a 1989 ASU graduate and manager of corporate communications for Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. He has worked in the communications and marketing field for approximately 20 years. The seminar and luncheon are free, but luncheon reservations are required. For reservations or more information, contact Terrie Rolland at the College of Communications at (870) 972-2468.

The College of Nursing and Health Professions annual Distinguished Alumni awards and Open House will be held Saturday afternoon, Oct. 24, at the new Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences beginning at 2 p.m. For more information, the College of Nursing and Health Professions can be reached at (870) 972-3074.

The College of Agriculture and Technology tailgate party will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, in Tailgate City west of the stadium beginning at 3:30 p.m.  All Agri alumni and friends are invited to share the fun. For more information, the College of Agriculture can be contacted at (870) 972-2085.

The ASU Red Wolves will host Florida International for the Homecoming football game which kicks off Saturday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m.  At halftime, the university's Distinguished Alumni will be recognized, the Homecoming Court will be presented, and the A-State Class of 1959, which celebrates its golden anniversary reunion on Friday, Oct. 23, will be recognized. Game tickets are available through the ASU Central Box Office at (870) 972-ASU1.

The 1957/1958 A-State track team will celebrate their reunion with a dinner Friday evening, Oct. 23, at the Holiday Inn at 6 p.m. The group will also gather at the Cooper Alumni Center on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m., and will meet at the Stadium Arch at 5:30. For more information contact Bob Miller at (870) 935-6020.

ASU's United Voices gospel choir reunion concert will be held in Centennial Ballroom of the Student Union on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact event organizers Reco Haggins, Broderick Daniels, or Kimberly Fox at uvreunion09@yahoo.com.

For more details about Homecoming 2009, see the Alumni Association website at
http://www.astatealumni.org, contact the Alumni Office at (870) 972-2586, or e-mail alumni@astate.edu.

 

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