Samford University alumni and students celebrated homecoming Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 with a busy weekend of events.
Earlier in the week, students had elected seniors Hannah Newman, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., and John Hunsicker, of St. Louis, Mo., to serve as homecoming queen and king.
The homecoming court also included freshmen Mary Helen Douglas and James William Miley III; sophomores Mackenzie Brooke Davis and Dillard Goodpasture Adams III; juniors Mary Leslie Prater and Corry Mulligan; and seniors Christine Paige Carrier, Emily Kelley, Clay Hubbard and Will Yarborough.
Returning alumni enjoyed many opportunities to reminisce. At several programs individuals were saluted for service to the school, professional achievements and other lifetime milestones.
The annual alumni banquet recognized four outstanding graduates.
Alumni of the Year honorees were Birmingham businesswoman and philanthropist Brenda Mitchell Hackney, class of 1990, MBA 1994; Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Helen Shores Lee, a 1985 Cumberland School of Law graduate; and Atlanta, Ga., entrepreneur Bryan K. Owens, class of 1981. Houston Estes, a 2004 graduate and insurance executive in Nashville, was named young alumnus of the year.
Wall of Fame
Samford’s department of journalism and mass communication (JMC) added four new members to its Wall of Fame.
The new inductees are Jack Brymer, a veteran denominational journalism and communications specialist; Carol Guthrie, head of the Washington Center for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; Tony Hale, an Emmy Award-winning actor in the “Arrested Development” and “Veep” television sitcoms; and Debbie McGrady, retired administrative assistant in the JMC department.
Brymer, a 1967 graduate, was the first managing editor of The Alabama Baptist newspaper and later served as editor of The Florida Baptist Witness. He served in the Samford communications department from 1994 until his retirement in 2003 and continues to write for the school.
Members of the class of 1964 took time at their 50th anniversary luncheon to honor a revered professor, Sigurd F. Bryan. Rick White, of Cullman, the 1964 senior class president, announced that the class had raised funds for a special donation to the Sigurd F. Bryan scholarship fund for religion students.
“He was instrumental in the lives of many members of our class,” White said of Bryan, a 1946 Samford graduate who taught religion at the school for 46 years before retiring in 2002. Bryan was on hand to accept well wishes from the anniversary class.
Members of the classes from 1964 and earlier convened Oct. 31 for the annual Golden Bulldog luncheon. The customary David Lockmiller awards were given to the male and female graduates present from the earliest classes. This year’s winners were Joe Goode, class of 1952, of Clanton, and Anne Fadely Anderson, class of 1953, of Roebuck Springs.
The Samford football team earned a 55–0 homecoming win over the Concordia College Hornets. The win ties Samford head coach Pat Sullivan with former coach Terry Bowden for the most wins in program history with 45. Prior to the game, Sullivan and his family were honored with the dedication of the Sullivan-Cooney Family Field House.
(Samford)
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