Samford names Knox homecoming queen

Hundreds of alumni returned to Samford University in Birmingham Oct. 20–22 for a homecoming weekend of football, fireworks, reunions, balloon rides and reminiscing with old friends. 
   
Four graduates were recognized as Alumni of the Year during a banquet Oct. 20.
   
Honorees are William E. Cash Jr. of Birmingham, class of 1969, founder and chairman of Principle Pharmacy Group Inc., a pharmacy management firm; Pat M. Courington Sr. of Albertville, class of 1946, retired publisher, The Sand Mountain Reporter newspaper; Martha Ann Cox of Talladega, class of 1960, retired Samford administrator; and attorney Todd Crider of New York, class of 1987.           
   
It was the first Samford homecoming for Samford President Andrew Westmoreland and family, who led the homecoming parade as grand marshals.
   
Alumni later lined up to welcome the Westmorelands under a tent on the campus quadrangle, which was the gathering spot for numerous class reunions and affinity groups.
   
Returning graduates ranged from the school’s newest alumni, members of the class of 2006, to some who had not visited campus in years.
   
Longtime Southern Baptist missionaries Barton and Rebekah Starr, class of 1966, were back at Samford for the first time in several decades. 
   
After returning from the missions field in Hong Kong in June, he is now dean of arts and sciences at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida.
   
Christina Knox, a senior accounting major from Birmingham, was crowned homecoming queen during halftime of the football game against the University of Tennessee at Martin. D.J. Carter, a senior communication studies major from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was named honor escort. 
   
They were elected by a vote of the student body. 
   
The homecoming court also included freshmen Grace Moon of Memphis, Tenn., and Oliver Jones of Roswell, Ga.; sophomores Rebekah Beaty of Columbus, Ga., and Andrew Dick of Atlanta; juniors Ellen Donze of Birmingham and John Ryan Colvin of Jackson; and seniors Candis Garner of Florence, Robby Stone of Huntsville, Mary Kathryn Covert of Meridian, Miss., and Bill Anderson of Macon, Ga.
   
Alumni, students and family members filled Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel for the traditional beginning and ending homecoming events — a Friday choral service and a Sunday morning worship service.
   
Frank Lewis, a 1981 graduate and senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Nashville, preached Oct. 22.
   
Noting how classmates, professors and experiences, including H-Day visits to small Alabama Baptist churches, helped launch him on his life’s journey, Lewis offered advice before setting out on any journey. 
   
“Know who you’re following. Follow Jesus,” he said, adding to pack carefully. “It is easy to take too much. Leave bitterness, anger, frustration and resentment behind. Know who you are, and be the best you can be for those journeys.”
   
The homecoming schedule began Oct. 19 with the presentation of the annual J. Roderick Davis Lecture, honoring the longtime Samford dean of arts and sciences. Juan Hernandez, president of the Organization for Hispanic Advancement, was guest lecturer. 
   
At the annual meeting of the alumni association, 1992 graduate Mark Davidson of Daphne was elected president. 
   
reg Powell of Birmingham, a 1981 graduate, was elected vice president and president-elect. Martha Ann Cox was elected secretary. (SU)