September 17, 2004
Alumni and friends from across the country will gather at Hesston College Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26 for A Hesston College Homecoming with the theme "Reflect, Rejoice, Renew." More than 500 people are expected to come to campus.
Friday events include:
- Class visits from 8-11 a.m.
- The Aviation department will offer alumni and friends a flight instruction ride and simulator lessons on Friday and Saturday, as well as an open house at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Aviation department, located at the Newton City-County Airport east of Newton.
- Chapel from 11-11:45 a.m. The featured speaker will be 1985 graduate Ted Springer from Tucson, Ariz. Springer, an accomplished sculptor, works with world renowned artist Ursala von Rydingsvard in Brooklyn, N.Y. He will share his journey of linking faith and spirituality in the art of sculpture.
- At noon, Alumni reunion classes celebrating anniversaries of 50 years or more will join Interim President Peter Wiebe for a complimentary lunch and program.
- Brent Jones '84, senior systems engineer at Annese and Associates in Baltic, N.Y., will speak in the Networking Technologies class which meets in Kropf Center Room 130 at 1 p.m.
- At 1:30 p.m., college administrators will highlight and contrast Hesston College of yesterday and today through the efforts of the Enhancing Excellence Campaign. A current college update will be provided, and Student Ambassadors will share some of their experiences as Hesston students. A campus tour will follow.
- Sculptor Ted Springer '85 will address the Introduction to Design class at 2 p.m. Friday, in the art studio in Erb Hall.
- At 3 p.m., Sheila Yoder-Baer '84, music director of the Union, Mo., School System, will present "Music in the Classroom and National Music Standards for Preschool" at the Introduction to Early Childhood Education class which meets in the preschool lab in Peachey Center.
- An Art Department Reception at 3:30 p.m. will give an update on the art program. View Ted Springer's Internal Landscapes gallery exhibit and take the Art Walk.
- At 4 p.m., the first of three practices is planned for an Alumni and Hesston College Bel Canto Singers Choir which will sing at Sunday's worship service. Alumni who sang under present director Jake Rittenhouse are especially invited to participate.
- At 4 p.m., the Hesston Invitational Volleyball Tournament with 10 teams begins. Hesston College plays Allen County Community College (Iola, Kan.) at 4, and Pratt (Kan.) Community College at 7:45. Admission for each day of the tournament is $5 for adults, $3 for students (elementary through college age).
- At 6 p.m., a picnic dinner will be served. Reservations are required at $9 per adult, $4 for children ages 4-10.
- The Andy Wilcom Trio from Kalona, Iowa, provide an evening of alumni entertainment at 7:30 p.m. Carolyn (Bachman) '83 and Atlee '79 Yoder and friend Sam Williams share their contemporary Christian message through folk and bluegrass music styles. Current students will also perform. Refreshments will be served at this concert and coffeehouse.
Saturday events begin
at 9 a.m. Hesston Academy reunions are planned on campus
for the classes of 1944, 1949, 1954, and 1964. Hesston College class
members from 1949, 1954, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994,
and 1999 will also gather.
- Hesston College students will assist with free child care for children from infant through 8th grade from 9 a.m.-3 p.m, and again from 6:30-9 p.m.
- At 9 a.m., Hesston College competes against Brookhaven College (volleyball invitational).
- At noon, alumni and friends are invited to a luncheon. Reservations are required at $8 per adult.
- At 1 p.m., a special Homecoming 2004 limited edition Administration Building Candlehouse will be unveiled. Handcrafted in Lithuania, the candlehouse was made possible by the college's Alumni Association and The Sunflower Patch, Hesston, Kan. Sales from the edition and auction will benefit the college.
- Hesston College plays Kansas City Kansas Community College at 2 p.m. Volleyball tournament semifinals will be at 3:30; the finals will be at 4:30.
- At 2 p.m., the alumni will take on the varsity in a women's softball game at the city diamond.
- The soccer team will host Allen County Community College at 3 p.m. on the soccer field.
- At 6:30, alumni and friends are invited for fellowship and refreshments before the Alumni Banquet and program at 7 p.m. The program features Hesston's own baritone and tenor soloists Tony Brown and Matt Schloneger, and Bel Canto Singers directed by Jake Rittenhouse. Special comments will be shared by one of Hesston's oldest alumni, 98-year old Bessie (King) Yoder, Kalona, Iowa, who graduated from Hesston Academy in 1924 and from Hesston College in 1928. This is her 80th anniversary of graduating from the academy. Reservations are required; the cost is $15 per adult.
Sunday activities planned include:
- An Alumni Worship Service at 10 a.m. Byron Peachey, a 1979 graduate who now serves as associate campus pastor at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.), will speak. The combined Alumni and Hesston College Bel Canto Singers Choir will sing, along with the Andy Wilcom Trio.
- During the afternoon, the Alumni Advisory Council will hold its annual meeting.
The weekend also doubles as
an opportunity for prospective students to visit campus. Persons interested
in bringing a student should contact the Admissions Office locally
at 620-327-8222, or toll-free at 800-99-LARKS.
For more information about Homecoming
weekend, or to register, contact the Alumni Relations Office at 620-327-8109,
toll-free at 866-437-7866 (866-HESSTON), or e-mail alumni@hesston.edu.
You may also register online on the alumni page at www.hesston.edu.