EMORY — Come one, come all to see members of the Emory & Henry College community gather to celebrate the College’s 186th annual Founders Day.
This year's event is Thursday, March 23.
Each year, Founders Day is celebrated with a keynote speaker and awards ceremony honoring distinguished alumni and philanthropic members of the community, according to a news release from the Methodist-affiliated school.
The event will be from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Emory & Henry College's Memorial Chapel, 30450 Armbrister Dr, Emory, VA 24327.
Attendees are to include college President Dr. John W. Wells; Mark Graham, vice president for administration and general counsel; and Dr. Darin J. Waters, keynote speaker and deputy secretary in the Office of Archives and History for the State of North Carolina and State Historic Preservation Officer.
Award and Citation recipients are to be Dr. Dennis G. Carter Jr., superintendent of Smyth County, Virginia, public schools; Dr. Rosemary Gray; Ali Singleton Reilly, program coordinator of the Blue Ridge Discovery Center in Konnarock, Virginia; the Rev. Phyllis Speigel; Friends of the Sciences Volunteers; and Dr. D.C. Cobler, associate professor and department chair.
The annual Founders Day Convocation at E&H is held each year to mark the college's founding in 1836. Each year, Founders Day is celebrated with a keynote speaker and awards ceremony honoring distinguished alumni and philanthropic members of the community.
This year, the keynote speaker is Waters. Following Waters, the college will recognize two individuals with service citations. Those recipients are to be Beth Macy, bestselling author of Dopesick, and Carter, a 1995 graduate and the Smyth County superintendent.
"In conjunction with the time-honored celebration of Founders Day, the Emory & Henry Alumni Association has chosen annual honorees to award the various Distinguished Alumni Awards," a news relelase said.
"The honorees for this year are Dr. Rosemary Gray, ’68 for the Carl and Ruth Looney Humanitarian Award; (the) Rev. Phyllis Spiegel, ’88 for the Distinguished Achievement Award; Ali Singleton Reilly, ’18 for the A.L. Mitchell Young Alumnus of the Year Award; Dr. D.C. Cobler ’95 for the James A. Davis Faculty Award; and E&H Friends of the Sciences (FOTS) volunteers for the Fred Selfe Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award."
