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Alumni Association’s Desoto County Chapter continues to grow

By August 15, 2013General

Sponsors of the event included: Ryan England, State Farm Agent; Stephanie Morrison, State Farm Agent; BankPlus; BancorpSouth; Renasant Bank; Community Bank; A&B Distributors; Sycamore Bank; and Grapevine Liquor and Wine.

The Delta State University Alumni Association recently traveled to Southaven, Miss. for the 9th annual Desoto County Alumni Event. This year’s gathering was held August 10, at the BankPlus Training Center. With over 130 alumni and friends in attendance, the family-friendly event was another huge success for the chapter.

“We were very pleased with the crowd that came out to this year’s event,” said Desoto County Chapter President Drue Howarth. “We were able to raise over $1,900 through the silent auction, and these proceeds go directly to our scholarship fund.”

The Desoto County chapter set up a chapter scholarship that is awarded to deserving high school seniors from Desoto County that will be attending Delta State University in the fall. This year’s recipients are Mollie Evans, Madison Ennis, and Meaghan Vogelsang. The 2014 Desoto County Chapter President will be Glenn Barlow of Olive Branch.

The program featured Delta State President William N. LaForge who gave the crowd an update on the state of the university. Each year, the chapter chooses to recognize an area of campus, and this year, the Delta Music Institute was recognized.

Barry Bays, an instructor with DMI, spoke to the group about this unique program that Delta State has to offer. He also talked to a few prospective students who were at the event and were interested in pursuing a career in music.

A campus update was given by Alumni Association staff members Jeffrey Farris and Jordan Thomas. There were also a number of Delta State faculty and staff in attendance, including: Dr. Wayne Blansett, vice president of Student Affairs; Dr. Myrtis Tabb, vice president of Finance and Administration; Steven McClellan, vice president for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer; Ronnie Mayers, athletic director; Keith Fulcher, executive director of the Alumni-Foundation; Ann Giger, director of Donor Relations; Police Chief Lynn Buford; Dr. Leslie Griffin, dean of the College of Education and Health Sciences; Chris Gaines, director of Recruiting; Jeanna Wilkes, Admissions recruiter; Angela Carter, senior Admissions recruiter;  and Dr. Clifton Wingard, chair and professor of the Department of Mathematics.

The Dedicated Statesmen Association, a group of retired faculty and staff, also had number of representatives in attendance, including: Diane Blansett, John and Betsy Elliot, Dr. Henry Outlaw, Vicki Fioranelli and First Lady Nancy LaForge.

Sponsors of the event included: Ryan England, State Farm Agent; Stephanie Morrison, State Farm Agent; BankPlus; BancorpSouth; Renasant Bank; Community Bank; A&B Distributors; Sycamore Bank; and Grapevine Liquor and Wine.

To make a gift to the Desoto County Alumni Fund or for more information, contact the Alumni Association at 662-846-4660 or www.deltastate.edu/alumni. Follow the Alumni Association on our social media site – Facebook: Statesmen Graduates; Twitter: @DSU_Alumni; Tumblr: www.dsualumni.tumblr.com; LinkedIn: DSU alumni; and You Tube: dsualumni1.