Posted by Philip Poole on 2012-08-08

Tickets are on sale for Samford University's annual homecoming banquet Oct. 12. The 146th anniversary banquet is at 6:30 p.m. in the Beeson University Center Dining Hall.

Tickets are $30 per person, and advance reservations are required by Oct. 5.

The 2012 alumni of the year and outstanding young alumnus will be honored, and reunion classes and groups will be recognized. Alumni of the year are Kerry Gossett '73, James Huskey '69, MaryAnn Buffington Moon '76 and Rickie D. Moon '77. Patrick Devereux '05 is outstanding young alumnus.

The banquet celebrates the 146-year tradition of the Candlelight Dinner and has become a popular homecoming weekend event, according to David B. Goodwin, Samford's director of alumni programs. The first candlelight dinner was held in 1866 for then Howard College alumni to welcome former college president Samuel Sterling Sherman back to Marion following the Civil War. For many years the candlelight dinner was hosted by college alumni as part of spring commencement activities. Since 2003, it has been part of homecoming.

The banquet is one of many alumni reunion and fellowship gatherings, Goodwin noted. He encouraged alumni to make reservations early since many of the events will sell out.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.