Golden Bear Weekend celebrates accomplished alumni
April 7-8 marked WVU Tech’s 2017 Golden Bear Weekend, a celebration of outstanding university alumni and Tech’s connection to the community.
During the weekend’s activities, alumni toured WVU Tech’s Beckley campus while graduates from the Beckley area met at the Resort at Glade Springs to kick off the start of a Beckley alumni chapter.
The university also hosted a networking reception on Saturday evening followed by concurrent dinners for inductees of the WVU Tech Athletic Hall of Fame and the Alumni of the Year program.
Athletic Hall of Fame inductees – Michael A. Miller, ’76, Greg Saunders, ’87 and Joseph Martin, ’00 – were introduced by former coaches and friends. The inductees thanked the crowd and shared stories of their days at the university.
“I'm thankful for my time at Tech and for what that college did for me,” said inductee Michael Miller. “What I learned there has served me well and I'll never forget the experiences I had.”
Dr. Traci Boyd Acklin, ’94 and Stacey Daniel Fragile, J.D., ’96 were named Alumni of the Year recipients for the Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences and the College of Business, Humanities and Social Sciences, respectively.
At the Alumni of the Year dinner, the two honorees addressed friends, family and members of the WVU Tech community.
Fragile said that her experience prepared her well for law school. The Beckley-based attorney also shared her support for the university’s campus transition.
“I would not be where I am today without Tech. I love WVU Tech and I can’t wait to see what we can do in Beckley,” she said.
All told, more than 100 attendees gathered for the evening’s events, where they caught up with old friends and received updates on the campus transition from Campus President Carolyn Long.
As the evening wrapped up, guests heard from WVU Tech Athletic Director Kenny Howell.
“We will never forget our history. It's the fine people in this room and the experiences you shared that make up our legacy,” he said. “We're going to continue honoring that legacy, and we're going to continue to be a very strong school for another 150 years.”
Be sure to check out photos from the event on Flickr:
