On Saturday, April 30, 2016, Connors State College hosted its annual Alumni and Friends Banquet and Reunion. More than 120 alumni, friends, staff and students attended the event in the A.D. Stone Student Union on the Warner Campus.
The reunion is a time to share memories, see new developments on campus, and to honor exceptional alumni, said Dr. Ryan Blanton, Associate Vice President for External Affairs.
Each year at the Banquet and Reunion, extraordinary alumni are inducted into the Connors State College Alumni Hall of Fame. Debra Evans, James Cagle, and Dr. Tim Faltyn were the 2016 honorees.
Evans, a 1978 CSC graduate, has been an Oklahoma educator for 28 years. She was named an Oklahoma State Superintendent of Schools Master Teacher five times, was a NASA NEW Teacher and a Space Foundation teacher liaison, and is a National Board Certified Secondary Science teacher. To strive to always do your best, to work hard, and to do the things you love are all things Evans says she learned at Connors.
Cagle, a 1958 graduate, was a member of the football, basketball and baseball teams at Connors, and for the 1957-58 season was voted Best All-Around Athlete and All-Conference Honorable Mention in football. With a teaching and coaching career that spanned 50 years, two states, and high school and collegiate systems, Cagle earned numerous accolades and championships. A two-time Whos Who Among Teachers national nominee, Cagles dedication to the betterment of young lives cannot be matched.
Although not a CSC alumnus, Dr. Tim Faltyn, Connors State College President, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dr. Faltyn was recognized for the improvements hes made to the campus and for his exceptional service to the college in his five years of employment.
For anyone who knows me, they know that its hard to surprise me with anything, said Dr. Faltyn. I usually have my thumb on the various activities across campus, but this induction comes as a complete surprise. Thank you for honoring me in this way its been an honor to serve Connors for the past five years.
Other prominent alumni and friends also attended to support the inductees, catch up with old acquaintances, and to meet with college leaders, faculty and students.
Students from the Presidents Leadership Class provided tours of campus and reminded alumni of one of the most important reasons for their organization to raise money for the Alumni and Friends Scholarship Fund.
The soft opening of the Ken Ogdon Connors State College Museum in the north wing of Russell Hall highlighted this years reunion. In a one-day-only show, the Museum featured the works of alumnus Earl Strebeck, a 1960 Connors State College graduate and retired high school art teacher.
Today, I have on display a small retrospect of my work starting in 1954, said Strebeck. I have only one painting that I completed at Connors, “A Portrait of Mrs. Lucille Hurd”. My work is a variety of styles because as a teacher, I had to be knowledgeable and teach all the styles of Art from Realism to Abstract.
Through the generosity of the Ogdon family, once open, the museum will feature an historical display of Connors throughout the past 107 years, plus community and Native American art displays.
In addition to the Museum, Russell Hall, which is set to open in Summer 2016, will be the home of the Title III Native American Success and Cultural Center.
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