Loud chatter and laughter of over a hundred Longwood faculty and staff resonated from the first floor of the dining hall. The smells of crab cake, little meatballs and fresh fruit wafted through the air, intermingling with cheery clinks of ice against glass.
Friday night saw the gathering of employees from all departments join for one purpose: celebration of each other.
“One of the things, one of the most important things that makes Longwood so great is how much we care for each other and the spirit of comradery here,” said President W. Taylor Reveley.
To open the banquet, Reveley commented on the past year’s successes and the celebration of service milestones within the staff community.
Nearly 2,000 years of service to Longwood were represented by those recognized.
“It’s a night to be able to showcase that and celebrate all the people who have given so many years, decades, to Longwood,” said Reveley.
The awards ceremony began with the honoring of each retiree of the past year. A member of the retiree’s community delivered a short speech regarding the character of the person prior to his/her pinning.
The first retiree pin belonged to Pamela Arkin of the Theater department, introduced by Ken Perkins, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
“If there has been a person more devoted to her students, and students more devoted to her, I don’t know who it is,” said Perkins to describe Arkin.
Following Perkins’ lead, each attending retiree was introduced through anecdotes, some causing a chuckle to rumble through the room.
Retiree Edward Vitale, carpenter, not only received a pin, but a signed gift and a Mario-themed PowerPoint.
“My favorite part of the night is seeing the retirees come forward and hear the people they’ve worked with for so many years talk about them and jibe them and say such great things,” said Reveley.
The end of the retiree list marked the beginning of milestone awards ranging from five to forty-five years; the awards were given based on five year increments.
The amount of awardees tapered off with each step as only one person received the final forty-five year award, Betty Eike, library cataloguing specialist.
Each employee showed their own personality walking to Reveley for their pin. Some strutted, some stopped for hugs along the way and others strode with confidence.
Myrtis Lunsford, a mathematics professor, danced her way to the front, swaying without music, finishing her performance with a large hug for the president.
The theme, “A Heart of Gold,” asserted itself throughout the night in the form of a video, table decorations and the community of people seated in the Grand Dining Hall. Several standing ovations occurred throughout the night and applause echoed regularly.
“People across the whole university know each other and care about each other and network together for years and years and it shows,” said Revely.“This is the Friday night before Valentine’s Day and here we’ve got a packed house on a cold night in February to come be with each other and honor each other.”
