Alumni Association rewards success, reunites Baylor Nation
By Jamie Lim
Reporter
The Baylor Alumni Association will host its second annual Hall of Fame awards celebration at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Convention Center in downtown Waco.
Former Texas governor and ’62 Baylor Alumnus Mark White will be the emcee for the event.
The event is open to the public, but seating is limited. Individual tickets can be purchased for $75.
“Invitations are mailed from our VIP mailing list, but the event is not closed; we will definitely sell someone a ticket if they’re interested in coming,” Jan Dodd, assistant director of Programs and Awards for the Baylor Alumni Association, said.
All revenue from ticket sales will benefit the BAA’s Legacy Scholarship Program. The ceremony will also recognize current and past recipients of the scholarship.
“We have 23 recipients of our Baylor Alumni Legacy Scholarship Program this year,” Dodd said, “And we’re also going to recognize the Baylor Black Alumni Club scholarship recipients for 2010 and 2011.”
In order to receive an award, alumni are nominated and then a committee of alumni volunteers decides on recipients for each award.
“We’ve got our outstanding young alumni that are just starting their careers, all the way up to our distinguished alumni, many of whom have retired,” Dodd said.
The BAA has nine awards for the Hall of Fame, including the Distinguished Alumni Award, the First Families of Baylor Award and the Herbert H. Reynolds Outstanding Young Alumni Award. The only award that will not be presented at the event is the Retired Faculty and Administrators Award.
Award and scholarship recipients from the Baylor Black Alumni Club will also be honored at the ceremony.
“It’s a highlight of Baylor’s cream-of-the-crop, folks that are well-established, or have set themselves apart,” Beth Wooten, assistant vice president of Membership and Marketing, said. “They are an example of Baylor’s finest.”
Before 2011, the BAA presented their awards at different venues and events. Due to a great turnout from the first awards ceremony, however, the celebration became an annual event.
Dodd said the Hall of Fame is an opportunity for the BAA to remind the alumni that they’re still a part of the Baylor Line.
“It is like a Baylor Homecoming — we have people that come from all over the nation,” Dodd said.
In addition to the awards presentation, those attending can expect a ceremonial dinner and musical entertainment.
Today is the last day tickets will be available. They can be purchased from Program and Awards Coordinator Shari Brewer. She can also be contacted for additional information about the ceremony and for donations to the scholarship. Brewer can be contacted at 254-710-1207 or at Shari@bayloralumniassociation.com.
