Southeast's Homecoming week events begin Monday

Organizers of this year's festivities at Southeast Missouri State University promise one of the best Homecoming weeks yet, culminating in a parade with more than 130 entries.

"Going Places with Southeast" is the theme of the 2012 edition of Homecoming week, which wraps up next Saturday with the annual parade and the Redhawks taking to the gridiron at Houck Stadium.

Homecoming at the school is a tradition dating back to the early 1920s.

Joanna Shaver, coordinator for campus programming at Southeast, predicts the parade will be one of the best ever.

"We have, right now, over 130 entries for the parade," Shaver said Thursday. "They range from traditional bands, political candidates, student groups and local businesses. And the floats this year will be fantastic.

"In keeping with the theme of ‘Going Places,' we're going to have several large floats with constructs of the Statue of Liberty, Graceland, the St. Louis Arch and other famous sites on them. We'll also have six competitive floats entered by fraternities and sororities. It should be a great one."

The festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday with a Field Day during which students will compete in various events at the Student Recreation Center. A spirit rally is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will include football players, coaches, cheerleaders, the Sundancers and Rowdy the Redhawk.

A student talent show is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Show Me Center, and Wednesday is the Man and Woman of the Year recognition dinner at 6 p.m. in Kem Statuary Hall, which will include recognition of the 2012 Homecoming court. A "drive-in movie" for students will also be shown at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Show Me Center parking lot.

Dr. John and the Blind Boys of Alabama will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Bedell Performance Hall. Tickets are available at rivercampusevents.com or the River Campus box office at 651-2265.

A reception for endowed scholarship donors and recipients will take place at 4 p.m., Oct. 19 in the Show Me Center. At 6:30 p.m. the same day will be the annual Copper Dome Society and Merit Award Recognition Dinner.

This year's Alumni Merit Award recipients are Dr. William Aycock of Parma, Mo., owner of AgXplore International LLC; Dr. Terry Adams of Lake St. Louis, Mo., superintendent of the Wentzville School District; Gregg Billmeyer of Columbia, Ill., vice president of premium light brands with Anheuser-Busch InBev in St. Louis; Dr. Cynthia Fox of Tuscon, Ariz., executive vice president, chief clinical officer and a founder of LSVT Global; Dr. Judith Gallagher of Arlington, Texas, dean of Humanities at Tarrant County College's South Campus in Fort Worth, Texas; Dr. Jerry Kinder of Cape Girardeau, retired general surgeon; Joseph Pappas of Festus, Mo., owner, publisher and composer of JPM Music Publications; Onesimo V. Sanchez S. of Panama, manager of the Economic Intelligence and Research Unit, Department of Corporate Planning and Marketing, Panama Canal Authority; and Dr. Kerwin Urhahn of Columbia, Mo., executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

Dr. James Stapleton will receive this year's Faculty Merit Award, presented for excellence in teaching. Stapleton is executive director of the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and associate professor of entrepreneurship at Southeast.

Oct. 20 events will begin with an All-Alumni Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in Kem Statuary Hall, where Distinguished Service Award recipients will be honored. They are Rebecca Cook, Robert Lipscomb, Michael K. Harris, Sr., and Jim Mayer.

The Homecoming parade will begin in Capaha Park at 9:30 a.m. and travel east on Broadway to Main Street. This year's parade marshals are the 2012 Friends of the University, Lawrence and Donna Marler of Ste. Genevieve, Mo. The Marlers have endowed two scholarships for Southeast students, the Lawrence and Donna Marler Endowed Scholarship and the Marler Tourism Scholarship. They also fund the Lawrence and Donna Marler Endowed Chair in Historic Preservation, the first-ever endowed chair at Southeast.

"We've never been marshals before," Donna Marler said during a telephone interview. "This is all very exciting for us."

"Donna and I are first-generation college graduates," Lawrence Marler said. "Without Southeast Missouri State, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to go to college. Southeast was only $25 per semester then, and that helped so much."

The Air Force ROTC will be celebrating the program's 40th year on the Southeast campus with a free brunch from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the University Center Redhawk Room. A tailgate party will take place at 11 a.m., followed by a 1 p.m. kickoff as the Redhawks hosts the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks.

For more information, contact Campus Life and Event Services at 651-2280 or go to www.semo.edu.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Homecoming 2012 "Going Places With Southeast" Schedule

* Monday, Oct. 16

Field Day

Location: Student Recreation Center -- North

Time: 5:30 p.m.

For more info: Contact Joanna Shaver at (573) 651-2280

Spirit Rally

Location: Student Recreation Center -- North

Time: 7:30 p.m.

For more info: Contact Campus Life and Event Services at (573) 651-2280

* Tuesday, Oct. 16

Talent Show

Location: Show Me Center

Time: 8 p.m.

For more info: Contact Joanna Shaver at (573) 651-2280

* Wednesday, Oct. 17

Man & Woman of the Year Recognition Dinner

Location: Kem Statuary Hall

Time: 6 p.m.

For more info: Contact Campus Life and Event Services at (573) 651-2280

Drive In Movie

Location: Show Me Center parking lot

Time: 8 p.m.

For more info: Contact Campus Life and Event Services at (573) 651-2280

* Thursday, Oct. 18

Dr. John & The Blind Boys of Alabama

Location: Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $39/33

For more info: Contact the Box Office at (573) 651-2265

* Friday, Oct. 19

Endowed Scholarship Reception

Location: Show Me Center

Time: 4 p.m.

For more info: Contact the Southeast Missouri University Foundation (573) 651-2332

Alpha Phi Alpha Meet and Greet

Location: Fraternity House

Time: 5 p.m.

For more info: Contact Terry Allen at (901) 219-2535 or Pernell Witherspoon at (314) 602-1908

Copper Dome Society/Merit Award Recognition Dinner

Location: Show Me Center

Time: 6:30 p.m. Cost: $25 per person. (Two complimentary tickets per family are available for Copper Dome Society members.)

For more info: Contact the Southeast Missouri University Foundation (573) 651-2332

Pi Kappa Alpha Alumni Party

Location: South County Park, Cape Girardeau

Time: 7 p.m.

For more info: Contact Larry Eby at (573) 380-6418

* Saturday, Oct. 20

All Alumni Breakfast

Location: Aleen Vogel Wehking Alumni Center

Time: 7:30 a.m.

Cost: $10 per person

For more info: Contact the Alumni Association at (573) 651-2259

Homecoming Parade

Time: 9:30 a.m.

For more info: Contact JoAnna Shaver at (573) 651-2280

Air Force ROTC 40th Anniversary Brunch

Time: 10:30 a.m. -- noon

For more info: Contact Vance Pawielski at (573) 651-2184

Delta Delta Delta Open House

Time: Immediately following parade

For more info: Taylor Beal at trbeal1s@semo.edu.

The Jane Stephens Honors Program Chapter Open House

Location: Honors House, 603 N. Henderson

Time: 11 a.m. -- 1 p.m.

For more info: Craig Roberts (573) 651-2513

Tailgate

Time: 11 a.m.

Location: Outside Houck Stadium on Bellevue and in the parking lots surrounding the Aleen Vogel Wehking Alumni Center on Broadway

For more info: Contact the Alumni Association at (573) 651-2259

Vet Corp Pig Roast

After the parade in the west parking lot of the Wehking Alumni Center

For more info: Contact Thomas M. Meyer at (573) 270-4499

Alpha Phi Alpha Tailgate

Location: Tailgate area at corner of Broadway and Pacific Streets.

Time: Beginning at 9 a.m. until end of football game

For more info: Contact Terry Allen at (901) 219-2535, Dwayne Hickman at (314) 265-7868, or Pernell Witherspoon at (314) 602-1908

Kids' Zone

Play area for children after the parade. Activities will include games and crafts. Sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Evening Optimist Club.

Location: Outside Houck Stadium on Bellevue and in the parking lots surrounding the Aleen Vogel Wehking Alumni Center

Time: 11 a.m.

50-Year Reunion Lunch. Class of 1962

Location: Aleen Vogel Wehking Alumni Center

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Cost: $15 per person

For more info: Contact the Alumni Office at (573) 651-2259

Football Game

Southeast Redhawks vs. University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks

Location: Houck Stadium

Time: 1 p.m.

Halftime: Crowning of the Man and Woman of the Year

For Tickets: Call (866) SEMO-TIK or visit GoSoutheast.com to order on line.

Diamond Club Reception

Alumni 70 years of age or older are invited to join together for a time of fun and remembering. Appetizers and cash bar available.

Location: River Campus, Convocation Center

Time: 4 p.m.

Cost of reception: $15

For more info: Contact the Alumni Office at (573) 651-2259

National Pan-Hellenic Step Show

Location: Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall

Time: 5 p.m.

Cost: $5/15

For more info: Contact the Box Office at (573) 651-2265

Pi Kappa Alpha Dinner and Dance

Location: Plaza Banquet Center, South Mount Auburn Rd., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 (located behind the Holiday Inn Express)

Time: 7 p.m.

For more info: Contact Larry Eby at (573) 380-6418

Source: Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association