Highlights from the Highway

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What a fantastic event! There was a great turnout of folks for our lovely dinner at the Dalton Freight Depot. The Dalton Depot Restaurant catered the event and boy, lemme tell ya, it was DELISH!

I sat with Carrie Fitzsimmons (’08), Courtney Couey (’02), and Grant Dye (’04).  Melvyn and Marilyn Ottinger were also there and it was great to see them again (I met Mr. Ottinger at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony a while back)! Dr. and Mrs. Newman came also and that was a pleasant surprise. After dinner, everyone went around the table and shared their “Shorter story”—why they chose Shorter and their greatest memory of Shorter. I really enjoyed listening to the different stories.

We passed out the Shorter goodies and continued chatting with alumni well past 8. The Dalton Freight Depot was a fantastic historic venue and I am really glad we did our event there. Dalton was a success! I can’t believe tomorrow will be our last event on the Road Tour---SAD!

Over and out,

Mal

It’s always an exciting thing when we get in the car after an event and look at each other with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Tonight we all simultaneously said, “that was a great event!!” That feeling never gets old, no matter how many of these we do.

Tonight’s event was at the Dalton Freight Depot, which was recently restored. The space is beautiful and has so much character. Being in there made me think about all the history there is between those walls. We had over 20 plus alumni visit with us tonight. Among those in attendance were both professional and traditional graduates. I was really fascinated to hear everyone share their stories with the group of how they ended up at Shorter. It’s so interesting to hear how all of our lives are so different, our stories, our background, yet we all have that one common thread that forever ties us together. If this trip has taught me anything it’s that people genuinely love Shorter and the people who make us the Shorter community.

This tour has really offered me the opportunity to catch up with some old friends, which I am truly grateful for. Among the alumni joining us tonight were Courtney Couey ’02, and Grant Dye ’04 both of whom I went to school with. Coo, as most of us affectionately call her is one of the most sincere people I have ever met. She is so much fun, and lights up a room! She is leaving on Thursday as part of her annual mission trip to Romania. Keep her in your prayers, I am sure she would appreciate it. Grant is one of my oldest and dearest friends. We have always been close, and until a few years ago he still lived in Rome. Grant is the funny one-liner guy that is always a good time. So great to see you both!

As part of my full time job outside of this road tour, I work on the Shorter Athletics Hall of Fame Committee. Last year, we had the pleasure of inducting Melvyn Ottinger ’62 into the 2009 HOF class. A true pioneer in Shorter athletics, he has quickly become one of my favorite alums. He and his wife Marilyn ’62 served as our alumni hosts for the event, and did a wonderful job! Last week they celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary, which wouldn’t have been possible had they not met at Shorter. They are both so sweet and a pleasure to work with.

My shout outs for today go to everyone one of my friends that have taken time out of their days to join us on the tour. I know sometimes I had to twist your arms to drop your plans, but you always did. I’ve always known how special the relationships I formed at Shorter are, but this trip just reaffirms how blessed I am in the friend category. Thanks friends!

Tomorrow is our last official stop on the University Road Tour. Can you believe we made it through the whole month? Seems like we just started yesterday, but at the same time feels like we’ve been on the road for two months. I will save my sappy reminiscing moments for tomorrow’s journal. If you are in Ellijay, come see us tomorrow! This is your last chance to be a part of history!

Till next time,

Rach

For the second time on the trip our GPS let us down (but it wasn’t the GPS’s fault.)  The Dalton Freight Depot was an awesome space for our event.  Over this past year it has been completely renovated/restored but it is still too new to have an address in the GPS databases yet.  Luckily we ended up at the Dalton Depot who was catering our event and knew where to send us.

We had a really good crowd in Dalton.  The Ottinger’s and Joey Parrot were great hosts for this event.  I got to meet so many great folks I’m afraid to try and list them all.  I will share that one of my favorite things to do on this road trip has been asking folks how they chose Shorter as a college.  My absolute favorite story from the whole trip had to be Tanya Hardin ’03 who said, “Well I was trying to decide between Shorter and Berry.  Shorter offered me an academic scholarship, Berry offered me a job in the barns.  I chose Shorter.”

If there was a problem yo, I'll solve it. Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it.

Chip