Great Weekend with Alumni

Goodwell, Okla. — Starting off with the grand opening of the University House and wrapping up with the Annual Alumni Banquet, April 13 and 14 marked a weekend full of activity on the Oklahoma Panhandle State University campus.

A beautiful piece of history, the University House saw its first renovation since 1974. The project was completed this fall and the addition brought with it an extra 3,156 square feet to the house. The house now offers a meeting space in the Baggerly Banquet Hall, a storm shelter, a library and display cases that highlight the University’s history. President Faltyn and his family welcomed members of the Panhandle family including community members in addition to the Panhandle State Foundation, Aggie Alumni, faculty, staff, and students to the home Friday morning, April 13th for a special grand opening ceremony and tours of the home.

The Alumni Weekend continued with a luncheon for all of the guests in the Student Union Ballroom and the afternoon brought a vocal performance and art exhibit in Centennial Theatre. The vocal performance was led by Panhandle State’s Director of Vocal Music Dr. Dee Wilkins. Art students and instructors including Sam Ortiz, Nels Peterson, AJ Ingo, Ezekiel Deherrera, Dustin Martinez, Larry Wiggins, Yvonne Sangster, Bryon Test, and Brent Shoulders teamed up to make a beautiful display of art in the entrance of Hughes Strong Hall for all to view. The day wrapped up with supper at Hunny’s, the perfect chance for Alumni to mingle and enjoy some great food.

Saturday, April 14th marked the Annual Panhandle State Association of Alumni & Friends Banquet at the Noble Center on campus. The event started with a networking opportunity at 10:30 a.m. with faculty, campus clubs and organizations on hand to visit and share. Alumni President Diane Murphey called the meeting to order and all enjoyed a delicious lunch served by Great Western Dining before moving to the Association’s business meeting. University President Dr. Tim Faltyn gave a State of the University message with highlights including the importance of alumni and the many ways they can help strengthen Panhandle State. Additional positive news included the largest freshman class recorded this past fall and increased retention numbers this spring semester. He also spoke of the shooting sports facility coming this fall, the master’s degree in the works, and the Early College degree program. He stressed the need to focus on the University’s strengths as the goal continues to be the positive transformation of the region. Dr. Faltyn shared, “One of my greatest honors is being president of Panhandle State.”

Following a report from the Panhandle State Foundation by Dr. Doris Looper, senior Colter Reust was selected from the drawing for the association’s life membership. Diane Murphey gave a report on the Association to begin the official business portion of the meeting. Amongst the highlights, Murphey spoke of the increased memberships and gave an update on the implementation of a database software called Razors Edge NXT. Upon completion of the official business, the 2018 Alumni Ambassadors were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Karl Kimsey introduced inductees Jimmy and Sherry Quimby. Sherry Quimby was born in Muskogee, Okla. and lived in southwest Kansas for a number of years before her family moved to Dalhart, Texas where she graduated from high school in 1968. Sherry attended Oklahoma Panhandle State University after her high school graduation. She completed the two-year clerical program and was a member of the Aggie Cheer Team. In addition, Sherry worked for Oscar Williams and Jack Begley at the Field House.

Jim Quimby was born and raised in Hugoton, Kan., on a small farm and ranch. He graduated from Hugoton High School in 1972 as an Outstanding Ag Student. Jim attended Garden City Community College (GCCC) graduating in 1974 with an Associate’s Degree. As a student at GCCC, he went to numerous Livestock Judging Contests and had the privilege of being on a very successful team. He began taking classes at Panhandle State in the Fall of 1974 and graduated in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. Jim was on the Livestock Judging Team at Panhandle. Personally, his best performance was at the Houston Livestock Show where he was the second-high individual in sheep and tenth high individual overall.

The next inductee, Dr. David Bryant, was introduced by his grandson Ryan Bryant. Dr. Bryant was named the president of Panhandle State in 2003. He immediately confronted several major challenges at Panhandle State, including developing constituent and community support, renovating campus infrastructure, and engaging the Hispanic community. Bryant gave the university a new sense of direction and renewed sense of purpose with his leadership and dedication to the campus. Dr. Bryant said, “Serving the students, faculty, staff and community members of Oklahoma Panhandle State University as the President was the highlight of my working life.”

It was a great weekend as members of the Aggie family came together to reminisce and see the new. It’s a great day to be an Aggie!