Monmouth College Homecoming activities Oct. 6-8 to feature Ross Clayton concert

by Barry Mcnamara

Monmouth, Ill. (09/29/2023) — A free concert by Ross Clayton '12, a successful contestant on NBC's The Voice singing competition last spring, is one of the highlights of Monmouth College's Homecoming weekend, Oct. 6-8.

Other activities will include award ceremonies, a spirit shout, a parade, a football game and other home Fighting Scots events, and pre- and post-football game gatherings. Reunions will be held throughout the weekend for the classes of 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018.

Clayton, an All-Midwest Conference baseball player for the Fighting Scots during his four years as a student (under the name Ross Donnan), will sing at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. His one-hour concert is free and open to the public.

The festivities will begin Oct. 5, when Joe Svoboda '75 holds a book signing and discussion of his new memoir, Brothers, Bears, and Beers, at 7 p.m. in the Mellinger Office of Development and College Relations. The office's new home on East Clinton Avenue will be formally dedicated at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6.

Other Oct. 6 events

A monument honoring Champion Miller and his wife, Juda, has been erected in Monmouth Cemetery, and that headstone will be dedicated in the cemetery at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow in the College's Champion Miller Center for Student Equity, Inclusion and Community.

"It is gratifying to finally have this physical reminder of a remarkable man who raised himself up from slavery and became a model Monmouth citizen," said retired College historian Jeff Rankin.

The induction of Brig. Gen Chris Lawson '88 into the Hall of Achievement - the highest honor the College bestows upon its graduates - will be part of the Alumni Impact Awards ceremony, which will be held at 5 p.m. in Mellinger Commons in the Center for Science and Business.

Others to be honored at the ceremony are: retired John Deere executive Richard Yahnke '66, Distinguished Alumnus; worldwide wildfire consultant Chuck Bushey Jr. '73, Distinguished Service; Sinclair Mineral and Chemical sales director Roy Sye '13, Distinguished Young Alumnus; and the Dew family, Family of the Year. Political science professor Andre Audette will be presented with the Hatch Academic Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching.

At 6 p.m., the Fighting Scots volleyball team will play Greenville College in Glennie Gymnasium.

Following Clayton's 7 p.m. concert, the Homecoming spirit shout will begin at 8 p.m. at April Zorn Memorial Stadium. The traditional celebration, which will feature competition by student organizations and the introduction of Homecoming royalty, will conclude with a fireworks display.

Oct. 7 events

The Saturday, Oct. 7, events will begin at 8:30 a.m. when three former athletes will be inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame. The ceremony for All-American wide receiver Michael Blodgett '11, volleyball standout Kendra James Peurach '08 and All-American sprinter Luke Reschke '09 will be held in the Huff Athletic Center fieldhouse.

At 9 a.m., English professor David Wright will be the featured speaker at the next installment of the College's Great Lecture Series in Hewes Library. The title of his talk is "At the Edge of a Green Field: Athletes and Writers on the Same Page."

At 10 a.m., the eighth annual Fraternity and Sorority Life Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Mellinger Commons. Slated to receive acceptance into the Hall of Fame are Don "Mac" McKinley '50, John Courson '64 and Hilary Hawkinson Stott '07.

The Homecoming parade on East Broadway between Sixth Street and Ninth Street will begin at 11:30 a.m. Sponsored by the Association for Student Activity Programming, it will include the Monmouth College Pipe Band and Fighting Scots Marching Band.

Also at 11:30 a.m., another alumni author, Chris Pio '84, will hold a signing event for his new book, Governors, Gauchos and Gaels: NCAA Division I Nicknames and Mascots - from Aces to Zips in the Monmouth College Bookstore, which is located on the first floor of McMichael Residence Hall on North Ninth Street.

A cookout for faculty and alumni will be held from noon-2 p.m. on the east hilltop overlooking Zorn Stadium, and the Homecoming football game against Grinnell will follow with a special kick-off time of 2 p.m.

An All-Monmouth Reunion Celebration will be held off campus from 5-8 p.m. at the American Legion, 1110 N. 11th St.

Also that evening, the College's Chorale, Chamber Choir and Concert Choir will sing at the Homecoming concert. Free and open to the public, it will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel.

Oct. 8 events

An alumni softball game will be played at 10 a.m. at the Fighting Scots' softball field.

At 2 p.m., music faculty member Solee Lee-Clark will present an organ recital in the Kasch Performance Hall. Following her recital, a post-concert discussion on the renovation of Dahl Chapel's organ will be held, led by the technician who worked on the project, Randall E. Karstens.

For the schedule of events: monmouthcollege.edu/homecoming

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