Military personnel, veterans and their families will receive free admission and be honored with a tailgate event at Catawba College's final football game of the season on November 16. The Catawba Indians will take on the Lenior Rhyne Bears in the game that occurs the week of Veterans Day.
"We thought this would be a perfect opportunity for us to reach out to military personnel, veterans and their families and say 'Thank you for your service,' " explained Catawba Athletic Director Dennis Davidson.
In pre-game activities, a Catawba flag flown by U.S. troops in Iraq will return home and be raised at Catawba's Shuford Stadium. This flag was sent to Catawba graduate, Kevin Black '06, whose National Guard unit was deployed in Iraq, by Dr. Edith Bolick '70, Dean of Catawba's School of Evening and Graduate Studies, at Black's request. Now Black, a graduate of the Evening Program, who is back in the U.S., is giving the flag back to Catawba. Black, who is employed as a detective at the Rowan County Sheriff's Department, will be on hand for the flag-raising and football game.
Also in attendance will be Catawba alumnus and Vietnam veteran, Dale Wilson of Troutman. Wilson, who graduated from Catawba in 1976, was recognized in 2009 as the National Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year. Wilson, like Black, is one of Dr. Bolick's former students.
The Office of Admissions will host a free tailgate cookout for military personnel, veterans and their families before the 1:30 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 16. The tailgate gets underway at noon on the Catawba Intramural Fields on Yost Street, across from the stadium. Hot dogs, chips and sodas are on the menu.
Military personnel, veterans and their families should plan to enter the stadium on the visitor's side (which is directly across the street from the tailgate event).
Conder Flags of Charlotte has donated 1000, 4" x 6", American-made flags that will be distributed at the cookout and to fans entering the stadium. Other businesses helping to sponsor the tailgate event include Grease Monkey, Walgreens, and Fisher Realty.
The Office of Admissions invites military personnel and veterans to also visit the college on Catawba Experience Day on November 8 or to attend the Open House on November 9. Admissions representatives will be on hand to counsel veterans and their families about tuition benefits, which may be available to them. Registration for both AdmissionsEvents is available online at www.catawba.edu/admission.
The Catawba College Wind Ensemble will offer a Salute to U.S. Veterans with a concert performed at 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 11, at the W.G. "Bill" Hefner V.A. Medical Center in Salisbury.
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