His fellow Catawba College Trustees surprised Charlotte Mayor and College Alumnus Pat McCrory '78 on his birthday, Tuesday, October 17th. McCrory's 50th birthday coincided with the semi-annual meeting of the Board of Trustees and a decorated cake and balloons marked the occasion.
McCrory's mentor and political science professor at Catawba, Dr. Sanford Silverburg, carried the cake into the trustees' meeting room and jokingly traded verbal barbs with McCrory before trustees launched into a chorus of "Happy Birthday."
Outside of the impromptu birthday celebration on the campus of his alma mater, McCrory had little to look forward to but meetings on October 17th. His day began in Greensboro at the annual conference of the N.C. League of Municipalities, followed by the Catawba College Board of Trustee meeting in Salisbury, a meeting at Duke Energy in Charlotte, which employs him, and a Charlotte economic development meeting that afternoon.
In December 2005, McCrory became Charlotte's first six-term Mayor and its longest serving. He is married to Ann Gordon McCrory.
