NORMAL, AL) – – Back on “The Hill” for a series of events celebrating Normalites who graduated in years ending in 3’s and 8’s, the Golden Class of 1968 began festivities as early as Thursday, May 3. The Office of Alumni Affairs, led by Sandra S. Stubbs, ably put together a schedule for alumni “early birds” that began with a five-hour Welcome Home Registration period in Clyde Foster Auditorium.
Also on Thursday, all registrants had an opportunity to participate in the 1 p.m. campus walking tour and brick paver walk-through on The Quad, before returning to Clyde Foster Auditorium for a Senior Send-Off and Young Alumni Networking Social.
At 7 p.m., Reunionites were afforded an opportunity to attend any independently scheduled class parties or to participate in a Meet and Greet at the Ernest L. Knight Reception Center.
Friday, May 4, was a long day for returning alumni, as many members of the Golden Class attended the President’s Community Breakfast, where they
were addressed by Dr. Jimmy E. Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church, promptly at 8 a.m. and then lined up for the 11 a.m. Founder’s Day Convocation, where they received inspiring and reflective words from Jamal Ali of the Class of 1981. Following a group photo in the T.M. Elmore Building, the Normalites were transported by bus to the The Block and Prentice Hall for the grave-site ceremony in memory of Dr. William Hooper Council, AAMU’s first president.
Members of the Golden Class lined up again at 5:50 p.m. to participate in the Spring Commencement exercises at the Von Braun Center Arena, where returning alumni and some 540 graduates listened to encouraging words from Alabama State Representative Anthony Daniels.
Activities for Saturday, May 5, included a two-hour late registration period, 45-minute campus bus tour, the annual Alumni Association Scholarship Luncheon, class meetings and photo sessions, and the Class Reunion Banquet in the Knight Center, where returning alumni contributed more than $300,000, half of which (some $150,000) was contributed by the Class of 1968.
The closing event occurred on Sunday, May 6, at the Worship Service & Memorial Walk at Saint John AME Church in Downtown Huntsville. Attendees walked from the church to Von Braun Center—the original site of Alabama A&M University.