BROWNWOOD – October 8, 2014 – Howard Payne University will celebrate Homecoming 2014 on October 24-26, with many events for alumni and friends from the community and beyond. The festivities this year salute the university’s 125th anniversary.
Alumni and visitors can register for Homecoming events online; some require purchased tickets while many are free of charge. For complete details, visit www.hputx.edu/homecoming or contact Stephen Sullivan ’11, director of development and alumni relations, at 325-649-8006, 800-950-8465 or ssullivan@hputx.edu.
More than 40 events will be held throughout the weekend, including the following.
When they arrive on campus, alumni and visitors will have an opportunity to immediately reconnect with HPU friends at Registration, sponsored by Early Blooms. Stop by Mims Auditorium to register and pick up a free tote bag and HPU 125th anniversary book.
Performances of “Suite Surrender” will be held at the university’s Mims Auditorium throughout the weekend. Show times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased through the Homecoming website; through the School of Music and Fine Arts beginning October 20; or at the door. The School of Music and Fine Arts may be contacted at 325-649-8500.
The Golden Graduate Luncheon for the Class of 1964, sponsored by Wendlee Broadcasting, will be held Friday from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Richard and Wanda Jackson Conference Room of the university’s Paul and Jane Meyer Faith and Life Leadership Center.
HPU’s volleyball team will take on Hardin-Simmons University at the Brownwood Coliseum beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday.
Also at 2 p.m. on Friday, the university will hold its Homecoming Convocation in Mims Auditorium. The Homecoming Queen and Princess will be crowned at that time.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly remodeled Mabee University Center will take place outside the Mabee Center’s front doors at 5 p.m. on Friday.
The Alumni and Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, sponsored by the Alumni Association, will be held Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Beadel Dining Hall of the Mabee University Center. During the banquet, the Homecoming 2014 honorees will be recognized. There will also be a special unveiling of a Texas historical marker honoring Paul & Paula’s hit song “Hey Paula.” Ray Hildebrand (Paul) and Jill Jackson Landon (Paula) are HPU alumni who catapulted to fame when their record sold almost two million copies and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart in 1963.
Cobbler on the Campus, sponsored by Underwood’s Cafeteria, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Muse Plaza and Mall.
Immediately following Cobbler on the Campus will be a concert featuring Paul & Paula and Holly Tucker, sponsored by Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce. In addition to HPU’s own Paul & Paula, audiences will be treated to a performance by Holly Tucker, a 2012 contestant on NBC’s The Voice. The concert begins at 9 p.m.
Saturday morning’s Decades Breakfast, sponsored by Willie’s T’s, begins at 7:30 a.m. During this time, alumni are invited to reunite with friends from their class decades in the newly renovated Beadel Dining Hall in the Mabee University Center.
Also at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday will be the Hispanic Alumni Breakfast in Bullion Suites A and B of the Mabee University Center and the Letterman’s Breakfast in the Balcony of the Mabee University Center.
The Homecoming Parade, sponsored by Big Country Ford, begins at 9:15 on Saturday morning. The parade will follow a new route this year, beginning at the Brownwood Coliseum, traveling down Center Ave. and ending at the university’s Doakie Day Art Center. The entire community is urged to participate in this fun tradition.
Little Jackets’ Nest, sponsored by Mills County State Bank, will be held from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday behind the Packer Administration Building. This is a time of games and other fun activities for children.
Picnic on the Plaza, sponsored by the Early Chamber of Commerce, will be a barbecue meal held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Muse Plaza and Mall.
The HPU Yellow Jacket football team will play Hardin-Simmons University at 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Gordon Wood Stadium.
On Sunday at 9 a.m., married alumni are welcome to participate in renewing their vows in HPU’s beautiful Grace Chapel inside the Paul and Jane Meyer Faith and Life Leadership Center. Dr. Donnie Auvenshine ’75, dean of the School of Christian Studies, will officiate. The next opportunity to renew vows at HPU will be in 2016.
A variety of reunions and other events will be held throughout the weekend. A complete schedule of events and ticket prices are available online at www.hputx.edu/homecoming.
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Photo cutline: HPU’s Homecoming 2014 is a celebration of the university’s 125 years of excellence.