  {"id":3905,"date":"2013-11-25T20:26:23","date_gmt":"2013-11-25T20:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=3905"},"modified":"2016-02-16T20:42:48","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T20:42:48","slug":"homecoming-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2013\/11\/25\/homecoming-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Homecoming 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Homecoming 2013 reunited former classmates, friends, roommates,\u00a0and professors, and invigorated the Auggie spirit in everyone\u00a0in attendance.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional celebrations ensued, including the Homecoming\u00a0Convocation with Distinguished Alumni Awards; the Taste of\u00a0Augsburg event in Murphy Square featuring food, carnival-style\u00a0booths, and bounce houses; and lively athletic events including an\u00a0alumni baseball game and dugout dedication ceremony, as well as\u00a0volleyball, soccer, and football games.<\/p>\n<p>The week also boasted the Eye-Opener Breakfast featuring\u00a0Augsburg alumnus Dr. Paul Mueller \u201984; reunion brunches;\u00a0campus tours; an Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony to\u00a0honor 2013 inductees; an Auggie Author book reading with Cheri\u00a0Johnson \u201999; a panel discussion about the Center for Science,\u00a0Business, and Religion; and the Augsburg Associates luncheon\u00a0with a presentation by Jacqueline deVries, Augsburg professor of\u00a0history and director of general education.<\/p>\n<p>The merriment came to a close at the Auggie Block Party with\u00a0live music and s\u2019mores.<\/p>\n<p>Homecoming is just one of many ways for Augsburg alumni to\u00a0stay connected to the College. If you are interested in serving on\u00a0your reunion committee or volunteering to help plan next year\u2019s\u00a0events, contact &#x61;&#x6c;&#117;mn&#x69;&#x40;&#97;&#117;g&#x73;&#x62;&#117;&#114;g&#x2e;&#x65;&#x64;&#117;. For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\" target=\"_blank\">augsburg.edu\/alumni<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Alumni award recipients<\/h2>\n<h3>First Decade Award<\/h3>\n<p>Honors an Auggie who graduated during\u00a0the past 10 years who has exemplified\u00a0the mission of the College while achieving\u00a0significant progress in his or her\u00a0professional achievements and contributions\u00a0in the community.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alexa Halford \u201903<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Halford, who graduated\u00a0from Augsburg\u00a0with a bachelor of arts\u00a0in physics and mathematics,\u00a0currently is\u00a0a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in\u00a0physics at Dartmouth College.<\/p>\n<p>After graduating from Augsburg, she\u00a0earned a master\u2019s degree in astronomy\u00a0and planetary sciences from the University\u00a0of Colorado Boulder and a doctorate\u00a0in physics at the University of Newcastle.\u00a0Shortly afterward, she won a highly\u00a0competitive Visiting Young Scientist\u00a0fellowship from Dartmouth College.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAugsburg is small, but that\u2019s what makes\u00a0it so special. I have people here in my\u00a0corner, and you will, too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Spirit of Augsburg Award<\/h3>\n<p>Honors alumni and friends of the College\u00a0who have given of their service to\u00a0substantially impact the well-being of\u00a0Augsburg\u2019s mission and programs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alfred Reesnes \u201958<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reesnes is dedicated\u00a0to using his love of\u00a0music to serve the\u00a0College. For 33 years,\u00a0he taught high school\u00a0music and developed choirs noted for\u00a0high-quality performance and literature.<\/p>\n<p>He was a charter member of the Augsburg\u00a0Centennial Singers and assistant\u00a0director from 1993-2001.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI\u2019ve had the wonder of studying music for\u00a0many years\u2026it\u2019s for Him we sing, to tell\u00a0the wonders of His love.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Alan Rice<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rice, an Olympic athlete\u00a0and coach, is one\u00a0of the most respected\u00a0and honored men in\u00a0U.S. Greco-Roman\u00a0wrestling. He also is a member of the\u00a0U.S. Wrestling Hall of Fame. He is a\u00a0long-time friend and supporter of the\u00a0College, and responsible for the world-class\u00a0Alan and Gloria Rice Wrestling\u00a0Center in Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI\u2019ve been so privileged to be so involved\u00a0in Augsburg. Thank you for allowing me to\u00a0participate. Thank you, Augsburg.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Distinguished Alumni Awards<\/h3>\n<p>Honors alumni in recognition of a significant achievement in their vocation,\u00a0for outstanding contribution to church\u00a0and community, and for leading a life\u00a0that exemplifies the ideals and mission\u00a0of the College.<\/p>\n<p><strong>H. Theodore Grindal \u201976<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Grindal is former\u00a0chair of the Augsburg\u00a0Board of Regents\u00a0and a partner in the\u00a0law firm of Lockridge\u00a0Grindal Nauen PLLP. He repeatedly has\u00a0been recognized as one of Minnesota\u2019s\u00a0top lobbyists.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI\u2019ve tried to follow five principles throughout\u00a0my life: God, family, friends, work, and\u00a0service. Remember who you are. Be true\u00a0to yourself, be authentic, let that be your\u00a0guidepost.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Clayton McNeff \u201991<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>McNeff is vice president of research\u00a0at SarTec, Ever Cat\u00a0Fuels LLC, Mcgyan\u00a0Biodiesel LLC, and\u00a0other family businesses. He is known as\u00a0the co-creator of the patented Mcgyan\u00a0process, which uses non-food sources to\u00a0create biodiesel.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI dedicate this award to my mother,\u00a0Marie Olive McNeff, and I urge you to use\u00a0your gifts to help those around you. Work\u00a0together to pay it back and pay it forward.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roselyn Nordaune \u201977<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nordaune is founder\u00a0of the law firm,\u00a0Nordaune &amp; Friesen\u00a0PLLC, and is known\u00a0for her work in family\u00a0law. She is a former member of the\u00a0Augsburg Board of Regents and dedicated\u00a0to engaging Augsburg alumnae in the\u00a0philanthropic priorities of the College.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI pledge you: I\u2019m not done yet. I pledge\u00a0to Augsburg my work, my resources, my\u00a0service.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Homecoming 2013 reunited former classmates, friends, roommates,\u00a0and professors, and invigorated the Auggie spirit in everyone\u00a0in attendance. Traditional celebrations ensued, including the Homecoming\u00a0Convocation with Distinguished Alumni Awards; the Taste of\u00a0Augsburg event in Murphy Square featuring food, carnival-style\u00a0booths, and bounce houses; and lively athletic events including an\u00a0alumni baseball game and dugout dedication ceremony, as well as\u00a0volleyball, soccer, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[19,57],"class_list":["post-3905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-fall-2013","tag-football"],"wps_subtitle":"Homecoming brings alumni, friends back to campus","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6479,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions\/6479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}