Lees McRae College - Ontaroga Yearbook (Banner Elk, NC)

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nvocation by DeWitt Farabee,Jr-, Pastor, Christ United Methodist Church, Lehigh Acres, Florida: On this occasion of the inauguration of Dr. Bradford Crain as President of Lees-McRae College, we recognize that You have created us to seek You, to love You, and to find our identity within the family of Your faithful people. We join together on this special occasion, in a setting of beauty, with scholars, friends, the community of learning, the students in this place to re- joice in the celebration of a new beginning . . . we pray that You will endow Dr. Crain and all who share with him the re- sponsible and significant task of learning, loving and living in this place, the full measure of Your grace upon them, and through the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, direct them. For some of us, we have had the privilege of his person, his mind, his friendship, his understanding, and his skills. Today we re- joice that he has a large company of friends with whom he may share his talent and his work and his witness. In this new beginning, we celebrate, Oh God, the opportunity to live, to love, to grow, to share and care. Grant that on this occasion the vision of the past, the dream of those who have received it, will be renewed in this place today. Amen. t is a real privilege and honor and with great humility that I stand here representing those two great bodies of people that love Lees-McRae. About the time that Lees-McRae was be- coming Lees-McRae College, Archibald Rutledge wrote a little book entitled Life 's Extras. In that book he said that, 'Creation provides us with two things, necessities and extras. The necessities are light and water, shelter and food, but the extras are those things that make life special.' The other things, like spiritual qualities, the assurance that God loves us, the beauty of our mountains, the beauty of our own rhododendron, the laughter of children, the beautiful sun- rises and sunsets we have, and that extra of Lees-McRae College and what it means to us. But we, the Advisors and Alumni, are especially proud to welcome here two of life's very best extras, Brad and Alice Crainj - Roma Melton, representing the Lees-McRae Alumni and Board of Advisors he cornerstone of our continued freedom is a well- educated and enlightened populace, people enlightened enough to know how privileged it is to be involved, and not only know, but to make that involvement a contribution to the brotherhood of all. Without energetic leadership at our institutions of higher leaming the operations of towns, counties, states, and indeed our nation, will become more difficult and more inefficient. Education supplies a part of that process. I greet you, Dr. Crain, on this auspicious day and wish you creativity and energy in yolu' work for Lees- McRae College and for our nation. - David Tate, Mayor of Banner Elk, representing public officials hen Dr. Crain arrived last February I'm not sure the students real- ized the type of person Lees- McRae College was getting as president. But in two short weeks Dr. Crain had made a trip toievery dormitory on campus and they found out that this man cares about every aspect of student life. He cares about how each of us feels about the college and has instilled in us a feeling of pride. He wants to make Lees-McRae a major force among junior colleges. As stu- dents we feel that for a college the size of Lees-McRae to be successful the student should not be a number but a person. Since Dr. Crain has been here he has taken that philosophy and made the student feel he has his own identification. Dr. Crain is a special person to all the students and while he has been president the special feeling of togetherness that he has brought to us will make Lees-McRae the special place that it is. - Kirk Hitt, representing the Student Governme. tAssociation 4 - Inauguration

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We are thankful, Dr. Crain, that you have chosen to be with us and work among us. There have been a lot of changes so far, and we've looked at these new things that happened fthese changesj. It's sort of like looking back on Vatican II. There were a lot of sweeping changes in the Roman Catholic Church at Vatican II. And as these were evaluated and analyzed, Pope John XXIII made this statement: 'This is what we intend to do. We intend to let in a little fresh air.' And, Dr. Crain, we've breathed the fresh air and we are enthused with new vigor and vitality and we are ready to go into the future. And, as we look into the future we have some hopes. One of the hopes is that this inauguration will stick. With all the fun and excite- ment and the honor of the whole thing, we don't want to do this again for a long time. We have another hope. This hope is found in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, a familiar passage where it says that all Christians are to be agents of reconciliation. Our hope is that you will, as you work and lead us, join us together into a community with a common purpose and a unified mission so that when people leave Lees- ,McRae College they may experience success and will, very definitely, because they have been' here, go into the world with peace and spread some unity and be themselves aides of recon- ciliation and understanding. - Dr. John C. Wilson The Reverend Clernen ts E. Lamberth, Stated Clerk of Concord Presbytery, gave the inaugural prayer. Banner Elk attorney Edward R. Hardin sang the opening anthem, and Dr. John Wilson delivered greetings from the' faculty. There is an air of excitement in our college because We know where we are going. Not every college is so fortunate as We. We know where we are going, in part, because we understand and cherish where we have been. , -Bradford L. Crain Inauguration - 3

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is with a feeling of very deep pleasure and pride that I welcome you to the ceremony for the tenth president of Lees- McRae College. We are pleased and delighted to have each of you present this morning. This is an historical day in the life of the college and in the life of Dr. and Mrs. Crain. What events led up to this special day? In the early part of 1984 the ninth president of Lees-McRae College, Dr. H. C. Evans, Jr., passed away after serving this college well for over seventeen years. In May of '84 the Board of Trustees appointed the Presidential Search Committee of twelve members. Many meetings were held from May to December of that year with all members present. Two hundred and ten applications from 35 states and one foreign country fEnglandj were received. All resumes were reviewed and carefully studied byeach committee member. Ten finalists were selected for personal interviews and all were very impressive. The committee selected the number one candidate of the ten finalists and then recommended that the Board of Trustees have a special called meeting in December to hear the report. Dr. and Mrs. Crain were present at that Board meeting. The Board approved the committee's selection and Dr. Crain reported for duty 011 February 1, 1985, running hard and still running hard. It was a highlight of my life and a real joy to serve as chairman with such a Christian, dedicated and hard-working committee who gave so many hours to bring a new president to Lees-McRae College. I feel so proud of and close to these people Iwould like to introduce them to you. From the' Trustees: Jack Faw, Erwin Fuller, Roma Melton and Bruce Hathaway, from the Faculty: Dr. John Wilson and Lewis Hall fVice Chairman of the committeejg from the Staff: Joanne Franklin CSecretary of the committeejg from the Administration: Don Baker fTreasurer of the committeejg from the Community: Charles VonCanong from the Alumni: Sam Vickeryg from the Student Government: Beth Davis: and Jick Garland, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 'Today is the official beginning of some- thing that is well underway, a new direction for the college built on a firm and fine foundation laid by others. Dr. Crain and his organization are looking ahead with exciting plans, always searching for the quality of excellence toward a future which can only benefit, reward, and reinforce the educational life of the students of Lees-McRae College, 'The College That Caresf Today, Friday, September 20, 1985, will be a great day for each of us,a day to remember, a day of history-making. f John R. Uackj King, Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees Photo identification, top row fl-rj: Dr. Bradford L. Crain: Board Chairman James Jick Garland swears in new presiden tg Jack King Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, presiding over the inaugural ceremoniesg The procession lines up behind bagpiper Harvey Ritch as Lewis Hall carries the official mace. Bottom row fl-rj: Dr. John Stephenson, Jick Garland addressing the inaugural audienceg Tom MacQueen offers his rendition of These Are My Mountains, Angus Shaw, representing the Edgar Tufts Memorial Association, Mayor David Tate, SGA President Kirk Hitt: Dr. George Borders, Dr. Bryan Gillespie, Tom MacQueen, and The Rev. De Witt Farabee, Jr . f7v- .. Q, 'u E 3. ' x Inauguration - 5