ELON COLLEGE – The football field atthe new on-campus stadium at Elon College will be named McKinnon Field in honor of Bob E. McKinnon, a 1962 Elon College alumnus and trustee, and his wife, Ray, of Hickory, N.C.
Elon President Leo M. Lambert announced the field naming during a luncheon prior to Elon’s Sept. 25 football game with North Carolina A&T State University. The McKinnons have made a $1 million commitment to the fund-raising campaign for Rhodes Stadium, a $13 million, 8,250-seat bowl-shaped stadium planned for the north end of campus. At the luncheon, the latest project drawings were presented by representatives of Ellerbe Becket, the project architects.
McKinnon is campaign chairman for the $40 million Campaign for the Elon Vision, the fund drive to support the college’s ambitious strategic plan for meeting the challenges of the 21st century. He has been a member of the college’s board of trustees for three years.
“We are grateful for Bob and Ray McKinnon’s commitment to Elon College, their strong leadership for the Elon Vision campaign and their generous gift to this exciting project,” Lambert said.
McKinnon is president and CEO of CV Industries, the Hickory-based parent company of Century Furniture Industries, Valdese Weavers and Expressions Custom Furniture, a chain of more than 50 retail stores.
The board of trustees, which meets in October, will consider authorizing construction to begin in early spring. The goal is to have the stadium completed for the fall 2001 football season. To date, about $10.7 million has been committed to the project.
Other donors to the stadium also were honored at the luncheon, including Dusty and Peggy Rhodes of Gibsonville who have donated $2 million to the stadium, which will bear their name.
An archway at the stadium’s entrance will be named in honor of Nick Theos, a 1956 graduate, of Charleston, S.C., thanks to a $750,000 pledge from his classmate, Furman Moseley and his wife, Susan, of Seattle, Wash.
The press box will be named for the late C. Carl Woods Jr. of Durham, N.C., a 1951 graduate who made an estate gift to his alma mater.
The 1st State Bank Foundation of Burlington, N.C., pledged $250,000 , and the scoreboard will bear the bank’s name.
Other major donors honored for their contributions, include the following:
Championship Donors
* Bank of America
* Sam and Vicky Hunt, Burlington, N.C.
W.E. Love, Jr. (class of 1948) and Ann Love, Burlington, N.C.
James W. and Joie Maynard, Burlington, N.C.
Robert and Margaret Ward, Burlington, N.C.
Touchdown Donors
Howard (class of 1963) and Bev (class of 1966) Arner, Jacksonville, Fla.
Gary Hock, Durham, N.C.
Kathleen Hock, Durham, N.C.
Zac (class of 1960) and Dot Walker, Summerfield, N.C.
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