As the Class of 1969 celebrated its 50th reunion during Homecoming Weekend, its members also commemorated a special gift that started a long-standing tradition at Elon.
Homecoming Weekend brought several celebrations for the Class of 1969. The group was officially inducted as Golden Alumni, marking 50 years since graduation. These alumni also celebrated their role in a long-standing Elon tradition.
During the Class of 1969 50th Reunion Dinner Friday night, alumni were reunited with the senior class gift they made to the university, a prestigious piece of history worn only by Elon’s most influential figures: the presidential medallion.
The idea came to life over a drink between a student and his professor.
“I was really good friends with Professor James Elder,” said George “Wendy” Scott ’69, who served as senior class president. “I was having a libation with Jim one night, and I said ‘I just don’t know what we’re going to do for a class gift.’ Jim told me, at most colleges, the president has a medallion that he wears in academic regalia, and he said, ‘we don’t have one.'”
So with a few hundred dollars left in the operating budget for the senior class, Scott looked for a way to change that. He took the idea to Elon administrators as well as his roommate, John Papa ’69, although researching presidential medallions was no simple task.
“Of course, back then, we didn’t have computers, we didn’t have Google, we didn’t have smartphones, so he researched it somehow,” Papa said.
Eventually, Scott found L.G. Balfour Company, maker of commemorative rings, yearbooks, caps and gowns. He wanted to know if purchasing a medallion would be possible with the money left in the senior class budget. As it turned out, the price was right — Scott and Papa say it cost about $600.
Days later, the senior class presented the official Elon College Presidential Medallion to President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley at the 1969 Commencement ceremony. The jewel-encrusted medallion would be worn for decades by Elon presidents at the most esteemed university events.
Friday night’s Class of 1969 Reunion Dinner gave classmates the chance to celebrate their role in such a special Elon tradition while swapping stories and photos that reminded them of their time on campus.
For Scott, the dinner was his first time seeing the medallion he helped create since he last returned to campus in 1995 to hear former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher speak at Honors Convocation. Scott recalls seeing Danieley, who retired from the presidency in 1973, wearing the medallion on stage.
“It was kind of cool to see,” Scott said. “I thought, ‘this is something that’s not going to be like a park bench, or something like that, it’s going to be around, and it’s going to be taken care of, and it will be here for a long time.’”
The medallion was not the Class of 1969’s only contribution to Elon. During Friday’s dinner, the classmates presented the university with a monetary gift worth $89,334.
Friday’s celebrations also included the class’ induction into the distinguished Golden Alumni classification. During the Golden Alumni Luncheon at the Moseley Center, members of the Class of 1969 received medallions of their own, as well as commemorative pins, recognizing their 50th year as Elon alumni. Current members of the Golden Alumni group placed the medallions around each inductee’s neck.
“These medallions are special in our community,” Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving Brian Feeley ’03 told the class during Friday’s luncheon. “They symbolize the leadership you provide and the special place you have in our community.”
President Connie Ledoux Book also addressed the Golden Alumni during Friday’s luncheon, highlighting the growth the university has experienced over the years and recognizing alumni for their role in its continued success.
“Thank you for keeping Elon in your heart, for sheltering this university and the future of this university,” Book said. “I think of your returning to Homecoming as a vote of confidence that you have in your alma mater, and a vote of confidence that says, ‘I recognize what happened to me here at this university changed the course of my life.’ So, thank you for being here.”
As the Class of 1969 continues to celebrate its 50th reunion, its members are thankful for the role Elon has played in their lives.
“It was a great opportunity,” Scott said. “You met new people, and it was a time to explore and grow, and it was a very small and tight community. I loved it here.”