Thad Eure, who served as North Carolina's Secretary of State for more than 50 years and on the Elon Board of Trustees for 47 years, was honored during a special Founders Day College Coffee Tuesday, March 13. Details...
President Leo M. Lambert praised Eure for his service to Elon, his adopted school. “He was not an Elon alumnus, but loved this institution as if he were.”
Ray Beck ’75, historian at the State Capitol building in Raleigh, had an office on the same floor as Eure. He reflected on Eure’s devotion to Elon and the state of North Carolina.
“Through his leadership and his legacy, Thad had a profound effect on Elon’s history,” Beck said. “His life and his service was as rich as the Tidewater lands of his native Gates County.” He was a champion of common citizens and children, and insisted that the door to his office never be closed to the public, Beck recalled.
“He was genuine, sincere and vitally interested in everyone he met. Thad Eure was the real deal.”
The Elon University archives has a video recording of a Commencement speech Eure gave in 1988. He noted the class was the last to graduate in Elon’s first 100 years. Click here to view that historic video.
The Eure family and friends also helped plant a new tree in the Academic Village during the coffee, a Founders Day tradition at Elon.
Eure was elected secretary of state in 1936 and served under 13 North Carolina governors. Known for his signature bow ties and straw hats, he was an expert parliamentarian and taught each new class of freshman legislators the rules of conduct.
Prior to his service as secretary of state, Eure served as mayor of Winton, N.C., and as a state legislator. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan recognized Eure as having held public office longer than any official in the nation, with more than 64 years of continuous service.
Eure had extensive family ties to Elon. Both of his grandfathers were devoted to the college and his aunt, sister, two brothers and four grandchildren attended Elon. Eure was determined to study law, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but said he would have enrolled at Elon “if (the college) had had one law book” in its library.
Remaining faithful to Elon, Eure joined the board of trustees in 1942. He was elected chairman in 1955 and served in that role until he retired in 1989. When Eure died in 1993 at the age of 93, President Emeritus Earl Danieley said that “no college president ever had a finer board chairman to work with – he was completely dedicated to Elon College.”
Eure had a booming voice and gave powerful speeches on campus, ending with the pronouncement, “Long Live Elon College!”
In 2006, Elon established The Honorable Thad Eure Achievement Scholarship, which will benefit talented students with financial need from 12 counties in North Carolina’s central Piedmont region. The goal of the program is to provide assistance for high achieving students who might not otherwise be able to afford to attend Elon. The scholarship awards will be $12,000 annually, renewable for three years for a total award of $48,000 per student.