College to Host 2017 Homecoming Festivities This Weekend
October 3, 2017
Hudson Valley Community College will host its annual homecoming events, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 7-8. This year's events will celebrate distinguished alumni and former-student athletes and athletic supporters in addition to the traditional homecoming football game and tailgate party.
The Hudson Valley Community College Foundation's Distinguished Alumni Awards Brunch will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. This year's honorees are Mark T. Breslin '58; M. Jeffrey Baker '81; and Rose B. Pascarell '86. The awards program celebrates alumni for notable contributions within their career fields and communities. The event will be held in the college's Bulmer Telecommunications Center meeting rooms.
On Saturday afternoon, there will be an Athletic Hall of Fame Reception at 3 p.m. in the McDonough Sports Complex. Former student-athletes and coaches will join Hudson Valley administrators and athletic department staff for refreshments and hors d'oeuvres before the event. The 2017 inductees include Lindsey Bradt '02, basketball and softball; Darnell Stapleton, '05, football; Emmanuel Marc '05, football; Tracy Chesebrough (Sears) '07, softball; Kristina Jenkins '07, bowling; former Vikings head football coach Robert Jojo; retired Hudson Valley Vice President for Student Services Willie Hammett; and the 2000‐01 Vikings National Champion Ice Hockey team.
The Vikings football team will take to the field for their homecoming game against Milford Academy on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at the college's new $4.5 million Outdoor Athletic Complex. A pregame tailgate party with food and beverages will take place in the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium picnic pavilion from 5-6:30 p.m. On Sunday morning, the college will close out homecoming weekend with the 9th annual Race Away Stigma 5K Race and Fun Walk to raise awareness of the stigma surrounding mental illness. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the race starts at 10. There will be an award ceremony and post-race snacks at 11 a.m.
Those who wish to attend the Distinguished Alumni Awards Brunch or the Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony must RSVP before the events; prospective participants in the Race Away Stigma may register online or in person the morning of the race. For more information on homecoming events, visit www.hvcc.edu/homecoming.
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Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 85 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of nearly 11,500 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 75,000 alumni.