Families reunited for a weekend of fun on campus

By: Andrea Emery
News Editor

Families stopped at Monmouth College last weekend for the chance to attend Family Weekend 2006. The weekend’s events, sponsored by the Association for Student Activity Programming (ASAP), attracted nearly 240 families and 600 guests.

On Friday, Evasons: Mind Readers, was held in the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium and attracted close to 200 guests.

According to Katie Reedy, assistant director of campus events, the event was a success.

“The show went really well. A lot of people who were skeptical going into the show were surprised and amazed at what the Evasons were able to do,” Reedy said.

On Saturday, students and their families ate lunch on the Quad from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., and close to 1,000 people, students and families alike, attended the afternoon’s events.

Reedy added, “ASAP had a lot of great volunteers who spent the day helping with the games and making sure that everyone was having a great time. These volunteers are the ones who made the day go so smoothly. I just can’t thank them enough!”

The Office of Intercultural Life also hosted the 12th Annual Intercultural Festival on Saturday. There, students and their families had the opportunity to learn about different cultures at Monmouth College through food, entertainment and fun.

According to Karen Ogorzalek, associate dean of students and director of campus events, “The intercultural festival was also a success. This year they had record numbers attending.”

To wrap up the weekend, ASAP hosted comedian Owen Smith in the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. A near full house of almost 500 attended. According to Reedy, Smith was a great way to conclude the weekend.

“He was very funny and catered his show to the families in the crowd,” Reedy says.

Co-chairs Emily Bakes and Jamie Hazekamp were the ASAP coordinators of last weekend’s event.

Both women were pleased with the weekend’s success.

Bakes adds, “The activities were busy until they closed and it was good to see all the parents and students together having a great time. I was also glad the weather cooperated because this drew more people toward the events. I would also like to thank Jamie Hazekamp, Katie Reedy and Karen Ogorzalek for all of their help to make this happen.”

Hazeckamp is equally pleased.

“I thought family weekend was a great success. Even without the football game we had a great attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The SpinArt Frisbees and the family pictures went over well. I had a lot of fun watching everyone enjoy themselves with their family.”

Overall, Ogorzalek and Reedy agree the weekend was a hit.

Ogorzalek comments, “It takes a lot of work planning this weekend and it really paid off to see so many people enjoying themselves.”

Reedy adds, “Overall, family weekend went really well. The addition of the cultural festival brought about a new flare to the weekend and many families really enjoyed it. There were plenty of events for families to attend and I got the chance to meet many parents and siblings. I hope that everyone else enjoyed the beautiful weather and events that were planned. If anyone is interested in helping out with events like family weekend, come join ASAP. We meet every Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Tartan Room (lower level of Stockdale).”

The next big event for ASAP is Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 19-21.