A change must be in the air at GaSoU.
For the first time in at least four years, they are actively courting the alumni of Armstrong State University, Armstrong State College, and Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Good!
Just as long as they don't try to call us GaSoU alumni... because we are not.
We are Armstrong Pirates, and proud to be so.
Thus, when Yvonne received word of this "Always Strong Armstrong Alumni Gathering", she contacted me and we registered for the three-hour party event.
Cathy Mac came along for moral support.
Good!
As fortune would have it, we three arrived at the same time to Cohen's Retreat, the neutral ground selected as the venue.
That meant we walked in together, a force to be reckoned with!
(smile!)
What greeted us there?
Surprisingly, a welcoming force from GaSoU, all wearing name badges from that corporation.
Several of them turned out to be Armstrong alumni, such as the charming Zerek Sanders.
He is involved with the Habitat ReStore and, when he found out I was retired and the other two will be retired by July, he encouraged us to volunteer there.
Who knows?
Once the weather warms, I just might.
Or maybe I'll wait until mid-May, when Yvonne retires.
She seemed interested in that offer from Zerek.
(smile!)
Cathy made sure he - and the others that visited our table - understood that she was not an Armstrong Alumni and that she was jetting back to Michigan in July.
Good!
I did enjoy the two women who joined our trio after the photo shoot.
One is a retired teacher who substitutes at Jacob G. Smith Elementary.
That's her, standing to my left, wearing the maroon jacket and white top.
She was quite surprised that I'd gone to school there at Jacob G., as well as to Myers Middle School and Jenkins High School.
That truly marked me as a local.
She had her daughter, who attends SCAD, with her as a guest.
We all dined on chicken fingers, pimiento cheese on toasted bread, and deviled eggs, as well as quite a few different raw veggies and such.
No sweets anywhere, but the party did boast two free alcoholic drinks.
Apparently, not many people imbibed, as they gave out extra vouchers the last hour.
I guess we all wanted to keep our heads straight.
Good!
GaSoU, as a corporation - not as an institute of education - is all about the Benjamins, as we all well know.
We kept waiting for a sales pitch... but that, mysteriously, was absent.
What we did get was an intimation that other such events will be forthcoming.
Good!
I made sure to tell every GaSoU representative that visited our table that the Armstrong Alumni Association used to have quarterly meetings at various restaurants and how much fun those had been and how much I missed them.
I hope to hear of future events, but I'm sure Yvonne will.
After all, she is still a professor at GaSoU.
Maybe there will even be another meeting before she retires and we can have Cathy come along as our guest for that, too!
We'll see.
Meanwhile, I need to get ready for my vacation to Brunswick, another city by the sea.
Elvis awaits!
(smile!)
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