Honor Where It's Due

It's been a few days since I've made time to post. Let me begin to catch up with this note about

Thursday. It was the final employee luncheon of the year at CCU, and Dave Faust had invited me to attend, since he was saving his tribute to Evelyn for that occasion.

This lunch is sponsored each year by the alumni association. It's a nice lunch, with door prizes, and awards for years of service and other honors. 

Dave called Evelyn to the front and made these remarks (I asked him for a copy, so we can keep and remember them here):

Evelyn Taylor is retiring after 34 years of teaching here at CCU.  She started serving as a professor back in 1979.
In 1979:

• Jimmy Carter was president of the United States.

• Harvey Bream was president of Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary.

• A postage stamp cost 15 cents.

• "Saturday Night Fever" was the album of the year.

• The hostage crisis in Iran occurred.

• McDonalds introduced the Happy Meal and Sony introduced the Walkman.

• A gallon of gas cost 86 cents.

• The Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurred.

• Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of England.

• And Evelyn Taylor began teaching at CCU!

When I think of Evelyn, certain words come to mind:  Reliable.  Dedicated.  Gracious.  Student-focused.  She has consistently gone the extra mile, whether by grading papers, having students in her home, or simply driving the tough commute down I-75 each morning.
I also think of the word "inspiring."  Evelyn has inspired her students to be teachers, children's ministers, ministers' wives, and missionaries in other lands.  She has inspired students to write well, and to understand and serve people through all different stages of human development.  As an adoptive parent I appreciate the way she has given a voice to adopted children and their needs.
Whenever she was asked to serve on a committee or help with a project, she provided a reasonable, wise, and encouraging perspective to the group.
Evelyn, our faculty and staff will miss you.  Our students will miss you.  But we're glad to know we will still see you around here a lot in the years ahead.  Thank you for your service to CCU.

 On behalf of the school, he presented her with a beautiful crystal vase, engraved with a note of appreciation for her 34 years of service. It was all very nice.

Evelyn is walking through a string of "lasts." That was her last employee luncheon. She taught her last class Friday and will give her last exams as a full-time teacher, followed by her last graduation next week. She plans to teach one class as adjunct faculty next year, going in for the blocked class just one day per week. That will make the transition easier, I think.

That class will be in the afternoon, so no more morning rush-hour commutes. And no more freshman English term papers. She's rejoicing about both of those!

Weekend Update

Got home yesterday around 2:00 after driving from Nashville all morning. It rained most of the way till Louisville, which slowed me down a little, especially driving in the unfamiliar, rental car.
Made a salad for a late lunch and went to the grocery store for Evelyn. Checked e-mail, read the mail, changed clothes, and joined Evelyn and a houseful of folks at Dan and Cindi Cooper's place for a baby shower for Jeremy and Cara Lawson. They're expecting a boy, just a couple of days after Cara finishes teaching this school year.
We enjoyed visiting with Tom and Joyce Lawson and three of their kids, plus Ryan and Andrea White (Dan and Cindi's daughter) and JP and Chloe Glenn and a gaggle of preschoolers on the floor and on laps and between legs. Like I said, it was a houseful!
Cindi made wonderful lasagna. Evelyn made her favorite romaine and mandarin orange salad. And Cindi and Joyce made desserts.
It was a pleasant evening--lots of laughter and catching up with each other as well as all the good eating.

Jessica Lyons rehearsed with the
worship team before
the 9:00 service.

This morning I hosted in the 9:00 service; we grabbed breakfast at Frisch's, and I ran by Lowe's to gawk at their flowers and plants and buy a big jug of Roundup. It started sprinkling as I was leaving, and it rained off and on the whole afternoon. Evelyn and I sat in the kitchen and dining room and did work. She graded term papers and finished 'em--the last research papers of her college teaching career! She's very happy about that. I wrote a draft of an editorial, rewrote some marketing copy for our website, sent some e-mails, brought the checkbook up-to-date, and made some phone calls.
At about 5:00 we drove over to Ferrari's Little Italy Bakery and Restaurant where I'm hosting a small retirement celebration for Evelyn and some of her CCU colleagues May 18. We had pizza and salads there (wonderful pizza on homemade focaccia-like crust) and met the manager, Sandy. We enjoyed visiting with her and choosing the menu for our dinner, which will be just a little under two weeks from now.

I Was the Spouse in the Corner—It Was Evelyn's Day

Today was the faculty and staff reception to congratulate Evelyn on her upcoming retirement, and I decided to come share in the party.
It was very nice. The cake was VERY good. A nice crowd of Evelyn's colleagues came to wish her well. Paul Friskney hosted and said that, although they had found someone to teach Evelyn's classes, no one could replace Evelyn.
And two former students, Mackenzie Fordyce and Rachel Sinclair, gave brief, sometimes tearful testimonies about the influence of Evelyn on their lives and their gratitude for her example as well as her teaching. I'm so proud of her!
She had a bowl full of cards with well wishes, and her colleagues had contributed to buy a $100 gift card to Playhouse in the Park (that will be fun!).
It was a very nice afternoon, and I'm glad I got to share it.

Mackenzie Fordyce couldn't finish her tribute without crying.

Rachel Sinclair used to grade papers for Evelyn and claims she drank her weight in coffee.

Evelyn's fellow English teachers, Paul Friskney (left) and Brian Derico planned the party.