Samford friends, I suppose it is permissible for me to admit, now that I am so near the finish line, that I didn’t necessarily arrive at Samford in 2006 with the intention of falling in love with the institution. I was called here to do a job, a significant job, and I pledged to serve as faithfully as I could for as long as I was needed, and until an appropriate time for retirement. But I was an Arkansan, loyal to a sense of place, and my own alma mater and cherished friends were hundreds of miles away. My wife, Jeanna, my daughter, Riley, and I had no idea how completely and utterly we would fall in love with Samford University, now the great passion of our lives. On an afternoon in the latter part of our first summer at Samford, we welcomed the assembly of new freshmen and their families in the Wright Center. Jeanna and I sat together at the conclusion of the program, watching as scenes flashed on the screen depicting Samford people and places from the founding to the present. And suddenly, there we were on the screen. My family. And in that moment, I knew that we were linked with thousands of people, past
40 • Seasons • Spring 2021
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