The Lucas Point Pavilion was adorned in cardinal and black on May 18, as the Troy University Alumni Association held a gathering for Trojan alumni who reside in The Waters.

 

Around 50 alumni gathered for the event and were greeted by Trojan mascot T-Roy upon their arrival. The guests were entertained by the musical talents of guitarist and vocalist Dixon Darling and enjoyed a charcuterie grazing table with an assortment of meats, cheeses, breads, and spreads provided by Alanna’s Gourmet. The fare also included a variety of fruits and nuts and brownies with cream cheese icing for dessert.

 

Guests were welcomed by Faith Byrd, Troy University’s Director of Alumni Affairs, and encouraged to show their Trojan Spirit by displaying a Troy flag in their yards.

 

Waters resident, Troy alumnus, and the University’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Advancement, Rick Boutwell, told the gathering that around 100 Trojan alumni call The Waters home.  “We have enough for our own alumni chapter here at The Waters,” Boutwell said. “Wouldn’t it be a great thing to have some alumni chapters involved in some friendly competition to see who could be the most generous in supporting our children at a place where they can get a quality education at an affordable price?”

 

Boutwell, a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General and a 1991 TROY alumnus became the University’s Senior Vice Chancellor at the beginning of 2023. Boutwell, who flew with the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds from 2000-2003, and his wife, Leslie, a former Miss TSU, were among the hosts for the night’s event. He encouraged those interested in chartering an alumni chapter for The Waters to contact Byrd at (334) 670-3318 or by email at fward@troy.edu.

 

Boutwell introduced Troy University Chancellor and First Lady Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., and Mrs. Janice Hawkins, who also were gracious hosts for the event. Dr. Hawkins is the longest-serving CEO of a public institution of higher education in the country. “It almost seems like yesterday that I remember many of you being enrolled in school,” Dr. Hawkins told the gathering. “It was almost 25 years ago that I was part of a group that formed the Higher Education Partnership, and we named our first executive director. That happened to be Gordon Stone. Ten years after that, he wanted to show me this place, Pike Road, and he brought me through The Waters, an evolving model community. A few days later, I brought my wife through here, and she said, ‘We could retire here.’ We’ve had a retirement home here in The Waters for about 14 years; I just haven’t retired yet.”

 

Dr. Hawkins told those in attendance that Troy was prepared to take the next step in its maturation as a university. “Universities begin as teaching institutions, then they add public service functions, and we’ve done that very well,” he said. “Now we are en route to becoming a research university. That will be how our university matures. When we can generate new knowledge and solutions to existing problems, that will be when Troy University has reached the pinnacle. We do it well in teaching, we do it well in public service, and we are going to do it equally well in research.”

 

Dr. Hawkins posed the question, “Why not Troy?” He pointed to achievements in athletics as an example. “Our basketball team had a 21-12 record over Florida Atlantic, and they went to the Final Four this year,” he said. “We are putting about $12 million into a new baseball facility, and our goal is not only to win the Sun Belt Conference, which we will do, but to go to Omaha and win the national championship. Then I think about football. Our coaches and kids have proven they can do it anywhere; just ask LSU. We were ranked 19th in the country this year with a group of coaches and kids that believed, ‘Why not Troy?’”

 

Dr. Hawkins said the University is excited about its alumni. “I often say that the best barometer for what an institution can do is found in the success of its alumni,” he said. “We have more than 165,000 alumni around the world. I’m excited that we have 10,000 alumni in Montgomery County and 100 right here in The Waters. If we bring all this together, just imagine what Troy University can do.”

 

Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone also provided greetings to the group. “Troy Trojans are very fortunate to have this man and this First Lady serving Troy, this state, and this nation,” Stone said. “We are blessed in Pike Road. We are a place with so much opportunity, and part of that opportunity is created through partnerships. We can’t wait to continue to partner with Troy.”

 

For additional information about Troy University, visit www.troy.edu, or for information for alumni, visit www.troy.edu/alumni.