On Sept. 15, Bakersfield College Alumni Association held its 57th annual barbecue. This event is for everyone to have a good time and to raise money for student scholarships and support for athletics, according to BC president Greg Chamberlain.
Some of the activities that they had were the Tony Ernst Band, which is an alumni band, barbecue by Chef Pat Coyle and Suzanne Davis.
They also had vendors like Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and W.A. Thompson Advanced Beverage. The BC drumline and cheerleaders performed, and at the end of the barbecue they introduced all the athletes.
“This is run by the Alumni Association Board of Directors to raise money for scholarships,” said Chamberlain.
“This event has a rich history and most of the alumni come out and support us. This is the second time it’s being held on campus, and I think it’s better that way because the alumni get to come back to BC.”
Mike Stepanovich who is the Director of the BC Foundation gave his take on this event.
“This is an annual fundraiser, and it’s a great tradition with plenty of activities,” said Stepanovich. “We were hoping to get 500-600 people here and that would be a good crowd for this event, but we wont know until after the barbecue.
“My favorite part of this barbecue is getting to see old friends and meeting new people,” said Stepanovich.
Craig Holland, the Logistics Coordinator for this event and a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, gave his thoughts on what makes this event great.
“Since I’m an alumnus from 1967, BC has always had a special place in my heart and I always try to come back to this event to try to help the college,” said Holland.
“I like the fact that everyone from before can come back and see how this campus is developing, but my favorite part is the steak and seeing old friends. A couple of years ago we thought we should start having this barbecue here so people can come back here to BC and have a good time.”
Becki Whitson who is the President for the Alumni Association Board of Directors gave more information on the event.
“At first we weren’t selling very many tickets, but it looks like we got a pretty good crowd,” she said. “We are one of the last community colleges that still does this, and I think it’s because we’re campus orientated.”
Whitson also said that this will be the only fundraiser of this year, but the Athletic Director is trying to do something this spring.
“At first this barbecue was only meant for the football team but as the years have gone by we include all the fall sports,” said Whitson.