ABAC’s homecoming created another week filled with friendly competition between clubs and community growth. The Top Gun-themed week, “Top Gun Thunder: Need for Steed,” boasted various events for current students and alumni.
To kick off the week, clubs were invited to have a participation-based activity for the Stallion Cup. Karaoke night set the tone for the rest of the week. While relaxing by the Legacy Pool, clubs sang their hearts out. Colton Peacock of the ABAC Collegiate FFA Alumni led the crowd with suave passion as they sang “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” by Big & Rich.
Students returned to their homes that night to be well-rested for Tuesday’s event on Lakeside Lawn – Club Olympics. Campus clubs do not come to lose when the Stallion Cup is on the line.
While our community is strong and tight-knit, everyone wants their club to stand tallest. Games included a relay race with vision-impairing “drunk” goggles, a paper airplane contest, pin the Mustache on the Thunder, and a blindfolded obstacle course.
The night of the competition ended with a friendly game of dogfight dodgeball, bringing out the inner middle school athlete in everyone.
Talana Holloway said, “I love seeing how the different clubs interact with each other and the aura each and every one of them brings, it was a very exciting experience for me.”
If that wasn’t enough athletic activity for clubs, they had the chance to compete on Wednesday in a “Top Gun”-natured game of volleyball. Clubs competed against each other before the alumni took the court.
Trading in the tennis shoes for dancing shoes, Thursday night was the long-awaited Homecoming Formal. Weather concerns brought the dance from Tift Hall to Gressette Gym, but there was no rain on this parade.
“I feel this week has allowed me to interact with clubs I never even knew existed! I loved getting to show school spirit while also getting to learn more about our organizations on campus,” said homecoming royalty nominee Jenna Williams.
Earlier in the week, representatives of each club campaigned for the title of Homecoming King and Queen. Buttons, cookies, sweet tea, and stickers were passed back and forth on the pedestrian walkway to garner support. Students danced the night away before Student Government Association President Caleb Bagley announced the winners of Homecoming Royalty.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as Ivey Cook of the ABAC Collegiate FFA Alumni and Brennan Hart of the ABAC Cattlemen’s Association were crowned royalty. The night carried on filled with line dances and selfies before retiring for Friday’s event.
The weekend’s arrival signaled homecoming’s peak; ABAC’s rodeo was beginning. Events included saddle bronco riding, bareback riding, bull riding, team roping, calf roping, steer wrestling, break-away roping, and barrel racing. Guests were in for a show unlike any other. Community and fellowship are centerpieces of homecoming week every year. Prospective students attending Saturday’s Stallion Day were given the opportunity to see the ABAC experience firsthand. Saturday’s rodeo show featured the winners of the Stallion Cup. Sigma Alpha, professional agriculture sorority, took the grand prize with first place. The sisters flooded the rodeo arena with their pride and sisterhood.
Outside of student functions, recent alumni and club reunions took place around campus and Tifton.
A remembrance ceremony was conducted in the Chapel of All Faiths to honor students and alumni that have passed away. Alongside them, community members serving in the military were honored for their service to our country. An ABAC stallion is never forgotten with events like homecoming.
A bit of friendly competition brought the community together and got students to engage at a higher level. As the year ends, it is important to remember the memories and fun that is had through events like homecoming. Our community can only grow stronger through them.
