CLASS OF ’75 MEMBERS REUNITED: ‘WHATEVER I LEARNED, IT WORKED’

By Tammie Toler Presley

ATHENS, W.Va. - Members of the Class of 1975 were invited back to The Campus Beautiful for their 50^-year class reunion at University Point. Although a formal event never materialized, a small number of the class found their way inside touring the Wilkes Family Chapel around the same time Saturday morning during the annual Keg & Eggs event and seized the opportunity to share memories and swap stories.

Joseph Ofner and Michael Akers agreed that although many things about the footprint of Concord's main campus and the warm welcome they always received inside Athens remained the same this Homecoming, many other things have changed since their time spent daily at Concord.

"It feels strange!" Akers said when first asked how it felt to be back.

While the two were both business majors who graduated in the same class, they didn't cross paths in the '70s. They had several things and even friends in common, however. One even roomed with the other's Tau Kappa Epsilon sponsor. Ofner's roommate for a brief time was Akers' big brother when he joined TKE.

Ofner and Akers laughed as they reminisced about entertaining capers they and their neighbors got into inside the residence halls at Concord, and how much the campus has evolved over the years. But there was one thing they doubted has changed since 1975.

"I got a good education. Whatever I learned, it worked," Ofner said. "I went into business, and I ran a that business for 30 years."

The business major also had a flare for creativity; so, he also took an art class in jewelry design and ended up minoring in art. The unique combination served him well, as he and his wife established and ran a successful jewelry store in Oak Hill for three decades.

Akers still heads up his own accounting firm in Beckley.

"I'm very proud to be a graduate of Concord. A lot of people I meet are from the big schools, and I'm not very impressed with what they seem to have learned," he said. "I think I got a really good education. Dr. [Harry] Finkelman prepared me for the CPA exam, and I passed it."

The business grads chatted, reflecting on golfing buddies and associates they had in common, and at least one other 1975 grad joined their ranks as the Homecoming festivities continued at University Point, at Keg & Eggs, and at informal tailgate sessions spanning the lots between the early activities and kickoff at Callaghan Stadium.

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