by Taylor Bryant
In December, UWG’s Extended Learning and USG eCore faculty and staff gathered for their second Annual Holiday Traditions Fundraiser to raise money for the Don Wagner Scholarship Fund. Like many during the holiday season, the colleagues have spent years gathering over food and exchanging gifts to celebrate in the holiday. In 2012, they decided to delve deeper into the holiday spirit and help raise scholarship money for college students. As a result, they purchased inexpensive gifts from thrift stores to auction at their annual holiday party, which raised over $500 for the scholarship fund.
“For those of us who worked under Don Wagner, this is a great way to honor his memory,” says Dr. Melanie Clay, executive director of Extended Learning and dean of USG eCore. “He was a real superhero to us and to hundreds of students. For our new employees, this gives us a chance to share a little about our amazing history and the man who mentored and inspired us. I think he would be really pleased with this.”
Dr. Clay hopes that this will encourage other departments to have holiday parties for a cause.
“This is much more meaningful than what we did before,” says Dr. Clay. “Some of the things that people bring in are very practical like brand new electrical choppers, but others are quite entertaining. One of the hottest items this year was a black plastic yard flamingo. For some reason, some of the gentlemen in our group got into a heated bidding war, and I think it ended up selling for about $25.”
Other oddities this year included a dancing and singing Hillary Clinton doll, strange vintage salt and pepper shakers and a Humpty Dumpty cookie jar. To top off the holiday cheer, guests wear ugly holiday sweaters and accessories for a few chuckles. The auction, which typically lasts an hour, is done over a potluck dinner.
“Having a really good auctioneer, filled with enthusiasm and humor, is really important,” says Janet Gubbins, director of UWG Online. “For us, this is Melanie. This year she arrived in her very best 80's-hair holiday glam and provided extra tacky accessories for newbies too shy to dress up on their own. Absolutely, Don Wagner would have loved this!”
Dr. Don Wagner was the first dean of UWG’s Honors College and a professor emeritus at UWG. He taught political science at UWG for 25 years. UWG’s Honors House was named the Donald R. Wagner Honors House in his honor in 2013.
