NICEVILLE — A year of celebration is just a few weeks away at Northwest Florida State College.
Festivities for the college’s 50th anniversary will kick off April 17 and continue on at least a monthly basis until April 2014, said Jeff McInnis, chairman of the 50th Anniversary Planning Committee.
“We’ve worked for a year putting the celebration together,” he said. “It’s been exciting to plan, and it’s going to be even more exciting to be a part of the celebration.”
The celebration will last a year because the college was established in the spring of 1963 but didn’t start classes until the summer of 1964, according to college spokeswoman Sylvia Bryan.
“So basically our (Board of) Trustees said, ‘OK, we’re going to have a window (for celebration) here,’ ” she said.
The 15-member committee assigned to plan the celebration is made up of college staff, residents, students and a member of the college’s foundation, said McInnis, who also oversaw the 25th anniversary celebration.
The public will be able to enjoy the fruits of the committee’s labor with five major events, including the kickoff, and then smaller events throughout the year at the college’s seven campuses, McInnis said.
A historical display about the college also will open in June at the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida in Valparaiso as another of the five big anniversary events, Bryan said.
The committee also is trying to establish a location for a similar display in Walton County, but nothing is definite yet, she said.
In addition to the events, the committee is holding a contest for the official anniversary poster.
Designs for the open contest will be accepted until April 1. Shortly after that the college will award an $800 honorarium to the person whose poster is selected.
For more information about the 50th anniversary celebration or poster contest, visit www.nwfsc.edu.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.
