Freshmen plunge into repair affair

RELEASED: Sept. 21, 2006

This is the second of a two-part series highlighting Centre’s traditional service plunge.

DANVILLE, KY—For more than a dozen years, the fall service plunge has been a way for new students to get to know each other, their community and other faculty and staff volunteers. This is the second installment showcasing projects by Centre’s largest-ever freshman class.

More than 300 freshman participated in the Perryville Battlefield reenactment clean-up project.

Their work helped to prepare for the Perryville Battlefield reenactment. The event will host more than 25,000 visitors and 5,000 re-enactors on the weekend of Oct. 6-8. This year the re-enactment will be on the 150th anniversary of the historic Civil War battle, and a record crowd is expected.

The students worked at three sites helping to prepare for Perryville’s influx of visitors: Merchant’s Row, the Old Mill site, and at the Battlefield itself.

Merchant’s Row is on Buell Street in downtown Perryville. Students cleared brush, moved furniture and cleaned buildings. Another group worked at the Old Mill site, moving furniture and cataloging the inventory of this furniture storage area. The third group worked on the Battlefield itself, walking the fields to locate and mark holes in the ground that will be filled to help prevent injuries to re-enactors.

Patrick Noltemeyer, director of volunteer service and Bonner Program coordinator, said, "The students, faculty and staff who came together for the 2006 Fall Service Plunge did well in advancing the mission of the College, confirming that Centre is dedicated to preparing students for lives of learning, leadership and service. I was impressed by the positive attitude and strong work ethic of all those who participated. Centre has a responsibility to give back to the community of Boyle County, and we did well to discharge that obligation that day."

Each year, around 60 percent of all Centre students become community volunteers. The College encourages volunteer service with a community-service day each year as part of the orientation for first-year students. For more information, contact Patrick Noltemeyer at (859) 238-8752 or e-mail patrick.noltemeyer@centre.edu.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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