The Homecoming tailgate was an important time in the Harding community for students, graduates and faculty to fellowship together in a fun environment. Social clubs, families and organizations all created their own tailgates and each had its own twist. The Office of Advancement hosted a tailgate specifically to reach out to recent Harding graduates. Jordan Smith, a 2012 alumna and the newly hired young alumni associate and creator of Generation HU, was in charge of building an event that would reconnect the young alumni to each other and to Harding. Smith got the word out via Facebook, Twitter and formal invitations, reaching alumni both near Searcy and in distant locations. The black-and-gold themed young alumni tailgate included the essentials: food, fun and prizes. Smith said that the new Generation HU program, or young alumni outreach program, had not yet been announced at the time of the tailgate, so the attendance of about 150 people was a pleasant surprise. 2012 alumna and former player for the Lady Bisons volleyball team Jessica Heimrich was able to reconnect with both close friends, such as 2012 alumna Alexandria Smith, and other peers she had not seen in a long time. According to Heimrich, Smith was "a wonderful young alumni director" and successfully created a tailgate that reconnected alumni to current faculty, staff and students. "My favorite part of the tailgate was having the opportunity to be with my Harding family and that, although we are separated by so much distance, we can pick up right where we left off the last graduates connect through tailgating time we were together at Harding," Heimrich said. "I am already looking forward to the next young alumni Homecoming tailgate." According to Smith', the young alumni tailgate was part of a larger initiative called Generation HU, which had three purposes: networking, serving and giving. The Office of Advancement wanted to make a special effort to reassure recent graduates of their importance to Harding and to encourage them to give back to the school financially. "It's not so important how much they give but more about recognizing the blessing they received through the donations that other alumni and friends gave to make it possible for them to attend Harding," Mike Williams, vice president of advancement, said. "Our goals for Generation HU are geared around participation and engagement, not dollar amounts." To help improve financial and social involvement from young alumni, the young alumni associate position was added to the Office of Advancement in 2012, and the position was first held by Smith, who graduated with a degree in professional sales. The job entailed building a campaign from scratch to reach young alumni. After focus meetings and conversations with colleagues in the young alumni bracket, Smith created Generation HU. Smith was passionate about her job and used her creativity to create events such as the young alumni tailgate to achieve the goal of strengthening the entire Harding community. "I love my job," Smith said. "I get to travel all the time, see people, see my friends and be creative." Jordan Honeycutt!Mallory Pratt "The components of Generation HU are networking, serving and giving," Young Alumni Associate Jordan Smith said. "{The Homecoming Tailgate] was just another way for young alumni to get connected." Homecoming I 21
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