糖心Vlog

The Class of 1964 named themselves the 鈥淧erfect鈥� class during their time at Meredith. The class felt the name fit because they were very competitive, winning many Cornhuskin鈥� and Stunt events. Their strong leadership, creativity, and participation were always excellent and they loved a good competition, according to Sue Ennis Kearney, 鈥�64, their current gift agent.

The class has given generously through the years and with a strong gift agent like Kearney cheering them on they have been very successful, endowing a scholarship, winning Meredith Mayhem two times, and funding and naming a bench in front of Johnson Hall. And yes, it has the 鈥淧erfect鈥� class engraved on the bench.

鈥淚t is the nature of our class to want to win. We have a history of winning so for us it is easy to keep the momentum going and encourage each other,鈥� says Kearney.

Kearney鈥檚 leadership has definitely helped keep her class engaged throughout the years. She worked at Meredith from

1966 to 2008 in admissions and enrollment planning positions. After her retirement, she became a class gift agent in 2009 as a way to stay in touch with her classmates.

鈥淲orking at Meredith gave me an appreciation of the importance of alumnae giving,鈥� said Kearney. 鈥淚t is important that we grow scholarships, fund facilities, and support the overall budget by giving to areas that we individually find important.鈥�

Working in admissions has aided in her success as a gift agent because she had to write letters and promotional publications that were persuasive, as well as engage in telemarketing. But she is quick to credit her co-gift agents and their 鈥淧erfect鈥� class with how they step up to give.

At their 25th reunion in 1989, the class decided to start raising funds for a scholarship and by 1994 they had raised enough to award the first one. At their 50th reunion in 2014, they decided to continue giving to their scholarship and doubled what the class originally gave to the fund. The endowment is now over $145,000.

Kearney credits class relationships for their outstanding giving record. To keep her class connected she calls and writes a lot of letters and emails. Local area class members also meet for lunch monthly (thanks to Class Agent Joy Adams Lucas) and enjoy several NC Museum of Art visits each year (with classmate Rhonda Morgan Wilkerson as their docent). And after their 50th reunion, a small group stayed in Meredith鈥檚 palazzo in Sansepolcro, Italy. All of these things keep them connected to each other and to Meredith.

鈥淚 am proud of our class and our strong giving record. We always finish strong and I think we are beyond strong as a class.鈥�