Serendipity Directory p. 6-7 (gtttlforbiatt VOLUME LXVVII, NO. 9 " By RICHARD B. WEINBLATT Pettple Person Profiler He stands head and shoulders above the crowd. To some, he is a sharp dresser with a healthy pen chant for physical fitness. To others he is an entertainment clearinghouse for this campus for fun loving students. Thomas Haywood Kelly, a rather tall presence on campus, makes his way through the crowd at a recent Bryan Quad Dance urging a peaceful disbursement before the ominous 1:00 A.M. bell tolls. His friends call him Tom or Tommy. Others know him as the tall President of the Guilford Col lege Student Union. He is also called ... Mr. Entertainment. Mr. Entertainment was born on March 24, 1964 to the elder Mr. and Mrs. Entertainment. He resides in America's entertain ment capital- Granby, Conn. His entertaining, old colonial house is For Enquiring Minds: The First Family By OLILFORUIAN Staff In its own bit of seclusion the Ragsdale House is the calm center for the vivacious First Lady and President Rogers. Coming off the brick path, most guests are welcomed through the side entrance; opening into the spacious "Great Room". Design ed by Grimsley Hobbs, the 60 x 40 foot gathering lounge is the jack of all trades room and is now used primarily for entertaining. You've never seen such big couches in your life. Speaking of couches, check out the "one ton loveseat" in the entrance hall. Carved by Dr. Rogers out of elm, it seats three, and comes with fit ted cushions. This is one of the many carvings around the house which serve, says Bev Rogers, as a tension reliever for Dr. Rogers, as well as a source of aesthetic pleasure. The house is filled with light, accentuated by splashes of color like bright rugs and throw pillows. Much of the furniture is GUILFORD COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N.C. 27410 Mr. Entertainment nestled in the serenity of the Berkshire Mountains. Tom is a double major in psychology and sociology. These are his most powerful tool in his quest to cater to the fickle tastes of a campus of "entertainment Morrises." The son of an insurance ex ecutive, Tom makes no claims to guarantee that students will have a great time at the Union func tions. The risks are always pre sent, but Mr. Entertainment himself is also there to ensure that they are kept to a minimum. In meeting Tom, it becomes ap parent that he wants to make peo ple happy. His career choice - marriage counseling - is geared to that goal. His competitive spirit is contained within a positive, albeit big, frame work. This baseball enthusiast started his political career as President of Bryan Dorm (where he still lives). He earned his Union label, through many Seren dipity and Quad Dance Battles, First Lady in front of domain antique, either built or acquired Even though the Rogers are by the college. These pieces along often obligated to attend dinners, with the wood carvings and fur- Mrs. Rogers loves to cook in her niture from their home in Cam- custom kitchen - trying out new bridge, Massachusetts, gives a recipes for addition to the comfortable, personal feel to the Epicure menu. Bigger than your house. average kitchen in order to ac- Chuck Taylors P. 4 as Union Vice President in the Carrie Boyce administration. His best credentials are that he knows the campus superpowers: Super Agent Kris Weick, Senate Retiree Jim Freeman and Year book leader and Marc Becker Fan Club President Bo Markley. These unsurpassed credentials have endowed him with an astronomical ability to make peo ple gravitate towards unusual projects - such as the Serendipity Moonwalk. "I thought it would keep things bouncing," the lunar President effused. Among the other events plann ed: "two good comedians" and many concerts. "Setting up Serendipity is con fusing at first," confessed Mr. Entertainment. "The good people we have figured it out and this will be the best Serendipity ever." In a serious moment, Tom voic ed a concern regarding the Quad Dances. Lax Victory p. 12 •' '' •" A happy Tom Kelly "The recent Quad Dance got a little out of control. People need to know that it at stake. The Union has to work with the school to set these events up." And with that, Mr. Entertain ment switched back to his comodate the large dinner par ties thrown at Ragsdale, the kit chen holds some special features. In pairs there are dishwashers, ovens, and stoves, as well as a butler's pantry stocked with col lege china which is emblazened in red with Dana Auditorium. The second floor rooms were small, no larger than a dorm room, a reminder of the days when Ragsdale served as an alumni house. The Roger's bedroom is on the far side, away from Milner. "The noise from Milner doesn't bother us," admit ted Bev Rogers, "once you've liv ed through three kids you're kind of deaf and blind anyway." 27 year old son John is an Earlham graduate married last spring. He is a senior quality assurance 'engineer at Volkswagon of America. In the middle is Susan, now 25, and working with NCNB where she is a senior banking of ficer. The youngest, 22, is Nancy. She is ready to graduate from school and relocate in Florida. APRIL 16, 1986 characteristic happy outlook. He smiled and flashed those trademark dimples as he. as ex pected, said, "Is there anything else I can do to help?" Mr. Entertainment wants you to be happy. Bev Rogers, not a mere Presi dent's wife decided to commit herself towards "making a dif ference at the college.." En thusiastically supportive of the college and the students, she feels "it keeps you a heck of a lot younger than if you associate with fifty year olds." Life in the public eye is stressful and tiring. Retreats are a newly restored log cabin with no phone in Greensboro and a home in Maine where they spend one month out of every year. The Rogers are, in a sense, Guilford College, and are closely tied to the school. Summarizing, "if you get too far from the in stitution's real function - teaching and learning - you aren't going to know what's going on. There is a tension between that and alumni fundraising and politics. The president's wife is one more set of eyes, ears, and hands. I am not the president. You either like be ing with people or you don't. I've (learned a lot from the students."

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view