WITH THE
2012 GRISSOM CLASSIC less
than three months away, preparations are revving up and guests are stepping
into line.
Agenda for the day is a good
one if unchanged since the 2011 Classic. It looks like this…
11 a.m. E.S.T. Registration
Noon Shotgun Start
6:00
Social/Cocktails
6:30 Banquet
~7:15 Program
In-clubhouse
activities might also include a silent auction and/or Q&A with the
McDonnell-Douglas engineers; maybe some demonstrations with model rockets….
Time will tell. Those possibilities are still “under develop-
ment.”
Other
agenda items are confirmed, among them golf at 1 p.m., dinner at 7 and the
program beginning at about 7:40. Leading off the program will be introduction
of the Club’s four newest Grissom Scholars. Their identities will be announced
here in mid- to late-May. All four will begin their Purdue careers in August.
Following
introduction of the scholars, the “entertain-
ment” portion of the program will
begin. Far from any singing and dancing, the grist of the entertainment will
see the Club introduce Dr. Barrett Caldwell – for his third consecutive Classic
– who will, in turn, introduce Mr. Lowell Grissom and four engineers out of St.
Louis. Grissom and the engineers are alumni of McDonnell-Douglas.
The
four engineers are Mr. Norman Beckel, Mr. Dean Purdy, Mr. Jerry Roberts and Mr.
Bob Schepp. All of them were at the leading edge of the race to the moon.
McDonnell-Douglas assigned all of them, with their respective skills, to
projects: Mercury and Gemini.
As
each is introduced, he will take his place on the stage, and share in a panel
discussion that will reminisce of Gus, the Space Race and “the time of their
lives.”
Another
“Surprise”: The Art of the Tease
In
the spring of 2010, Dr. Caldwell promised to bring “a big surprise” to that
year’s Classic. His grant of an additional $6,000 in scholarship money (from
the Indiana Space-Grant Consortium) was more than a thrill for the evening’s
Grissom Scholars. One year later, in 2011, he returned with an identical amount
that again boosted winners’ scholarships.
Dr.
Caldwell has already promised to “spring (another) surprise” at this year’s
Classic, but all parties will have to wait until June 21 to learn what it is.
Signing
Up for the Classic
The
day’s Grissom Classic is an 18-hole golf scramble. Even at this early date,
golfers are reminded to keep rough track of your early-season scores, the
better to calculate your handicaps on June 21.
Golfers
are welcome to register as foursomes, triplets, pairs and singles. If you
arrive with fewer than three
teammates, the Club will assign you to fill out a foursome.
Sign-up
forms will be enclosed with your next Club newsletter, in mid-May. Forms are
also available from Craig Knies (c.knies@insightbb.com)
or through this blog. We will accept entries, including walk-ups, be you Club members or not, until
noon of June 21.
