More than 100 alumni came together in September to celebrate a building that has been a gathering place for thousands of students over the years. The Physical Education building turns 50 this year and to celebrate, the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation held a banquet for alumni to reunite and reminisce about their memories of the building.

Many former varsity athletes were in attendance, including guest speakers like Ms. Joan Chapman, who was in the first graduating class from the new building; Rex Hillier, the first Newfoundlander to reach the national level in volleyball and a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Hall of Fame and the Sport Newfoundland and Labrador Hall of Fame; and Mike Wahl, an alum who has been named the BDC Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Newfoundland, was a top three finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Atlantic Canada, and recently won the ACE Student Entrepreneur for Canada as well as being a finalist for the Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

The HKR reunion was the first of a number of activities that will mark Memorial's milestone of the 1961 new campus anniversary opening. Throughout the 2011-2012 academic year, Memorial will remember this milestone in our history and consider the impact that Memorial has had since had on the lives of people and the province.

The HKR banquet, which took place at the Holiday Inn on Sept. 15, coincided with the Physical Education Special Interest Council Conference, an event that brought many HKR alumni to St. John's. The conference is a biannual gathering of physical education teachers from all over the province to share new knowledge and learn best practices. The 2011 conference was entitled "Learning from the Past, Building for the Future" and took place September 15 – 17 at the School of Human Kinetics and the Field House.

(Photos compliments of Farrell Cahill)

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50 Years Within These Walls