From the Nominator

"In the midst of the pandemic, Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) was unable to hold an in-person True Blue Weekend (i.e., homecoming, family, and reunion weekend) in October 2020. It was decided that we would pivot to a virtual setting featuring both live and on-demand, pre-recorded content. 

Live programming included faculty lectures; gatherings for students, academic departments, alumni affinity groups, and athletic teams; and a virtual awards ceremony for the African American Alumni Council affinity group. On-demand programming included a special message from our president, an interview with the two Athletic Hall of Fame inductees (who were then officially inducted in fall 2021), and student programming, including a pre-recorded version the weekend's annual a cappella concert, music department mini-concerts, and recordings of the fall dance program. 

We invited our community to participate in a social media spirit week, with prompts for posts every day leading up to and during the weekend to build excitement. There were fun activities available for download on the Virtual True Blue Weekend website, such as coloring pages, pumpkin carving stencils, crossword puzzles, and more! 

Finally, we used the site as a place to highlight the great virtual programming series our team had started during the pandemic with links to all of the recordings from our Faculty Fridays (now Faculty Features) and Alumni Master Class programs. All of our programming together allowed F&M to continue the tradition of True Blue Weekend and enabled us to continue to build connections with alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends."

From the Judges

This was a great event with an impressive breadth of activities; there was something for everyone. We particularly liked the social media themes, which kept alumni engaged. One judge commented that “your use of social media during this time was creative, and I especially liked your spirit week concept to engage people daily in activities and interaction." The participation numbers were impressive, and the use of resources exceptional. To have delivered a complex, multi-faceted event that attracted more than 2,000 participants for $775 is outstanding, and we felt that other institutions would be inspired by what has been achieved here.