By Hailey Trimmer
May 3, 2018
On Saturday, April 28, 2018 Southwest Baptist University celebrated the legacy of University President Dr. C. Pat Taylor with the final C. Pat 5K and campus beautification. The campus beautification event, organized by the Student Association, took place in the Walk of Life garden between 9:30 and 11:30 am, complete with live music, provided by SBU students Jason Boyd, Clayton Robrahn, and Josh Yount, and cherry coke floats.
According to Jessica Tankersley, Student Association President, the C. Pat Legacy Day was inspired to commemorate President Taylor’s retirement at the end of the academic year, as well as pay tribute to his late wife, Judy Taylor. President Taylor also commented on the legacy of his wife as the inspiration for the beautification day.
“My wife loved this campus. She planted every one of these flowers here by hand, and
had some help, but it was her inspiration that did this Walk of Life. So that’s the legacy
we’re working on right now is my wife’s legacy.”
Twelve year old Rachel Marsch, daughter of Director of Marketing and Communication Charlotte Marsch, stated that the beautification event was the best part of the C. Pat Legacy Day. Marsch said, “I’ve actually really enjoyed pulling the weeds, just knowing I’m doing something to help the campus.”
President Taylor commented on the importance of campus beautification, citing Genesis 1:26, in which God commanded man to take care of the earth He created. SBU freshman and Web Systems Design major Seth Miller echoed this idea saying, “For one, our campus is beautiful and God’s given it to us. […] I enjoy it here and I want to keep it nice.”
As the university prepares to bid President Taylor a fond farewell, those who attended the event were honored to commemorate the Taylors' time at SBU. “I know Judy is in heaven looking down and smiling about this,” President Taylor said. “She loved this Walk of Life.”
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Infuse Student Media or Southwest Baptist University.
Comments