Upcoming Events
Memorial Tree Planting Ceremony April 16, 2008
The Virginia Tech community forms a special family, one defined not by a single tragic event but by our storied past, a community not frozen in the present but poised to invent our future.
The Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Center (VTHRC), the Agricultural Reseach and Extension Center (AREC) , and the Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association held a tree planting ceremony on April 16, 2008 on the AREC grounds to honor the memory of the victims of the tragedy of April 16, 2007. A dogwood tree was donated by Lancaster Farms and planted by the Hampton Roads Tree Care Association. Bennetts Creek Nursery donated 32 hostas which will be planted around the base of the tree and a permament plaque donated by the Alumni Association will be added in the near future.
The program started at 6:00 pm. with a welcome and remarks from Peter Schultz and Charlotte Anders. Chris Jennings, President of the Tidewater Chapter of the Alumni Association delivered a tribute and asked for a moment of silence, then read each name of those lost as a candle was lit in their honor. Approximately 100 alumni, faculty, staff, and students attended the ceremony and many participated in the closing by spreading mulch around the base of the tree. It was a fitting close to a day where numerous programs and services were held both on campus and across Hampton Roads to allow individuals an opportunity to mourn but also honor the victims of April 16, 2007.
To see pictures from the program click here, the script from Dr. Schultz, Ms. Anders, and Mr. Jennings' remarks will be available on this site in the near future.
We are Virginia Tech. We will prevail!