SMITHFIELD

The Western Tidewater Hokie Club will be sponsoring their 21st Orange and Maroon Coaches dinner on Tuesday, April 16, in the Smithfield Center.

The special guest will be Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock. The group will be celebrating his many accomplishments during his 5-year tenure at Virginia Tech. These include setting a school record for fundraising, building state-of-the-art facilities, engaging more fans, and hiring excellent coaches that are leading their teams to ever greater heights in the ACC.

Whit is a fifth-generation Virginian and a graduate of James Madison University. He was the AD at Cincinnati previously and decided to come to Virginia Tech because of its championship-caliber programs with athletes that excelled athletically and academically. He said it also presented an opportunity to grow and compete in the ACC against the best programs.

Many of his accomplishments have drawn national attention and acclaim. Whitt has served as president of the National Association of Athletic Development Directors. In 2016-17, he was one of five finalists for the Sports Business Journal AD of the year, and in 2017-18, Whitt received an Under Armour AD of the Year award. He developed the “Pylons for Promise” document that sets forth eight ideals from the pylons at the VT War Memorial to guide the student athlete in the quest for excellence in all aspects of the college experience.

We invite you to join us for this event. Dinner will be catered by the Virginia Diner with tenderloin tips and gravy, country ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and cobbler. The social hour is at 6 o’clock and dinner is at 7.

Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased by mailing a check to Bentley Richardson, 24229 S. Johnson Ave., Windsor, VA 23487; or Hazel Spady, P.O. Box 57, Battery Park, VA 23304, to be received by Sunday, April 14. Note: This is an extension of the deadline from Friday, which was originally announced on Tuesday.

For questions, call Bentley Richardson at 242-6606.