Wolf's BBQ
Simon Hoehn '07 guest contributor -On Tuesday, April 10th, 2007, five of Wabash’s top recruiters ventured down to God’s country for an informal dinner with prospective students of the greater Evansville area at the wonderful Wolf’s BBQ establishment.
Admissions officer extraordinaire, Rudy Cope, was the chief navigator throughout the course of the trip. Despite the occasional acquaintances made with the roadside rumble strips, medians, and curbs, the voyage went smoothly. Co-pilot was Clint Gasaway, Director of Financial Aid, who was forcing Rudy to press on through the rough waters so that he could make it to his meeting on time. Crewmen included three of the finest that Wabash has to offer; freshman John Henry, senior Simon Hoehn, and senior Don Feeney. Don spent the first hour of the trip calling prospective students to remind them of the dinner and spark further intrigue in the fearsome all-male institution.
There was a good turnout at the dinner, with roughly 12 prospective students and a few alumni present. The dinner, consisting of BBQ, potato salad, and baked beans, was well-liked and quite tasty. As always, Rudy Cope spoke eloquently about all that Wabash had to offer these prospective students. “Man, that guy must really love Wabash,” boasted Mike Head, prospective student for the class of 2011 from F.J. Reitz High School. Simon Hoehn and Maria Shirey (mother of Dan, Randy, and Ben Shirey – all current Wabash men) also shared with the group their passion for Wabash, as well as a few personal experiences. Conversation continued for a while after the close of the event, or at least until Marilyn (our waitress) threatened to make us wash dishes if we stayed any longer.
By the time we got back on the road to journey home, the waters had settled and Rudy was able to keep the ship on the given path. Light conversation, the occasional joke, and a few movie quotes made for an interesting, yet enjoyable trek back to Wabash. As the reality of the work ahead of us in these last few weeks began to set in, we were all thankful to put our feet back down on the solid ground of this special campus.