its frustrations and disappointments, and heralded its successes, it has celebrated sports triumphs and anguished over defeats. It has spotlighted campus personalities, publicized alumni successes, recorded significant events, noted the comings and goings of historic figures, and chronicled the births, deaths, travels and careers of alumni. After serving one-year as secretary and editor, Staton was hired by Georgia Tech's North Avenue neighbor, the Coca-Cola Co. The October 1923, magazine was edited by a 1922 civil engineering graduate who would become dean of students and a legend in his own right— George C. Griffin. His opening remarks under the heading "By Way of Explanation," was uniquely George Griffin: "It has fallen on the writer to more or less carry on the work of the Association in some poor way and not let it die. So if you have not been getting real service from the Alumni Association, please lay it to this fact, because along with his other duties as assistant to coaches Alexander and Clay, as well as instructing freshmen in the fundamentals of math, it has been pretty hard at times to get anything done." It was Griffin's only issue as editor. Alumnus R. J. "Jack" Thiesen, a 1910 electrical engineering graduate, was hired on Nov. 12,1923, as the Association's new secretary and editor. Thiesen, who was recruited from the corporate world, began operating the Association and the magazine as a business. The December issue carried the magazine's first advertisements—and an editorial announcing, "it has been decided earnestly to solicit subscriptions for our advertising columns." In January 1924, the Coca-Cola Co. began advertising in the publication and is the magazine's longest continuous advertiser. Thiesen served as executive secretary of the Alumni Association and editor of its publications until his retirement on Jan. 1,1951. During his era, the country went bust in 1929, endured the hardships of the Great Depression, fought through World War II and began a new period of prosperity. Howard Ector, IM '40, a football hero and Army Air Force veteran, was hired as the executive secretary of the Alumni Association and editor of the magazine. Ector, as quarterback of the 1939 football team, directed Tech to an Orange Bowl victory. He had served five years in the South Pacific as an Army Air Corps pilot, then worked as secretary to the Georgia Tech Foundation. Ector and Thiesen changed jobs, Thiesen becoming secretary to the Georgia Tech GEORGIA TECH • Spring I998
Foundation. On May 1, Ector left to pursue opportunities in the business world, and Roane Beard, IM '40, his friend and a football teammate, was named executive secretary, assuming the duties of magazine editor. Beard had been an assistant to Thiesen. The next year, Beard hired Robert B. "Bob" Wallace, IM '49, a World War II navigator-bombardier, as manager of alumni activities, and a year later named him editor of the magazine. It was a wise move. Wallace demonstrated all the instincts of a newsman and outstanding editor. During the next 18 years, covering a period of tumultuous change, Wallace turned the magazine into an award-winning publication that covered the issues. In 1970, at age 48, Wallace died of a heart attack. After Wallace's death, the magazine changed emphasis. The alumni newspaper, Tech Topics, began publication, reporting both alumni and campus news. The magazine's role became fuzzy and less defined. The worst of times for the magazine came in 1973—on its 50th anniversary—when editor Ben Moon, IM '62, wrote a "-30-" at the conclusion of a column. In journalism jargon, that means the
1957
Over the years, alumni magazine writers and photographers have captured the traditions, victories, defeats, changes, the promise and the potential of Tech, including this look at a future U.S. Senator—Sam Nunn—whose reward for winning the cake race was a kiss from the Homecoming queen.