Dedications Held to Honor Two Legendary Louisburg Figures On the evening of Wednesday, February 15, 2012, a group of former Louisburg College basketball players and their families, along with members of the LC faculty and staff, gathered in the Roger G. Taylor Athletic Center to dedicate the men’s locker room in honor of retired ‘Canes basketball coach, Enid Drake. Drake led the Hurricanes for five decades and inspired scores of players along the way, two of whom were present at the dedication of the newly-renovated facility. During the ceremony, Scott Wilder, who played for Drake in the 1990s, shared stories about the coach and professed his profound appreciation for Drake’s impact on his life and the lives of countless other players. Andre Gower, a former teammate of Wilder’s, was also present for the dedication. Wilder and Gower are not only close friends, but also work together at Wilder’s business, Premiere Sports Travel in Cary. President La Branche presented Drake with a plaque honoring him for his service to the College (pictured, top). A bronze engraved replica of the plaque will permanently hang in the locker room. On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Historic Holton Gymnasium was officially re-named the Roger G. Taylor Athletic Center. During the ceremony, President La Branche presented Taylor with a commissioned painting of the Athletic Center (pictured, 2nd from top). Taylor later addressed the crowd before assisting with the tip-off shot for the men’s basketball game against Wake Technical Community College. Taylor is a 1968 graduate of Louisburg College and was a member of the basketball team. The facility was renamed to honor Taylor’s longtime contributions and generosity to Louisburg, including his current leadership role in a $500,000 fundraising effort to upgrade the facility, which already has resulted in new bleachers and a refinished court surface, among other improvements. Roger Taylor is owner of Roger G. Taylor and Associates, a financial services firm located in Rocky Mount, N.C. He serves on the College’s board of trustees, and is also a member and past president of the Louisburg College Hurricane Club. He is the past president of the Louisburg College Alumni Association, and, in 1992, was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2007, he was inducted into the Louisburg College inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame.
RECOGNITION OF SCHOLAR-ATHLETES The Hurricane Scholar-Athlete Awards ceremony immediately followed the dedication. These awards are given to all studentathletes (pictured, bottom) who earn a semester average of 3.0 or higher. The program was established at Louisburg College in 2005 to encourage student-athletes to strive to be scholar-athletes. These students received awards based upon the following criteria: gold for a 4.0 average; silver for a 3.5 or greater average; and bronze for a 3.0 or greater average. A group of 105 scholarathletes received awards during the ceremony to recognize their academic achievements for the spring 2011 and fall 2012 semesters. SPRING 2012
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