July 17, 2002 – More than 300 people, including Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and a good number of Virgin Islanders, are expected to participate this week in the Fifth Biennial Convention of the National Hampton Alumni Association, which will take place at Marriott Frenchman’s Reef and Morningstar Beach Resort.
Off-island registrants have already begun arriving for the convention that officially begins on Thursday, July 18 and ends on Sunday, July 21st.
Among the many Virgin Islanders who are alumni of Hampton are Gov. Turnbull, Ulla Muller, Juel Molloy, Ariel Melchior Jr., Bertha Boschulte, The Hon. Eileen Petersen, The Hon. Verne A. Hodge, and former Senate presidents Elmo D. Roebuck and Hugo Dennis.
Gov. Turnbull will host a President’s Reception for Dr. William Harvey, the current president of Hampton University, at the Governor’s Catherineberg residence on Thursday evening.
In addition, the Hampton Alumni Choir, directed by alumnus Roland Carter, will perform in the Marriott’s Grand Ballroom on Friday, July 19th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children and will be available at the door.
The alumni association, which keeps in contact with more than 21,000 alumni, will be developing a work plan to present to the university's president, gain knowledge from Dr. Harvey's Saturday sharing session, and conduct association's business and individual networking, according to an on-line article by association president Anne Baird-Bridges, who scouted the Virgin Islands location.
Hampton University was founded in 1868 as the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute "to prepare promising young African-American men and women to lead and tech their newly-freed people," according to the university website. In 1922 it became the Hampton Institute and in 1984, Hampton University, with six schools offering bachelor's degrees and a graduate college with several master's and doctoral-level programs.
For further information about the convention, please call the Greater St. Thomas-St. John Chapter of the National Hampton Alumni Association at 643-5536 or 771-1302.
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