(MURFREESBORO) Golden Raiders -- the classes of 1969 and older -- and Distinguished Alumni will be celebrated Friday (Oct. 25) during MTSU homecoming festivities.

The Class of '69 Golden Raiders Reunion and Induction Ceremony will be held starting at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, in the MT Center in the Sam H. Ingram Building, 2269 Middle Tennessee Blvd.

The event location is the former home of North Boulevard Church of Christ. For years, MTSU students either attended church or campus-related events in the building.

The event and induction ceremony celebrate MTSU alumni who graduated 50 years ago or more.

The induction happens during the reunion held at homecoming each year, said Rhonda King, an Alumni Relations assistant director.

"It's a nice way to celebrate graduating from college," King said.

Events for Golden Raiders include a bus tour highlighting the buildings they took classes in as well as new ones, lunch and the induction ceremony to follow.

They will be inducted into the Golden Raiders Society by MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, National Alumni Association President Shawn Johnson ('93) of Murfreesboro and Alumni Relations Director Ginger Freeman.

King said it's not only "a trip down memory lane, but an opportunity to reconnect with the university."

Later in the day, Distinguished Alumni award recipients will be recognized.

2019-20 Distinguished Alumni

The Distinguished Alumni recipient is Jeremy Cowart of Franklin, Tennessee, who is an internationally acclaimed photographer and also an entrepreneur.

The Young Alumni Achievement Award, given to a graduate age 35 or younger making a positive impact in the world, goes to Aaron Shew, a Murfreesboro native now working at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, who has spent more than a decade working in international development and agribusiness.

True Blue Citations of Distinction honorees include:

• Achievement in Education (MTSU faculty) --Carroll Van West of Murfreesboro, who is the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation director, the Tennessee State Historian since 2013, history professor and author of numerous books.

• Achievement in Education (non-MTSU) --G. Edward Hughes of Union, Kentucky, who retired in 2015 after 42 years as a higher education teacher and administrator in Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas, New York and Kentucky.

• Service to Community --Meagan Flippin of Murfreesboro, the president and CEO of the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties since 2013 and president of Rutherford CABLE.

Homecoming events are scheduled to continue all day Saturday (Oct. 26), leading up to the 2:30 p.m. kickoff for the Blue Raiders-Florida International University Homecoming Game.

For more information, call 615-898-2922 or visit www.mtalumni.com. For Student Government Association homecoming events, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/sga/homecoming.php.