Alumni chief is given emotional sendoff
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:16 p.m., April 18, 2008
Updated 01:16 p.m., April 18, 2008
The T-shirts worn by the student ambassadors said it all: “Everybody Loves Roy Mann.”
And it’s likely that at no time over Mann’s 20 years at Emporia State University was that fact more evident than at his farewell reception at Sauder Alumni Center.
A large group of students, faculty, family and friends said good-bye to Mann, who has been ESU’s director of alumni relations since 1995, on Thursday afternoon. Mann won’t be going far — in fact, he won’t be leaving Emporia, having taken a job as a senior development officer with the Provision Ministry Group. But just the fact that he’ll no longer be on campus is enough to bring sadness to faculty members and students who’ve grown accustomed to his personable nature and sharp sense of humor.
“I’ll miss him terribly,” said Judith Heasley, president of the ESU Foundation, who had worked closely with Mann to build the university’s national alumni base. “When he resigned almost two months ago now — gave us plenty of notice — they were all stunned and very, just, sad. And then, it was like business as usual, you know, ‘We’re traveling, we’re doing our work.’ And then the reality set in last Friday, when we did a staff roast.”
Whether being teased with jokes or toasted in emotional fashion, Mann was soaking up the love from everyone at Sauder.
“I have to say that it’s a little hard to express in words,” Mann said. “I have truly made more friends here than I ever dreamed I would have. ... It’s truly like expanding your family a hundred thousand times over.”
Drew Donahoo, this year’s chairman of the ESU Ambassador’s Club, for which Mann served as an adviser, choked up repeatedly at Thursday’s reception while attempting to give Mann a laundry list of thank-yous for everything he’d done for the student ambassadors.
“Thank you for opening your door, ears and heart to us,” Donahoo said.
University President Michael Lane opted for a more lighthearted tribute, poking some roast-style fun at Mann while lauding his contributions to ESU.
“In all honesty,” Lane said, “Roy does have one skill that’s unsurpassed at this university, and he knows I’ve said this before: He sucks up to authority better than anybody else.”
But those who know him found plenty of other good qualities to list, too.
“He just has such a contagious joy for everything he does,” said Jesse Tuel, director of advancement communications for the ESU Foundation. “Such a great personality, and that’s why people are drawn to him. ... He always makes sure everybody’s having a good time, and that the people around him are doing the same.”
Heasley said that while Mann’s position would be filled, hopefully over the summer, he couldn’t be replaced.
“He’s funny, he’s a voice of reason when high tension starts,” she said. “... He has a funny personality, great personality, but you can’t replace someone like him.”
Once it was Mann’s turn to address the crowd, his knack for making people laugh was on full display.
“I have to be honest and get one thing out first and foremost,” he said near the beginning of his speech, “because it’s been a concern with so many people: No, I did not say something stupid and get fired.”