By Hannah Lundquist —
Friday Oct. 2, 2015 was a very exciting day for University of Wisconsin–Stout. The first ever Stout Summit was held to display Stout’s features during the very busy homecoming weekend. The event lasted all day, starting with registration at 1 p.m. and continuing through the day and well into the night, ending with the last scheduled event at 10 p.m.
During the day guests, alumni, students, businesses and the public were invited on several tours, which displayed the various classes, labs, and activities that Stout has to offer. During the tour, participants were given healthy snacks and locally grown food to sample. Some of the tour destinations included the cadaver lab in Jarvis Hall, printmaking in Applied Arts and the packaging lab in Applied Arts as well.
To involve guests more in the school, they were brought over to Heritage Hall for cranberry puff tasting and making, along with a food and wine pairing demonstration. After a busy day of tours and demonstrations, guests were invited to enjoy appetizers and a meal shortly after.
The V.I.P. guests were invited to dine with Dave Anderson, founder of Famous Dave’s and Old Southern BBQ and Chancellor Meyer. Non- V.I.P. ticket holders did not miss out on dinner, instead they were treated to a full buffet. After dinner Dave Anderson gave an address about his success, his insights into our school and his optimistic outlook on life.
Juliet Fox says this event was a success; the number of attendees totaled nearly 100 people. Summit also drew in two major sponsors; Hormel Foods and Gold n’ Plump. Thanks to such amazing sponsors, this event was a huge success.
Since this was only the first event these numbers are very high. Attendance for the event next year is expected to rise. The sponsors and participants enjoyed the event so much that one of the first things many of them did after the event was sign on for next year. Both sponsors intend to play an even larger role next year to support the event as well.
Not only did this event showcase all of Stout’s amazing features, it also was a fundraising opportunity. This event was able to raise enough money to plan for student research and also award scholarship money for current and future Stout students.
With so many businesses in attendance, it gave them a chance to see the work that students accomplish here at Stout and how far along they are in their studies. Many businesses, including Hormel, were already impressed with Stout, but they were better able to understand what type of students they are looking for and decide if Stout is where they will find them. Hormel also said that it was nice to see Stout and how we have maintained our reputation.
All in all, this event was a tremendous success and everyone involved from this year is already planning for next year’s Summit and getting very excited. The Stout Summit is scheduled for next year on Oct. 7, 2016, the Friday of homecoming. This was an amazing event that served as a benefit not only to businesses and alumni but also to every student at Stout.