September 10, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - As active alumni and dedicated parents, Tom and Cheryl Bird make the 7½ hour drive from
Millersburg, Ohio, to Western Kentucky University several times each year.
But their trip this weekend was extra special because they were honored Saturday as WKU’s first Family of the Year. The award was presented as part of Parent and Family Weekend.
“We feel very honored to have been selected,” said Tom Bird, a 1967 graduate. “Cheryl and I feel very fortunate to be graduates of WKU and to be associated with such a fine university.”
The Birds have been associated with WKU since the 1960s. Tom is a former Hilltopper football player and serves as a member of the W Club board. Cheryl is a 1968 graduate.
“The friends we made in college and the new friends we’ve met over the past 30 years have really brought us closer to Western,” Tom Bird said. “Western really is our Kentucky home.”
Two of their five daughters – Andrea, a 1998 graduate; and Megan, a WKU senior – attended WKU. “We all share a common bond,” Megan said.
Megan nominated her family for the award because “I wanted to do something special for them for all they’ve done for me.”
“The award caught us totally by surprise,” Tom Bird said. “We’re just doing our job as parents.”
The nominations for Family of the Year were judged by members of the WKU Parents’ Association. “The nominations were judged on the effect the family has had in the student’s college experience and why their family stands out from other WKU families,” said Amy Miller, assistant director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. “Honoring a family during Parent and Family Weekend is a significant way to showcase the WKU Spirit.”
In her nomination essay, Megan said her parents and sister live by WKU’s motto “The Spirit Makes the Master.”
“Their spirit, passion, commitment and pride for WKU have overwhelmed me and I finally understand why,” she wrote.
Megan wrote that her parents and sister attend Homecoming, Parent and Family Weekend, sorority events, football games and other special events at WKU. “My parents have contributed to Western ever since they graduated, and they have definitely contributed to my experiences here at Western,” she wrote. “Their experiences have truly shaped me and now I can add to that with my own experiences.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Amy Miller at (270) 745-4395.
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