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WIU RPTA Chair Dan Yoder speaks during the 2016 Lodge and Libations celebration.
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Fourth Annual Lodge and Libations Set for Sept. 23

August 24, 2017

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This year, Lodge and Libations—an annual event to help raise funds to construct a premier outdoor educational facility at Western Illinois University's Horn Field Campus—will also celebrate the Environmental, Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE) program class of 1987 and Professor Emeritus Mike McGowan's 30 years at Western.

MACOMB, IL – In anticipation of the 50th anniversary celebration of Western Illinois University's Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA) in 2018, the fourth annual Lodge and Libations event will be held at Horn Field Campus (HFC) Saturday, Sept. 23, to raise money for the Frank Lupton Outdoor Education Building.

The event starts at 5 p.m., with a program beginning at 6 p.m.

This year, Lodge and Libations will celebrate the 1987 Environmental, Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE) class and 30 years of accomplishments by RPTA Professor Emeritus Mike McGowan, who retired from Western in May. ECOEE is a semester-long field studies travel program that supports professional preparation in outdoor leadership through experiential education.

Lodge and Libations was first organized in 2014 to celebrate 50 years of Horn Field being part of Western and to raise money to build a premier outdoor educational facility at HFC, a 92-acre outdoor educational facility (just south of Macomb) administered by the WIU RPTA program.

Once completed, the new building—to be named in honor of RPTA Professor Emeritus Frank Lupton, who retired from Western in 1993—will not only enhance the learning experiences of Western students, but also serve as a state-of-the-art facility for the hundreds of groups who use HFC every year, including students enrolled in ECOEE.

Admission to Lodge and Libations is $25 per person and $10 for WIU students and youth. Online registration is available until Wednesday, Sept. 20 at wiu.edu/alumni.

Those who cannot attend and still want to contribute can text "Horn50" to 41444, or contact College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) Director of Development Suzanne Woodward at (309) 298-1690 or by email at S-Woodward@wiu.edu.

For more information about Lodge and Libations, or about ways to get involved to help Horn Field Campus, contact HFC Program Coordinator Mindy Pheiffer at (309) 298-HORN or by email at MJ-Pheiffer@wiu.edu.

Learn more about the ECOEE program at wiu.edu/coehs/rpta/ecoee/ and about Horn Field Campus at wiu.edu/hfc or the RPTA office at (309) 298-1967.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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