Meade Named Homecoming Parade Marshal

The traditional Homecoming Parade for Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College presented by Student Government will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, in downtown Fairmont. Student Government has selected Charlotte A. Meade, a retired educator and active member of the Fairmont community, as parade marshal.

Any marching group, organization, political candidate, community group or business interested in having a float or car in the parade should call the Office of Student Affairs at (304) 367-4643 by Thursday, Oct. 9. Line-up for the parade, which is sponsored by the Times West Virginian, will begin at 5:15 p.m. at Palatine Park. The parade is on a different night of the week and will take a slightly different route than in years past. The parade route will begin on East Side, come down Merchant Street and across the Jefferson Street/High Level Bridge to Adams Street.

Presented by Student Government, the annual Pep Rally, sponsored by the Times West Virginian, will begin at 7 p.m. at Falcon Center Gym 1. FSU and Pierpont clubs will compete for the Spirit Stick, as cheerleaders and the band lead the crowd in cheering on the Fighting Falcons. Homecoming court candidates, the football coaches and team captains will also be introduced.

 

Charlotte A. Meade

Charlotte A. Meade was born in Fairmont and is a graduate of Dunbar High School, West Virginia State College (now University) and the University of Toledo. She has done post-graduate work at West Virginia University.

Before retiring in 2003, she taught reading/language arts at Robinson Junior High School in Toledo, Ohio, and at Monongah Middle School in Marion County. She also taught at the former Fairmont Business College. Her teaching career spanned a period of 45 years.

She is an "aunt" to many. She is active in the United Methodist Church and is pianist-choir director at Trinity UMC. She is a member of the Fairmont Arts & Humanities Commission, of the WVSU Alumni Club, of the WVARSE, of the NAACP, of NBMCR, of Church Women United and of FSU's Hunt/Arnold Scholarship Committee. She is a board member of OIC.

Awards she has received include the Distinguished Citizen of Fairmont, Marion County Teacher of the Year, Mountain State Bar Association Citizenship Award, The Soroptomist Woman of Distinction Award, Fairmont Arts & Humanities Teacher Award, The Milken Foundation's Educator's Award and the FSU Women of Color Service and Achievement Award. She presented the 2007 Winter Commencement address for FSU and Pierpont.

Since her retirement, Meade has self-published a collection of her poetry and other written expressions in a book titled "In My Time." Her writings have also been featured in "Traditions," a journal published by FSU's Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center. She is also a Citizen Columnist for "Good Morning" in the Times West Virginian. Other activities that capture her interest include crafts, music, writing, reading, listening to good discussions, nurturing, motivating and spending time with family and friends.

The Fighting Falcons take on West Virginia Wesleyan College for the Homecoming football game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Duvall-Rosier Field. Visit www.fairmontstate.edu or www.pierpont.edu for a complete list of events for the week of Homecoming 2008, Oct. 20-25, with the theme "Falcons Are Forever."