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Parents.wfu.edu

by Betsy Chapman

In this Issue:

  • New look and feel to parents.wfu.edu
  • There is a new process for families to receive Campus Security Alerts
  • Family Weekend event and football tickets
  • Weekly Message for New Families
  • History of the Reynolds Building (i.e., the Empire State twin) downtown

I am out today (to pack) and tomorrow (to move in) as my kiddo starts his time at NC State. So today and tomorrow will be pre-posts.

New look and feel to parents.wfu.edu

If any of y’all were noodling around on our main parents and families site, parents.wfu.edu, you might have noticed we have redesigned the main page and a few of the subpages. The new design allows for a better user experience for those who mainly visit the page on your mobile device.

The content of the site is largely the same, just reorganized in a way that we hope will make it easier for you to find what you need. One of the sections that I particularly like is for Parent and Family Events. It has countdown clocks to both Family Weekend and Commencement – looking at you, P’24s! This is your big year!!!

Speaking of Commencement, most of the detailed information about Commencement won’t come out until next spring, so we’d beg your patience until then.

Family Weekend event and football tickets

My colleagues who work with Family Weekend and athletics wanted me to bring you an update on tickets for the big weekend:

General event tickets

  • If you have not already registered for Family Weekend general event tickets, please visit their website and register.
  • Many of the events involving a meal are sold out (or close to sold out) but don’t let that worry you! For your students, one of the highlights of Family Weekend is having their loved ones take them out to eat 🙂 and our upperclass families have provided a list of local restaurants they love. Check out the list and consider making reservations at the spot(s) of your choosing (if applicable).

For football tickets: 

  • Please visit the Athletics website to purchase football tickets and parking. NOTE: if your student wants to sit with you, you will need to purchase a separate ticket for them. There are less than 1,000 seats available for this game, so don’t wait!
    • To inquire about PREMIUM SEATING OPTIONS, call the ticket office at 336-758-3322 ext 1 or email hobanj@wfu.edu.
  • The Demon Deacons will face off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, September 23. 
  • We will know kickoff time about 10 days before the game (due to the potential for television scheduling).

Weekly Message for New Families

We have our second to last weekly message for P’27 and transfer families here.

History of the Reynolds Building (i.e., the Empire State twin) downtown

I subscribe to the e-newsletter WS Today that covers info about local news and events. Monday’s issue had a fun tidbit about the Reynolds Building – the one that looks like the Empire State building – downtown. Thought the history and architecture buffs might enjoy the story:

The RJ Reynolds Building is lit in gold to celebrate Wake Forest hosting ESPN College Gameday and #1 Clemson, in downtown Winston-Salem on Wednesday, September 9, 2020.

“Wanna hear a tall tale? Standing proud at 314 ft. since 1929, the Reynolds Building has been a Winston-Salem icon for almost a full century. But as many local architecture fans know, it also served as inspiration for a certain King Kong-sized skyscraper up north. New York architectural firm Shreve and Lamb designed the local tower for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company — then contributed similar art deco plans for the Empire State Building that same year. But exactly how closely are the two related? Let’s take a look and see.

The Reynolds Building design came first and quickly grabbed the attention of architects around the world. With its ornate panels and stately facade, the tower won the National Architectural Association’s Building of the Year Award in 1929 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Not to brag or anything.

Planners involved with Shreve and Lamb’s Empire State Building drew inspiration from the firm’s Reynolds design — in addition to the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, which was also built around the same time. The New York landmark highlights elements of both the Reynolds’ ziggurat-style top part and needle + the Carew Tower’s base.

As some people tell it, the Empire State Building owes so much to Winston-Salem’s iconic tower that it sends a Father’s Day card every year to the Reynolds Building. But that was only a one-time thing. In 1979, Robert L. Timber — the Empire State Building’s general manager at the time — did send a nice message on the 50th anniversary of the Reynolds Building, with an opening line that said, “Happy Anniversary, Dad.”

Paternal relationship or not, we’re still in awe of the building that now houses the Kimpton Cardinal Hotel, the Katharine Restaurant, and residential apartments. It built quite the rep on its own.”

We have between 8 am-12:45 pm Wednesday to get our kiddo moved in, and then he will have to head out to band camp at NC State. Here’s hoping we can get everything in and settled in time 😛

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