Setting up the 50 outline to prepare for the photo
Volunteers wave as the time for the actual photo draws near
Linda Bales and Diane Jackson from the TCAT Division are all smiles
Bruce Alston and Charles Parks from Media Services work to position the drone for the photo
375 volunteers wave as the drone snaps the historic photo
2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Chattanooga State Community College. Established by the legislature of the State of Tennessee in 1963, the college officially opened its doors to students in 1965. Events to honor its golden anniversary have been in he planning stages since last fall and one of the first activities to take place was a historic 50th Anniversary photograph.
This spring, the Hamilton County Health Department was promoting smoke-free campus events. Partnering with Chattanooga State Foundation, HCHD offered to provide T-shirts imprinted with their information and our 50th Anniversary logo. While the shirts were being designed, Joe Helseth, executive assistant to the president and a professor in the Humanities and Fine Arts Division, recruited staff from the Media Services Department to take a photo of an area within the Outdoor Museum of Art, using a drone. After examining the drone shots, an area was chosen for the historic photo.
Preparations for the photo did not end there. Next came the temporary removal of a sculpture in the photo area and borrowing the athletic field line applicator to draw an outline of the number “50.” Following this step, Mr. Helseth then had to calculate the number of people needed: 375.
Recruiting the 375 faculty, staff, students, board members, retirees and former students was a job for Patty Brown, director of marketing and communications. Email contacts were made and t-shirt sizes were collected. As the production of T-shirts began, the photo was scheduled for Friday, April 24 at precisely 11 a.m.
On a beautiful, sunny April 24, the marketing and communications department set up tables to distribute t-shirts prior to the photo shoot. As volunteers filed in to claim their shirts, staff members busily arranged them within the “50” outline. Excited chatter filled the air as volunteers awaited their part of this historic photo. Mr. Helseth’s deep voice alerted the crowd to take their places as the drone hovered above. He instructed the crowd to look up and wave, then within a few minutes the event was over and the College’s first anniversary event came to a quiet close.
The historic 50th Anniversary photo can be seen on billboards and the Chattanooga State website at www.chattanoogastate.edu.