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Alumni Share Their Favorite Memories of the A.E. Finley Activity Center

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We asked our Ravenscroft Alumni Facebook friends: What was your favorite moment, event, activity or memory in the A.E. Finley Activity Center? Here are some of the responses posted Sept. 16-18, 2020.

 

Keep up with the A.E. Finley Activity Center’s latest renovation and addition — the 18-month project to create the new Center for Student Life — on our dedicated project webpage, and read about the vision for holistic wellness behind programming for the space in Fit.


Commencement exercises were held in the Finley Center’s Main Arena for many years, starting with the Class of 1974 — with then-Vice President Gerald Ford giving the address.

The Finley Center has been home to five state-championship basketball teams. This collage from the 2007 Corvus captures Main Arena action from (clockwise from top left) Casey Stevenson ’08, Ryan Kelly ’09, Jackie Branscomb ’07, Lindsay Cower Kelly ’09, Chaz McQueen ’07, Cowher Kelly and Anya Knower ’08. In 2019, the Main Arena court was named in honor of longtime boys basketball coach Kevin Billerman.

A student lounge in Finley provided space for relaxing activities such as ping-pong and pool (pictured here in 1976) and, as Fairley Bell Cook ’77 remembers, catching up on “The Young and the Restless” on TV.

Cathy Gupton Jurgensen ’81 and William “Ben” Rose ’83 remember the excitement of pep rallies, as shown in this 1981 photo of cheerleaders building a classic pyramid.

“The King and I” was staged in the Finley Center in both 1983-84, with Amy Scheeler Sparks ’84 (at bottom) as Lady Thiang, and again in 1992-93 (at top). As castmates Shannon Dooley Rinella ’98 and Katie Pressel Gillespie ’95 remember, the latter was the last musical performed there, as the Fine Arts Center opened in 1993.

At top, members of the Class of 2021 enjoy a pep rally in the A.E. Finley Centers Main Arena, captured in the 2015 Corvus yearbook.


Want to get in on the fun of Ravens Reply? Visit our Alumni Facebook page to add comments to this alumni thread.