Golden Club alumni gather for annual summer luncheon

RALEIGH, N.C. — Campbell University’s Golden Club alumni gathered at the Raleigh Country Club on Wednesday for its annual summer luncheon.

The event brings together alumni who graduated from Campbell 50 or more years ago, offering an opportunity to reconnect with longtime friends, share memories and stay connected with their alma mater.

“Our Golden Club continues to amaze me with their dedication to continued community building,” said Shelby Howard, director of alumni engagement. “Over 50 years removed from their own graduation days, the Golden Club knows that we are better together and continue to choose fellowship with fellow Camels year after year. What a gift and a legacy that we younger alumni have the privilege of aspiring to uphold.

This year’s featured speaker was Campbell men’s basketball head coach Jimmie Williams, who shared more about himself, his family and the journey that brought him to Buies Creek.

Campbell men’s basketball head coach Jimmie Williams speaks to Golden Club alumni during the annual Golden Club Luncheon at Raleigh Country Club.

Williams centered his remarks around four themes: fit, faith, family and what he described as his “ferocious” love for the game of basketball.

He shared that Campbell first entered his life in 1998, when he helped his best friend and high school teammate, Wes Layton, move from Kansas to Buies Creek after Layton signed to play basketball for the Camels. Williams recalled playing pickup basketball in Carter Gym during that trip and getting his first glimpse of the University.

Nearly three decades later, Williams said Campbell’s values and sense of community helped make the opportunity to become the Camels’ head coach feel like the right fit for him and his family.

“The more I’ve gotten to know people in this community, the more it’s been made abundantly clear that the fit of what our values are as a family and who I am as a coach and who I am as a man and what God’s called me to do align with Campbell University,” Williams said.

He also told Golden Club members that learning more about Campbell’s history and hearing from the alumni who helped shape the University is important to him as he begins building his program.

“I want to know more about the heritage of Campbell University,” Williams said. “I want to hear so many of your stories and about what made you choose Campbell.”

Following the program, Williams and his wife, Stephanie, spent time visiting with Golden Club members and hearing more about their experiences at Campbell.

Three attendees smile while seated together at a table during the Golden Club Luncheon, with other guests visiting in the background. Three attendees smile while seated together at a table during the Golden Club Luncheon, with other guests visiting in the background. Three Golden Club alumni chatting with each other while seated together at a table during the annual Golden Club Luncheon.

The next Golden Club gathering will take place during Homecoming Weekend, October 16–17, at the annual Golden Club Induction Luncheon. Alumni from the Class of 1976, along with eligible alumni who have not yet been inducted, are invited to join the Golden Club and be recognized during a special induction ceremony held on campus.