519 JOHN MARSHALL DRIVE HUNTINGTON, WV 25703 P 304.696.6264 WWW.MARSHALL.EDU/FOUNDATION MANAGING EDITOR: KRISTIN RHODES GRATITUDE Articles of AUTUMN 2018 Continued on next page > Finding a Marshall Family A Herd of Thanks This November, our students are taking an extra opportunity to express their sincere gratitude for your support. You deserve a herd of thanks for changing the lives of multiple generations at Marshall University. Please visit www. facebook.com/ marshallfoundation as we feature one student per week throughout the month of November to share why they are thankful for the difference your generosity makes daily. Throughout the decades, the Huntington campus of Marshall University continues to be ever changing. Our programs, clubs and student population continue to become more diverse. Students are active in the changes they desire to see implemented to help with recruitment. They are involved with extracurricular activities which allow them to develop as individuals and grow professionally. Whether students come to Marshall from near or far, extracurricular activities help build their Marshall family. As alumni, remaining active across campus allows one to build a new family — the kind that works together to prepare the university for the next generation by planning for new opportunities that they were not afforded. Many of our alumni continue to volunteer their time for the same reason as Joe Gillette, “the four years I was at Marshall were the best of my life.” “It was my father’s dream that I would go to Marshall and play football. His love became mine,” explained Joe. Born in Huntington, West Virginia, Joe’s parents moved to Ohio, but often returned to Huntington to visit family. After being named First Team All Ohio in football his senior year of high school, Joe became a member of the 1969 freshman football team at Marshall and played the spring game in 1970 before an injury ended his career. Majoring in business management, Joe describes his time at Marshall as a period of great change. “The Twin Towers and Memorial Student Center opened helping fuel student growth, we suffered through the worst sports disaster in American history and fell in love with the Young Thundering Herd,” he said. In addition to the friendships Joe established as an athlete, he became involved in additional areas of the university that expanded his Marshall family, such as Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and intramural sports. After graduating from Marshall in 1973, Joe went to Bluefield, West Virginia, to manage a Pizza Hut. It was there he met his wife, Pam. The couple married on Valentine’s Day in 1975. Joe’s commitment to the food service industry paid off. He became vice president of Luther’s BBQ, a company based out of Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 30. At the age of 40, he became vice president of Wendy’s, a Fortune 500 Company in the Atlanta area. The Society of Yeager Scholars Joseph and Pamela Gillette Class of 2020