University of Mississippi students Thompson Regimbal (left) and Hazard Zepponi organize a wood pile for Sparky Reardon, former Ole Miss dean of students, as part of the Ole Miss Big Event on Saturday (March 28). The annual event allows students to give back to the community in which they attend school with a variety of projects. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Record participation and storm recovery efforts highlight students’ commitment to service, connection
With spring in the air, University of Mississippi students gave back to the place they call home during the Big Event, held Saturday (March 28) throughout Oxford and Lafayette County.
More than 1,160 students volunteered to complete service projects at more than 100 project sites throughout the county, spreading their efforts on the breezy, sunny day from Abbeville to Oxford to Taylor.
This year’s volunteer numbers are the highest post-COVID, said Morgan Simmons, UM coordinator of student organization management.
“The volunteer numbers wouldn’t have been possible without our team of students being passionate about giving back to the community they have called home throughout their college experiences,” she said.
A record 156 student project leaders helmed teams focused on recovery from winter storm “Fern,” said Audrey Dufrene, a junior public policy leadership major from Shreveport, Louisiana, and Big Event director of projects and leadership.
Several project sites were at the homes of longtime Oxford and Ole Miss fixtures.
Ed and Molly Meisenheimer, both Ole Miss alumni, began working with the Big Event a few years ago following surgery and a big birthday.
“It gets harder and harder to bend over or squat down to trim things and pick up sticks,” Molly Meisenheimer said. “So, when we heard about the Big Event several years ago, we expressed interest.”
“It is such a wonderful community sharing event and lets us Oxford citizens meet kind students, and it shows us the depth of generosity and service these students possess.”
The kindness and strength of students were also felt at the home of identical twin sisters Kat and Margaret King, who have lived in Oxford for some 65 years and tutored generations of Ole Miss students.
“The wonderful ‘girls’ who volunteered cleaned up (storm) debris, put out pine straw, cleaned the front porch and patio furniture, planted flowers and even put my bicycle back together,” Kat King said. “There’s something to be said for ‘girl power.'”
Sophomore accounting major Charlie Whittington, from Jackson, served as a project leader.
“I participate in The Big Event because of the impact it has on Oxford,” he said. “I find great fulfillment and purpose in my work with the Big Event because it allows me to pour back into a school and a community that has given me so much more than I could have ever asked for.”
Another project site was the home of alumnus Sparky Reardon, who served Ole Miss for 36 years, most recently as dean of students until his retirement in 2014.
“While having students work and help with tasks, the best part of the day for me is the ongoing conversations and breaking bread at the end of the day,” Reardon said.
Oxford native Presleigh Loper enjoyed the conversations at her project site as well.
“I got to form a closer bond with the host of our project site and got to know her story,” the junior biology major said. “We were talking the whole time we helped her, and it made me happy to know we brightened her day.”
The Big Event is part of a nationwide movement that began in 1982 at Texas A&M University. It was adopted by Ole Miss in 2011 and has continued each year except 2020.
Through the service and conversations, it all boils down to Hotty Toddy for many volunteers.
“Hotty Toddy to me is more than a phrase used to connect with someone wearing an Ole Miss sweatshirt in an airport,” said Evelyn Coon, a junior accounting and public policy leadership major from Madison, Alabama. “It represents a shared commitment among Ole Miss students and alumni to excellence, kindness and community; it serves as a reminder that home is not just a place, but the people and connections that grow with you over time.”
Loper enjoyed modeling her meaning of Hotty Toddy: showing someone that you are connected in a way and bringing Ole Miss alumni and students together with a sense of belonging.
“As a leader, I got to exemplify what Hotty Toddy is to me and share that with my group and our project site host,” she said. “Being from Oxford, I got to help my own community and allow others to feel what it means to be a part of it.”
That is what the Big Event is all about, Reardon said.
“The Big Event is one of the best things Ole Miss does,” he said. “It’s so upbeat and positive; I like to think that those being served are especially blessed but maybe not as much as those serving.”
By Marisa C. Atkinson
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