Thrift returns to Avondale an award winner

Conductor, educator and mentor now Alumnus of the Year

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

One of Avondale College of Higher Education’s longest-serving staff members is now its Alumnus of the Year.

Alan Thrift received a standing ovation as he accepted the Avondale Alumni Association’s highest award during the worship service at Homecoming on Saturday (August 27).

President Pr Desmond B Hills presented the award in recognition of Alan’s dedication to musical excellence, particularly at Avondale, his gift as an educator and his contribution as a mentor. He acknowledged Alan’s 41 years as head of the then Music Department and noted his achievements as including: conducting the Avondale Symphonic Choir in the first television broadcast of a choral program in Sydney; organising tours throughout Australia and to New Zealand and the United States; and serving for 20 years as musical director of the Sydney Male Choir.

Citations

Eight other alumni, one from each honour year, joined Alan as award recipients. Receiving citations from their classmates were: minister’s wife and retired cooking demonstrator and teacher Geneva Smith (1941); artist Melvin Duffy (1951); Dr Lloyd Willis (1961), a Professor of Religion at Southwestern Adventist University (Keene, Texas, USA) who also preached the Sabbath sermon; retired chaplain Dr Roger Henley (1971); minister Pr Michael Brownhill (1981); Seventh-day Adventist Church youth leader Pr Nick Kross (1986); nurse Marilyn Lewis (1991); and minister Leighton Heise (2001).

Alumni Lecture

Dr Marion Shields described Jesus as a “shiftless Nazarene” during the presentation of her “Outliers, misfits or something else?” paper at the Alumni Lecture on Friday. The senior lecturer in the School of Education at Avondale based her description on Jesus’ lack of education and employment and His nomadic lifestyle, while also noting His relationships with women and tax collectors and His praise of a Samaritan. His message? Not to restore our broken relationship with God but to heal broken relationships among people. Marion noted the difference between the Pharisees’ definition of holiness—based on exclusivity—and Jesus’—based on inclusivity. Putting the latter into practice, particularly in the church, can be challenging, she said. “A healthy church often attracts unhealthy people, but a healthy church should be one of the few places where those people find love and acceptance.”

The Avondale Alumni Association dedicated the lecture to retired Seventh-day Adventist educator Dr John Hammond.

Annual general meeting

During the annual general meeting following the lecture, members of the association reelected Desmond and Jenny Laredo Hilder as their president and vice-president.

Hymns and Songs of Praise

Avondale vocal ensemble The Promise and seven of its former members featured in a reunion performance at Hymns and Songs of Praise on Saturday evening. Tenor Dell Lawrence and mezzo-soprano Vivienne Calwell’s duet—the two sang “The Prayer”—moved the audience as did producer Dr Lyell Heise’s dedication of the final hymn, “Because He Lives,” to the 11 family members who died in the Slacks Creek house fire. The concert, produced by the church in the South Pacific’s Institute of Worship, almost filled Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Golf Classic

Forty competitors entered the golf classic at the Toronto Country Club on Sunday morning. Alumnus Mark Lamplough and Sean Fitzpatrick won the open division of the Ambrose format tournament with a six under par 65. Chef Josh Radford, one of the sponsors, and Steve Plahn won on handicap. Wendi Herman, a lecturer in the School of Education, and Shona Mitchell won the women’s division.