University Times

The schedule has been finalized for Pitt Day at Kennywood, which is set for July 14 in pavilions 1, 2 and 8. Staff Association Council (SAC) organizers say arrangements for staff to snag lunch and pick up prizes have been improved for the return of this traditional event.

“We’re doing things a little bit differently this year,” said Marissa Arlet, vice chair of SAC’s program and planning committee until July 1, when the new officers take over new offices created by bylaws adopted last year.

Pitt attendees arriving at Kennywood pavilions 1, 2 and 8 will be given a wristband that is good for lunch any time from noon to 3 p.m. They also will receive a ticket, which they may place in front of the prize — gift baskets and other items — they hope to win. The winning tickets will be drawn and winners posted at 3 p.m. in pavilion 1;  winners have until 5 p.m. to retrieve their prizes.

“We think people might like this a little better because they get to choose what they want to win,” Arlet said. Additional prize tickets are available for $1 each, five for $3 or 10 for $5.

Also, several larger baskets of prizes will be up for silent auction. These include a Pitt athletics package that contains four tickets to a Pitt football game. Another silent auction basket will feature gift cards to Oakland restaurants.

Pitt Day at Kennywood tickets are available for purchase in the William Pitt Union ticket office. Arlet cautions that the ticket office has more limited summer hours this year. “We suggest you call the ticket office right before you go to make sure someone is going to be there,” she said.

The full schedule of Pitt Day at Kennywood is:

• 11:30 a.m.-noon: Kids’ treasure hunt with Roc (ages 12 and under; must be accompanied by an adult), pavilion 1. Join Pitt football players and cheerleaders on a hunt through Kennywood to find Roc. The first 30 kids to find Roc will receive a $5 gift card to Target.

Roc, the football players and cheerleaders will be available to pose for pictures and give autographs at the end of the scavenger hunt.

• 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.: Panther silent auction and drawings for baskets, pavilion 1.

• Noon-2 p.m.: Free children’s face painting, balloon animals and henna tattoos, between pavilions 1 and 8. Kids also will receive a free T-shirt while supplies last.

• Noon-3 p.m.: Lunch, pavilions 1, 2 and 8 — hamburgers, barbecue boneless chicken, St. Louis barbecue ribs, haluski, Italian pasta salad, tossed salad and watermelon.

• 3 p.m.: Prizes announced and winners posted, pavilion 1.

• 3:15-4 p.m.: Bingo, pavilion 1.

• 5 p.m.: Last call for prize pick up, pavilion 1.

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At its June 12 meeting, outgoing SAC president Deborah Walker thanked the SAC membership for its support during her two-year tenure. She said she was most proud of several recent SAC accomplishments, including becoming more budget conscious and fiscally responsible; using Pitt Day in Harrisburg to urge the governor’s office to maintain state funding levels, and creating the new bylaws, which she said was not easy.

“We have really, really increased support, I feel, not only with our staff at Pitt, but with our senior administration,” she added.

Current Vice President J.P. Matychak, the incoming SAC president, noted that part of the proceeds from Pitt’s Kennywood event will support the SAC book fund for children of staff members and a campus improvement fund.

“The Campus Beautification Project Fund was Deborah, from Day 1,” he noted. It was Walker’s intention “to leave a legacy and a reminder of staff involvement” with the campus, Matychak explained.

He therefore proposed, and the membership supported, a resolution for the beautification fund’s first project to be a bench on the new portico at Hillman Library, bearing Walker’s name.

Said Walker: “I’m deeply touched by what J.P. said and by your vote.”

—Marty Levine