Following in his footsteps: Maryville College alums honor the late Tom Eberhard ’60 at this year’s annual KT Days give-back event
June 6, 2024
They’re named after one of Maryville College’s most famous alumni, but KT Days — the annual Maryville College tradition during which graduates return to the institution to give back in “sweat equity” to the school that means so much to them — owes just as much, if not more, to the late Tom Eberhard ’60.
Eberhard, who died last September, will loom large over this year’s KT Days — named for campus legend Kin Takahashi, class of 1895, whose commitment to Maryville College during his time as a student was unprecedented — which takes place Tuesday, June 11 through Thursday, June 13, on the MC campus. KT Days 2024 marks the 26th year that the event has taken place, and while Eberhard’s absence adds a touch of melancholy to what amounts to a reunion of sorts, remembering his legacy in both words and deed will ensure it remains a part of KT Days for years to come.
“Tom’s involvement with the KT program came about at our Class of 1960 35th reunion in 1995,” said Dan Greaser ’60, Eberhard’s classmate. “As the class president, I invited then MC Vice President for Admissions and Enrollment Donna Franklin Davis ’83 to speak to those at the reunion about the challenges at Maryville College. I had been on the Board of Directors since 1989, so I knew most of the dire needs of the time. Tom and other classmates had mentioned the need for improving the look of the campus, and Donna stressed the importance of that for recruiting students, staff, faculty, board members and philanthropic support.
“After the talk by Donna, Tom came to me and said, ‘Dan, a lot of us don’t have a lot of money, but many of us have time and talent. If there was a way for us to contribute our time and talent, maybe we could make a real difference in the look of the campus.’”
A legacy of service
Eberhard’s suggestion back then led to a proposal by Greaser and fellow board member/alumnus Dan Ellis ’60 to the College administration: Purchase the materials and the tools, assign grounds and facilities crews to oversee the work, and invite Scots past and present to campus every June to give back to the College through labor. The first KT Days, Greaser said, was established in 1997; back then, it was known as KT Week, and Eberhard was actively involved from the beginning.
“Tom was a natural leader for the grounds work to be done, as his daughter, Lisa, owned a garden center in Cincinnati. Tom helped his daughter and knew volumes about plants, trimming, mulching, etc.,” Greaser said. “He gained the confidence of (former Physical Plant Director) Andy McCall and the Physical Plant grounds staff and led the KT Week landscaping improvement effort for over 20 years. Tom’s participation style was not as a director, but as a doer. At the end of every day, he was usually carrying the evidence of the day’s work on his clothes.
“His very look motivated his team, always one of the largest in number of volunteers for the work week. One of his greatest concerns was planting trees during the June KT Week, which he knew was not the best time of year for survival. So he would follow up with Andy and the grounds team to make sure the saplings were being routinely watered.”
To commemorate both his legacy and love of the wooded sentinels that stand tall on the Maryville College campus, KT Days volunteer organizers and administrators of MC’s Alumni Affairs plan for an unveiling at the event’s welcome lunch on Tuesday, June 11. Lisa Dowery-Pugh, Eberhard’s daughter, will be a special guest at the luncheon, but more importantly, she’s bringing with her a sapling grown from a cutting taken from an elm tree in the yard of Eberhard’s Cincinnati home that’s estimated to be more than 200 years old and one of the oldest in Ohio.
The sapling will find a new home in the Maryville College Memorial Garden — a much-anticipated project nearing completion beside the Maryville College Cemetery. The garden project will include recognition space for alumni and friends, an informal gathering space, a contemplative space and a columbarium. Primary funding for the project was provided by the Class of 1969 in honor of its 50th reunion, and Kathy Hinger Dorner ’67 in memory of Steve Dorner ’69.
“It has been humbling to reflect on Tom’s impact to his alma mater as we have developed plans to honor him during KT Days,” said Jennifer Phillips Triplett ’07, director of Alumni Affairs. “We are grateful to Lisa and his entire family for their guidance during this process of planting the tree at the Maryville College Memorial Garden in Tom’s honor and memory.”
In addition, Design Professor Adrienne Schwarte worked with the KT Days team and a Maryville College student for a special T-shirt design for 2024 that commemorates the legacy of both the event and Eberhard: It “includes the theme ‘Service is KINdness’ along with elm leaves in recognition of Tom,” according to Triplett. “The shirts are gifted to all our volunteers and will be especially meaningful this year.”
“Tom was like a brother, and KT Days as it exists now is sustainable because of Tom’s effort and contribution,” Greaser added. “He called me and suggested we contribute to a KT endowment to cover some of the housekeeping and material costs for the KT program. He led that effort, and the endowment now covers some of the costs related to the program. Tom was respected and loved by those who knew him, and I am among them.”
Labors of love, born of camaraderie
Those costs are a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that KT participants have helped the College save on labor costs over the years through volunteer work on various projects. This year, in addition to several evergreen activities such as assisting in the preservation and cataloging of the College archives, eradicating invasive species in the Maryville College Woods and refreshing and weeding the campus landscape beds, there are a number of light construction tasks on deck: repairs to the picket fence surrounding Crawford House, for example, as well as constructing a stairway from the Austin Coleman Piper Memorial Track, replacing the roof of an MC Woods information kiosk, and continuing stabilization work on the spring house and greenhouse/root cellar that historically served the House in the Woods.
Maryville College alumni, however, have answered the call for volunteers, as they always do.
“We look forward to welcoming 90 volunteers — affectionally called ‘KT’ers”’ — which is consistent in our growth since the event returned in 2022 after a two-year cancellation due to the pandemic,” Triplett said. “In 2023, we had 88 volunteers join us for the 25th anniversary year of KT Days. KT’ers have been returning to campus for decades, forming their own kind of alumni reunion group. It is clear they embrace this opportunity to serve the College, but their camaraderie and the bonds they get to strengthen are significant factors in deciding to return each year.”
There will be familiar faces, of course, but the event also brings back numerous KT Days newbies. This year, Triplett said, organizers are particularly excited to welcome 23 first-time volunteers. Included as some of these first-timers are 14 faculty and staff members, many of them alumni, who plan to work alongside former students — and are able to do so without using personal vacation time, because College administrators, Triplett said, want to encourage, nurture and continue to grow a tradition that’s unique to Maryville College. Eberhard’s dedication, Triplett and Greaser pointed out, is just a singular example of the special place so many alumni hold in their hearts for their alma mater.
“To have so many first-timers that include alumni, students, and faculty and staff members is a wonderful demonstration of the ongoing interest and support of KT Days by those of all generations and affiliations with the College,” Triplett said. “After celebrating 25 years of KT Days in 2023, we have been looking forward to 2024 as the start of the next 25 years of this beloved event on our campus.”
For more information on KT Days, including a more in-depth look at its origins, please see the winter/spring 2023 edition of FOCUS, the College’s alumni magazine published twice yearly.
