The 25 Year Club celebrated 124 employees with milestone anniversaries at the annual banquet on Feb. 27, with new members joining approximately 3,500 faculty and staff in the historic club.
This year's honorees, a group representing 3,675 combined years of service, include 71 employees who reached 25 years, 49 with 35 years, three with 45 years and one with 50 years -- Richard Dorsch, a research scientist with the Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology.
A list of this year's honorees can be found on the 25 Year Club website, along with member lists and milestones and memories from previous years.
An important tradition
Eligible members of the 25 Year Club must complete at least 25 years of consecutive service by Dec. 31 of the given year to qualify, meaning that those honored in 2023 achieved the milestone in 2022.
Tin-Shi Tam, professor of music and current president of the 25 Year Club, says her favorite parts of the annual banquet are sharing memories, meeting colleagues from around campus and hearing President Wendy Wintersteen's remarks on events at the university decades ago.
Informally founded in 1915, the 25 Year Club was formally recognized in 1934 under the direction of Harold Pride, former secretary of the Iowa State College Alumni Association.
"Staff members who have served the college as long as you have, come to personify the college to her alumni," Pride said to the charter members. "Buildings and land do not make a college, it is the men and women of the staff who make any college."
Tam echoed Pride's sentiment. "It is important to recognize and honor faculty and staff with continuous, dedicated service to the university -- a tradition we carry on and celebrate."
