By Jay Platte with assistance of Bill Gerig, Shirley Platte and Susi Jones
Stephanie Demorest g93 (Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies) first came to the Fort Wayne Alumni Center in August 2012 as assistant to the director and became the Director of the Fort Wayne Alumni Center of Taylor University on June 1, 2020
Stephanie’s academic background includes a master’s degree from Wake Forest University and experience in teaching Greek and other subjects prior to the closing of the campus in 2009. Those who worked with her know that she is an intelligent, hard worker and a gracious person.
As Director, she managed the day-to-day operations of the office, controlled the budget, developed newsletters, wrote letters to supporters, managed the office’s database of alumni and friends, oversaw the work of volunteers, organized reunions involving countless details, developed agendas for the Alumni Council, managed a website and worked as a liaison with the administrators of Taylor University, Upland, IN.
Stephanie performed all work with grace and competence. Even with relocation twice, she kept the Center running efficiently. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work. As an example, she completed an application to the Indiana Historical Society for a historical marker and mention in a national directory. This took hours of work but the Society decided to go a different direction. This was a blessing in disguise. The Center
The Center was able to develop a larger, more complete marker (shown on the right) and with the cooperation of the First Missionary Church, it was installed by the south entrance to the church.
She was released from her job when Taylor University decided to close the Alumni Center on June 1, 2023. Following the announcement, Stephanie managed the details of closing the office which included
developing the historical marker, arranging for physical artifacts of the campus to be moved to an archive, and planning for the future of the Center’s server.
The college owes her much for continuing to serve the Lord and the college’s thousands of alumni during this difficult time. As Rev. Paul Robbins g61 expressed in his address to alumni at the final reunion on April 29, 2023, even though the college has closed, the vine continues to grow through the graduates serving our Lord and people around the world.
Thank you, Stephanie! Well done, good and faithful servant.
Fruit from the Vine 