Saturday, October 24 was a special day at Virginia Wesleyan College as we dedicated our new $2.97 million, multi-purpose outdoor athletic field in honor of a family that has been so generous to Virginia Wesleyan College since our founding in 1961. Birdsong Field provides a new venue for men's and women's lacrosse and field hockey teams, as well as intramural sports. Other sports will use it as a practice venue during inclement weather.
In addition to the synthetic turf and supporting amenities, Birdsong Field features a modern scoreboard with multi-media graphics capability, stadium sound system, picnic pavilion with a food preparation facility and restrooms, field lighting, and expanded parking.
A crowd of more than 150 attended the event. Members of our Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, parents and friends and our teams and coaches joined us on a sunny, crisp Saturday morning to celebrate the dedication of this beautiful new venue. Special thanks to George and Sue Birdsong, who led the effort to create Birdsong Field, and to others members of the Birdsong family, corporation, and foundation for making this project a reality.
Birdsong Corporation, based in Suffolk, is the largest privately-owned peanut sheller in the U.S. with operations in all peanut growing regions. George Birdsong is the CEO of Birdsong Peanuts. The Birdsong Corporation and the Birdsong family have been generous supporters of Virginia Wesleyan throughout the College’s history. George and Sue Birdsong trace their connection with the College back to the groundbreaking for Village I on July 18, 1965. George attended with Governor Mills Godwin and Sue attended with her father who was the Mayor of Suffolk at the time. George’s uncle, Harvard, was a charter member of the Board of Trustees who also participated in the groundbreaking. George continued the family’s involvement by serving as a Trustee from 1989 until 2015. During that time he was chair of our Board of Trustees from 2007-2010.
Birdsong Hall, an original building in Village I, was dedicated to the Birdsong Family in 1968. A plaque in the building recognizes the family as dedicated Methodists whose generosity helped establish the College.
Birdsong Peanuts and George and Sue Birdsong made a number of significant gifts during the Key to the Future Campaign. Their gifts supported a variety of projects, including the Birdsong Community Services Endowment, established in 1995 to provide regular operating support for our acclaimed community services program. They also established the Birdsong Corporation/George and Sue Birdsong Endowed Scholarship that provides assistance to deserving students.
Projects like Birdsong Field require the generous support and personal engagement of many. Our thanks also goes out to Trustee Butch Everett and the members of the Board Outdoor Athletic Complex Committee for elevating this synthetic turf field as a priority within our strategic plan.
We are also grateful to Trustee Tassos Paphites ‘
Trustee Bill Shelhorse ’70 was an early supporter of the creation of a synthetic turf field at Virginia Wesleyan. When the Birdsong Challenge gift was announced, Bill jumped on board not only with his generous personal gift but with the support of his company Chesapeake Bay Contractors. They completed the excavation and site work.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Birdsongs and many other donors for their ongoing commitment to this great College. With continued support from many, we can build an extraordinary future for Virginia Wesleyan College.
