Penn State Tropical hosts first ever THON event

While tons of Penn Staters will be braving the cold as they come and go throughout the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend, one group of Nittany Lions will be celebrating in warmer weather.
The Florida Suncoast & Tampa Chapters of the Penn State Alumni Association are hosting their first-ever THON weekend event, Penn State Tropical Dinner Dance, benefiting THON.

Michele Reagan, who’s in charge of this weekend’s event, notes that many of these chapters’ members weren’t involved with THON as students. She says, “We would all go and watch the dancers during our individual time at Penn State and root them on when we were in school many years ago.”

Now as the years go by past graduation, their roles have changed. “As Alumni now, we feel like it’s a great way to get involved to support such a great cause.”

The Penn State Tropical Dinner Dance takes place on Saturday, February 20th from 7pm to 11pm at The Eagles Golf Club (16101 Nine Eagles Drive, Odessa, FL). With a $45 per person ticket, attendees will get to check out a buffet dinner with a DJ, dancing, raffle and silent auction including signed memorabilia from Sue Paterno, James Franklin and John Urschel, and even the live feed from THON.

Staying involved with THON after her time at Penn State has meant a lot to Reagan. She says, “THON has become such an tremendous event that it’s not only a campus event for students but Penn State has made it a something that students, alumni and everyone in the State College community can participate in. Penn State owns THON, and we have been able to as a group passionately help fight against pediatric cancer.”

Reagan is excited to join her fellow alumni for this first-time, big event. “We are looking forward to the camaraderie of all the Penn Staters for a single evening coming together to support such a worthy cause.”

Reagan also wanted to thank a few contributors for their support of the Penn State Tropical Dinner Dance: “Thank you to the Eagles Golf Club for hosting the event for us. The three owners of the club are John Russell, Jim King and Bill Fustos and they are all Penn Staters. They have been generous with providing the venue and helping to bring in attendees and donations for the event. We appreciate their contributions!”
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For more information about this event, you can visit their website and Facebook page – or send an email to Michele at msreagan1@verizon.net.