Joe ’73 and Sharon Reid of Mount Airy have attended every home Mountaineer football game since 1980. You’ve probably seen them – they’re the ones whose tailgate party near Kidd Brewer Stadium’s entrance serves about 75 people before each game, from family and fellow alumni to Yosef Club staff, coaches, cheerleaders and a host of students.
“We were tailgating before people even knew what tailgating was at Appalachian,” Sharon Reid says with a laugh.
Appalachian has meant a lot to the Reids, who came to Appalachian already married – Joe as a transfer student from Surry Community College and Sharon as a recent graduate of Randolph Community College working as an interior designer. They quickly caught the Mountaineer spirit, despite having several of Joe’s family members being loyal Western Carolina University grads and an uncle who served as Western Carolina’s president.
They continue to give of their time and resources to Appalachian, which brings them so much joy.
“I received a quality education that helped me advance in life. We’ve made a lot of friends and continue to meet new people. We love Appalachian,” said Joe Reid, who is retired as director of information technology at Pike Electric.
The Reids made their first gift to Appalachian in the mid-1970s. “It was $25 to the Yosef Club, which was a lot to us back then,” remembers Sharon Reid. She recently retired from a career with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company as director of communications/marketing operations.
At the request of then-alumni director Fred Robinette, Joe Reid joined a team making phone calls to other recent graduates asking for financial support to the university. Later, the Reids began holding rallies at their home in Surry County where area alumni could meet the football and basketball coaches and further support the Mountaineers. Joe began participating in the Alumni Council in the early 1980s, serving as president in 1989-90, and also served on the Yosef Advisory Board for three years. For his dedication to Appalachian, the Alumni Association awarded him its Outstanding Service Award in 1994.
Joe Reid also inspired others to attend Appalachian: his younger sister Jane Reid ’74, older brothers Jerry Reid ’73 ’79, John Reid ’72 (post graduate), nephews Jeff Reid ’93 and Jon Reid ’93, niece Jennifer Hollifield ’94 , and Sharon’s younger brother, Craig Greenwood ’80 ’82.
This fall, the Reids finalized their estate plans and again remembered Appalachian. They created two endowments that will support Appalachian for many years after they are gone. They are The Joe & Sharon Reid Yosef Scholarship Endowment to continue their love of Appalachian athletics, and The Joe & Sharon Reid Endowment for the Walker College of Business, an unrestricted fund to be used at the dean’s discretion for the college’s greatest needs.
Both gifts count toward the Campaign for Appalachian: Making a difference one student at a time.
“I’ve always had a spot in my heart for the College of Business because of the education I received and the contacts I made. I still remember the dean at the time, Dr. William Muse, coming up to me and asking me about my internship. That impressed me, one that he knew my name and second that he was so interested in what I was doing,” said Joe Reid.
That friendliness and approachability of Appalachian in the 1970s remains true today, which is why they love Appalachian so much, the couple explained. “It’s the ASU family atmosphere,” Sharon Reid said. Their vision is for Appalachian to continue growing and to become one of the top universities academically anywhere in the United States. “We think Appalachian is top rated,” Joe Reid said. “We hope our endowments will inspire others to also give the gift that keeps on giving.”
