Another 52 Weeks — #9
A short tribute to 'Mike'
The hallway in this picture is where I first met Michael “Mike” McFarland on October 12, 1993, where he was handing out press kits for the University of North Carolina’s 200th anniversary celebration.
He explained the logistics of the day-long event that would extend far into the evening, when President Clinton would bring remarks at Kenan Stadium. We chatted for a minute, and “Mike” mentioned starting his journalism career at The Madison Messenger, which was owned by the same company (Southern Newspapers Inc.) in the same county where I worked and lived.
At the time, I was four months into a new job as managing editor of The Reidsville Review, a 7,200 circulation daily in Rockingham County, N.C. The job required a move from football and petroleum driven Texas to North Carolina, where I was given a quick education on textiles, tobacco, NASCAR, and fierce college basketball rivalries.
Working obscenely long hours at The Review, I had never been to Chapel Hill, which was about 60 miles from Reidsville. The opportunity to visit the campus of UNC for its bicentennial — Carolina was the first public university in the U.S. — on a beautiful fall day was too appealing to pass up.
Throughout the day, I periodically bumped into “Mike” at various activities, which included a chance to shake hands with the legendary Dean Smith and to hear Charles Kuralt speak about his beloved campus before Clinton took the stage.
Michael was, as always, a consummate professional — eager to answer questions, reciting facts in a detailed but consumable way. He was tremendously helpful in every encounter, which in retrospect was no surprise.
But, in the swirl of activity, he neglected to mention one small detail — his younger sister, Jill, was working as a middle school counselor in Reidsville. Six months later, Jill and I met for the first time.
On Thursday, Jill and I went back to the Carolina Inn, where more than 100 people gathered to celebrate Michael’s retirement. He worked for eight chancellors in various communications roles — including two stints as interim associate vice chancellor for university relations — during a UNC career that spanned almost 40 years.
Michael has had a remarkable career — he won UNC’s Distinguished Service Award in 2016 — and has shown remarkable devotion to both the university and to his family, which includes his wife Jennifer, daughters Elisabeth and Margaret, and sons-in-law Zach and Marc-Anthony. Before leaving UNC, he donated 2,900 hours (72.5 weeks) of sick time toward a bank for other university employees to use when they need time off. His colleagues named the communications staff award after him to “continue his legacy.”
During the event, I walked back to the hallway where I first met Mike and snapped a quick picture. It was a capture of yet another full circle moment in a life that is filled with them.
And now, onto the rest of “Another 52 Weeks”
