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< Trumpets playing, sounds of crowd assembling >
We're celebrating tonight the Ayres Hall renovation and re-dedication. Remember coming here for eight o'clock classes?
< Crowd responds > Yes. < Chancellor Cheek responds > Alright.
Sweating in the halls and the classrooms because it wasn't air conditioned? Well, I get to tell you today that it does have air conditioning and it does have heating and it's all energy efficient.
And it's very important that we get that done. And this will be a LEED certified building, and that's very important for us here on campus as we talk about energy efficiency and also sustainability.
< singing >
Back when this was built it was in the plans of course for this patio and porch out here, but they ran out of money.
Legislature didn't give them enough.
The same thing occurred, more importantly, about the four clocks that grace the tower up at the very top of the tower here in Ayres Hall.
The Chi Omega Fraternity gave the University a set of chimes that worked very well for awhile, but eventually they failed.
And so we did not have beautiful sounds coming out of the top of Ayres Hall, nor could anyone tell the time of day. < audience laughter >
I want to pay particular thanks to a gentleman that is not here tonight, who I called and tried to get him on the phone, and it took a while for him to return my phone call.
His name was Jim Verdin of the Verdin Clock Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He called me back and he said, "Mr. Ayres, this is Jim Verdin, and I want to let you know I have your grandfather's clocks."