Superheroes, candy, community spirit shine at MCC’s Candy Cruise
Meridian Community College’s track sported all sorts and sizes of superheroes and colorful characters. Their mission: collect candy and have fun.
It was all a part of the College’s Candy Cruise. “The 2024 version of the Candy Cruise was fantastic,” said MCC President Dr. Tom Huebner. Some 2,400 visitors came through the main entrance and that number, Dr. Huebner said, doesn’t include the hundreds of faculty, staff, and students.
The Eagle’s Nest Bookstore, under the direction of Jan Murphy, and the MCC Foundation, led by Dr. Leia Hill, combined their efforts to make the event a success. “I’m thankful for Jan Murphy and the bookstore staff who worked hard to organize the event, Dr. Hill and the MCC Foundation for providing resources to make the event happen,” he said.
Dr. Huebner thanked the campus, too, saying, “For all of you who invested your creative energies and time to create an absolutely fun event for our community.”
Nineteen teams from various campus programs and departments set up booths in a myriad of themes to offer treats to the cruise guests. They were also competing for the honor of top booths. Winners included Student Affairs for their Oh, the Places You Will Go theme, first; Workforce Solutions for the Workforce is Out of This World theme and Radiologic Technology for the Barnyard Boneyard theme, second; PTK and Honors College for The Magic School Bus theme, third; and Hardin Hall for the World of Lego theme.
The College introduced Candy Cruise in 2020 as a drive-through event during the pandemic, drawing hundreds of cars and over 1,000 participants. Since then, the event has evolved into an in-person celebration on the MCC Track.