William Jewell's 68th annual Achievement Day Dinner was held March 1. The Achievement Day Dinner honors alumni who have achieved distinction in their chosen spheres of endeavor and interprets the excellence of William Jewell College to our greater Kansas City area constituency. The dinner also serves as a fundraising event for the Jewell Fund which provides needs-based student scholarships.  

GUEST SPEAKER

This year's guest speaker was Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. The New York Times bestseller is centered on Lincoln’s mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation’s history. Goodwin won the Pulitzer Prize in history for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, which was a bestseller in hardcover and trade paper. She is also the author of the bestsellers Wait Till Next Year, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, and Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. Goodwin lectures around the world, and is often called upon by the media to comment upon and analyze presidential issues. She lives in Concord, Mass., with her husband Richard Goodwin.

Melanie (Griffin) Cline '78 Event Chairman

Melanie Cline shares her creative talents and volunteers for causes throughout the metropolitan area, but she has been especially generous in service to her alma mater. As a member of the William Jewell College Sorority Complex Advisory Board, Melanie took special care to ensure that the complex created would provide a dynamic and inspirational living environment for our undergraduates. An active volunteer for many local organizations, Melanie most recently provided leadership to the ReDiscover Homes Tour, raising much-needed funds for their programs and services.