Members of the Deacon Club Board of Visitors, their spouses, and Wake Forest staff gathered over dinner on September 29, 2017, at the Graylyn Conference Center in Winston-Salem, NC to discuss “developing champions.”

Developing champions goes beyond the field of play. At Wake Forest, we take pride in preparing the student-athlete for life through certain programs that help develop characteristics connected with playing a sport. There were a few key words and phrases that our group used frequently in our discussion of what it means to develop champions at Wake Forest:

  • Confidence.
  • Selflessness.
  • Work ethic.
  • Learning from the positives and negatives.
  • Teaching.
  • Mentorship.

Also, it was rewarding for Wake Forest staff to hear multiple people in our group talk about Santa’s Helpers and the importance of the initiative for the student-athlete experience. Having people from the different generations of Wake Forest talk about its significance shows the impact it has on our community.