John and Judy Atkinson celebrate their 50th class reunion this year, but their love for Appalachian State University and Appalachian athletics began long before their Class of 1967 graduation.
Their ties to App and its campus date all the way back to the 1940s.
The Atkinsons recently made leadership gift in support of "A Mountaineer Impact, A Drive for Excellence," committed to scholarship endowments, facility enhancements and competitive excellence. The couple, who now reside in Wilmington, has been giving to Appalachian State since the early 1970s, a relationship that has truly spanned a lifetime.
Judy's father played football for App State in the 1940s, before and after World War II.