TRC names graduation speaker

The 51st annual commencement ceremony for Three Rivers College will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, at the Libla Family Sports Complex at the Poplar Bluff campus.

“Commencement is our college’s most important event of the year, the culmination of all our students’ hard work,” said Three Rivers President Dr. Wesley Payne. “We are proud to announce that this year’s commencement speaker is our 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Todd Richardson.”

Richardson, a Poplar Bluff native, currently serves as the director of MO HealthNet. Prior to that appointment, he was Speaker of the House for the State of Missouri. In his role in Missouri government, he helped secure funding and recruited legislators to make the new Excel Center in Poplar Bluff possible. Richardson was also responsible for securing funding for the Crisp Technology Center expansion on the Three Rivers campus.

In addition to attending Three Rivers College, Richardson taught business law and government classes as an adjunct instructor.

“We at Three Rivers realize the importance of commencement to our graduates and their families,” Payne said. “All employees are involved in preparing for and participating in the ceremony to ensure our graduates are properly recognized.”

Tickets are required for commencement and have been distributed to graduates. Family and friends attending the ceremony should enter and exit the Libla Family Sports Complex through the lobby doors at the front of the building.

For commencement, Three Rivers will run shuttles between the Libla Family Sports Complex and the parking lots across from the baseball field; in front of the Tinnin Center; in front of the Bess Activity Center; and at the Westwood Event Center. Designated pick up and drop off spots on those lots are marked with Event Pickup banners. The shuttles will begin running at 4 p.m. Friday.

For those not attending, there will be a live feed of the event at trcc.edu/commencement beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday.