BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Four Samford head coaches will serve as facilitators for a series of free virtual events called Samford Everyday Essentials, sponsored by the Samford University Alumni Association starting tomorrow.
 
The coaches will host the events as alumni experts teach a 30-minute class on a certain skill. The events will be held Tuesday through Friday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. (CT) each day.
 
The sessions will begin Tuesday with the Best Kept Culinary Secrets with Chef James Briscione, hosted by head men's basketball coach Bucky McMillan. On Wednesday, head women's basketball coach Carley Kuhns will host Everyday Exercises for Posture and Pain Management with Kendell M. Jno-Finn.
 
Thursday's event, hosted by head football coach Chris Hatcher, will be Charcuterie Board Basics 2.0: Jar-Cuterie with Julie Cundiff. The final session will be held Friday and will be titled Decoding Basic Tax Documents with Matt Bontrager, hosted by head men's golf coach Al DelGreco.
 
The events were first held last fall. Allison Strickland, assistant director of alumni programs, said the sessions began as a way to continue alumni engagement without being able to meet in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
"When we had to go completely virtual with our alumni engagement, we really wanted to do something that was practical and helpful in nature," Strickland said. "So, we kind of figured we would make them short, fun classes, if you will, to provide people some basic understanding of a skill that is either intimidating or something where you don't know how to take the first step, while also highlighting some of our alumni experts. We did it in the fall and it was such a hit, so we decided to make it a bi-annual event, doing it in the spring and the fall."
 
Strickland said one of the reasons they wanted to get head coaches involved was to allow people to see the coaches away from their respective sport and to get to know them a little better.
 
"Some of our most public figures are our head coaches," Strickland said. "Seeing them in a really casual setting, off the playing field, they kind of get to know their personalities more."
 
Strickland said she hopes this series will be a fun learning experience that alumni and fans will enjoy during their lunch break from work.
 
"We are hoping to provide our alumni with some really practical skills," Strickland said. "We want to at least help them know what expert to go to or what questions to ask or how to start a project that they are interested in."
 
While the sessions are sponsored by the Samford University Alumni Association, they are open to the public. Links to register for each session are below. Once you register for the event, the day before the event you will receive a Zoom link to sign-in to watch the session.
 
REGISTER FOR BEST KEPT CULINARY SECRETS WITH CHEF JAMES BRISCIONE (BUCKY MCMILLAN)
 
REGISTER FOR EVERYDAY EXERCISES FOR POSTURE AND PAIN MANAGEMENT (CARLEY KUHNS)
 
REGISTER FOR CHARCUTERIE BOARD BASICS 2.0 (CHRIS HATCHER)
 
REGISTER FOR DECODING BASIC TAX DOCUMENTS (AL DELGRECO)