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Lindsey Wilson University Malvina Farkle Day Energizes Campus

Day of service strengthens university's ties to Columbia-Adair County community.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (09/17/2026) — The 2026 edition of Lindsey Wilson University's Malvina Farkle Day was a study in the legacy of service across generations of Blue Raider alumni along with a way to thank the community for its support.

This year's annual day of service, which was held on Wednesday, Sept. 16, included several legacy students, whose parents participated in the three-decade-old day of service when they were Lindsey Wilson students.

One students' parent even taught her how to properly celebrate the day in song.

Macey Poindexter's mother, Kristy, who is a 2003 Lindsey Wilson alumna, rang her up this week to teach her the "Malvina Farkle Day" song, which is sung to celebrate the start of the day under the direction of former communication professor Susan Minton.

"My mom had to sing the song for me last night to get me prepared," said student Poindexter, who is an education freshman from Burkesville, Kentucky. "Mom prepared me for it. She said it's going to be one of your favorite days."

Fellow freshman Parker Sutherland of Martinsburg, West Virginia, received advice about the day's importance from several members of her family. Her brother, Jess, is a nursing senior, and her parents, Rich and Holly, are alumni in the Class of 2000.

"My dad said it's a great day to get together with our friends and give back to the community," said Parker Sutherland, who is an education major.

Jess said he advised his sister "to wake up an extra 30 minutes early so you don't get angry at the blaring air horns." The university's student life staff rouses students at 6:30 a.m. CT on Malvina Farkle Day, which is followed by a campuswide breakfast in the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center.

But Parker ignored her big brother's advice.

"It was very loud when they woke us up with air horns," she said.

The fun of service

Named after a mythical Lindsey Wilson graduate and employee known for her dedication to service and good times, classes are dismissed and offices are closed on Malvina Farkle Day while students, faculty and staff spend the morning working on community service projects on campus and in the community and then enjoy an afternoon picnic followed by games and activities.

This year, Lindsey Wilson students, faculty and staff spread out across Adair County to work on service projects at more than two dozen locations that included schools, churches, parks, roadside cleanups and care centers for the elderly.

Art faculty member Karly Flynn '17 took a group of students to 3trees Church to help start a new room in the church's nursery. Flynn is a Malvina Farkle Day veteran, having participated in the day as an undergraduate and now four years as a member of the university's faculty.

She said the day is "even more energizing as a faculty member because you see the sparkle of, 'Oh, I did this,' in their eyes."

Flynn said Malvina Farkle Day also helps students realize that community service does not have to be a daunting undertaking.

"As a faculty member, I get to be a kind of mediator between students and service," she said. "A lot of students might think that service is harder than it is. So on Malvina Farkle Day, they get to see that service is not this huge, big thing. It's a bunch of little things."

Giving thanks

For archery coach Anna Krampe-Bell '23, Malvina Farkle Day gave her team an opportunity to show her program's appreciation for the local support it receives. Krampe-Bell and her archers spent the morning working at the Adair County Sportsman's Club, which has been a big supporter of her program.

"Malvina Farkle Day was always one of my favorite days throughout the years (as a student)," said Krampe-Bell. "It's giving back to the community that does so much for Lindsey Wilson already. Now that I'm a coach and able to organize going out and helping in the community means a lot to me because (the Adair County Sportsman's Club) has done a lot for our program."

Bowling coach John Meece '18 said he also sees the day as an opportunity to thank the community for its support of his program. Meece was among several dozen Lindsey Wilson students, faculty and staff who helped clean the former Adair County Middle School building.

"The community gives so much to us, and that's one reason why this campus is what it is," said Meece.

Meece said that Malvina Farkle Day is also "a team-bonding thing, too." That was a sentiment echoed by student Jillian Truax '29 of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Truax, who plays on the women's soccer team, said that Malvina Farkle Day is "a great team-bonding experience."

"It serves a double purpose -- it serves us but it also serves the community around us," she said. "They come out to our games, and this is a way we can give back."

Men's basketball player Max Groom '27 of Perth, Australia, said thanking the community for their support of his program is what motivated him and his teammates to help clean up around the Columbia Public Square.

"We get to support the people who support us at our games," he said.

Or, as teammate Ethan Cooper '30 of Russell Springs, Kentucky, summarized the day's meaning: "Everyone shows up for us on game day, so we're just grateful to be out here."

Partnering with Beta Clubs

For the second consecutive year, the Beta Clubs from Adair and Green County high schools participated in Malvina Farkle Day. The clubs worked in partnership with the Lindsey Wilson Bonner Scholars Program to prepare toiletry bags for J.O.Y. Ministries, wrote letters of support and encouragement to active military members and children in therapy, and made blankets for the elderly in care centers.

"I like helping the community out," said Adair County High School junior Daria Chung. "You get to do different activities to help different parts of town."

Lindsey Wilson student Remington Huckaby '30 participated in 2025 Malvina Farkle Day as an Adair County senior, and this year she did it as a Blue Raider.

"I think Malvina Farkle Day is a really good day because not only does it give college students something to do but it gives them a chance to give back to their community," said Huckaby, who is a criminal justice major from Columbia.

New service

An addition to this year's Malvina Farkle Day was a special performance by the Linsey Wilson Singers. The musical ensemble gave a concert for residents of Signature HealthCARE at Summit Manor Rehab & Wellness Center.

A little more than 12 hours after holding their Standards of Excellence Signing Ceremony on campus, the Singers performed a program of patriotic music in celebration of America250 and also played bingo with Summit Manor residents.

"Their performance was so good," said Director of Choral Activities Jennifer Bersaglia. "They were enthusiastic about mingling with the residents. They want to go back in the spring."

Returning to the scene of service was a common theme among other Lindsey Wilson students who participated in Malvina Farkle Day, including members of the Blue Raider volleyball team. The team spent their morning at Columbia Baptist Church, where they assisted with Operation Christmas Child, a project that provides spiritual and physical aid to people all over the world.

"Everybody was really nice, and we got to work with a lot of the members of the church," said Addison Janes '30, a history major from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. "We also worked together as a team to get the boxes done quickly. We really enjoyed it, and we plan to return later in the fall to help again."

Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.

Media Attachments

Lindsey Wilson University education freshmen Izz Wyatt of Franklin, Kentnucky, left, and Macey Poindexter of Burkesville, Kentucky, participated in their first Malvina Farkle Day by serving at the food pantry at J.O.Y. Ministries. The university held its annual day of service on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

With a stuffed opossum under her arm, former Lindsey Wilson University communication professor Susan Minton leads the campus community in the singing of the “Malvina Farkle Day” song on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center to celebrate Malvina Farkle Day, an annual day of service.

Speaking from the stage of the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center, Lindsey Wilson University President William T. Luckey Jr. dismisses classes for the day as he declares Wednesday, Sept. 16, to be Malvina Farkle Day, the university’s annual day of service.

Lindsey Wilson University student Jessa Sidebottom ’30 of Greensburg, Kentucky, paints a fence on the Cundiff farm in the Cane Valley area of Adair County. As part of its first year as a new major, the Lindsey WIlson agribusiness program made a local farm its service project on Malvina Farkle Day, an annual day of service that was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Lindsey Wilson University Director of Choral Activities Jennifer Bersaglia, right, directs the Lindsey Wilson Singers during a special concert on Wednesday, Sept. 16, for residents of Signature HealthCARE at Summit Manor Rehab & Wellness Center as part of the university’s Malvina Farkle Day, an annual day of service.

Members of the Adair County and Green County high schools Beta Clubs gather work in the Lindsey Wilson University W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 16. It was the second consecutive year the two schools’ Beta Clubs have participated in the university's annual Malvina Farkle Day, an annual day of service. The Beta Clubs’ members worked with the Lindsey Wilson Bonner Scholars Program to write letters of support and encouragement to active military members and children in therapy, and made blankets for the elderly.

Green County High School Beta Club junior Scout Brockman makes a blanket that will be donated to the elderly of a nearby care center on Wednesday, September 16, in the Lindsey Wilson University W.W. Slider Humanities Center. For the second consecutive year, members of the Adair County and Green County high schools Beta Clubs participated in the university's annual Malvina Farkle Day, an annual day of service.

Lindsey Wilson University education faculty members Lisa Newell-Hare, left, and Jennifer Antoniotti-Neal welcome people to their Malvina Farkle Day service project table in the university’s Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center. The university’s annual day of service was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Lindsey Wilson University sophomores Tessa and Rachel Kilchenmann, both of Bridgetown, Australia, dig into an ice cream castle on the John B. Belgey Chapel lawn during the Malvina Farkle Day campus picnic. The university’s annual day of service was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Lindsey Wilson University sophomores Aubrie Naiser of Scottsville, Kentucky, left, and Cadence Wermers of Pace, Florida, brave the slip-and-slide on Keefe Hall hill during Malvina Farkle Day. The university’s annual day of service, which includes an afternoon of games, was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Lindsey Wilson University student Trevir Andrews ’29 of Breeding completes the slip-and-slide on Keefe Hall hill during Malvina Farkle Day as Sophia Willen ’30 of Lexington, Kentucky, right, charges up the hill for another trip. The university’s annual day of service, which includes an afternoon of games, was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Lindsey Wilson University student Brycen Bates ’29 of Louisville, Kentucky, arrives safely at the bottom of Keefe Hall hill after sliding down the slip-and-slide during Malvina Farkle Day. The university’s annual day of service, which includes an afternoon of games, was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

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