Resseguie building to be honored with a ribbon cutting

ELIZABETHTOWN – Bladen Community College will be honoring their first president and building named after him this Thursday at 11 a.m. The ribbon cutting will be taking place on Bladen Community College campus at classroom No. 1. (Please see map)

According to Jennifer Hickman, administrative assistant at BCC, “Colonel Resseguie was the first president of Bladen Community College and served from1967 until his retirement in 1984. He was at the forefront from the college’s infancy in leased buildings in Elizabethtown and guided the move to our current location in Dublin.”

He oversaw the construction of most of the buildings currently on the campus and was

at the helm when our name was changed from Bladen Technical Institute to Bladen

Technical College. (The college’s name was changed to Bladen Community College in

1987.)

A native of Winchester, Virginia, George Irving Resseguie was known as an

accomplished musician. As a 12-year-old boy during the Great Depression years, he

played the saxophone and clarinet in a professional dance band to earn income.

In 1940 he graduated from Virginia Technical Institute. A year later he entered the United States Army as a second lieutenant. During his 20 years of military service, he continued to play with professional bands, received a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee,

earned a Bronze Star, and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

After retirement, he embarked on a career in education, serving as Dean of Vocational Education at Central Carolina Technical Institute. In 1967, the board of trustees of Bladen Technical Institute selected Resseguie to become the first president. Throughout his nearly 17 years at Bladen Community College, he was known simply as the colonel, a nickname he embraced. His interest in music thrived and he frequently participated in musical events on campus. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he held the rank of Silver Beaver, scouting’s second highest service award.

A well-known swimming coach, he served as president of the Amateur Athletic Union for several terms and was inducted into the North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame in 1988. Col. Resseguie died Dec. 30, 1992.

As members of the 1988 NC Swim Hall of Fame inductees it was noted that George and

Dorothy Resseguie were outstanding leaders in the North Carolina Amateur Athletic

Union, serving in all areas of that multisport organization. Perhaps their greatest

contribution, however, has been in the area of officiating.

As a team they laid the foundation for the training of swimming officials in North Carolina. All the early clinics were directed by Dorothy and George. George led most of the instruction and trained the starters while Dorothy trained the stroke and turn judges. In addition, during the 1960s and early 1970s, Colonel Resseguie was the referee at all major meets in the region.

Dorothy organized Masters Swimming in North Carolina in 1971. Dorothy is recognized

as an outstanding Masters Swimmer. She was given the Willis Casey Award in 1978 and

was featured on the Wheaties box in 1976.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Hickman at 910-879-5548 or www.bladencc.edu