Shortly before classes began, the athletic department welcomed a new face to their staff. Megan Lovelace, an Auburn alumnus and Florence native, began work as the new athletic development officer Aug. 19 and hopes to continue the success the department has had with fundraising. 

“We’ve seen so much excitement in the athletic department build up in the last few years and the community has gotten behind that and supported it, and I really just want to continue that,” she said. “I want (the community) to see that the money they are donating to the athletic department is making a difference and is helping us to compete on a more competitive level.” 

As athletic development officer, Lovelace will plan fundraising for the athletic department and will maintain interaction with the athletics staff and all donors, said Mark Linder, director of athletics.

“I’m over all the fundraising, specifically for athletics, and any of the income that comes in for scholarships and Division I is my responsibility,” she said. 

She will also be responsible for thanking donors for the contributions they have made to the department, Lovelace said.

The position is not a new role for her, though. After graduating from Auburn University in 2010, Lovelace returned to the Shoals area to work with the American Cancer Society as a community representative for three years. 

“When you have a local office all the money that you raise stays local so it was just really getting out into the community and making them of aware of the need that we had for their donations,” she said.

Raising awareness within the community is an objective Lovelace is especially familiar with.

During her time with the American Cancer Society, she helped to raise $4-500,000 a year for the organization. Lovelace believes her experience with the American Cancer Society and her familiarity with the Shoals will help her in her new role in the athletic department.

“It got me the fundraising experience that I need and it got me out in the community—meeting people and just learning how to get out there and fundraise for your organization and making people see the need for your nonprofit,” Lovelace said.

Lovelace, however, is a self-professed “bleacher creature” and is excited to begin her work with the university. 

“I’ve always had an athletic family so I guess that’s kind of where my love for sports has come in,” she said. “My grandfather played football for Auburn, and he also did the UNA radio broadcasts back in the 90s when we had the Division II championship games. I was a bleacher creature, and I always loved UNA.”