Alumni sweethearts and longtime AU supporters celebrate 60th anniversary

This past December, David and Meryl Alalof celebrated a milestone few couples reach – their 60th wedding anniversary.

“We got engaged in ’64, married in ’65,” David said with a smile, before Meryl jumped in to add a bit more detail.

“We got engaged on Christmas Eve in New York City,” she said. “My grandmother lived up there, and really, the whole family was up there. So, we got engaged on Christmas Eve in magical New York.”

A year later, they returned to that same magical city to marry on Christmas Day.

David had no idea when he agreed to go to a local pool one summer weekend that he would meet his future wife that day, but that’s what happened, though whether it was love at first sight depends on who you ask. David laughed as he recalled their first meeting.

“That’s only the beginning of the story,” he said. “When I met her, she fixed me up with her girlfriend.”

“Well, no, there were other items in between,” Meryl corrected him.

She remembers it differently.

“I saw David that day for the first time … and there’s just something about him, his magnetic smile,” Meryl said.

But she was dating someone else at the time and was preparing to return to the University of Georgia. David was leaving soon for medical technology training at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. So, they went their separate ways.

It would be another year or so before their paths would cross again in a chance meeting at an Augusta restaurant. By that time, Meryl was dating a law student she’d met at UGA, and David was just back from Texas. They chatted briefly, Meryl gave him her friend’s phone number, and once again, life moved on.

It wasn’t until the following summer that the timing finally aligned. That’s when they began a relationship that is still going strong six decades later.

Both David and Meryl eventually found their way to Augusta University. David earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1969 after serving three years in the United States Army. Meryl completed an Education Specialist degree in 1975 and earned a master’s in education in 1983. She was even featured in a TV commercial promoting AU legacy institution, Augusta College.

“While I was working on my second master’s and specialist degrees in administration supervision, Channel 6 approached me unexpectedly,” explained Meryl. “They asked if they could film a commercial featuring me to promote Augusta College’s graduate programs.”

The crew followed her around campus and into classrooms, but the moment she remembers most came at graduation.

“They filmed me walking across the stage, then captured the moment I jumped into David’s arms as he spun me around. I looked into the camera and said, ‘If I could do it, you can do it too,’ closing out the commercial.”

Meryl dedicated her career to students as both a teacher and an administrator in Richmond and Columbia county schools.

“I started out as a teacher, eventually becoming head of the English department,” said Meryl. “Then in 1982, I moved into administration. My first job was at Evans High School, and later I helped open Lakeside High School, which really was an incredible place to work.”

By the mid‑90s, she found herself dealing with a lot of students who were being sent to tribunal for disciplinary issues. Meryl didn’t want those kids to miss out on an education after they were suspended or expelled, so she jumped into action.

“So, I said, ‘Alright, then – I’m going to open an alternative school.’ The board wasn’t thrilled,” said Meryl. “They kept asking, ‘How will we fund it? How will we run it?’ Even my principal didn’t want me to leave Lakeside.

“But with some cajoling, a few lucky breaks, and a lot of determination, I got the job and opened the Columbia County Alternative School. And we found the funding,” she proudly recalled.

Not only did Meryl secure funding for an alternative school that still serves students today, but she also helped furnish it on a shoestring budget.

“I went to schools that were closing,” she explained. “I went to a charter school that was closing, and I got their furniture. I went to Sears, and I got used furniture. I was able to furnish the whole school. We opened, and the Columbia County Alternative School is still in existence today.”

David enthusiastically chimed in, “What she hasn’t told you is that she got the funding from Zell Miller, who was the governor at the time.”

The Alalofs had known Miller since his days as lieutenant governor. Later, he appointed Meryl to the Judicial Nominating Commission as the CSRA’s representative. And when she asked one of his advisors at a fundraiser whether there might be support for her new alternative school, the answer came three weeks later – in the form of a $50,000 check, from the newly established “Alternative School Grant for Georgia” fund, which Gov. Miller created to support these needed schools.

“To this day, I don’t know if it was me or just a coincidence,” she said. “But that’s how we got our funding.”

David’s connection with education and Augusta University runs just as deep, having served on the Augusta University Board for 10 years, including as board chair during his final year.

“I was so fond of the institution that I got involved with the Alumni Association,” said David. “And then from the Alumni Association, they asked me to be on the AU Foundation board. I was on the foundation board for about 10 years, then they asked me to serve as chairman in the last year.”

Over the decades, the Alalofs have made gifts to a wide range of AU priorities, from athletics to cancer care and pediatrics. Their recent contributions have supported the Translational Research Building and cancer research initiatives.

David also served on the Columbia County Board of Education for more than eight years. While there, he helped launch a partnership between Columbia County Schools and AU to establish a dual-enrollment program.

“We put together a program for dual enrollment with Augusta State and Augusta University, where high school students can take college courses,” David said. “Our two grandsons just graduated from college, and because of dual enrollment, they both finished early.”

He still considers the program one of the “crowning achievements” of his time on the board.

Sixty years after their Christmas wedding, David and Meryl Alalof remain deeply connected to Augusta University, not just as alumni but as advocates and partners in shaping the university and their community.

If you would like to support a cause at Augusta University that you care about or learn more about how you can support your alma mater, please email Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement or call 706-721-4001.