The Purcell
Endure and Lead Challenge
The Purcell is more than a competition. It is a fundraiser that turns remembrance into action by investing directly in the students and cadets who will lead next. Funds raised support the inaugural COL Ben S. Malcom Best Cadet Competition, Cadet Performance & Resilience and H2F graduate assistants, scholarships benefiting the Corps of Cadets, Nighthawk Athletics and Fraternity & Sorority Life, and other approved initiatives that strengthen health, fitness, resilience, readiness and leader development.
Our Year-One mission is to raise $30,000 to establish and sustain these priorities. As support grows beyond that goal, additional funds can expand wearable-supported human-performance development for priority cadet populations and strengthen the long-term readiness of the Corps.
Your gift does more than support an event. It honors the past by investing in those who will lead forward.
Come Experience The Purcell
We invite alumni, families, supporters and members of the UNG community to come experience The Purcell and see our students and cadets in action.
Friday, September 18, 2026
6:15–7:30 a.m.
Student Resiliency Complex (formerly Nighthawk Ridge)
65 Haney Road, Dahlonega, GA 30533
Come see what it means to Endure Together and Lead Forward.
Help us reach our goal of $30,000!
“The Purcell is not named for how he suffered. It is named for how he endured, returned and led.”
-Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Joey D. Blacksher
Col. Ben Purcell, North Georgia Class of 1950, served in Korea and Vietnam and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, including 58 months in solitary confinement. After returning home, he came back to North Georgia as Professor of Military Science and Commandant of Cadets, continuing his service to the university and the nation.
His story of resilience, service and leadership is at the heart of The Purcell and the students it supports. The challenge is more than a competition; it is an opportunity to honor his legacy by carrying those same values forward.
Funds raised through The Purcell will support Corps of Cadets and Institute of Peak Performance (IPP) initiatives focused on health, fitness, resilience, readiness and leader development, while also providing scholarship support for the three participating groups.
Your donation will help provide cadets and students with the resources, training, scholarships and opportunities they need to become stronger, more resilient and better prepared to lead.
Honor the Past. Endure Together. Lead Forward.
