Longtime ETSU employee honored with Buc Mart dedication

There’s a new location on campus where students can stop in to grab a snack between classes and say hi to a familiar face – Roger’s Buc Mart. 

On March 5, several grand opening celebrations were held in the D.P. Culp Student Center, including one for the new convenience store, Roger’s Buc Mart.

While the Culp Center hosted the Buc Mart both prior to and during the renovation process, the new Buc Mart is located on the first floor and is much larger than before, with sandwich shop Boar’s Head Deli located within it. However, the most meaningful change isn’t the expanded size, new location or even the addition of the Deli, but the new, employee-dedicated name.

Roger’s Buc Mart was named after Roger Armstrong, a longtime ETSU employee. Armstrong has worked at the university for 43 years.

“We are extraordinarily excited to have this dedication today for Roger’s Buc Mart for our employee, Roger,” said Bethanie Dye, the marketing specialist for Sodexo. “He’s been with us for over 40 years and has been serving the ETSU students, and we are really happy to be able to dedicate this store to him.”

The dedication was held at 1:15 p.m. Students, faculty, staff and friends and family of Armstrong gathered in front of Roger’s Buc Mart to watch.

“This is our way as a university to say thank you,” said ETSU President Brian Noland. “To acknowledge someone who has touched generations of students, but who’s touched my life as well.”

Noland presented Armstrong with a plaque dedicating the Buc Mart to Armstrong, and he said an identical one will hang inside Roger’s Buc Mart.

“Today it is wonderful to be here in this building, in your space, and for us as a university to thank you for all that you’ve done for countless, countless generations of students,” said Noland to Armstrong.

Students for years have gotten to know and love Armstrong, and Dye said she is already receiving positive feedback about his return to the Culp Center.

“The students, I feel like, associate the Buc Mart with Roger,” said Dye. “He ran it before all the construction started, and we’ve already gotten some positive feedback about how happy the students are that he’s back.”