Sometimes the words and actions of a small group of people is all it takes to start a movement. Kansas Wesleyan University will celebrate such an occasion with a special event, a dinner kicking off a year-long celebration of 50 years of women’s athletics at the school, which is set for Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Military School. Tickets are $50 each.

Ginny Bevan ’56, a physical education teacher at KWU, and a handful of like-minded women from other institutions gathered outside Junction City in late 1968 and began work on what would become the Association for Kansas Women’s Intercollegiate Sports, founded the following year. KWU launched its first organized athletic teams for women in 1969.

Bevan will be among those honored at this event.

To purchase tickets for the 50 Years of Women’s Athletics event, visit www.kwu.edu/boxoffice or call the school’s advancement office at 785-833-4512.