For the first in the event's 13-year history, Big Thursday was not presided over by founder Thomas "Tommy" Harman.

The annual celebration returned to  the Icehouse Amphitheater in downtown Lexington Oct. 20, doing so without Harman, who died April 28 after battling cancer.

But his legacy lives on in Lexington. The Clemson University graduate and enthusiast poured much of his heart into the Lexington Sertoma Club, where he served for 45 years, in addition to his work with the Power-Up Lunch and the chambers of Commerce for Lexington and Batesburg-Leesville.

It was Harman's idea to celebrate the Clemson-Carolina football game with the annual Big Thursday event to commemorate a time when, until 1959, the game was held the Thursday the week of the South Carolina State Fair.

In honor of Harman's memory, the club held a special ceremony in which a special plaque was presented to Jason Harman.

Even without Harman's presence, the spirit of the event remained intact. Former players from both the Tigers and Gamecocks served as guest speakers, sharing stories of their college experiences — accounts of which were provided by organizer Kevin Monaghan.

First to speak was former University of South Carolina and NFL linebacker Corey Miller. He reminisced on his former head coach, the late Joe "JoMo" Morrison, the 1987 game against Clemson won by the Gamecocks and how even rivalries such as the one between Auburn and Alabama, where his son Prince played, do not compare with the Palmetto Bowl.

Miller also spoke of his friendship with former Clemson and NFL All-Pro Levon Kirkland, who was also in attendance. He made sure to remind Tiger fans he was the reason Clemson recruited him and closed by stating "there are things more important than the color of your teams’ uniforms, your political affiliation, or the color of your skin".

According to Miller, it is his faith and devout belief that “we are all one as the children of Christ's kingdom.”

Kirkland returned the favor during his turn to speak. He thanked Miller for getting him recruited to Clemson, musing that it could not have been only for his football talent.

Like Miller, Kirkland spoke of his love of the in-state rivalry. He jokingly referred himself as "the landlord," reminding South Carolina fans of their "obligation" to pay rent to Clemson since it felt so "at home" at Williams-Brice Stadium.

One of eight siblings from Lamar, Kirkland talked about the importance of his presents and the meaning of having his name in Clemson's Ring of Honor.

Joining Kirkland from the Tiger side of the rivalry was former defensive tackle Vance Hammond. The son of a highway patrol officer, he talked growing up attending Clemson games.

He also remembered how "the pageantry, the competition and the excitement" of attending the 1977 Clemson/South Carolina game in Columbia motivated him to become a participant. Hammond also mentioned his former head coach Danny Ford, the legend of the "Orange Britches," and playing his last game the week of his grandmother's passing.

Rounding out the Gamecock contingent was former deep snapper Wayne Bell. After opening with a humorous recollection  of he and his wife having a big laugh about getting invited to speak, Bell talked about his humble beginnings in Union.

Bell remembered practicing field goals kicking from a shoe-heel tie in his backyard while imagining longtime South Carolina play-by-play announcer Bob Fulton making the call. He would walk-on at South Carolina as a deep snapper.

The meeting closed with a silent auction on autographed items such as footballs and pictures. Proceeds from the event are going toward supporting Sertoma's mission of serving the needs of the hearing and speech impaired. It was a topic that hit close to home for Miller as he talked about his granddaughter's plight with hearing loss.