Office of Alumni Relations

Alumni Council Meeting Minutes- February 3, 2007

Alumni Council Minutes 

February 3, 2007 

Bill Roseen, Alumni Association President, opened the meeting at 10:00 a.m. and provided a quick overview of the day’s events.

Terry Walton, Chaplain, led the group in prayer.

The minutes from the November Council meeting were approved with no opposition. A motion to pass them was made by Lewis Copeland and was seconded by Clara McRae.

Faye Fron, Director of Alumni Relations, welcomed and thanked everyone for his or her time, and provided an overview of the folders prepared for the meeting. Mrs. Fron also announced that the alumni office has just learned that Justine Powell (55C) had passed away.

Dr. Briggs, Berry College President, presented to the group on the topic of ‘Integration of the Head, Heart, and Hands’.

Bettyann O’Neill, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, presented some organizational changes that will be taking place in the advancement office over the next couple of months (some of which had already taken place).

Bart Cox, Parliamentarian, presented the proposed changes to the constitution and bylaws that his committee felt were important to the future success of the Council. 

Bylaws: 

First proposed change was to decrease the size of the Council. Tim Howard made a motion to approve the changes to the bylaws and it was seconded by Ouida Dickey. The motion did not pass.

Constitution:  

  1. Ed England made a motion to table the proposed changes and it was seconded by Clara McRae but it was determined that nothing could be tabled because there was not a motion on the floor at the time.
  2. Cecily Crow made a motion to approve the “housekeeping” items, which is number one in each of the summaries for the constitution and bylaws; Barbara McCollum made a second to the motion and it passed without opposition.
  3. Lewis Copeland clarified for the Council the areas of concern that had been expressed:

              a.       Median class year

              b.       Chapter Presidents being allowed to send someone in their place to the meetings

              c.       Past Presidents being automatic members of Council after their term has expired as past president beginning in 2008.

  1. Tom Bowen made a motion to pass the median year with a second from Joyce Shelton in both the constitution and bylaws. The motion passed with no opposition.
  2. Drew Landis made a motion to allow chapter presidents to be able to send someone in their place with voting rights, Joyce Shelton seconded that motion, the motion passed with opposition
  3. Martha Bowen made a motion to allow ex officio members and student representatives to appoint someone to attend Council meetings if they are unable to attend, Tim Howard seconded the motion; however, it was unable to be voted on because there had not yet been a motion to make any changes to that part of the constitution. Thus, the Council voted to pass the proposed changes in Article 5, Section 2, Number 6 of the constitution. This motion passed with opposition.
  4. Whit Whitaker made a motion to pass the proposed changes that would not automatically appoint the past presidents beginning in 2008 to the Council, Brad Roberts made a second to that motion, and the motion passed without opposition.

Ouida Dickey, Alumni Council Past Present and Chair of the Nominating Committee, presented the list of nominees to the council with a motion to elect them to the council for the 2007-2009 term, Martha Bowen seconded the motion and it passed without opposition.

Nominees for 2007-2009: 

President Elect:  Frances Richey-Goldby, 83A, 87C      

VP – Alumni Awards: Clara Hall McRae, 60C

VP – Financial Support:  Barbara Pickle McCollum, 79C

Pre-1986 Councilors:  Judy Cash Hanthorn, 85C

                                Buford Jennings, 58C

                                Larry McRae, 60C

                                Roger Sundy, 53H

                                Mary Charles Lambert Traynham, 58C

                                Whit Whitaker, 81C

Post-1986 Councilors:  Tracy Morgan Batchelor, 05C

                                  Franceen Quigley Hett, 95C

                                  Andrew (Drew) Landis, 06C

                                  Matthew (Matt) Little 94C

                                  Ray Smitherman, 95C

                                  Abigail (Abby) Cook Winkles, 02C

The afternoon session was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by Bill Roseen.

The Council was asked to participate in the student surveys as presented by Nancy Miller during the lunch presentations.

Committee Reports 

Betty Whitten – Alumni Events

  1. Work week – DVD presentation of work week that can be purchased in the Alumni Office. Used to encourage chapters to promote work week and recruit participants
  2. Volunteers
  3. Alumni have helped with the following college events over the past year: Candles & Carols, Founder’s Day, Mountain Day
  4. Work week vs. Alumni weekend – which should come first?
  5. Thank you to Brad Roberts for work week account
  6. Ford Festival was not very well attended this year but Berry still wants to support the festival. This support would combine the efforts of both Alumni Relations and Historic Berry; discussion continues as to where the event should be held – Oak Hill or Clara Bowl
  7. Tom Bowen will serve as the alumni representative on the Ford Festival planning committee
  8. The Ford Festival will be held the third Saturday in September (September 15, 2007). The question arose if the Council and/or chapters would want to sell food to make money instead of a local church. If the Council or chapters sell food, then the money is going back to Berry
  9. Please sign up for work week and help recruit others

Valerie Loner – Young Alumni and Student Relations

  1. Partner with senior class for Senior Service Day on March 31, 2007; clean up campus in the afternoon along with a lunch or social
  2. Career networking event with senior class. (March 26, 2007). Gives an opportunity to talk about alumni connections
  3. Relay for Life - March 23 – 24, 2007 (looking for volunteers to help serve)
  4. Graduation alumni tent – target young alumni, make a connection with them, change/update information
  5. E-Communication – life skills email every two months or quarterly, offer tips, communicate campus events, focus on relationship building and not fundraising

Harlan Chapman – Berry Heritage

  1. Committee reviewed this years Founder’s Day activities, the speaker Kay Davis, and encouraged all to attend next year
  2. DVD History of Berry (1958C class gift) – the original 20 minute proposed DVD has been reduced to 10 minutes – the committee is still working on the project
  3. Jennifer Dickey presented on preserving Berry’s historic buildings
  4. Rebecca Roberts presented on conducting oral history interviews, getting volunteers to interview people in the community
  5. DVD to capture the past 10 years of Berry
  6. Brainstorming for events to commemorate Alumni Association centennial in 2008

Barbara McCollum – Financial Support

  1. Ed England presented a report of expendable vs. endowed scholarships – this might be a focus for next year
  2. Key Indicators report is done monthly – in the past we have focused on participation (<30% rate by Alumni); this year we are focusing on increasing unrestricted giving (year-to-date comparison: 2005-2006 $323,000, 2006-2007 $646,000)
  3. The December 2006 participation rate is lower that it was this time last year
  4. Financial support committee is expected to reach 100% participation
  5. Challenge the entire Council to give - we are currently at 63%. This time last year we were at 89% (total gifts from the council $432,770).

With no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

Kim Terrell, Secretary

Awards Committee Minutes

February 3, 2007 

Members present: Lewis Copeland, Celeste Creswell, Patty Etchison, Tim Howard, Tom Jarrett, Clara McRae, Lisa Nichols, and Joyce Shelton.

Meeting opened by Lewis Copeland

  1. Lewis read the minutes from the last meeting.  Tom moved for approval and Celeste seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.
  2. Lewis and Lisa noted all committee members returned their score sheets timely.
  3. We discussed the packets in some detail.
    1. The committee expressed gratitude to Lisa for organizing the packets so well, and returning committee members noted the streamlined packets are much easier to review.
    2. There are a few applications that were different/incomplete.  This is due largely to a change in process (i.e., prior nominees who are still eligible were given an opportunity to update their packets but most did not do so).
    3. The Berry involvement information was to be used in case of close calls, as such involvement is not among the criteria for each award.
    4. Several nominees did not complete an application.  The members discussed humility as one possible reason for this lack of participation in the awards process.

                                                               i.      If a nominee does not complete an application, they do not become candidates, so they are not carried to the next year.

                                                               ii.      Lisa and Clara will draft an opening letter to the nominees with notice of this non-candidate status.

  1. Suggestions for next year
    1. Clara noted we should emphasize that nominees must fill out the form rather than attach a resume.
    2. Lisa suggested we consider submitting score sheets electronically.

New Business 

1.  Joyce moved to send 3 nominees from each award category to the community committee. Clara seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

2.  Lewis noted the Council meeting dates for 2007-2008 are:  June 1-3 (Alumni Weekend), August 25, November 3, and February 2.

3.  Lewis provided information about honorary alumni nominees, and the committee discussed those nominees.  Celeste moved that the nominees be approved.  Joyce seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

4.  Bill Roseen joined our meeting and thanked the committee for its work, particularly in increasing the number of nominees.

5.  Clara led the committee in thanking Lewis for his service and leadership.

Actions Requiring Council Approval

               Designation of honorary alumni.

Meeting adjourned.

 

Events Committee Minutes

February 3, 2007  

Members Present: Madison Alexander, Frances Barnett, LeAnn Yoda Blackburn, Tom Bowen, Geraldine Bridges, Johnnie Curry, Ouida Dickey, Brad Roberts, Terry Walton, Betty Whitten (Chair).

Old Business 

1.  Proposed “study” component of Work Week – Betty Whitten reported that she, Bill Roseen, Faye Fron, and Brenda Jenkins participated in a conference call with Peter Henriksen about his ideas on including a study component during Alumni Work Week.  It was decided that 2007 would be too early to try to incorporate any classes, but alumni and others would be surveyed to determine interest, and a program in some form would be possibly piloted during Alumni Work Week 2008.   

2.  Alumni Work Week dates – There was discussion about why Alumni Work Week had been changed to follow Alumni Weekend instead of precede it as it had in the past.  The timing had been changed to avoid overlapping with Memorial Day so people could spend time with their families, and to avoid conflicts with high school graduations.   

3.  Volunteers – Betty Whitten thanked volunteers who participated in Candles and Carols (December 2006) and those who volunteered for Founder’s Day (January 2007).

New Business 

1. Alumni Work Week 2007 – The committee discussed advertising for Alumni Work Week.  Ouida Dickey suggested it would be helpful if the Alumni Office could guide PR on places to go to make pictures during Work Week to be used for future publicity.  Brenda Jenkins reported that she and Faye Fron had met with Mike Burns, Dean of Student Work and Experiential Learning, and he confirmed that student help will be used in the kitchen again this year.  Students will be paid from the Alumni Work Week account instead of through student work.  Brenda is working with Cecily Crow on identifying students for this role.  The committee is interested in creating a program through which students can be sponsored to encourage them to participate in work week – not just in the kitchen, but to work on other crews as well.  Brad Roberts updated the committee on how the Alumni Work Week funds are being handled.

2.      Ford Festival – Tom Bowen encouraged the committee to participate in the Berry Ford Festival which is set for September 15, 2007.  The New Armuchee Baptist Church, who had provided the concession tent for the past couple of years, is no longer going to have a tent.  The committee was very interested in having a concession tent that could earn money to be given back to Berry.  Betty Whitten said she would follow up with the Alumni Office on being able to take advantage of this opportunity.

Financial Support Committee Minutes 

February 3, 2007  

Members Present:  Martha Bowen, Ed England, Will Gaines, Franceen Hett, Andrew Landis, Barbara McCollum, Rose Nix,  Roger Sundy, and Whit Whitaker.

Meeting opened by:  Barbara McCollum at 1:10 p.m.   An inspiration was provided.   

Old Business:

1.  The Financial Support Committee spreadsheet (which shows class totals by committee member) was distributed and discussed.  Barbara commended the Committee for having a 100 percent participation rate which includes matching payments and pledges.  Barbara will be pleased to report this at the closing session of the Alumni Council.   

After review and discussion of the spreadsheet, Barbara suggested the following actions be taken by the committee:

    (a)    Each committee member should focus their efforts on collecting outstanding pledges since most classmates have already been contacted by a student working on the annual telefund.    

    (b)   Each committee member who has outstanding pledges for their class should compose a letter and submit it to Barbara by March 1, 2007.  Barbara will send out a reminder e-mail to committee          members on February 15th.

    (c)    After letters are reviewed and approved by the Advancement Office, Barbara will work with Rose Nix to have these letters mailed to outstanding pledges during the month of March.

    (d)   During April and May, committee members will personally contact outstanding pledges either through telephone calls or personalized notes.  If successful in this endeavor, committee members     may be asked to contact outstanding pledges for classes before and after their graduation year.

    (e)    The Alumni Work Week crew will contact all outstanding pledges   

New Business:   

1.  Ed England discussed scholarships at Berry College and provided a handout entitled “Establishing Scholarships at Berry College, Scholarship Funding and Criteria”.  Ed discussed the types of scholarships- merit (academic and talent/ability) and need-based scholarships.  The method of funding scholarships, endowed scholarships vs. expendable scholarships, was also discussed.  The minimum endowed scholarship is $25,000 and no more than five percent of the endowed amount is awarded on an annual basis.    Rose Nix reported there are approximately 350 endowed scholarships at Berry, which falls under her area of responsibility as Manager of the Annual Fund and Scholarships.

Ed offered several suggestions to increase awareness of scholarship giving that the committee should consider for future projects:

    a)  Encourage Reunion Committees to establish a scholarship as class project.  Classes should have a goal of raising $50,000 by their 50th class reunion.

    b)  Encourage scholarship fund marketing in Berry publications.

    c)  Encourage memorial donations to scholarship class project.

    d)  Produce a directory of scholarships at Berry.

After discussion, the committee agreed that scholarships should be considered an area of focus for next year’s committee and the idea of an “Alumni Council Scholarship” was suggested.

2.  The committee reviewed the Key Indicators report for December 31, 2006 provided by the Advancement Department.  While the participation rate has declined somewhat since the same period in 2005, the average alumni gift has increased from $320 to $646 which aligns with the new focus on unrestricted giving. There was discussion on the calculation, “solicitable alumni for participation pool” and Rose Nix will be obtaining more clarification in this area.

3.  Results for Alumni Council giving were discussed.  There are 81 members of the council with total gifts of $432,765.76, a participation rate of 62.96 percent including outstanding pledges.  While the gift amount is excellent, the goal is 100 percent participation.  Barbara will encourage council members in today’s closing session to achieve this goal before the fiscal year-end- June 30, 2007.  In addition, Barbara will work with Alumni Council President, Bill Roseen, on developing follow-up efforts to achieve this goal.   

Actions Requiring Council Approval:  None

Meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

Submitted by:  Barbara McCollum

Heritage Committee Meeting  

February 3, 2007 

Members Present: Johnny Bridges, Allyson Chambers, Harlan Chapman, Jean Curran, Jennifer Dickey, Fred Mercer, Bobby Moon, Joy Neal, Mary Patrick, Rebecca Roberts, Ryan Simmons, Carolyn Smith, Virginia Webb.

Meeting Opened by Harlan at 1:20 by stressing the reason for our committee, which is "Promoting and Preserving Berry's rich history."

Old Business:

1) Funding of the Committees project of making a DVD entitled "An Overview History of Berry".

Harlan brought to our attention that his class of 58C had voted to fund the DVD "An Overview History of Berry". His class agreed to fund up to $30,000 for the 20 minute DVD. The length of the DVD was changed to 10 minutes and the contribution to be made by the class of 58C was reduced to $15,000.   

New Business:

1) Rebecca Roberts explained in detail the "Oral History Project". The goal of this project is to interview and record memories of Martha Berry, as well as experiences while at Berry with various Alumni who agree to be interviewed for this purpose. What stories are out there just waiting to be told!! We discussed the possibility of using alumni and even students to help with this project. These interviews could be conducted during Work-Week, at Chapter meetings, reunions, etc., and would be available in the Archives. These valuable interviews would be an important part in preserving Berry's history.

2) Jennifer Dickey presented a report on the "Campus Heritage Grant Program". She informed us of the following facts:

  1. Money was received to come up with a plan for preserving cultural resources at Berry.
  2. The Berry Campus is listed on the National Register of Historical Places since 1978. (This includes the "built" part of the campus. Approximately . 5,300 acres.)
  3. 80 sites at Berry were identified as needing to be preserved while working on this project.
  4. This project and report was made possible through generous donations and support of the Getty Foundation.
  5. Jennifer shared a copy of "Berry College Campus Preservation Report" which she and other project members worked on and completed in Nov. 2006.

Jennifer presented an excellent slide presentation explaining this project and its benefit for the future of Berry. She ended by quoting Martha Berry (July 1, 1925) "My prayer is that the Schools may stand through the ages....."

3) Fred Mercer gave a brief run-down on "Founder's Day", Jan. 11th, 2006. He said an estimated 150 attended Open House and other events during that day. All in all it was deemed a most successful day. He encouraged members of our committee to attend next year.

4) Jean Curran reported on her volunteer work in the Archives:

  1. 1995 marked the impact of technology on education.
  2. Her work in the Achieves is being done to develop material for the "Last Ten Years at Berry DVD".
  3. We discussed the monumental work/money it will take to develop and produce this DVD.
  4. We decided the DVD project will take more time and money than we first thought.
  5. Harlan appointed a subcommittee for continuing the work to produce the in-house video which is to cover the latest 10 years of Berry History. The members of this committee are: Jennifer Dickey-Chair, Jean Curran, Daniel Greear and Ryan Simmons.

5) Discussion and suggestions of ways for the centennial of the Alumni Association in 2008 can be celebrated. Ideas included:

  1. Alumni march down the hill with current students
  2. Exhibit in Krannert
  3. Trivia about Berry alumni be displayed
  4. Highlight various locations where alumni office has been located over the years
  5. on-line exhibit
  6. Premier showing of the new DVD
  7. Show separation of girls and boys in early years
  8. Hold "big event" on a Saturday
  9. Have celebration in June instead of on Mt. Day
  10. (Harlan suggested other ideas be emailed to Rebecca.)

Meeting adjourned at 3:15pm

Minutes recorded by Mary Patrick

Young Alumni and Student Relations Committee Minutes 

February 3, 2007 

The Young Alumni and Student Relations Committee of the Berry Alumni Association met on February 3, 2007. Vice President for Young Alumni and Student Relations Valerie Loner called the meeting to order with a welcome and opening prayer at 1:30 PM.  

Members present: David Bayne, Jennifer Beard, Rhea Clemmons, Cecily Crow, Heather Henderson, Valerie Loner, Cary Sanders, Rhett Smith, Kimberly Terrell. 

Old Business: 

            1. Heather Henderson gave an update on her work with Wes Moran (career development, CDC) on a career planning and interview skills panel/session for juniors, seniors, and young alumni. Rhett Smith mentioned that he is planning a senior class dessert reception on March 26 with career experience speakers. He suggested combining the two events. Cecily Crow suggested having the CDC panel first for junior and seniors, then having the senior reception during the second hour. Young alumni could speak at the senior session to talk about how they have remained involved with Berry.  The evening would begin around 5:30       pm. Jennifer Beard and Faye Fron will be meeting to discuss specifics of young         alumni involvement.  

            2. Jennifer Beard brought up Reunion Zero and said our committee might be of assistance. Rhea Clemmons suggested creating a pamphlet to explain how to stay involved with Berry after graduation. These pamphlets could be placed on the tables at the event. 

            3. On the candle-lighting ceremony from Wesleyan College: Valerie Loner explained that it would not be a fund-raising event, but instead a ceremony to welcome seniors into the Alumni Association. She reminded everyone of the idea of inviting alums celebrating their 50th reunion to attend the event, which would not begin until 2008. Also, it was discussed that some members of the committee should go to Wesleyan to observe their ceremony and bring ideas back to Berry.  

New Business: 

                      1. Cecily Crow announced that Berry will be hosting a Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society; students from all area colleges will be invited to participate. The regular Relay          for Life will still take place in Rome. The goal of  Berry’s Relay is to raise $20,000 and involve 30 teams. Jennifer Beard suggested that alumni could serve as volunteers, with students handling the          fund-raising and walking functions. Cecily Crow will find out more about volunteer needs and serve as the contact for any alumni who want to volunteer. 

            2. Young alumni work project: Rhett Smith mentioned the senior class service day will be March 31 in the afternoon. Projects include yardwork for homes on Faculty Row. One suggestion is to invite alumni to participate and stay for a social event afterward. Kim Terrell stated that this probably would not reach those alumni who are not already engaged in Berry activities. Rhea Clemmons suggested that each of the young alumni on the council invite a friend who has already graduated from Berry; a personal invitation is likely to entice someone to participate. Valerie Loner said we could gather briefly before the event to thank people for coming, and Heather Henderson suggested that the Alumni Association might be able to give us a banner or water bottles to hand out.  

            3. Valerie Loner stated that one of our main goals for the year was to introduce Dr. Briggs to the alumni. She asked the committee’s feeling on organizing a spring outing and whom to target for attendance. Jennifer Beard notified us that a “meet Dr. Brigg’s” session has already taken place in Atlanta. Valerie Loner said that not  many young alumni attended. Cecily Crow suggested bringing Dr. Briggs to events already planned, versus planning a new event for that sole purpose. Rhea Clemmons suggested that we should also invite some popular professors because alumni are likely to attend an event at which they can visit old professors as well as meet the new president. This discussion was tabled. 

            4. Cecily Crow brought up the idea of connecting with young alumni who attend graduation. Committee members could set up an alumni tent with a sign up advertising a party/fellowship later that evening. This idea was popular with the group. 

            5. Cecily Crow suggested a chapter event in the summer celebrating graduation, possibly in Atlanta.  

            6. Rhea Clemmons encouraged the development of more school-based alumni chapters. 

            7. Brainstorming:  

a. Valerie Loner reported our Christmas cards were well-received. She suggested starting a series of “life-skills” e-mails provided by the alumni council. E-mails would go out every other month or quarterly. Examples of content include interviewing skills and networking tips. The goal would be to reach out to young alumni and show them that the Berry Alumni Association is relevant to them. The e-mails could also contain a short reminder of upcoming alumni events like the Berry/Shorter basketball games.  

b. Cecily Crow suggested creating a student work position devoted to alumni-student career relations. The student would work with Wes Moran.  

c. The group discussed sending a link to the Campus Carrier to young alumni. Rhett Smith suggested focusing on different campus groups in  periodic e-mails, so that alumni would have a good chance of coming across news on the groups with which they were involved when they were students. 

Valerie Loner closed the meeting shortly before 3:00 PM. 

Submitted by: Cary Sanders 

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