Berry Alumni Council
Minutes
November 14, 2009
Frances Richey-Goldby, Alumni Association President, called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.
Larry McRae, Council Member, opened the meeting with a prayer.
Chris Watters, Director of Alumni Relations, reviewed the agenda for the day and a couple of other papers that were passed out.
Business Session
Frances presented the minutes from the August meeting to the council for approval. There was a motion to approve the minutes as distributed and it passed without opposition.
Chris presented the Mountain Day report:
- Record attendance this year with almost 6,000 alumni and friends present for the Grand March
- Chapel service had over 400 people in attendance
- Mega Reunion also had over 400 people in attendance
- Marthapalooza had over 2,000 participants
Barbara McCollum, President – Elect, presented the members of the nominating committee to the council:
Kim Terrell Jeff Palmer
Glynn Tindall Juanita Scurry
Celeste Creswell Ouida Dickey
Barbara McCollum, chair Frances Richey-Goldby, ex-officio
Chris Watters, ex-officio Note: Martha Bowen was later added to the nominating committee post-council meeting.
Nominations for council positions will be accepted until January 1, 2010.
Bart Cox, Parliamentarian, presented the members of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee that will be meeting in January:
Allyson Chambers Lewis Copeland
Ouida Dickey Lydia Fields
Heather Henderson Barbara McCollum
Harry Wise
New Student Philanthropy Program – Presented by Milton Chambers and Samantha Knight
Program Name: Firsthand4You
Mission: Awareness, Gratitude, and Giving
- Awareness among students of what others do for Berry
- Opportunities to express gratitude
- Encouragement to create a habit of giving to others
First Hand4You Week – January 25 – 30
Monday – Pay it forward postcard – information about alumni giving
Tuesday – Young alumni speakers at SGA meeting – why they are giving back now and what
Berry has done for their career
Wednesday – Banner signing and thank you note activities in Krannert
Thursday – Dinner celebration of Berry’s founding
Friday – Kick Off “Silver Wars” in Krannert
Saturday – Young Alumni Concert
Senior class will give incoming freshmen money towards books from their senior gift.
New Efforts for Young Alumni Programming – Presented by Jennifer Beard, Laura Sutton and Drew Landis
- Research and information gathering underway (i.e. survey, focus group sessions) for a new young alumni program
- Plan to be created by Summer 2010 with roll-out during 2010-2011
- Program will include a Firsthand4Ever Giving Society to recognize continuous giving regardless of amounts
- Young Alumni Mountain Day tent
- Young Alumni web page
- Facebook fan page
- Young Alumni and Student Relations Committee on the Alumni Council will have a leadership role in forming a young alumni group that will be a voice for the program
New Berry Video
Bettyann O’Neill, Vice President for Advancement, showed a new Berry video, titled “A Firsthand Look at Berry College” designed for Admissions as well as alumni wishing to help promote Berry.
Berry Email for Life
Chris Watters presented a Microsoft Outlook Live email system that is now available to Berry alumni at no charge.
Committee Meetings
Closing Business Session
Committee Reports
At 2:40 p.m. Frances called the afternoon session to order.
Clara McRae, Vice President of Awards
- Reviewed new ways to increase nominations – use email, Berry videos, but not using Facebook until the alumni webpage is updated
- Looking at shortening the nomination review period without taking away from the significance of the awards
Patrick Carter, Vice President of Events
- Conducted brainstorming session on how to improve the Awards and Golden Guard Induction dinner program during Alumni Weekend
- Suggested nominees for the awards committee and nominating committee
- Completed project of identified leaders for reunions
- Went down and viewed the new ballroom in Krannert
Lewis Copeland, Work Week Chair
- Created a timeline for Alumni Work Week
- Put together a project list
- Identified crew chiefs
- Milton Chambers is checking on additional projects
Larry Eidson, Vice President of Financial Support
- Round table financial discussion
- Presentation from Sloane Hernandez on annual fund giving
- Larry reminded all council members to give
Allyson Chambers, Vice President of Heritage
- “Who’s in the Grave” project (www.findagrave.com) at the Berry College Chapel Cemetery
- Print of Possum Trot fundraiser for a new roof should be underway soon
- Daughters of Berry and the Heritage committee are working together on cleaning up Martha’s grave and looking into getting new boxwoods planted
Drew Landis, Vice President of Young Alumni and Student Relations
- Need clear communication with alumni
- Working on getting updated contact info from young alumni
- Laura Sutton and Jennifer Beard are working on the web page and programming
Frances thanked everyone for all of their hard work.
Next council meeting will be March 13, 2010
Todd Brooks was available to provide an update after the meeting on athletics at Berry.
Charlie Underwood, Council Member, offered the closing prayer.