EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S COLUMN (WINTER 2009) -- WE DARE YOU TO HELP

By Stella Cash, M.S. ’80, Interim Executive Director

New initiatives abound at your Alumni Association. Two that I would like to highlight are the “We Dare YOU” membership campaign and a new partnership with the University Club of MSU.

To help with the “We Dare YOU” membership challenge, we are encouraging members to ask their regional alumni club or college alumni association if they’re participating in this initiative. The challenge was created by the association’s Membership and Marketing Committee as a grassroots call to action to raise membership. It will run from November 2008 through June 2009, and the top-recruiting participants in each of four categories will be eligible for cash prizes. We dare you to do your part and help us grow our Green!

Special thanks to the members of the Membership and Marketing Committee: Carole Lick, Chair; Navneet Narula, Young Alum; Carole Ames, Dean, MSU College of Education; and Brian Cullin, Jim Goodheart, Lori Hannemann, Curt Hoopingarner, Robert Kriss, Veronica O’Connor, Steve Peckham, Gordon Spink and MSUAA staff Laurie Robison and Bev VandenBerg.

The University Club of MSU recently announced exclusive membership benefits for MSU Alumni Association members. MSUAA members within Michigan who join the University Club will receive a rebate from the U-Club in the form of a food and beverage credit equivalent to the cost of one year of MSUAA dues. Members who live and work outside the state of Michigan can now join the University Club through the new “Out-of-state” membership, enjoying full social privileges at the Club whenever in town for nominal annual dues of $105. These announcements come as the University Club celebrates 80 years of serving the MSU community.

You will often hear me describe your Alumni Association as the “Triple A” alumni association which focuses on the arts, academics, and athletics. This certainly has been the case this fall. The concert presented by the College of Music in San Francisco after the MSU vs. Berkley football game on Labor Day weekend was exceptional. Attending the College of Nursing evening of awards and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Autumnfest, reinforced for me the far-reaching impact that the academic programs have on Michigan, the country and the world. One could not think of fall on campus without feeling the dynamics of athletics. The student athletes and coaches for many sports have given Spartans a renewed sense of pride.

As we continue to grow your alumni association, we will continue to foster the concept of the “Triple A” Alumni Association focusing on the arts, academics and athletics. As always, if I can be of service to you or if you have questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at shcash@msu.edu or call me
at 517-432-1978.