APRIL 2008

The monthly chapter newsletter is a communications tool between the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and its chapters. If you have any comments or suggestions for the newsletter, please send them to your chapter liaison.

A MESSAGE FROM DEBBIE DAY

Spring has arrived in Blacksburg with the hustle and bustle that is indicative of this busy time of year.  On campus, we are preparing for many upcoming events including the April 16 Day of Remembrance, the Chapter and Student Tailgate and Spring Game on April 19, Commencement on May 9 & 10 and of course our fall reunions and homecomings.

I am delighted to report that the VirginiaTechforlife Blood Drive kicked off on Tuesday, April 1 at the Alexandria Virginia Red Cross Center.  We have over 30 blood drives scheduled throughout the country during the month of April and beyond.  For details, check our website at www.alumni.vt.edu.  I can’t tell you how pleased I am with this effort and want to thank Cathy Lally for her leadership on this project.  Also, I want to thank all of the chapters that are participating in this important endeavor, and giving back to their local communities. We want to make this an annual campaign. For more information, visit www.alumni.vt.edu/blooddrive/index.html.

The Chapter Tailgate will take place outside of Lane Stadium beginning at noon on Saturday, April 19.  If you plan to attend the game, please stop by and join us, local students and the Student Alumni Associates before kick-off.  Chapter Presidents should have received a special invitation for their chapters to participate.  Let me know if you are interested at hokie@vt.edu.

As you begin to work on your summer events, please plan to include current and incoming students and parents, and the families of the victims of April 16. Your staff liaison will work to encourage SAA students to attend your events.  Remember to plan ahead and work with your liaison and other nearby chapters to share resources for speakers and minimize travel expenses for your guests.

As always thank you for your service to Virginia Tech and please let me or your liaison know how we can help you.

Sincerely,


Deborah A. Day
Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations

CHAPTER DATABASE

The Alumni Association’s chapter database is real-time, so once you make any changes or submit any requests, it happens automatically. You can go online and update officer information, request publications, submit event reports and more. You are REQUIRED to have a Virginia Tech PID (vt.edu e-mail address) to access the new system.  If you do not have a Virginia Tech PID and password, please visit the alumni gateway at www.alumni.vt.edu/gateway/index.html and create an alumni profile. In order to gain access to our chapter database and its many resources, you will then need to register your Virginia Tech PID with Vijay, our Technical Services Manager, at vijaya@vt.edu and your chapter liaison. Once you have done this, you will be given access.

RECORD YOUR HOURS!

VT-ENGAGE is a special world-wide community service initiative involving VT alumni, students, faculty and staff that officially launched on October 16th. Alumni were challenged to record a total of 300,000 hours of any service(s) of their choosing.  To find out more and record your service hours, visit www.engage.vt.edu. Don't forget to count chapter meetings and programs, and other service and community organizations like the PTA, Rotary, neighborhood associations, etc. They all count! So, record your hours today!

FEATURED SPEAKER
FOR CHAPTERS:
E. SCOTT GELLER

E. Scott Geller is Alumni Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech and Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems in the Department of Psychology. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the World Academy of Productivity and Quality. He is past Editor of Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (1989-'92), and current Associate Editor (since 1983) of Environment and Behavior, and consulting editor for Journal of Safety Research, Behavior and Social Issues, Behavior Analyst Digest, and Journal of Organizational Behavior Management.

Dr. Geller has authored more than 350 research articles and over 75 books or chapters addressing the development and evaluation of behavior-change interventions to improve quality of life. His recent books in occupational health and safety include: The Psychology of Safety; Working Safe; Understanding Behavior-Based Safety; Building Successful Safety Teams; Beyond Safety Accountability: How to Increase Personal Responsibility; The Psychology of Safety Handbook; Keys to Behavior-Based Safety from Safety Performance Solutions; The Participation Factor, and People-Based Safety: The Source. His most recent book is entitled “The Anatomy of Medical Error: Preventing Harm with People-Based Patient Safety.

For more information about this dynamic and engaging speaker, visit: http://www.psyc.vt.edu/people/show.php?id=esgeller

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR VOLUNTEERS

The Communications Team is always adding links and resources to the website that will help our volunteers. Currently we have the following resources…

• Business Card Template
• Alumni Distinguished Professors and other speakers
• Stationery Template
• Presentations
• Volunteer Handbook
• HokieBird Fights Hunger (HBFH)
• Hokies Respect
• Fundraising Opportunities
• University Speakers
• Website Tools
• VirginiaTechforlife Blood Drive

MEET THE STAFF

The Alumni Association has a wonderful and dedicated staff that makes your association run smoothly and professionally. You may have had contact with a few, but do you know everyone? Visit our staff webpage today and see how we can help at http://www.alumni.vt.edu/about/staff.html.

Spotlight on Lea Hamblin, Special Events Planner

Lea joined the Alumni Association in January of 2008. She has worked for the university for several years coming from The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech. Although bioinformatics and genomics research is vastly different from alumni relations, she gained valuable experience in education and outreach while at the institute, which has proven to be extremely beneficial in working with special events.  Her current role as Special Events Planner involves coordination and preparation for various events such as the Old Guard Reunion, A Day in the Life of College Admissions and Summer Around the Drillfield.  Lea also works closely with the Chapter Team providing support for many of our programs. When Lea and her husband are not chasing their children and hauling them from games, practices, and/or camps, Lea enjoys working out, coaching basketball, crafts and reading.

CHAPTER TRAINING - 2 opportunities!

• Chapter Officers who have not attended Regional Chapter Training this spring are encouraged to attend our first Chapter Training Teleconference
  
  
• To RSVP, click here... Training Slides are located at www.alumni.vt.edu/chapters/index.html (under Resources for Chapter Volunteers).

Conference training attendees should dial the following:

• Conference Dial-in: 1-866-842-5779
• Conference Code Prompt: 5402316287

IMPORTANT DATES

Chapter Scholarship Timeline

• Mid-March – The Office of Undergraduate Admissions extended offers of admission
• Late March – E-mails were sent to offered students with a link to the scholarship website and log-in information
• Late March – Chapters received lists of students offered admission
• May 1 – Deadline for students to accept offer of admission
• May 15 – List of students who accepted offer of admissions sent to chapters
• June 15 – Scholarship funds and names of chapter scholarship winners due to Alumni Association  

Other Dates

• Saturday, April 12: Student Recognition Banquet
• Saturday, April 19: Spring Game and chapter/student Alumni Association tailgate
• Wednesday, April 30: Classes End
• Thursday, May 1: Reading Day
• Thursday, May 8: Senior Celebration
• Friday/Saturday, May 9-10: Commencement
• Wednesday/Friday, May 14-16: Old Guard Reunion
• Friday/Sunday, May 23-25: Vintner’s Weekend
• Thursday/Saturday, June 26-28: Summer Around the Drillfield featuring the College of Science's Energy and the Environment
• Thursday/Saturday, July 10-12: Summer Around the Drillfield featuring Pamplin College of Business' Investing in your Future-think BIG and start small
• Friday/Saturday, July 11-12: A Day in the Life of College Admissions
• Friday/Saturday, September 5-6: Chapter Officers Forum
  

Links of Interest:

• Alumni Association: www.alumni.vt.edu
• Chapter Resources: www.alumni.vt.edu/chapters
• Calendar of Events: www.alumni.vt.edu/events

If you have problems viewing this newsletter, please contact Melissa Vidmar, Communications Director, at vidmar@vt.edu.