August 2009
Chapter Team
Don't Forget
You are REQUIRED to have a Virginia Tech PID (vt.edu e-mail address) to access the Chapter Forms database.
Visit the website for instructions and to access the system.
The Chapter Newsletter is a communications tool between the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and its chapters.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to your chapter liaison. If you have problems with viewing the newsletter, please contact Melissa Vidmar (Communications Director), Denise Royal (Communications Coordinator), or view it online.
Dear Chapter Volunteers,
I would like to welcome our new chapter volunteers to the Chapter Newsletter and welcome back returning leaders. This newsletter is sent out 8-10 times a year and will provide updates and news on a variety of topics. I can’t thank you enough for your willingness to serve your alma mater and the Virginia Tech Alumni Association.
The Chapter Officers Forum is quickly approaching. We were very lucky to secure the Nebraska game weekend, but with a popular game comes more demand for tickets and hotel space. We have located a few rooms at Mountain Lake and are in search of extra tickets for the Nebraska game. We will provide an opportunity to watch the game on a large screen TV at the Holtzman Alumni Center, if we are unable to secure additional tickets. I still hope you will consider attending.
You won’t want to miss it!
Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
Engaging Alumni: Motivation Across Age Groups more...
Be sure to join us for our upcoming fall Chapter Officers Forum, September 18-19, 2009 (with an early arrival reception on September 17th). You won’t want to miss this opportunity to network with fellow chapter volunteers, attend fun and informative workshops, and return to your chapter energized for a new year!
We have been notified of lodging availability at Mountain Lake Resort, a beautiful location about 25 minutes outside of Blacksburg. Room rates start at $229 per night and you may contact them directly at (800) 346-3334 or visit their website at www.mtnlakehotel.com.
Register for the event at: http://www.alumni.vt.edu/reunion/cof/index.html
New HTML Process
Based on your feedback, the Alumni Association is excited to introduce an improved service for our volunteers: HTML e-mail for your chapter events! The Alumni Association has always offered complimentary e-mail for chapters, so they can communicate with their alumni. Now, instead of plain text, we offer HTML format, which is a more attractive, eye-catching form of communication. In order to take advantage of this new process, chapter volunteers will be required to complete the online request form; the form is easy to use, asks all necessary questions, and is automatically sent to your chapter liaison and our communications department.
Please read the complete details at www.alumni.vt.edu/chapters/newprocess.
Chapter Highlight: Shenandoah Garden
On Thursday, April 16, 2009, the Shenandoah Valley chapter officially opened an 8,000-square-foot memorial garden in Sherando Park near Stephens City, Virginia. Nearly 100 people, many of them Virginia Tech alumni, attended the unveiling.
“This garden is as much for the survivors and their families as anyone,” Bruce Wilson, chapter president, told the crowd.
The Virginia Tech Memorial Garden features a winding sidewalk shaped in the college’s trademark “VT,” a flagpole surrounded by 32 Hokie Stones and beautiful landscaping. The garden also includes two memorial plaques for those who died in the tragedy.
The Shenandoah chapter also worked with the American Red Cross to organize its second memorial blood drive, bringing in 142 pints of blood (surpassing their goal of 100 pints) for distribution to local hospitals. At least half of the donors were Tech students or alumni. The chapter has already planned another blood drive for April 16, 2010.
Virginia Tech Alumni Association Past Board President David Lowe Visits Chapters
During his time as president of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Board, David Lowe, '63, in February and March visited chapters from the east coast to the west coast and points between. “As president, I felt it would be helpful to meet the people who provided leadership to the chapters, to learn about their activities, to share information regarding the Alumni Association, and to see if there are ways that the association can be more helpful to them.” David explained.
His visits included a ‘black tie’ scholarship fundraiser in Annapolis, informal dinner meetings filled with VT conversation in Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Wilmington, and Myrtle Beach, basketball game watching events in both San Diego and Los Angeles, and a wine tasting and silent auction at the home of Jim and Rosalind Grenfell in Denver. Earlier in the year David attended chapter events in Chicago, Fredericksburg, and the Northern Shenandoah Valley.
“I was really impressed with the local leadership everywhere I went," David exclaimed, “It was a wonderful experience to see so many Hokies in so many places with such different ideas and direction, but all deeply interested in Virginia Tech. The magic of the Hokie Nation is pretty special.”
Staff Highlight – Gregory Fansler, Chapter Liaison
Greg joined the Alumni Association in August of 2007. He is a 2002 graduate of Virginia Tech and received a Bachelor of Science in Management and Finance with a concentration in Financial Risk. He is currently enrolled in the Professional MBA program at Virginia Tech. He serves as the liaison to alumni chapters within the southeast and is responsible for the royalty programs that fund the Alumni Association. Greg currently resides in Blacksburg and is a member of a proud Hokie family. His hobbies consist of training for triathlons and music. He is a Rotary member and serves on various committees throughout the University.
Hokie Nation Serves
Cincinnati Hokies “Build the Walls” by Laura Venerable, Community Service Chairperson, Cincinnati Chapter
On March 28th, the Cincinnati Hokies joined 400 other local volunteers to “build the walls.” Build the Walls is a community outreach program that provides pre-built walls for Habitat for Humanity projects. That morning, we were attempting to build all the walls for three houses, giving Habitat a jump start on construction for three families.
Although we’ve participated in other Habitat builds, this was the first that was truly family-friendly and allowed us to teach our kids the importance of helping someone in need. Where else could you give a 10 year old boy a hammer and some nails and let him bang away to his heart’s content? Where else could you give a Sharpie to a 6 year old girl and let her draw pictures and write notes on a wall for the child that would eventually live in the house she was helping to build? But, the event wasn’t just for kids. During the construction I noticed alumni mentoring others in construction techniques. People who normally sat at desks or computers all day were hammering as if they’d been doing it all their lives. At one point I turned around and found an alum I’d just met that morning, teaching my son how to drive a nail in straight. Build the Walls allowed us the freedom to do something we wouldn’t normally, to come together as an alumni group, and to give back to our community. While helping others, we found ourselves enriched. And in one morning, our kids learned that community service could be fun – an incredible lesson for a generation of future Hokies!
Number of…
- Volunteers involved: 400+
- Sausage biscuits consumed: 600
- Hammers used: 200+
- Nails hit (or missed): 25,560
- Warm chocolate chip cookies eaten: 800
- Walls built: 132
- Houses started: 3
Value of…
- Money spent: approximately $13,000.00
- Lives touched: priceless
Atlanta Chapter Relay For Life by Allison Elkins, Events Chairperson, Atlanta Chapter
In May, the Atlanta Chapter partnered with four other local ACC alumni chapters to participate in Relay For Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society. Virginia Tech alumni, along with Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and Boston College, came together for the second year and helped raise over $6,000 for this great cause! In addition to individual fundraising, all the schools hosted a benefit happy hour two weeks prior to the event, which doubled as a great networking event as well. The night of Relay For Life, each school continued to raise funds by helping put together and run an obstacle course challenge with a football toss for other Relay teams and selling donated sports drinks. This is truly a unique event that showcases Virginia Tech and the ACC and our commitment to helping others!
Atlanta Chapter 2nd Annual Blood Drive by Allison Elkins, Events Chairperson, Atlanta Chapter
That Atlanta Chapter hosted its 2nd annual blood drive on April 16th with LifeSouth Community Blood Bank. For the second year in a row, the chapter came together for the Atlanta community and collected an exceptional 181 pints of blood! This is the biggest community service event that the chapter participates in during the year and the fifth largest blood drive in Georgia for LifeSouth. This year they expanded their drive and added a new donation location with great success.
