MAY 2008

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

A MESSAGE FROM DEBBIE DAY

The deadline to record hours for VT-ENGAGE (and pledge more) is May 8!  Please, please go to the website and record your hours.  The goal for hours pledged by alumni is 300,000.  Currently, we have only 91,962 registered hours and I KNOW our chapter leaders and area alums are putting in many more hours.  The National Capitol Region Chapter area is leading with 8,581 hours followed closely by Richmond Chapter at 6,801.  See where your chapter stands in hours pledged.  Go to the website at www.engage.vt.edu.  Thank you in advance for your support.

Wow what a month we had in April!  Many chapters hosted Day of Remembrance Ceremonies and Virginia Tech for life Blood Drives to give back to their local communities following the tragedy of April 16, 2007.  The majority of the blood drives took place during the month of April, but some of them will be held later in the year.  We had 30 chapters participate and collected over 1,000 pints of blood across the country (New River Valley Chapter pictured).  We hope to make this an annual event.  Way to go Hokies! 

We hosted our first teleconference with 23 chapters throughout the country.  The feedback was very positive and the chapters in attendance have encouraged us to sponsor more of these in the future.  Watch for details in the June e-newsletter.

We had a great Alumni Association Tailgate at the Spring Game with our students. Several chapters joined us as well as the advisory board for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.  We had inflatable games, plenty of food, trivia, face tattoos, a pep rally and of course the Highty Tighties and the Hokie Bird.  The location was great.  STAT did a great job organizing the event and SAA baked yummy dessert for everyone.  Please make plans to join us next year.

End of year deadlines are approaching which I have highlighted later in the newsletter. This means it is time to transition your new leaders and to prepare for the Chapter Officers Forum in September.  As always, please let me or your liaison know if we can be of assistance.

VirginiaTechforlife,

Deborah A. Day
Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations

MAY 8 DEADLINE
Record your hours and pledge for the summer!

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, blood drives, neighborhood associations, etc. They all count! So, record your hours today!

THE DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING!

FEATURED SPEAKER FOR CHAPTERS:
Rosemary Blieszner

Dr. Blieszner is a dynamic speaker...book her for your next chapter event. If you have questions on how to do this, please contact your liaison.

Primary Academic Interests

• Adult Development and Aging
  
• Family Studies

Professional Responsibilities

• Scholarly Societies: American Psychological Association, Committee on Aging
  
• Editorial Boards: Family Relations, Journal of Aging Studies, Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Journal of Loss & Trauma, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Current Research

• Family and Friend Relationships and Well Being in Old Age
  
• Use of Community Services by Rural Elders and Their Families
  
• Support for Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Their Families

For more information, visit www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/blieszner.html.

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 Vijaya (pronounced V J) Mallikarjunan, Technical Services Manager

Vijaya Mallikarjunan works with the Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations to execute appropriate application of information technology to Alumni Association program areas and business processes. In her role as Technical Services Manager, she provides network and server administration, chapter database management, user support and web application development.  She is also the primary liaison for the Alumni Association with campus information systems service providers and external information technology vendors. 

Vijaya Mallikarjunan earned her Master degree in Instructional Technology from Virginia Tech and B.S in Information Systems from Mercer University. Vijaya, an Information Systems Professional, has more than 10 years of experience in programming, systems analysis and system administration and proficient in developing active, dynamic web based applications, database connectivity and network administration.  Prior to joining the Alumni Association, Vijaya has worked for several departments at Virginia Tech (EHSS, CEUT, and ISC).  She resides in Blacksburg with her husband and three children. At home, she enjoys cooking, gardening and spending quality time with her kids.

CHAPTER OFFICERS FORUM!

UPCOMING CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINES

• 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!
  
  For more information, please contact Cathy Lally at clally@vt.edu.

Other Deadlines

You are REQUIRED to have a Virginia Tech PID (vt.edu e-mail address) to access the Chapter Forms system. The Chapter Forms system allows you to submit event information, publication requests, update chapter contact information and more.   If you have questions please contact Vijaya Mallikarjunan at vijaya@vt.edu.

The following items are due to the Alumni Office in Blacksburg by July 1.  They can be found in the Chapter Forms section of the website.

• Chapter Annual Plan
• Chapter Officers, Board of Directors, Committee Chairs
• Nomination for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year 
• Superlative Award Nominations
  
  - Outstanding Event/Activity
  - Outstanding Alumni Admissions
  - Outstanding Community Service Project
  - Outstanding New Member Plan
  - Outstanding Fundraising Event/Activity
  - Outstanding Golf Tournament
  - Outstanding Website

CHAPTER OFFICER TRANSITION

It is time to begin transitioning volunteers into new positions.  Don’t wait until July 1 and simply hand over you notebook.

You should be sharing expectations and responsibilities now with your new officers and chairs.

The first requirement for a successful alumni chapter is strong, dedicated leadership. The chapter must be certain that capable officers are chosen - people who will dedicate time to initiate, plan and promote a variety of activities which will appeal to Virginia Tech alumni and friends in the chapter area. Chapter leaders should be able to work well with diverse populations, be imaginative and enthusiastic, and have administrative ability. The infusion of new leaders is particularly critical if a chapter is to remain vital and is to represent all alumni in the chapter area. The chapter must be sure qualified candidates are nominated at each election. Prior to electing officers, a nominating committee should be appointed which will choose appropriate candidates and verify their willingness to serve if elected by the chapter.

Contact your chapter liaison if you need assistance with this process.

WELCOME OUR NEWEST CHAPTERS & CLUBS

• Ashville, NC
• Augusta, GA
• Fairbanks, AK
• Jackson, MS
• Lubbock, TX
• Northwest Fl/Mobile AL
• Omaha, NE
• Reno, NV
• Pinehurst, NC
• Savannah, GA

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