OCTOBER 2008

- In This Issue -

A Message from Debbie Day

Award Winning Chapters Announced at Chapter Officers Forum in September

Joining the Chapter Team...

This Month's Chapter Tip

New Feature on the web!

Chapter Officer Training Teleconference - Only 1 left in 2008!

New Chapters

Football Festivities and Chapter Events

Chapter Team

• Debbie Day
• Greg Fansler
• Patty Foutz
• Jack Hutcheson
• Cathy Lally
• Betty Lee
• Ginny Ritenour

Congratulations Chapter Leaders!

Chapter Scholarships exceed goal by over $15,000!

New record set at $175,550 for 156 Scholarships!

Don't Forget...

You are REQUIRED to have a Virginia Tech PID (vt.edu e-mail address) to access the Chapter Forms system. Visit the website and click on "chapter forms and log-in" for instructions and to access the system.

Also, Chapter Rosters have been updated. Go to the chapter log-in tab to view the most current list.

It's simple and just a click away. more...

Next Month

A look into our Board of Directors and Hokie Nation Service Days

Volunteer Handbook ...

Dear Chapter Officers,

We had an outstanding Chapter Officers Forum last month with over 140 participants representing 46 chapters. The chapter volunteers that traveled the longest distance were from Orange County, CA! Thank you to all who attended. We were honored to have four Alumni Association Board Members with us: David Lowe from the New River Valley Chapter, Pam McConnell from the Chattanooga Chapter, Greg Merritt from the National Capital Region Chapter and Nick Moga from the Greater Alleghany Highlands Chapter.

We presented a record 43 Outstanding Chapter Awards to deserving chapters all who received $400 towards their scholarship fund. All of the award winners are listed below.  The highlight of the weekend was a pre-game breakfast with our chapter scholarship winners.  Over 50 scholarship students showed joined us for breakfast on the morning of the first home game. Impressive! The program included three previous scholarship winners who talked about their experiences at Virginia Tech. We truly have amazing and talented students who thanks to you, are able to engage with the Alumni Association early in their collegiate experience.

As the calendar year winds down you should have your holiday party and bowl watching party scheduled and on the print schedule. If you do not, please complete your mail/e-mail request form ASAP. Remember that many of our staff will spend time with their families during the holidays and usually take leave during that time when the campus is quiet.

Finally, I am thrilled to welcome Ginny Ritenour to the Chapter Team. Ginny will provide support to the chapter program and team and is looking forward to working with all of our chapters. Please welcome her when you have a chance. Her e-mail is ginnyrit@vt.edu.  We are so happy to have her on our team!

Please let us know how we can help you and keep up the great work you do in the name of Virginia Tech.

Debbie Day

Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations

Outstanding Chapter Awards

Chapter Achievement Awards
Chicago
Cincinnati
Dallas-Fort Worth
Eastern Shore
Kanawha
Orange County
Seattle
Tampa

Chapter Superlative Awards
Event/Activity: Atlanta for Pre-Game Tailgate vs Georgia Tech

Community Supported Evening with Bud Robertson: Greater Alleghany Highlands

Community Service: NC Triad for First Responders Recognition

Fundraising Event/Activity: Williamsburg, Peninsula, Tidewater Golf Tournament

Golf: Prince William

Website: Orange County

Other Chapter Awards
Most Improved Chapter: Atlanta

Outstanding New Chapter: Savannah

Outstanding Volunteer: John Diering ‘65, Baltimore

Outstanding Chapter Officer: Pam McConnell

Ginny Ritenour has been appointed Chapter Program Administrative Coordinator to support our chapter liaison team.  

Ginny has been administrative assistant for two program directors in Cooperative Extension, and prior to that about 13 years in quality assurance and human resources at Internet New River Foundry in Radford.

She is working toward a degree at the university and resides with her husband and son in Newport.

Please join me in welcoming Ginny to our staff.

This Month's Chapter Tip

Q. My chapter would like to produce letterhead and business cards. How can the Alumni Association help?

A. The Alumni Association provides two templates; one for letterhead and one for business cards online. Chapters can use the design, but tailor it to their specific chapter!

New Feature on the Web!

The chapter contacts page has a line for chapter website addresses. New this month a separate line has been added for social networking information. If you want information added, please send it to Vijay Mallikarjunan, Technical Services Manager, at vijaya@vt.edu.

Thanks for the suggestion at Chapter Officer's Forum - it is a great addition and another outlet to reach other Hokies in your area.

Chapter Officer Training

Teleconferences - only 1 left in 2008!
Join the Alumni Association staff liaisons for our teleconferences. Participants will be provided with a phone number to call and interact with your liaison and other volunteers from all over the country. Watch for registration information via e-mail.

The new 2009 schedule is coming soon!

• Monday, November 10
  7:00 – 8:00 p.m. EST
  Chapter Scholarships

New Chapters

The Alumni Association is pleased to announce the establishment of several new Alumni Chapters and Clubs. Please welcome them!

• Aspen, CO; Athens, GA; Central Savannah River GA; Wichita, KS; Morgantown, WV

Check out our Football Festivities and Calendar of Events pages. Be sure to submit information to Melissa Vidmar, Communications Director, at vidmar@vt.edu.