Alumni Council Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, September 29, 2007

Welcome—Robert Hoopes ’89
Robert opened the meeting and welcomed the Alumni Council members. He also offered a brief summary of the topics discussed at the Alumni Council Executive Committee meeting yesterday.

Committee Reports/Updates

Awards—Chris Sullivan ’97
No report at this time.

Nominating—Mike Cuzzi ’98
In Mike’s absence, Jacquelyn Lindsey Wynn ’75 reported that the committee reviewed the proposal, the agenda, and the work they have to do and will have more to talk about in January.

Alumni Fund—Hilary Smyth Wirtz ’00
Hilary reported the committee had a great meeting this morning and she also came from a great Alumni Fund training session. The committee is working on a lot of things, including looking at their committee and the work they are doing and determining whether they are being as effective and efficient and as they can be. Hilary also reported that the Alumni Fund has been re-branded as the Colby Fund. She also informed the council that the College is rolling out the MVP online volunteer system this fall.

Chairman Hoopes offered some comments pertaining to the commitment level of the Alumni Council members. In particular, the distance they traveled to attend this weekend's events and the things people do in their roles as Alumni Council members and for the College; very often no one is watching. Robert thanked the members for their service.
 
Career Services—David Fernandez ’89
Dave reported the committee started their meeting today by revisiting the plan they put together last fall and finalized in January about what they wanted to accomplish as a group. The first thing on the list was putting together a big fall career weekend. It was great to check that off the list. Dave acknowledged several people for their efforts in putting things together for this weekend. He also reported that the committee had talked last January about off-campus events. The committee had agreed to have two off-campus events in January for students who are not on campus for JanPlan, one in the Boston area and one in the Washington, D.C., area. The committee also decided to put together a down-sized version of this weekend to be held in February. They also spent some time doing some after-action review of the planning for this weekend.

Athletics —Chris Vickers ’87
Chris shared that one of the things the committee is working on is trying to push leadership training with captains as well as athletes. A lot of progress had been made in that regard. There are several different programs dealing with alcohol and diversity. There is also a program for outgoing captains to work with incoming captains. Chris also reported that the C Club did a survey and received a lot of feedback from parents and alumni. The C Club's annual dinner will be October 12, 2007. They will honor Edward J. Burke ’60 posthumously. Chris also noted the subcommittee on fund raising is working with the alpine ski teams to raise funds for uniforms. The committee is also focusing on video webcasting.

Admissions and Financial Aid—Patricia Whittemore Jenkins ’67/David Fernandez ’89
Kari reported that there was an almost total turnover of the committee. The committee is focused on recruiting students from Maine; financial aid, in particular as it pertains to Maine; and diversity. They are also offering support to the Admissions Committee by reaching out particularly for the Maine involvement. One way they will be doing this is by making phone calls to students accepted from Maine. The committee is also looking at initiating a letter to the Maine alumni base so that they are aware of the focus on Maine right now. They are also planning a legacy event in Connecticut called “Demystifying the College Experience.”  The committee is looking for volunteers outside of New England to conduct interviews, reach out, and hosting events for the Admissions Committee.

Robert Hoopes expressed thanks to Meg Bernier ’81 and her team and Richard Ammons and his team for all of the effort they put into this weekend.

Next Alumni Council meeting: Saturday, January 19, 2008