By: Bob Eldridge '70
Alumni Relations Director
Quite often Alma Accents provides information about alumni issues, events and volunteer opportunities that involve the 38 members of the Alumni Board. It has also been well documented that the Board is the governing body of the Alumni Association. But have you ever wondered what the Alumni Board does other than attend meetings three times a year?
Please let me brag about this wonderful group of loyal alumni who serve you and the College so well. Yes they do indeed attend three Board meetings each year in September, January and April. They also help me plan and execute all of the Homecoming Weekend festivities — more than a dozen separate events. They volunteer, as do our A-Team members, to recruit students to Alma by attending functions on and off campus as well as making personal calls to prospects. They give up some of their evenings and weekends to assist in the organization and funding of the Life Beyond Alma series for our students, which includes the very successful “Living & Working In…” programs in Detroit, Chicago, Lansing and West Michigan.
Alumni Board members also play an important role in helping Tartan Clubs across the country communicate effectively to keep the Alma network alive and well. They assist the Annual Giving Office, through stewardship, to help alumni understand the importance of annual giving for the continued success of the College.
Two little-known projects your Board is involved with are providing exam kits (goodies and treats) every semester for Alma’s international students and furnishing fresh flowers for all special events to be displayed in the Smith Alumni House.
You should all feel proud, as I do, of the service your Alumni Board provides Alma College. So, the next time you run into a board members please give them a handshake, a hug or a high-five and tell them thanks for caring so much!
