Alumni Executive Committee Meeting –September 8, 2016

Present: Preston Gilbert, President; Thayer Miller, 1stVice President; Gary Lipp, 2ndVice President; Mary Clements, Tom Powers & David Tessier

Also Attending: Debbie Caviness and Nichole Dougherty

The meeting was called to order at3:38p.m. in Room 217 Bray Hall. The Minutes from the July 14, 2016 meeting were addressed. M. Clementsmoved that the Minutes be accepted. T. Powersseconded, all approved.

President’s Comments: P. Gilbert thanked the members of the Executive Committee and the Alumni Office staff for their work during his presidency and noted that both the accounting and event transitions (moving most on-campus events to Gateway) were especially smooth.

Treasurer’s Report: D. Caviness reported in the absence of Treasurer, John Bartow. She noted that Dues are up. Football tickets were purchased early and therefore recorded during the2015-2016 fiscal year, Cranberry Lake proceeds were also recorded during the 2015-2016 year while the Cranberry Lake expenses were paid during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Salary expenses are up from this time last year as Nichole had not started until late August, 2015. T. Powers motioned to accept the treasurer’s report. T. Miller seconded, all approved.

Alumni Director Comments: D. Cavinessreportedthat the golf tournament profits were down, noting that we are down in sponsors which may be a result in losing the Neil Murphy connection. She suggested tapping into people that the campus has current contracts with. She discussed moving the venue to Radisson for next year and reported that Friday August 11th is available at no extra cost. D. Caviness also discussed the Alumni Newsletter and noted that it is very costly to mail to foreign Alumni and that often, the newsletter is returned to campus as undeliverable, she questioned if we should cease to mail to non-dues paying foreign alumni, she also questioned if we should cease to mail to the 2,220 Wanakena-only Alums. The Executive Board agreed that sending the Alumni News to all alumni via e-mail with an “environmentally friendly” request for alumni to change to “e-newsletter only” may illicit more response and help cut costs. D. Caviness reported that the Graduates of Distinction dinner will be on December 9th and that the winners have been selected, but have not yet been notified as she is waiting to hear if they will be speaking at December graduation. The winners are Robin Niver, notable achievement; Theresa Evans, incipiensquercu; and Richard Birdsey, lifetime achievement. She noted that Ralph Nyland was a nominee and that it would be nice to do something to honor him, possibly the service award. P. Gilbert noted that he would like to see Richard Hawks honored in some way. D. Caviness reviewed recommended changes to the constitution and it was agreed upon that D. Caviness would review sections 1 & 3 and discuss with the College lawyer as well as determine whether or not the Treasurer can serve on the Audit Committee. All other changes accepted as is. (See attached)

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Old Business

Fall BBQ Weekend Annual Meeting & Reception: D. Caviness reported that the counts for Fall BBQ wereat 347 and that we are typically between 600 and 700 but that this is typical at one month out. She announced that the Annual meeting will take place at 4:30pm on Friday October 7th in Room 313 Bray Hall and encouraged everyone to attend as we will be inducting the new board members.

Board Orientation: D. Caviness will put the board orientation information online in a pdf.

Online Community:TheAudit & Finance received an online presentation of an online community that is under consideration, the alumni office is waiting for a final price. D. Caviness will contact Buffalo State, who uses the same online community, to see how much they pay and how their transition went.

Student Grant Proposal for Fall Semester: The Alumni Office has advertised the student grants for the fall semester and will look into emailing students directly.

Review of Tentative Dates for Meetings: The schedule of tentative meeting dates was addressed.

New Business

Feinstone Dinner: The Alumni Association has sponsored a table and will offer discounted tickets to Board members and a guest at the price of $75 per ticket.

Future Alumni Events in Different Cities: St. Louis event scheduled for September 15th. The ASLA will be held in New Orleans on Oct 22nd. N. Roth offered to co-host with his daughter in Santa Monica. P. Gilbert offered to host again in Seattle & Portland. The Alumni Office is researching a possible day at the Saratoga Race Track for summer 2017 as well as a Walkway over the Hudson, Hyde Park and Roosevelt Mansion tour to include a talk by George Curry and dinner at the Culinary Institute. They have also begun researching a trip with American River tours and will pick 3 possibilities and then survey alumni to see which they would find most interesting.

Other Items from the Committee: No other items from the Committee.

Next Meeting: Board Meeting: October 7, 2016. Executive Committee Meeting: October 13, 2016

T. Millermotioned to adjourn. N. Roth seconded, all approved.

Meeting was adjourned at5:05p.m.