SVC/SJC Alumni Association Minutes
Homecoming WeekendSeptember 26, 2009
Present - Lucille Cooke ’51, ‘72; Sandy Marks ‘07; Joe Papai ‘91; Daryl Kenny – Director of Alumni Relations
Before getting into the crux of our meeting there’s a bit of business that should be attended to. We need to rebuild our Alumni Board. If you have an interest in serving on the Board, or if you know of someone who might make a good candidate, please forward that information to Daryl at dkenny@svc.edu or (802) 447-6357.
Despite an excellent turnout for Homecoming activities, we did not have a quorum to run the meeting. It was determined that a better use of our time might be to discuss each attendee’s views of the Association and come up with some ways to make participation more attractive to alumni.
Joe felt it was important to get different perspectives. By expanding the Alumni Association base we can get a better idea of what is important/interesting/compelling to our constituency. This generated a discussion on how to increase the number of participating alumni.
Sandy suggested small, class-specific get-togethers; mini-reunions that would allow alumni to reconnect. She also brought up the idea of focusing events around a particular project that alumni could work on together for the greater good. Lucille expressed the importance of including the St. Joe’s alumni as the foundation of the current SVC. Perhaps by offering an event that was exclusively for them, such as a performance of some sort followed by a tea, St. Joe’s alumni might feel more of a sense of connectedness with the SVC community. Daryl mentioned that based on her conversations with a number of alumni, we might want to put together regional networking events. We could put together regional chapters; e.g. in Boston, the New York metropolitan area, the NYS Capitol Region and, of course, Vermont. By keeping these meetings more localized we could limit the amount of driving as well as the time commitment. Also regional contacts may prove more practically valuable for networking purposes.
We have two major on-campus alumni events: Homecoming and Reunion Weekends. We discussed the idea of making them two very different experiences. Homecoming, with its sports activities and Fall Fest, could be geared toward family activities. Reunion Weekend might have more of a “grown-up” flavor, with childcare available during scheduled activities.
So our little group came up with all these wonderful ideas. What we need now are your ideas and feedback. This is your Alumni Association and we want to know what you’d like to see happening. Please feel free to contact Daryl at dkenny@svc.edu or (802) 447-6357 with any ideas or if you’re interested in helping us start a chapter in your area.
Respectfully submitted,
Daryl Kenny
Director of Alumni Relations
