Board Matters Newsletter - Winter 2010

Board

M at t e r s

A newsletter for current and past members of the K-State Alumni Association Board of Directors “Enhancing our Kansas State University family through lifelong involvement” Greetings from a very excited and energized K-State! What an incredible year this has been for your alma mater, and there are more great things on the horizon as our campus unites to enhance the future of our great university through the efforts of K-State President Dr. Kirk H. Schulz and his leadership team.

Enclosed is a copy of the K-State Alumni Association’s 200910 annual report, which shares information regarding the continued growth of our programs. We continue to be proud of the support of our K-State family as evidenced by the 22 percent increase in our event attendance and the loyalty of our members that has placed us as No. 1 in the Big 12 for membership for 14 consecutive years!

We are pleased to announce the following individuals have been slated for the K-State Alumni Association Board of Directors:

Linda Cook ’77

Kansas City, Mo. Cook is president/founder of Advanta Communications in Kansas City, Mo.

Mary Jo (Rupp) Myers ’64

Arlington, Va. Myers is a consultant with Hayes and Associates in McLean, Va.

Aubrey (Abbott) Patterson ’98

Hutchinson, Kan. Patterson is executive director of the Hutchinson Community Foundation.

Edgar Ramirez ’04

Fort Myers, Fla. Ramirez is an architectural designer for Design Group West in Naples, Fla.

Dan Yunk ’71, ’75, ’87

Manhattan, Kan. Yunk is executive director and CEO of Kansas Farm Bureau in Manhattan, Kan. The 2011 new member slate will appear in the spring issue of the K-Stater magazine. Association members will have until April 15 to cast their ballots to ratify the slate.

WINTER 2010

Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86 President and CEO

MUHWEZI, ALLISON TO SERVE AS AMBASSADORS The 2010 Homecoming activities were capped off by the selection of Angela Muhwezi and Darren Allison as the 2011 K-State Student Ambassadors.

Their selection was announced at halftime of the Homecoming football game against Oklahoma State Saturday, Oct. 30.

As Ambassadors, Muhwezi and Allison will visit with prospective students and alumni at Association events throughout Kansas, serve as Angela Muhwezi and Darren Allison grin with pride after being announced as the 2011 K-State Student Ambassadors.

members of the Student Alumni Board, assist with programming and campus activities, including special events sponsored by the university President’s Office.

Muhwezi, is a junior in biology from Wichita, Kan., and a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Allison is a junior in marketing and public relations. He is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and a native of Lyons, Kan. David Mayes ‘96, K-State Alumni Association

2011 BOARD SLATE

We also are anxiously anticipating the return to postseason play for many of our athletics programs, including the football team’s participation in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl, which will be in New York City in a couple weeks. The Wildcat Nation has once again responded enthusiastically, and I cannot wait to see the Big Apple filled with purple pride!

Thank you for all you continue to do to promote K-State. We could not experience the success we do without you!

Association programs experience growth

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cabinet. With this appointment, the Association has increased ver the course of the past year, the K-State Alumni representation on campus and more involvement with Association and K-State have seen growth in the number university initiatives. Renz is excited to help advance the of constituents they serve, as well as continued success in Association. “This has provided the Association an opportunity programs and endeavors. to have a voice on how we support the university on a daily This fall, K-State enrollment reached an all-time high of basis,” she said. “Our strategic plan also serves as a tool to 23,588 students in undergraduate programs. Twelve percent advance and promote K-State to help us obtain our goal to of those students are multicultural students — a record for be a top 50 public research university by 2025.”

K-State. As for the Association, membership is up 9.1 percent Just as the K-State community grows each year, the this year, an increase that has helped the Association hold on Association grows with it. With President Schulz’s vision to No. 1 status in the Big 12 Conference for percentage of for K-State taking shape and the strong leadership at the members to graduates for the 14th consecutive year.

Association, members of the K-State family, either as students The Association has seen an increase in attendees at or alumni, will always have a home in Manhattan. events, such as reunions and student recruitment activities, by more than 22 percent. Scholarships awarded by the Association are up 21 percent, despite the current economic conditions. Scholarships awarded this year equaled $201,600 including 75 $1,000 Legacy Scholarships, funded by the K-State License Plate Program, which are awarded to children or grandchildren of K-State graduates.

Lastly, Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86, president and CEO of the Association, was appointed to serve as a member of K-State President Kirk H. Schulz’s K-State Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship recipients are recognized at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

2011 Alumni Fellows to be honored in February The K-State Alumni Fellows Program recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers. The program, which began in 1983, is jointly sponsored by the Dean’s Council, the President’s Office and the Association.

Each year alumni are selected by their college to return to campus as distinguished guests, mentors, friends and counselors. They are honored in recognition of the ultimate measure of a university – not curricula, facilities or programs, but on the quality of its alumni.

Several current members of the Alumni Board of Directors have been honored with this prestigious award, including: Kent Bradley ’88; Jane Brunt ’77, ’80; Duane Cantrell ’78; Bernard Franklin ’76, ’96; and Terry Matlack ’78.

The 2011 Alumni Fellows to be honored in February are: College of Agriculture, Jerry L. Hatfield ’71 College of Architecture, Planning & Design Charles C. Crawford III ’81 College of Arts & Sciences, Michael Goss ’81 and Henry W. Green, Jr. ’72 College of Business Administration, Franklin A. Burke ’55 Division of Continuing Education, Allan Sicat ’03 College of Education, Dwight D. Jones ’90 College of Engineering, James Gieber ’63 Graduate School, Esther F. Myers ’89

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College of Human Ecology, Husam Usama Kakish ’93 College of Technology & Aviation, Dennis Duane Shreves ’72, ’76 College of Veterinary Medicine, Guy Palmer ’80

Did You Know?

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-State alumni and friends continue to show their loyalty by supporting the K-State Alumni Association’s Tradition Founders’ fund. Donations have totaled more than 60 percent of our goal of $345,000 since the start of this year’s campaign Oct. 1.

Tradition Founders’ donations provide the funds for the Association’s operating budget and make it possible for the Association to provide the K-Stater magazine, alumni club activities, watch parties, multicultural programs and assistance with student recruitment! If you haven’t made your gift to Tradition Founders this year, watch your mailbox in January for an opportunity to give or visit www.K-State.com to give anytime.

WINTER 2010

Chair’s Corner It’s the most wonderful time of the year — made even more so by the Wildcats return to postseason play in the Pinstripe Bowl! Our bowl travel piggy banks have not been tapped since 2006, so many of us are ready to go.

The holidays are full of great traditions and the best stories Audrey Mross ’80 about selfless acts of kindness.

Who doesn’t love it when the entire town of Bedford Falls rallies around “poor old George” and saves him from Uncle Billy’s gaffe in “It’s a Wonderful Life?” There are wonderful stories happening every day, many involving K-Staters who reach out to help others.

A recent graduate who was struggling to find his first job was assisted by an alumnus, who took the time to visit with him during a return to campus. The alumnus, Richard Henry ’80, worked hard to find someone who would give the young man a shot. He talked to fellow alumnus, Gregg Tanner ’80, and now Scott Sellers ’10 is a business analyst with Dean Foods.

In another example, I recently visited with an alumnus who teaches high school kids. Grant Wilhite ’98 had read about successful alumni donating large sums to K-State and bemoaned he was not in a position to do the same. I shared that he does give back, every time he volunteers to staff a high school college night and represent K-State to curious students and their parents.

Ted Settle ’75 designed an elegant Lone Star Powercat logo which our DFW alumni club uses to show our purple pride in Texas, and sales of sportswear bearing the logo provides a revenue stream to the club’s endowed scholarship. Abby Brookover ’05 and the Denver alumni club has followed suit, with a smart-looking Colorado flag Powercat as its club logo. Todd Fecht ’92 arranged for his church’s pee-wee football team to attend the UCLA game earlier this year and some of those young players are now dreaming of K-State.

Dustin Ross ’02 has created an online map which shows DFW-area alumni how many alumni are residing in their communities, a service especially enjoyed by newcomers to town.

In each of these examples, alumni are doing everyday things that make an extraordinary difference to someone else. I hope you will embrace the spirit of this season long after the bowl victory and the last champagne toast is made to find ways, small and large, to lift up K-State and your fellow alums. Just like ol’ George, you will find it IS a wonderful life!

— Audrey Mross ’80

WINTER 2010

Kudos & congrats Jackie Hartman ’80, ’83, returned to campus in July when she assumed the position of assistant to the president and director of community relations for K-State.

Hartman served as board chair from 2008-09.

Kristy Tredway ’05 is product manager of Sulfoxaflor insecticides for Dow Chemical Co. in Indianapolis, Ind. Tredway served as Student Alumni Board president and as a member of the board in 2004-05.

Mark Meyer ’84 was recently promoted to full professor with the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

He was a member of the board from 1999-02, and serves as chair of the Alumni Center Advisory Council.

Matthew King ’07, former Student Alumni Board president and board member in 2006-07, is employed by Ad Astra Energy Solutions in Olathe, Kan.

In Memoriam It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the recent passing of three former board members.

Richard (Rick) Harmon ’50, died Feb. 23, 2010. He served as Student Body President in 1949-50, was national president of the board 1955-56, and was honored with the Alumni Medallion in 2001. He also was a former member of the Kansas Board of Regents. Survivors include his wife, Susanne, two daughters and a son.

Joann (Jeffries) Heaton ’48, died Oct. 15, 2010.

She was a member of the board from 1981-84. She is survived by her daughter, Jane, and son, David. Her husband, James Heaton ‘49, died Oct. 10, just five days before Joann’s passing.

Mary (McDonald) Hewson ’48, died Nov. 30, 2010.

Mary was a very involved alumnus, serving the Larned, Kan., area alumni club as a volunteer who avidly recruited student to K-State. She was a member of the board from 1975-78 and was awarded the Alumni Medallion Award in 1986 for outstanding humanitarian service.

Mrs. Hewson also was recognized as the CASE Volunteer of the Year in 1983, the only K-Stater to have been recognized with this national award. She is survived by her husband, Ken ’43, ’49, and three daughters.

We would like to mention your news in a future issue of Board Matters. Please e-mail items you would like to share to Lynn Beier at lbeier@k-state.com.

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utilizing database software, designing and distributing informational materials, and researching the ways similar nonprofits govern their organization as a means of discovering better ways to govern ours.

My time here has been educational, interactive and exciting. I feel prepared to take my next big step into working full-time and am anxious to find out what’s next.

Regardless of where I go from here, I’ll have the great experiences and relationships formed at the Association supporting my resume and my ambitions.

Editor’s note: Krystin graduated from K-State Dec. 11 and accepted a position with the Association. She will serve as an alumni programs assistant. We welcome Krystin to the staff!

David Mayes ’96, K-State Alumni Association

Each year, a handful of K-State students have the opportunity to work at the Association as student workers or student interns. Students work side-by-side with Association staff to learn more about their field of interest, whether it be marketing, communications, program and special event planning, or management.

As I approached my last semester at K-State, I realized while my classroom studies were beneficial in teaching me what to expect as a working professional, first-hand experience was what I needed to help me transition from the college world to the real one.

Since I will receive a minor in nonprofit leadership/ management through the School of Leadership Studies, I decided working at the Association would be a good fit for me and was offered an internship within the administration suite under Lynn Beier.

As an administrative intern for the past five months, I have gained a wealth of knowledge about the myriad of duties that take place within a nonprofit; such as nonprofit management, program planning, implementation and evaluation, and board development.

I have come to know and understand the culture of the nonprofit workplace environment, where each employee wears various hats and performs various tasks in order to accomplish the goals the Association sets forth. My everyday duties have varied from month to month, but have all taught me skills that will make me more marketable in the work force.

These duties included entering data into various spreadsheet formats, developing surveys, accessing and

Erin Jeschke Kelly ‘02, K-State Alumni Association

Reflections of intern Krystin Matuszewicz ’10

erry

Warm wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

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From: The staff of the K-State Alumni Association

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hristmas!!