Alumni on the Go
by Debbie Widger, 81, 93
Alumni Relations Director
by Debbie Widger, 81, 93
Alumni Relations Director
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by Debbie Widger, 81, 93 Alumni Relations Director |
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The Alumni Association is gearing up for the 1996-97 membership campaign. Information will be mailed in July to all alumni with mailable addresses, which now number 52,867. On April 10, we had 2,981 active, sustaining and life members. My campaign goal is to increase that number to 5,286, or 10 percent participation.
Many of you may wonder how your membership dollars are spent. Our association is interdependent, meaning we receive dollars from NMSU in the form of salaries and other operating expenses. Membership dues help to provide dollars for student recruitment, alumni chapters/athletic events, awards which include distinguished high school seniors, the outstanding senior awards and scholarships (two full-tuition scholarships, reduced from six in 1987).
Other events we sponsor are Homecoming,class reunions, feed-a-student program (for students staying on campus over winter holiday break), a Christmas party for the children of students living in family housing, Parents Weekend and the Student Alumni Association, just to name a few. Many alumni become members to show their loyalty to their alma mater.
High School Honors Nights
The 1996 Honors Night season went well this year with attendance at 50 percent. It is always nice to watch the students and proud parents as the certificates for academic achievement are presented. This years criteria were changed to the top 10 percent in the larger schools and 3.3 GPA and above in the smaller ones.
Students from all 33 counties in New Mexico and El Paso County, Texas, are invited to one of the 21 programs which are held between Feb. 20 and May 2.
I want to thank all alumni who donated their time and money to this project. Thanks also go to faculty and students who spoke about the importance of a college education.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Walter and Betty Hines did another great job of putting on an alumni gathering in Las Vegas. Alumni from the 50s to 1993 were in attendance for the food feast.
This group is working on establishing a scholarship for NMSU.
Betty is a good sport about supporting Aggie functions even though she graduated from UNM. I guess we cant all be Aggies! Walt attended a Lobo dinner in Las Vegas and got booed. Aggies have better manners!
Greek Week
This years Greek Week activities included a tradition we can all remember, painting the A. The painting was the same, except it was done by several organizations (not freshmen only) and the paint and water were driven up to the top. The Alumni Association sponsored a picnic for the painters that evening.
Golf Tournament
I cant think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than playing golf. The Associated Students of NMSU and the Alumni Association sponsored a golf tournament to help raise scholarship dollars. Teams were made up of four people, one of whom had to be a current student. This added a new twist to the usual scramble, as did the wind! The winners were Joe Bullock, 71, Russell Foddrill, 77, Larry Foddrill, 74, and Brian Feltman, a Professional Golf Management (PGM) student.
Reunions
Classes celebrating a reunion in Homecoming 1996 scheduled Oct. 24-26 are the classes of 1946, 1956 and 1971.
If you would like to schedule a reunion for a class, team or organization not mentioned above, please let the alumni office know. We might even do your mailing!
Other events
There were a number of events scheduled in May. The September issue will carry information about the Phoenix alumni gathering, the reception for the Student Alumni Association, graduates of the Dona Ana Branch Community College and the Pre-commencement Buffet.
Jack and Brette Monagle of Las Cruces, talked with students James Keane of El Paso, a chemical engineering senior, and Deana Mercer of Las Cruces, a biochemistry senior, who were among 50 students who received scholarships from the Monagles.
At a reception to meet the students, Brette Monagle, 67, 85, said: I want to tell you why two crazy people decided to give away $50,000.
The Monagles were paying too much in taxes and looked around for the best investment, education. They decided to award scholarships to students with good grades and whose family incomes are just above the cutoff for federal Pell grants.
I appreciate your thanks, but I wish most of all that you graduate, said the retired English professor. That would be the greatest thanks.
Jack Monagle, a former NMSU chemistry professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said: We hoped that by creating this, we would be encouraging others to participate. The need is still very great.