Meeting of AIG Board
June 29, 2013
Attending: Renee Petrina, Bruce Morris, Teresa Cook, Paul Rudoy, Rossilynne Skena, Andrew McGill, Greg Rubin, Susan Melle, Jerry Schwartz, Phil Gutis, Lexi Belculfine, Jen Miller and Candy Heckard.
Absent: Patti Hartranft, Ira Miller, Alison Kepner, Mike Signora, Jim Rodenbush.
Renee called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. and asked each member to introduce himself. She then thanked outgoing board members:
The board of the Collegian Alumni Interest Group would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Alison (Kepner) May, Ira Miller and Paul Rudoy, who leave the board this month as their terms end. Their years of leadership — underscored by careful financial management and work on a student/alumni mentoring program — were integral in forging a solid foundation for the AIG. The three directors were key players in ensuring the Collegian celebrated its 125th anniversary with an alumni reunion in Oct. 2012. Thank you, Alison, Ira and Paul, for your outstanding work on behalf of Collegian alumni.
Penn State Alumni Association updates
Renee has a copy of the strategic plan from the PSAA. If anyone wants to see it, Renee can send it to you. We are to see where our group aligns with policies outlined in the plan.
Renee reports there has been no word of a prize for winning the alumni contest. The event celebrating the winners will be held Nov. 1. Since it would be a good networking opportunity, it is possible board members will attend. Renee said she turned down an offer to order PSU swag or football tickets since we had trouble selling them in the past.
We have to submit an annual report to the PSAA. We will use portions of the application for the alumni award in our report, plus our financial statement.
Finance
There is a balance of $12,606.10 in our account. Paul moves that we transfer $2,000 into our scholarship fund. Andrew seconds. Motion is approved. Paul does not know how much is in the scholarship fund, he guesses around $70,000-$80,000. The university sends that number later in the year.
Communications
Rossilynne reports that the Collegian AIG Twitter account has been launched. We have 33 followers. The social media manager is Mike Verbickas. Greg suggests adding a Twitter button to our website. There is discussion of uploading more photos of alumni to the website and Facebook page.
Bruce reports that the Go Daddy account is up for renewal for two years. The account is used for sending out our newsletters. If we approve now, the discounted price is $249.41. Bruce moves, Andrew seconds, that we approve the renewal. Motion is approved.
Next newsletter
Will have profiles of the scholarship winners, a welcome to new board members, new things coming up at the Collegian in the fall. The Collegian plans a new website.
Student outreach
Greg reports that he and Candy would be meeting with students to discuss outreach for the coming year. One suggestion is to write a letter from the president of the AIG board to graduating seniors to welcome them into the AIG and tell them about what we do.
Officers
Jen Miller agrees to serve as treasurer. She and Paul can meet to transfer records. Renee continues as president, Bruce as vice president and Teresa as secretary.
Committees
The board votes to combine fundraising and events under one committee. The lineup of committees is:
- Bylaws: Greg is chairman with Renee, Bruce and Andrew
- Communications: Bruce is chairman with Rossilynne, Renee and Susan
- Fundraising and Events: Rossilynne and Andrew are co-chairmen with Susan and Lexi
- Nominations: Jerry is chairman with Mike and Susan
- Outreach: Greg is chairman with Lexi and Jen. Greg will ask Ira if he wants to stay on.
- Scholarship: Teresa is chairman with Paul, Jerry and Phil
Events
Rossilynne suggests a more low-key event every year and a more formal gathering every five years. Paul said it would be great to have an annual campaign. Each year we could set a fundraising goal and target it to specific needs of the Collegian, such as technology or sending kids to conferences.
Rossilynne also suggests regional reunions in several cities, coordinating them for the same day. These would be in addition to the central event, or in place of it.
We’ll discuss possible dates for next fall at the next meeting. There is discussion of time of year for reunions. The committee will go over some ideas and present at next meeting.
Rossilynne also suggests some type of merchandise to raise funds, since the mugs were popular at the reunion.
For the good of the order
News scholarship winner Brittany Horn is introduced and congratulated. Business winner Sarika Patel could not attend.
Next meeting
Renee will do an online poll to determine date.
