RHO GRADUATE ALPHA ASSOCIATION RESPONSE 35th Annual Norris Pig Dinner REQUESTED The last two pages GRADUATE MARCH NEWSLETTER 3 1 , 2007 contain a contact information ques tionnaire that can either be submitted to Brae Webb during the weekend Graduate Association Leadership of Pig Dinner or mailed to the pro vided address. Simply detach the questionnaire, fill in your information, and if mailing, please refer to the instructions on the At last year's Graduate Association meeting, held in conjunction with the 34th Annual Pig Dinner, a new Board of Directors was elected and has since added an additional member. At the summer meeting held on July 15, 2006, a new position. Vice President of Development was created, expanding the BOD to a total of six positions. This role serves to oversee short- and long-term goals set forth by the Graduate Associa tion. All of the officers currently serving on your BOD are shown below. back of the ques tionnaire. We are trying to ensure Current Graduate Association Board of Directors that everyone's information is up- President Mike Maret '89 VP Advisory Hoyt Bonner '06 VP House Mike Gidas '06 VP Development John Tabb '04 Treasurer Tyler Stoneman '05 Secretary Brae Webb '05 to-date. Thanks for your help! CONTENTS GA Leadership| Our Mission | Communica- 2 tion Scholarship 2 Expansion 2 Affinity Con- 3 nection Strengthen GA 3 Our Missiou When the new BOD took office, our first task was to outline our goals as advocates of graduate brothers' interests and ambitions. In an effort to prioritize these goals, we identified several areas for growth including communication among the graduate broth ers, undergraduate scholarship efforts, chapter expansion, and strengthening the Graduate Association. One of the most significant undertakings to support our goals is the adoption of Affinity Connection, a third party alumni relationships management program. \r\nPAGE 2 / Communication Visit our new site for graduate brothers at: www.vtfijigrads.com One of the most common concerns we hear from graduates is the hope that they can easily maintain their strong relationships with the Chapter. As stewards of the graduate connection we are committed to enhancing communication. This means ensuring that every brother is up to date on new developments and has easy access to chapter re sources. After carefully assessing our options to support this endeavor, we selected the third party alumni relations management program, Affinity Connection. This channel al lows us to notify brothers of events, current fundraising opportunities, and other general chapter news. The program was launched a few months ago and we are continuing to develop this resource and increase our utilization of it. For more details of the services provided through Affinity please see page 3. Scholarship undergraduates showed that our support does not go unappreciated by ranking number one in grades this This school year, we were able to implement a Recruitment Scholarship. Thanks to funding that began at last year's Pig Dinner, we awarded two scholarships to potential members. This effort not only assists incoming brothers in their pursuit of education but also attracts competitive and talented new undergraduates. The undergraduates showed that our support does not go unappreciated by ranking number one in grades this past Fall. The support and influence we pass down from the Graduate Association can help our undergraduate brothers understand the importance of their studies and be motivated to do well at Virginia Tech. By helping our undergraduate brothers achieve now, we are not only strengthening our Chapter from the undergradu ate perspective, but also strengthening future graduate brothers of the Graduate Associa tion. past Fall." Expansion A significant topic of discussion from year to year is how to handle the needs of our growing chapter. As our undergraduate membership grows, our need to provide facilities to handle this growth does as well. One of our primary goals is to decide the best path our chapter should take to fulfill these housing needs. There are many options available and we have yet to pick one. Two possible options are acquiring property near our cur rent Chapter house or constructing a new house. We will keep all graduate brothers informed on our deliberation on this matter. We aim to find a solution that is acceptable to everyone, and provide the necessary space and functionality needed by both our un dergraduate and graduate brothers. 35TH ANNUAL NORRIS PIG DINNER \r\nGRADUATE PAGE NEWSLETTER Affinity Connection Affinity presents us with many options for bettering the communication among our chapter. A new site, which has been released at www.vtfijigrads.com, has unique services specifically oriented for our graduate brothers. A much more manageable, constantly maintained, and updated contact database is searchable using various fields. Event notices, such as Pig Dinner, are present and, in the future, gradu ate brothers will be able to RSVP and pay for Pigger through the site. There are also news, forums, and photo album features, just to name a few. Last but not least, the site offers the ability for graduate brothers to make donations quickly and easily online. Furthermore, once we have more fundraising campaigns open, brothers can monitor the campaigns' progress and ensure that their donations go to the programs they would like to support. Affinity's services do not stop online, but also come through mailed event invitations and newsletter services. We have yet to send a newsletter through Affinity, but with the up-to-date contact information and professional newsletter printings available, we plan to bring more useful information about the progress of the Chapter and the Graduate Association to your mail box. "Any way you can help us is Strengthen Graduate Association greatly What can you do to help? appreciated!" One of our primary goals is increasing graduate brother involvement. We hope, through commu nicating better with you and keeping you informed, that you will in turn strengthen us through your involvement with the Graduate Association. We hope that by proving our commitment to reach ing Chapter goals we can garner your support. We would like to create committees and other helpful positions so that we have a full arsenal of brothers working towards our vision. Though we know that not everyone can give their time, helping through fundraising campaigns is another im portant and necessary aid in reaching the dreams of our Chapter. Any way you can help us is greatly appreciated! Please cut along dotted line To ensure that everyone's contact Information is up-to-date, please fill in your information and detach the questionnaire. The Informatjon can either be submitted to Brae Webb during the weekend of Pig Dinner or mailed to the address on the back. If mailing, please see the instructions on the back. Thank you for your help! Name: Title First Middle Last Suffix Phone Number: Address: Select Type: Street I HomeAiVork/Mobile □ Yes, I would like to join the 1972 Club and donate Graduation Year: Street 2 $ 19.72 monthly. (Please see City State Zip Code Select Address Type: HomeAfVork next page for details). 3 \r\n1972 CLUB -- BECOME A MEMBER Rho Alpha Graduate Association Our premiere fundraiser, launched under Affinity, is the 1972 CLUB. Celebrating the year we were Chartered by Phi Gamma Delta, members of the club give a donation of $19.72 each month. All members of the club re ceive the Chapter's Pig Dinner glassware FREE each year* and are listed as a member on the Graduate Website. To enroll please submit the contact information questionnaire, contact Graduate Association Secretary Brae Webb at jawebb4@vt.edu, or join online at WWW.Vtfijigrads.com. * You must attend Pig Dinner to receive your glassware for that year. I If mailing, please place the detached questionnaire in an envelope and mail to the following address with the appropriate postage: Brae Webb 12432 Great Park Circle Apt. 101 Germantown, MP 20876