ALLIANCE COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Board of Directors Meeting
Conference Call
Saturday, July 14, 2018 – 11:30 AM EST
President Michael ‘Mike’ Anderson called the meeting to order at 11:41 AM EST.
PRESENT:
Board members present (Terms expire 2018):
President Mike Anderson
Vice President James ‘Jim’ Koscielniak
Secretary Mary Carr
Treasurer Leslie ‘Les’ Rachocki
Board member absent (Term expires 2018):
Officer Ex-Officio Celeste ‘Mickie’ Mickiewicz
Directors present:
Basia Adams (Term expires 2018)
Anna Berry (Term expires 2018)
Aundrea Heschmeyer (Term expires 2022)
Randy Polovick (Term expires 2022)
Directors absent:
Richard Day (Term expires 2018)
Other’s present:
Web-master Elaine Rachocki
President: Mike Anderson
Mike welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated the purpose was REUNION UPDATE! – current status and next steps. Mike reiterated he wanted to ensure everyone was up to date with task assignments and any updates.
Mike turned the meeting over to Jim, Reunion chairperson.
Reunion: Jim Koscielniak
Jim stated that as of July 14, there are 82 days until Oct 5, 2018, the first day of the Reunion weekend.
He went through the sequence of events for each day with updates and discussion.
a. As of July 6, there are 42 people registered for the Friday night dinner cruise. This is 84% of the goal of at least 50 people registering.
b. Combining paid attendees and people who have booked rooms at either the Erie Bayfront Sheraton or Courtyard Marriott, we are 38% towards the Saturday night dinner goal of 150 attendees.
c. Of the number of rooms we asked be reserved for us, we are at 40% booked at the Courtyard and 24% booked at the Sheraton for Friday and Saturday nights. Rooms can be booked Thursday night at either hotel at the reduced rate.
i. There was discussion about the contractual arrangements for the dinner – if the Alumni Association is locked into a minimum dollar amount or number of meals? Les said he reviewed the contract and it was ambiguous to him whether we were locked into a minimum number or the amount we tell them by the cut-off date (Sep 15). Jim said he would obtain clarification and report at the next meeting.
ii. The Board of Directors will undertake a large networking and reunion promotion effort the next 65 days. The last day to make hotel reservations is Sep 15. After this date, the reduced rates will not be effective and rooms will be released.
d. Mickie initiated the alumni mailing announcing the event.
e. The reunion promotion will emphasize we are honoring the classes of 1968, 1978, the Tool & Die program, the Business program and the soccer teams.
f. Pete Matthews accepted the honoree invite to be recognized for his accomplishments resurrecting the Tool and Die program and will attend the dinner with his wife, Martha. John Wroblewski will attend with his wife Renee and be recognized for his work with the business program and his philanthropy in the Erie area. Coach Flick has a daughter in the Erie area and depending on his health status, will attend if able.
g. Jim asked Aundrea to provide an update on the marketing/publicity activities.
Publicity: Aundrea Cika Heschmeyer
a. Aundrea said there is no standard Facebook promoting for the association Facebook page.
b. Aundrea requested $100 for social media marketing. A motion was made by Jim and seconded by Les to approve the allocation of $100 for social media marketing. The motion carried unanimously.
c. Aundrea asked all Officer’s and Board of Director’s to ‘Like’ the Facebook page. Everyone indicated they had.
d. Aundrea asked for access to previous web-site archive photos. Elaine said all content from the old site has been transferred to the new site.
e. Aundrea said the registration list will be available on the Facebook page and she stressed the effectiveness of personal contact to invite alumni to attend and reconnect at the reunion.
f. Aundrea offered a suggestion about approaching Zgoda to do an e-newsletter for the Alumni Association. This will be reported at the next meeting.
g. Mike suggested marketing heavily in the Chicago and Philadelphia areas where there are a lot of Polish and alumni. Jim offered that Mickie could provide areas of heavy alumni concentration since she maintains the contact list.
Reunion (cont.) Jim Koscielniak
h. The Sig Tau’s are planning a reunion in Western New York the 3rd week of August. Jim will attend and promote the reunion. He has also reached out to the TKE’s. Randy will reach out to the Pi Lam’s.
i. Les reported he sent a letter to the PNA soliciting a donation and they responded with a $100 ad.
j. Jim said he will send Les the program and ads flash drive from the last reunion. Jim asked for a volunteer to assist Les. Les responded he’s done this task previous and he prefers to do it himself due to the complexity with lay-out/coordination.
k. There was discussion concerning inviting other guests (i.e. previous scholarship winners and faculty/staff) and who would pay for their meals if they accept, since the reunion budget only included meals for 10 individuals. Invitations will be sent to proposed individuals and once we have a list of firm attendees, Jim will circulate a list to the Board with the BoD sponsor noted.
l. Next there was discussion regarding requesting a statement from previous scholarship award winners as to how the scholarship assisted them. This was included in the 2016 program. Mike said Richard should be part of the discussion so this item was tabled.
m. Jim confirmed with Basia that the entertainment is confirmed for Saturday night and the Mass is arranged for 9:30 AM Sunday at St. Stan’s.
n. Les asked about the ‘Challenge’ that will be a big fundraising event at the Saturday dinner. His concern was promoting it and getting the word out. Elaine recommended a white board by the registration desk and said she will put it on the web-site. The Board of Directors will also explain it when they contact alumni.
o. Regina and Christine from the Erie alumni have offered to assist with the goody bags and contact local alumni.
p. Jim said he will visit Arianna, his contact at the Erie Bayfront, before Sep 1 to finalize the menu. Jim asked Basia to assist him with tasks that require an Erie presence since she is closer in proximity than he. Basia accepted.
Old Business
None.
New Business
None.
Next Meeting
Saturday Aug 4, 2018, 11:30 pm EST
Adjourn
Motion to adjourn was made by Les and seconded by Mary; the motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 12:49 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary F. Carr
Secretary