Hi Everyone,
Today, I collecting news and information for Bulldog Bytes from across campus. Some highlights will include upcoming events, including Dawg Day at the Detroit Zoo on June 27 and the MIS event in August. Also upcoming is another in the popular estate planning series. Alumnnus
Scott A. Schropp (COB '84) will be presenting on June 18 in Big Rapids.
Visit this link for more informationAlso, there is an opportunity for Traverse City alumni to be in the Cherry Festival Parade in July. More details in Bulldog Bytes. Plus, Brutus will make another appearance in the parade.
I am also working with several programs to help them develop their own online community. I have started working with surveying engineering, so stay tuned for content there. I am working with Professional Tennis Management on an ongoing basis to help them enhance their content. If you would like to see your program represented with an online community, please let me know.
Bulldog Bytes is out next Wednesday, so look for it in your inbox!
Mary Kay
I haven't been very good at keeping up this blog! Sorry - we're just going 100 miles an hour here all the time!
I'm taking a few moments out from our preparations for Spring Reunion tonight to congratulate the Class of 2009 as they walk across the stage this weekend at Commencement. We have 5 ceremonies beginning Friday afternoon, with over 1700 graduates receiving their degrees! Commencement is always a special time, and we enjoy welcoming the families of graduates to the campus.
In other news, watch for Bulldog Bytes next week. With so much going on, we decided to delay publication until we have more details of upcoming events. Look for information about our Detroit Zoo trip, a plastics and rubber reunion in Chicago, the Traverse City Cherry Festival and the social work picnic in July. More events are currently in the que, so stay tuned!
Please spread the word about the Online Community. The more graduates who join, the stronger our community will be. If you know of job openings at your company, please be sure to post them on the Online Community by going to your profile and clicking on the "My Activities" tab. There is a tab for adding jobs there.
We also are working very hard to get everyone who has an @ferrisalumni.org email a new address. Our vendor will cease operations for the old alumni email system on July 1, so stay tuned for information on your new account.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, and remember to wish your mother a happy Mother's Day this Sunday!
Go Dawgs!
Mary Kay
There were several reunion events this past weekend. I should have some photos to post soon.
I've had a nice email conversation with Dawan Wallace (A&S'06), who has been recently appointed to the Alumni Association Board of Directors. I am looking forward to meeting him!
We're busy planning the groundbreaking ceremony for the new MCO building on May 8. Stay tuned for information!
Ferris is on Twitter! Search for us!
And both ospreys have been on the nest today!
Check out the Osprey Cam!
Watch your inbox for Bulldog Bytes tomorrow!
There is information on the upcoming golf outings (I know, hard to believe we are thinking golf with a foot of snow on the ground) and our favorite event - Spring Reuion!
There is also a fun photo wrap-up for the hockey tailgate, and an invitation to the Hospitality fundraiser later this month.
I have been working on this all day, so be sure to read it when it arrives!
Thanks!
Some of you may not know yet, but Ferris State University will celebrate 125 years beginning Founders' Day 2009, which is September 3. Begin your Labor Day vacation early with a trip to Big Rapids!
We are in the planning stages, and we have some great ideas!
We are going for the record for how many Founders' Day visitors we have, so please put this on your calendar and join in the festivities. There will be plenty of commemorative goodies to swoop up, and the official 125th Coffee Table Book will be released that day. There will be lots of VIPs present for autographs. I will post information soon on this site for those who wish to order a copy.
If you have any ideas, be sure to let me know!
maciverm@ferris.edu
So.....Jeremy is in Florida along with the rest of the development staff for our annual alumni and emeriti luncheon in Sarasota. Gosh, we're having fun! Except Brandi is away this week, and she is one of the main instigators for fun here at the Alumni Office. But we are managing so far - along with a pizza party today. But Jeremy and Brandi are having the last laugh, because they are in warmer temps, and we are here with below zero weather.
So Jeremy, if you're reading this, be sure to find a reason to stay longer, because we still have several movies to watch, and it's Paula's turn to buy lunch tomorrow. Send Brandi back though. We need more Enron jokes.
Bulldogs Forever!
Brrrrrrr!
Monday, December 15 2008 02:07:13 PM
Hi Everyone,
Last night, I came home from Wink Arena after watching 2 basketball games, a benefit hockey game, and a men's league game (my son was playing in both hockey games), and the temperature on the bank clock read 41 degrees and it was raining. This a.m., it was a 7 degree wind chill. My driveway is a skating rink, and our road was, too. Fortunately, I was able to make it to work, but area schools were closed again. A look ahead at the forecast reveals that it will be some time before we get another thaw.
Ahhhhh - Michigan! Got to love it to live here!
I'm estimating that we got over a foot. I have 6 ft piles of snow in my driveway after plowing with our backhoe last night. Many students were miffed that classes weren't cancelled during the day. Classes after 5 p.m. and all evening activities were cancelled. Our poor snow removal crew was about to throw in the towel! It never stopped snowing all day, and finally tapered off around 8 p.m. I hear we are supposed to warm up on Monday to close to 40. That will be a mess!
We recently sent out an email for our annual fall appeal, and we asked for some stories about winter. Here's a few that we got back:
Paul F. - Jumping from Masselink third floor windows into the huge wind blown snow drifts that would accumulate in the courtyard between Masselink and Carlisle..........ah good times.....GOOD TIMES INDEED!
Gordon S. - I once worked on a TVP project in the IRC until like 3am and when I finished I was way too tired to scrape the thick ice from my front windshield of my car (which had been parked behind the IRC all night – during an ice storm) – so I rolled down my drivers side window and drove my car back to Cramer Hall – with my head FREEZING out the window. As I pulled into Cramer Circle – of course the Red & Blue shined thru my iced up rear window – the guy gave me a rather strict warning – but told me not to be doing this again!!
Donn L. - The memories of those days are wonderful. When I attended Ferris it was called Ferris Institute. There was no Swan Building, no Carillon Tower, no Starr, and no Merrill-Travis. But I do remember pulling a dog-sled competing in the Klondike Race as part of the Winter Carnival. I also remember helping to build a snow statue of Paul Bunyon on our fraternity yard. Those were the days!!
We love hearing your stories, so keep them coming!
My New Year's resolution will be to keep my blog up to date!
Congratulations to Brandi Behrenwald, who is now the assistant director for alumni relations at Ferris. Brandi joined us some time ago as alumni relations assistant, and is moving up the ranks! Look for her soon at an alumni event near you!
Congratulations also to Kari Sederburg, who emailed me this morning with a Class Note. She is now the vice president for marketing, communications and development at the Gerontology Network in Grand Rapids.
Send me your class note for Crimson and Gold. Hurry - the spring issue deadline is coming up very soon!
Just a note that we got about 8 inches of snow since yesterday afternoon, and we are slated for about 6 inches today. We have many staff members missing today, as they weren't able to make it out of their driveways.
I'll send an update on the snow totals later today!
Hi Everyone!
Lots of activitiy here this a.m. We are preparing for the 10th annual Ferris Foundation Benefit tomorrow, Friday, November 7 at the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mitch Albom is our guest entertainer. All week long, students and staff have been washing chargers, getting centerpieces ready, stuffing name tags, getting table cards in the proper envelopes and running every which way! In other words, if you are not working on the Benefit, it is in your best interest to stay out of the hallways, because you will get run over by one of the multitude of carts hauling material for the above tasks.
Other news since I last posted - congratulations to Brandi Behrenwald, our new assistant alumni director. Brandi has been with us for some time as alumni relations assistant, and brings with her a wealth of experience from our office. Look for her at the next event and give her your best wishes!
That's all for now - back to the Benefit preparations, as well as responding to all of you who have written in with comments about Bulldog Bytes!