What's coming up?
Last Chance to Sign Up for Down Under
Cruise New Zealand and Australia, Jan. 20–Feb. 2, 2006
Time is running out for you to join the 22 alumni and friends already signed up for this great cruise, with pre- and post-stays in Auckland, Sydney and Cairns. Ports-of-call include Tauranga, Christchurch, Dunedin and Fiordland in New Zealand, and Hobart (Tasmania), Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. Contact our office today!
Hall of Fame Banquet
March 4, 2006
The next Athletic Hall of Fame banquet is March 4, 2006. Mark your calendar now and join us as we celebrate the induction of Bearcats Russ Beaton ’60 (tennis and coaching), Ron Jensen ’69 (football and track), Dave Fleming ’81 (cross country and track), Dan Hawkins (coaching), and Mea Frantz Neal ’94 (volleyball, basketball and track). Contact us for more details.
Alumni Invited to Join Wallace Long at Carnegie Hall
May 22, 2006
Wallace Long, director of Willamette’s choral program for the past 23 years, will conduct a concert in Carnegie Hall, May 22, 2006. Long will conduct a 300-voice choir, professional soloists and the New England Chamber Orchestra in Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Mass in the Time of War.” The choir will comprise members of three high school choirs from Oregon, one from Tennessee, several members of the Willamette Chamber Choir and the Willamette Master Chorus.
Long invites alumni who sang in the choral program to join him in this performance. More than 60 choir alumni have already signed up to sing! If you’re interested in participating, contact Long at 503-370-6255 or wlongjr@willamette.edu.
If you’re interested in a group trip to New York to see a few plays, tour the city and enjoy the performance with Wallace Long and Willamette singers, contact our office today.
Book Now to See the Bard
July 13–16, 2006
Once again Jim Booth ’64, alumni relations director, and Pat Alley ’73, play commentator extraordinaire, will lead a group to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival for a fun-filled three days and six plays. We’ll stay at the convenient Plaza Inn & Suites for three nights while seeing Bus Stop, The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac, and Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, King John and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Itinerary and pricing include transportation, two meals en route, preview lectures and one dinner. The group is limited to 25 people, so call us to make reservations.
Start Planning Now for a Brazilian Adventure
January 2007
Following our very popular cruise around Cape Horn in 2004, we are planning a “Brazilian Adventure” cruise, departing from New Orleans Jan. 6, 2007, and disembarking in Rio de Janeiro Jan. 22, 2007. The trip will be led by Jim Booth ’64, director of alumni relations. Caribbean stops will include Grand Cayman, Aruba and Trinidad. Stops along the eastern coast of South America will include Devil’s Island in French Guiana, and Fortaleza, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. A limited number of cabins have been reserved at a group rate, starting at $2,295 for the 16-day tour. Contact us for more information.
CONTACT US
The Office of Alumni & Parent Relations provides unique travel, event and educational opportunities for Willamette alumni and friends. Contact us for more information or to get involved in planning future happenings: Office of Alumni & Parent Relations at alumni@willamette.edu or 1-800-551-6794 or 503-375-5304. Or visit our website at www.willamettealumni.com.
Worth Your Weight in GOLD
The Offices of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations are teaming up to kick off new programming for GOLD alumni — Graduates of the Last Decade. A new GOLD newsletter as well as events, activities and continuing education opportunities will make it easier than ever for recent graduates to stay connected, or reconnect, with the University and each other. Several events have been planned in each of our major regions for GOLD alumni and their families. Be sure to check out the GOLD link on the Willamette Alumni Online Community to find out about events in your area. Come to a happy hour, take an educational tour of a local museum, or help out at the local food bank or Habitat for Humanity with fellow alumni. In conjunction with the new GOLD program, a newsletter featuring photos, information and stories, some written by other GOLD alumni, has been created just for recent graduates. Titled The Buzz, the first issue was mailed in late December.
In honor of their 50th reunion, the Class of 1955 rallied with the largest single-year fund-raising effort in University history, presenting their alma mater with a gift of $171,312. The majority of the gift, $90,000, will establish the Class of 1955 Endowed Scholarship Fund. The remainder will go to various named scholarships and to the Willamette Fund. More than 65 percent of the Class of ’55 participated in giving, and contributions are still being accepted. Contact Rocky Johnson, reunion giving specialist, at 503-370-6726 or rjohnson@willamette.edu for details.
Leadership Personified
Guy Stephenson ’73, Alumni Association Board of Directors President
One highlight of Reunion Weekend was the Alumni Awards Banquet held Sept. 24 at the Salem Conference Center. President Pelton’s opening remarks set the theme for the evening, reminding us all that Willamette’s goal is to educate future leaders.
The night was a showcase of leadership in its many forms, as 12 alumni were formally recognized for their extraordinary achievements in their careers and in their service to the University, the community and beyond. I hope you will take time to read more about them on the following pages.
Willamette has trained generations of leaders who have represented the University well in every walk of life, and the award recipients all paid tribute to the role Willamette played and continues to play in their lives. Their relationship with the University is indeed lifelong, and their leadership includes giving back. During the reunion banquet, the Class of 1955 presented the University with a gift of more than $170,000 — the largest single reunion gift ever. These graduates have been away from campus for 50 years, and Willamette today is quite different from the one they attended, yet they find it worthy of their continued support.
Your Alumni Association works to forge a lifelong relationship between the University and its students and graduates — the kind of relationship demonstrated by this year’s award recipients and the Class of 1955. Our success depends on the leadership alumni who are willing to donate their time, talent and financial support to sustain the University in its quest for the best. My sincere thanks to our alumni board members for making that commitment. I invite those of you interested in participating to contact us. Whether you graduated last year or 50 years ago, we are always looking for new ideas, new voices, new leaders to carry us into the future.