APO Alumni Structure and Issues

[GMUAPhiOAdvisor]

As a recently "re-associated" alum, I am thrilled to see this thread. My local alumni association appears to have many members, yet the only events I see happening are a once monthly happy hour! While this fulfills one of the cardinal principals, it leaves me longing for the other two.
One of the reasons this happens, I believe, is the fact that the alumni assciation covers such a large area. But when I suggested the association break into smaller groups, the idea was soundly rejected.
So, while I received their (once monthly) emails, it's always the same thing.....come to happy hour in a central, but highly inaccessible place due to traffic, and have drinks to only then turn around and drive home.
What can I, as an individual, do to encourage more active participation by the chapter? How do I encourage them to get involved with the local collegiate chapters? More importantly, how do I encourage the collegiate chapter to involve the alumni?

[Senusret I]

There just isn't enough time for me to really isolate the problems of the National Capital Area Alumni Association and the Section 85 Staff like I want to. So I will just give some suggestions:

*** Hold senior receptions or "Alumni Inductions" for the chapters in your area without an alumni association. I will be happy to share with you what the Mu Alpha Alumni Association did to "induct" graduating seniors into our group.

Okay, that's my only suggestion... the rest of my thoughts were criticisms and policy changes, LOL.....

Let me also add that I don't think it's necessary to involve the alums in a chapter -- most already know how to do that if they're interested. I think it's more important to devise ways to recruit more alumni (an annual national mailing to graduating seniors from major universities likely to relocate to DC; alumni inductions for local graduating seniors, etc).... and of course having a fellowship program that makes sense for younger brothers, brothers with families, and older brothers.

Good luck!

[emb021]

Originally Posted by GMUAPhiOAdvisor

As a recently "re-associated" alum, I am thrilled to see this thread. My local alumni association appears to have many members, yet the only events I see happening are a once monthly happy hour! While this fulfills one of the cardinal principals, it leaves me longing for the other two.
One of the reasons this happens, I believe, is the fact that the alumni assciation covers such a large area. But when I suggested the association break into smaller groups, the idea was soundly rejected.
So, while I received their (once monthly) emails, it's always the same thing.....come to happy hour in a central, but highly inaccessible place due to traffic, and have drinks to only then turn around and drive home.
What can I, as an individual, do to encourage more active participation by the chapter? How do I encourage them to get involved with the local collegiate chapters? More importantly, how do I encourage the collegiate chapter to involve the alumni?

Not quit the problems I saw with the AA we tried to get going.

We are in a large metro area that covers 3 countries and has 3 large cities very close together. Our aim was to create a single AA for the area, with the possibility that as we grew and got larger, that the AA could later split into 2-3 AA (basically one per each large 'city'). We never got the mass to get to that point.

We choice a central location to met on Sunday nights at a reasonable price place to eat. It was located right off a major highway, and would be easy for most people to quickly get to the location via the various major roadways. (before I moved, it took me 30 minutes to get there. As I traveled 45 minutes one way each day for work, this was to me a non-issue). Still, people wouldn't come out. We proposed rotating meeting (one month we'll have a meeting 'up north', another 'down south'). Still, people wouldn't come out.

Our idea was monthly meetings for socializing and dinner (for those who wanted to), with the aim of trying to do at least quarterly service projects (some of which might be joining in with some of the local chapters, such as when we helped out with the MDA Telethon one year). We also tossed around the idea of doing a weekend cookout. We also tried to make it clear that the AA meetings were not 'Brother only' meetings, so that Brothers could bring their wifes and kids (in case this was an issue with some).

Still, nothing worked and I finally gave up on the effort (as those who were worked with me left the area over time).

We also wanted to involve the chapter advisors of the local chapters. This would help create links between the two, give advisors a chance to associated with other 'adult' Brothers, and the like.

I would hope that stuff like the Chapter of Excellence Award requiring chapters to do stuff with alumni would help. We'll see.