Note to Alumni

A Special Note for Alumni:

Brothers,

Hello one and all! My name is Adam Rone, and I am the Alumni Committee Chair for the National Convention Planning Committee. I am excited to tell you more about the many opportunities that you will find in Louisville during the National Convention in December. I am uniquely qualified for this task, since I am a native of the state of Kentucky and a resident of the wonderful city of Louisville. I believe that the city of Louisville and the state of Kentucky have many great things to offer you during Convention. I will tell you about some things that you may experience while in Louisville, especially for our alumni who will be attending the convention.

First, let me tell you a little about myself. I grew up in Morgantown, Kentucky, which is located in Butler County. It is a rural area of less than 11,000 people (Kentucky is mostly a rural state, but Louisville is the exception to this rule). I received my Bachelor’s Degree from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and I pledged to the Theta Theta chapter there in the Fall of 1999. After graduating in 2002 from Centre, I continued to work and live in Kentucky. Later, I moved to Louisville and enrolled at the University of Louisville (U of L) in Fall of 2004 to continue my studies. While at U of L, I decided to become an active again at the Delta Theta chapter, until I graduated in May of 2006 and became an alumnus for the second time.

I know from my own experience that it can be easy to let our alumni slip by and be forgotten, and that is why I believe it is important for our fraternity to be concerned with the fate of our alumni and to continue to care for them and encourage them to remain involved. Alumni can be a valuable resource, and we have made alumni a high priority at this convention. Some activities we have for alumni include:

• “family-friendly” day trips – read John Burkey’s blog entry for more details
• a Family Fun Room at the Galt House
• alumni-specific workshops and seminars (and some that would be especially relevant to alumni) – see Ginny Wright’s blog entry for more details
• an alumni luncheon and donor reception

Some alumni may be hesitant to come to convention because they have children, but fear not! A great asset of this convention will be the inclusion of a Family Fun Room. This will be located in the Breathitt Room at the Galt House, which is near many important events and activities. Feel free to bring your family, and help us get started early on educating and encouraging the next generation of leaders (and Brothers). There will be story hour, movies, games, and lots of other fun activities for families and kids to enjoy. However, let me caution now that this is NOT a childcare service. Parents are responsible for watching their children AT ALL TIMES. While we will have volunteers there (and we encourage you to come and sign up to help out) to assist and provide fun activities for families, we are there in a support manner only, and do not have the personnel or responsibility for watching all children. On the bright side, the Family Fun Room is entirely free and there will be many fun activities, so feel free to come and enjoy some activities with your child while at Convention.

If you are an alum, we would also like to highly encourage you to attend the Alumni Donor Reception. This is an opportunity when you can meet actives and alumni from around the country. Also, this is your last opportunity to donate money and make those ever-important tax deductions before the end of the fiscal year, so be sure to donate! Your donations ensure that the Fraternity will remain financially healthy for years to come, and you help keep dues low for the actives so that we can continue to grow in the future.

Previously in this blog, John Burkey has spoken about the many exciting things to do while you are in Louisville, and Ginny Wright has spoken about the outstanding seminars and workshops that you can attend while at National Convention. I just want to emphasize again that many of these same activities are excellent choices for alumni. In conclusion, I want to once again encourage you to come and enjoy the many exciting opportunities that you can find here in my city. I look forward to seeing you all this December in Louisville, and you can find me at the alumni registration table, alumni reception, the Family Fun Room, and wherever there are alumni events being held. We want to make sure that you receive a warm welcome, no matter how cold it may be outside. Let us show you the Southern hospitality that our state is known for. See you in December!

In LFS,

Adam Rone
Alumni Committee Chair
Alpha Phi Omega
National Convention 2006