February was a busy season of gathering for the CACO Board. We convened at the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC) in San Diego to meet and share committee updates, to hear from university leaders, faculty members, and students, and to attend informative and inspiring sessions on intergenerational communications, servant leadership, innovation and creativity, and more. We also celebrated the presentation of the inaugural Robert S. Harrison ’76 Recent Alumni Volunteer Award. Check out the keynote address by Ozan Varol ‘03, as well as other CALC highlights and session recordings. Last week, we held our CACO Annual Meeting via webinar. A big thank you to all the class officers who attended and submitted questions. If you were unable to attend live, the recording of the meeting will soon be available on our class officer toolkit so please check it out. In the recording, you’ll hear examples of accomplishments from other classes (or maybe your own!) and updates from each of the committees on achievements and goals. The Annual Meeting is always a great opportunity to pause and look back at the past year of activity, and reflect on the importance of class officer activities to the Cornell community. As we appreciate how class officers so often are stewards of community among Cornell alumni, I automatically think of the William “Bill” Vanneman ‘31 Outstanding Class Leader Award. The Vanneman Award recognizes the incredible talent and work that our class officers have brought year after year. We would love for you to take a moment to nominate someone who deserves this recognition. Nominations are open in CUVolunteer now through April 7th, and you can nominate deserving class officers who have already celebrated their 40th Reunion (please note, alumni who have received the FHTR Award or who are Trustees are not eligible for nomination). This year, the award will be presented during Reunion, June 8-11, 2023. |
Giving Day: March 16, 2023 |
Giving Day is coming right up, and it’s the perfect opportunity for us to collectively make a difference. Please join the CACO Board in making a yearly gift this Giving Day, to any area of your choice, whether that’s an academic department, an athletics program, or your class scholarship. This year, fourteen classes are creating personal fundraising pages so that classmates can easily make contributions to their class scholarship or fund – we look forward to sharing the results of those custom pages. Looking to add to your Cornell swag collection? Sign up to be a Giving Day champion by tomorrow, March 7, and get a free swag pack in the mail. If you’re curious about why all of our gifts matter or you’d like to have some talking points for discussing Giving Day with your classmates, check out this video featuring yours truly. |
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Class Officer Spotlight: Connie Hosterman '57
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Connie has served her class as secretary and a member of the Reunion committee. She recently stepped up to serve as correspondent when the longtime '57 correspondent resigned and asked her to take over. She goes above and beyond in all that she does – she even follows up by phone with almost everyone who submits news for the Class Notes column! Connie enjoys connecting with her classmates, many of whom she didn’t know as a student. In fact, Connie says she’s having more fun these days as a volunteer than she did when she was an undergrad. Connie is so fond of Cornell that she returns to celebrate Reunion every year as part of the Continuous Reunion Club (CRC), helping to plan the annual gathering for many years. Connie plays an invaluable role in connecting her classmates back to Cornell, and more importantly, to each other. To submit a class officer to be considered for a spotlight in a future newsletter, please e-mail caco@cornell.edu. |
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CACO’s Officer Training Committee has put together a one-pager for class officers explaining the ins and outs of Cornellians, the digital-first publication for alumni. This new fact sheet answers questions regarding frequency, communications, and more. You can reference it if your classmates have questions about the publication. This document, along with more resources, tips, and best practices, lives on CACO’s online toolkit. |
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Communications "Office Hours"
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If you handle communications for your class in any capacity (whether your title is secretary, vice-president, web manager, or something else), please join us for a casual “office hours” session next month on April 19th. This 30-minute Zoom will be hosted by experienced volunteers and CACO Board members, and it’s a great opportunity for peer-to-peer sharing of tips and best practices. All levels of experience with communications are welcome! Save the date and look for a registration email in early April. |
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Cornell University, Division of Alumni Affairs and Development
130 E. Seneca Street, Suite 400
Ithaca, New York 14850-4353 http://alumni.cornell.edu |
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