UMass Magazine Online

Fall 2003

Departments

Connections

Features

Experiencing Jeff Corwin

Drawing on the past

Clean-up at the old Davis Mine

Connections

Q&A: Putting the Big Apple club on the map




	Our happy accident: President of the UMass Amherst New York City Alumni Club, Nick Nyhan ’92 (photo by Doug Goodman)

NICK NYHAN '92, WHO FORMED Dynamic Logic, Inc., a leading research company that focuses on analyzing marketing effectiveness, has been president of the UMass Amherst New York City Alumni Club for two years. We asked him why he’s so enthusiastic about his volunteer role.

Q: Why do you volunteer your time as a club leader?
A: I chose to be a club leader by accident, really. I wanted to send the school some money and went to the Web site and while there wanted to see who ran the alumni club in New York. The post had been vacant for about a year, so I volunteered. When I found out there were at least 6,000 alumni in the area, I felt like there was a lot of potential if we tapped into it.

Q: What do you get from being a club leader?
A: You meet great people from a variety of professional backgrounds. You witness reunions of old friends at get-togethers and you connect with people who care about the school’s reputation as much as you do. Ultimately, it is a new community of good people you might otherwise never meet.

Q: What has your club done?
A: As a club, we are on the map. We have a Web site, a newsletter, a great steering committee, and have planned different types of events, including networking/socials, volunteer projects and UMass sporting events in our area. Recently, we sponsored a reception for new UMass Amherst students and their families.

Q: How have alumni in the metro New York area benefited from your club?A: Alumni have made professional connections to help them in their careers. Some have landed new clients, found new jobs, and even promoted art gallery openings.

Q: What is one challenge facing your club?
A: Our initial challenge was finding the core group of people to make up the steering committee so I didn’t have to do everything alone. And the truth is, the initial group has faded as people got busy with other things and now it is a new group. Keeping the nucleus alive is the key.

Q: Why should UMass Amherst alumni get involved with their local alumni clubs?
A: For three reasons. First, we need your
e-mail address so we can stay in touch. Second, you’d be surprised who you meet at events, whether business contacts or friends. And last, if we want others to respect our school, we need to show some respect first.

PARTNERS IN PRIDE
For many years the alumni association and alumni clubs have existed as largely separate entities. Over time, the individuals involved with the two groups recognized the potential benefits of developing a closer, clearer relationship. And so, a task force made up of alumni association board members, alumni club leaders and alumni relations staff was formed to establish a partnership between the association and the clubs program.

The clubs, which assist the university and the alumni association in achiev-ing their goals, will now be chartered under the association. Individual clubs aim at fostering pride, loyalty, unity and cooperation among alumni, parents and friends of UMass Amherst. Clubs reach these goals by sponsoring events and programs focusing
on advocacy, student recruitment, comm-unity service, educational opportunities and networking with-in their locations.

Each club chartered by the alumni association will receive $5 of the dues for each paid Annual, Maroon and Life alumni association member within the club’s defined zip code area. The benefits of this new partnership include increased, stable support and autonomy for individual clubs. Benefits to the association include the growth of a strong national alumni and advocacy network, making the clubs the face of the association. For more information on the new structure, visit www.UMassAlumni.com .

Join Your Local Alumni Club
To find the alumni club or alumni contact person in your area, visit www.UMassAlumni.com and click on the “Stay Connected” button.

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Message from the President

Message: larger image

Let us count the ways...

Shrimps and olives and forks, oh my!

Shrimps: larger image

Membership benefits and alumni services

Two easy ways to join the alumni association

Q&A: Putting the Big Apple club on the map

Q&A: larger image

Homecoming

Homecoming: more images

A year's worth

Salute to UMass Athletics

Salute: larger image

Castles in Spain!

UMass Amherst Alumni Association Annual Report 2003