St. Joan Of Arc Alumni

 2008/2009 Alumni Council Members

President:  Carrie Glaeser (Miller) '92  ( mrs_cmiller@hotmail.com )

Vice President:  Kathy Matouk '63

Secretary:  Kelly Ciach (Tundo) '92  ( kciach@yahoo.com )

Treasurer: Mike Kirouac '82  ( Mike@mkentdj.com )

Publicity Officer:  Ann Marie Furnari (Wakula) '94  ( amfur22@aol.com )


 

 1950's Reps:

Roger Mink '55 ( theminks@wowway.com )
Terry Herbert '56 ( capt-hook@comcast.net )
Bob Haag '58 ( anettewanda@yahoo.com )

1960's Reps:

Colleen Maloney '63

1970's Reps:

Gary Kowalewski '73 ( KGary46@yahoo.com )
JJ Cornell '78 (jjcornell@netzero.net)

 
1980's Reps:

Vince Michael Bueti '89 (vrb724@yahoo.com)

1990's Reps:

Andrea Kaye '92 (Gurchiek) (agurchiek@gmail.com)
Katie Glaeser '99  ( maryglaeser@gmail.com )

2000's Reps:

 Mary Polacsek '04 (12mmpola@alma.edu)

 

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 January 2009 meeting minutes

In attendance : Carrie Miller, Ann Marie Wakula, Ron Frankland, Kathy Matouk, Kathy Kalich, Bob Haag, Roger Mink, Terry Herbert, and Mike Kirouac

-reviewed lasts months minutes and approved

-discussed goals of association (increasing membership, fundraising, providing social opportunities) Revisited the idea that all events do not need to be fundraisers. We want to provide monthly opportunities for socialization, no matter who they are sponsored by. We need to do a better job tapping into the events held by the various parish groups that are of no cost to us. (a better job advertising those events to our alum) Our biggest means of finding new members continues to be word of mouth.

-Breakfast details were fine tuned. January 26, 2009 immediately following the 8:30 all school mass, a continental style breakfast will be held in room 10 & 11 of the school. A school tour will be provided. Opportunities to advertise this event were missed because of deadline issues in the SCS Sentinal, and SJA Parish bulletin. Ron Frankland is writing up an announcement to be read at all masses this weekend. The idea of stay at home moms who may want to bring children was discussed. We will have a small area set up with toys to accomodate those who will be bringing their children

-The Parish Gala was discussed as a social event to invite alum to. Kathy Kalich explained that this is the 3rd annual Gala/Silent Auction to benefit SJA school. It will take place on March 7, 2009. Tickets are $85/person and include a full sit down dinner, open bar, steel drum band, and a silent auction. More info at www.sjaauction.com The theme this year is "An Evening in Paradise." There is also a raffle with a grand prize of an all expense paid trip for 2 to Hawaii or $5,000 cash. These raffle tickets can be purchased for $20 each and you need not be present to win. They are sold after masses and at the school office. Mike Kirouac is donating a 4 hr. DJ package on behalf of the alumni association to be auctioned.

-Festival updates include a Pig Roast, and a fish fry. The grand prize for the raffle will be significantly increased. The beer tent will be open until 1:00am on Friday and Saturday. The festival will close by 8pm on Sunday.

-ideas for monthly activities included the Parish Family Picnic at the end of August (held at Metro Beach, no cost), the Euchre Tournament idea for next Jan/Feb. (Ron suggested a Superbowl party in combination with this), a scrapbooking event, the athletic club golf tournament

-Garage sale fundraiser was discussed to the best of our ability with Kathy Kalich. (dates and locations the same as we had discussed, with the possibility of the gym being utilized as well) Ron mentioned that our Parish Manager Bob Pilarski is interested in this idea because of all the extra "junk" lying around the offices and the school. (a bonus for us) Kathy K. noted the new law about lead testing on all children's products was holding up progress on the mom to mom sale. Our council did not seem concerned with this as we are not looking to specialize in children's products.

 

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• New Member Update: There are currently 540 members registered through the Alumni Association’s website. There was approximately 30 new members since last month
•  Alumni Wear- T-shirts/Sweatshirts are currently available. Two available designs: Red Design & Gray Design. Prices are: T-shirts $14.00 & Hooded Sweatshirts $29.00. Available sizes: S - XXL
• Donation Button-there was discussion about adding a ‘donation’ button to the website. This would allow anyone an opportunity to donate to the SJA Alumni Association.
• Spam Issue- this has been taken care of. Council President, Carrie Miller, has worked with the website creators to institute additional safety measures to prevent this from happening again.

 

Future Events/Fundraisers

• Euchre Tournament-the idea was tabled till fall of 2009. Extra time will allow Council to further investigate this event.
  
  
• Catholic Schools Week- the discussion of an Alumni ‘continental-style’ breakfast was well received. Council is currently working on having this be after the all school mass in Room 24 of the School (depending on the size of the group). It is felt this would provide an opportunity for Alumni to see the current SJA students in action. Kathy Matouk volunteered as Committee Head. 
  
  
• Garage Sale- discussion of having a garage sale is currently underway. At this time no date has been decided. Due to space, this event could not be held during the SJA Festival; therefore available dates are being investigated. Kelly Tundo volunteered as Committee Head.
  
  
• Festival 2009-With this year’s festival marking the 40^th year, we, the Council, felt it would be a great idea to introduce ourselves to the SJA community. Discussion of having our alumni group in the Food/Beer Tent during the festival weekend. It was reported by Ron F. that Monsignor suggested Sunday afternoon. We would have a small card table set up on Friday and Saturday where alumni can check in and receive a coupon redeemable for Sunday.  Discussion of offering a discount on beverages is currently being explored. Also, possibility of offering a discount on ride bracelets was suggested. Mike Kirouac and Ann Marie Wakula volunteered as co-committee heads.
  
  
• Walk-a-thon- Ron F. shared the idea of hosting a ‘Walk for Wisdom” with the group. It was suggested that the Council try to incorporate this into Homecoming 2009.

 Happy Holidays!!!

 

 Summary of 9/17/08 Meeting

Attendance: 13

Brief update of homecoming events. Volunteer opportunities.

DIscussion of a purpose/goal for the Alumni Association.

Once the group is self sufficient, extra money will be available to assist the school. Ideas of purchasing needed items for the school were discussed, as well as starting a tuition assistance/scholarship program.

Ideas for future events/fundraisers.

• Vegas Night (this might include a Euchre Tournament)
• Garage/Rummage Sale
• Mini Reunions with alumni meeting at local establishments (possibly over Thanksgiving weekend)
• Patron Party

Presentation of Alumni Logo ideas

Although 5 different logos were presented, the group felt that the traditional charger should remain our logo. Votes 12-0.

 

Next General Meeting scheduled  Oct 15, 2008 at 7:00p.m.   rm 24 of the school

 

 

Summary of 6/18/08 Meeting

Attendance: 17

Discussion in small groups in regards to what the function of this group should be or why we should exist.

• The primary response was that people want to reconnect with each other.  They want to find old friends and have good times. 
• The group does not want to come across as seeking monetary gain. It is not necessary to pay money to be a part of the group.
• The group wants to organize and gather pictures/stories/memorabilia - there is no official list of alumni information held by the school or parish. Not even lists of graduate names.  A database was started approximately one year ago to try to keep track of the info that was being gathered. Sorting through yearbooks, pictures, some records, and discussions with alum have given what little info we have.  A flood destroyed records up to the late 1960's, making things more difficult.  We can really only guess at the actual number of alumni out there.
• People want to support the school and give assistance when needed.  Some would like to volunteer services such as painting or providing beautification of the school.  Others would like to connect with the students through mentor-like opportunities.

Group discussion in regards to finding alumni and inviting them to our group.

• Newspaper ads attracted some attention
• E-mails and website development
• Possibility of posting fliers in local business venues
• Contacting local highschools and asking to post our group in their newsletters

Introduction of Website

• Launch pending approval of Msgr. Bugarin
• Purchase of a domain name

Formation of committees/collection of optional dues

• Option to donate a suggested $20 in an attempt to become a self-supporting group (Membership donations accepted during October's homecoming purchased the new sign on the side of the school)
• Formation of the following committees: communication, organization, & membership

Next meeting scheduled for Sept. 17, 2008