AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE SPAULDING/ROCHESTER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.
Dear Alum,
You are receiving this letter because you have demonstrated your interest and commitment to the cause of the Spaulding/Rochester Alumni Association in the past.
We did not hold our year end meeting and elections in December due to the ice storm and have gotten off to a slow start in 2009. I even forgot to pay our P.O. Box rental and we were locked out for four weeks. You may have sent in your $10 Annual dues and had it returned to you as undeliverable. We have remedied that situation and if you did receive yours back you may now send it in to SRAA P.O. Box 1365 Rochester, NH 03866-1365.
We are also facing the same situation which has caused the disbanding this year of two long time organizations in the City of Rochester. The Lilac Family Fun Fest Committee and the Rochester Jaycees have both announced their dissolutions. There will be no Fun Fest this May and the J.C.’s Fire Works on the Fourth of July is in question. Since we did not have elections in December, we are functioning in an ad-hoc capacity with no real officers or Board. We desperately need to remedy this situation and are having our next meeting Sat. May 2, 2009 at 9 am at the Rochester Community Center on Wakefield Street. I am staying on to facilitate this meeting but will not be seeking an office for this year. The positions we will be electing are: president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, web master and four Board members. We need your help to prevent the demise of the SRAA. Even if you do not wish to seek a position as an association member I urge you to attend on May 2 and show your support and share your ideas on how to re-energize our group.
We discussed these very issues at our last meeting and thought a committee structure with specific tasks that work in co-operation with the Board but independently from each other may help to attract more involvement. Instituting this committee system would allow each member to be involved in those area that interest them without the burden of those that don’t. We have identified the need for four committees based upon our current and past activities. They are: Newsletter, Membership, Scholarship and Fund Raising/Social. Each committee would have very specific tasks and while they may interact from time to time on co-operative project, would consist of unique memberships.
The Newsletter Committee would be responsible for compiling content, gathering newsworthy information, photos, etc and assisting the newsletter editor in the publication and distribution of our bi-annual newsletter. The Membership Committee would be responsible for promoting the visibility of the association and the recruitment and retention of members. The Scholarship Committee would be responsible for the establishment of scholarship criteria, development of an application and the determination of scholarship awards. The Fund Raising/Social Committee would be responsible for planning and executing various activities for members throughout the year. Obviously there would need to be co-operation between each group for a successful operation. Each Committee would meet and conduct it’s work with direction from the Executive Committee and Board which will meet quarterly to establish budgets and goals for the year.
We know that time is a precious commodity for everyone. It is sometime much easier to write a check than to give of your time. With young growing families, current economic responsibilities and more and more causes asking for help, we know this is not an easy request. However we do believe the Association’s mission is important and it’s full potential has only been dreamt. We need your help to continue. Please come on May 2 and share your ideas with us
Sincerely,
Doug Lachance