About this site
My hope for this this page, and ultimately the concept of it, is to increase the levels of involvement and interest by you, the former athletes of the program. In this day and age, it seems as though the web is the best resource for quick and efficient information sharing, and with that in mind, I wanted to create a page that is specifically for the alumni of the program. Each fall, I send out a solicitation letter and will hear from a few of you as a result, but would love to hear from a greater number of you, and maybe this can be a way to do just that. The purpose of the letter is to help raise funds - I certainly cannot deny that - but it is also a ways and means to try and keep you involved and updated as to how your teams are doing. Taking a minute to peruse the web site, you can find a great deal of information about the team, its student-athletes, a history of the program - far more then a simple letter can provide. I would love to hear from you, and specifically, hear about ways that I can set up / design / implement this alumni page so that it is user friendly, and even possibly create a way for people to be able to stay in touch through the page. I think that the current Track & Field Homepage captures the essence of the sport best, and my hope is that perhaps I will be able to do that with you all as well with this site.
What's New with Amherst Track & Field?
March 2008 - With only 2 weekends left of the Indoor season, we are quickly coming to a close of one season and just about to jump full swing into the next one. Who needs a break! We have had some tremendous success this season with a couple of highlights being the Women's 4 x 400 team of Carly Levenson, Mary Doris Reggie, Kristen Ballinger and Susie Wasserman running to a new school record of 3:56.86 and qualifying provisionally for NCAA's; First year Peter Harrison running 4:13.77 for the mile; Heather Wilson winning titles at DIII New England's in the 3k and DMR and then winning the 5k at All New England's, and earning a qualifier for NCAA's - an event in which Elise Tropiano has also qualified for. Little three's are at home this spring - April 22nd - so if you are around, and want to be around, then we would love to see you.
October 2007 - As we are well into the XC season, it means that the Track & Field season is not far off. While we are quite a few weeks away from any meets, I did want to make you all aware of one of our former student-athletes who has received National Accolades as a result of her success in the fields of academic success, athletic prowess, leadership and community service. Shauneen Garrahan'07 is one of Nine Finalist for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Honors. She was the school's nominee this past spring, became the NESCAC's nominee shortly after and then recently, was named one of the finalist. The Woman of the Year Winner will be announced October 27th at an Awards Gala in Indianapolis. Full story can be found at Woman of the Year
Ideas that we have been working on
1. Establish an alumni member list - would have your names, class, residence and occupation to go along with email addresses so that you would be able to get in touch with former teammates. It is often at odd times in our lives where you think about a former teammate. Maybe, if this gets going and you find yourself on this site and there is a former teammate of yours with an email contact, it could be just the catalyst that you needed to drop them a line and re-connect?
2. Alumni Newsletter - should there be interest, and the web site is not as convenient for people, try to establish an email newsletter list in which members could receive updates throughout the season - perhaps every 2-3 weeks. It would be a quick recap of how things are going, latest news and what the team is up to.
3. Reunion Weekend 5k Run - am planning on having a 5k Track & XC Run on Reunion Weekend - running / walking the XC course and having a little breakfast get together afterwards. Whether you had been a XC running trackie or were in events that involved significantly less running, this is still a great way for the classes to get together, and of course families are welcome.
4. Increase Alumni Presence - would like to try to get you more involved in numerous ways ( am very welcome to listen to any ideas about how to do this, or enhance what is done) Things can be as simple as talking to a student-athlete that is in your area who may have the academic and athletic qualifications needed for Amherst or bringing them to my attention; looking at the schedules and taking some time to come out and cheer for the team when they are competing close by. Getting involved with the future of the program and voicing your thoughts and concerns about the direction that we are taking as we head into the coming years - staffing, facilities, the strength of the teams. Possibly establishing an Alumni event at a time other then the Reunion Weekend?
5. Merchandising - Tee Shirts, Sweat Shirts, Long Sleeve Shirts, Fleece Jackets and Hats. We have been working with a vendor - Maax Clothing - that would have a website that you would be able to go to directly and order the above items which would have a logo or writing - some printed and some embroidered - that you would be able to purchase. This is not a fundraising initiative but rather a way to provide opportunities to purchase attire that would identify you with the the program. You can go to the Amherst Track Gear link in the side column and follow directions on that site, which will get you access to be able to purchase a wide variety of clothing options.
