Vol. 2, Issue 2 www.msubenzieAlumni.org SPRING 2015 NEWSLETTER OF THE MSU ALUMNI CLUB OF BENZIE COUNTY • Box 46, Frankfort, MI 49635 Board President Paul Sadows (B.A. ’71) Vice-president Maggie VanHaften (B.A. 73, M.A. 77) Treasurer Dr. Ross Stephenson (PhD. ’82) Secretary Avace Wildie (B.A. ‘67, M.A. ’68) Past President & Endowment Chair Dr. Alan Flory (B.A. ’73, D.V.M. Minn) Dr. David Lean (B.A. ’58, M.A. ’62, PhD. ’69, U of M) Barbara Johnson (M.A. ’68) President’s Letter Spring has sprung in beautiful Benzie County and once again we are reminded of how much we love living in Northwest Lower Michigan. As the blossoms are awakening, the Benzie Spartans are ready for our Spring fund raising season highlighted by our Annual Dinner on June 5th, 2015. Last year’s Annual Dinner was hailed by some as the “best event we’ve attended in a long time!” It really was informative and a great time. We’ve got a great nine member Board who are all very enthusiastic Spartan fans ready for any task, but we are always looking for volunteers to join us. The events that we participate in are really not work: The Basketball Game Watch in Winter, The Annual Dinner in Spring, The Beach Bash in Summer and the Football Game Watch in the Fall. We also participate in various parades and Art Shows just to keep the Spartan message in front of the public. These events are all fun and we encourage you to join us in helping to put them on as a volunteer. Joyce Kirshner Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick The goal of the Benzie Spartans is to help make it possible for kids like these 8th graders to be able to attend MSU one day through our Scholarship Program. So plan to join us as an attendee, volunteer or both at one of our upcoming events. Go Spartans! - Paul Sadows, President BOARD MEMBERS (B.A. ’64, M.A. ‘90) (B.S. ’70, B.A. ‘72, M.A. ’75, PhD. ‘84 ) For our second year in a row, Vice President Maggie VanHaften and I had the honor of serving as guides in another fun Spring time event: The Benzie Sunrise Rotary and Benzie Middle School MSU trip on April 24th, 2015. Three busloads of 8th graders were taken on an all-expense paid tour of the MSU and Central Michigan campuses. Nathan Hejl, a Junior at MSU and former scholarship recipient, gave a talk and answered questions. Some of them had never visited a college campus before and they were so excited! (Especially when Sparty made a surprise appearance after lunch at the Brody complex!) We are always looking for people to serve on the Benzie Spartan Board of Directors and its subcommittees. If you are interested in COMMUNICATIONS helping out, please contact Avace Wildie ([email protected]) or Ray Miller, Webmaster Maggie VanHaften ([email protected]). Join Us We encourage you to join the MSU Alumni Association. Not only does membership in MSUAA provide you special opportunities, it also makes you a member of the Benzie Spartans. There are a variety of membership options available. To learn more visit www.Alumni.msu.edu or call 877-MSU-ALUM (877-678-2586). THE BENZIE SPARTAN ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN TOPS $70,000! $72,115 as of 5/7/15 Through your efforts and generosity, our Club’s Endowment Campaign has received over $70,000 in cash and pledges. We are now less than $20,000 from our initial goal of $90,000! The endowment is invested through MSU’s Development Office, and over $56,000 has already been transferred into the account. Once established, the endowment will provide funding for our existing scholarships. Future fundraising activities can then be directed toward expanding the size and/or number of scholarships offered. All endowment contributions are tax deductible, and can be made directly through the Club or through MSU. If you are interested in contributing, please contact Al Flory at [email protected] or via phone at 612309-9977. Contributions of all amounts are welcome! You can also learn more about the Endowment Campaign at our web site: msubenziealumni.org. BENZIE SPARTANS CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF TERRY HERBAN The Spartan Nation celebrates the life of Terry Herban, who died suddenly on April 18th. Terry was a long-time Frankfort resident, a graduate of MSU, and a “founding father” and active member of the MSU Alumni Club of Benzie County. Terry stressed the importance of supporting local graduates, and was instrumental in developing the scholarship fund. Over the years, Terry provided many hours of his time to raising scholarship money and guiding the Club. Terry was a friend to many and always had a story to tell. Our thoughts are with his wife of 44 years, Joanne, and his children, Shawn, Michael, and Michelle, their families, and many family members and friends. We miss him and will carry his spirit with us. Update on a Past Scholarship Winner We caught up recently with Scott Tousley, 2009 recipient of the Herban Scholarship. Some of you will remember that Scott sold tee-shirts to honor Lacey Holsworth, the young girl with cancer who became an inspiration to the MSU Men’s Basketball Team last season. By selling the tee-shirts, Scott was able to give $11,000 to the University of Michigan’s Pediatric Cancer Center. Scott graduated from MSU in 2013 with a degree in Marketing after exploring Audio/Video Production, Astronomy, and Electrical Engineering before moving to Advertising, Business, and Marketing. He now lives in the San Diego area a block 2 from the beach and works for Hubspot, a Boston-based marketing software company specializing in “in-bound” marketing. In-bound marketing attracts customers to businesses by writing and publishing informative articles and videos on the product. When the customer seeks information on the internet, these articles are available and the customer can, if interested, seek out the business. It is a new form of marketing and is proving to be a productive alternative to traditional marketing through direct advertising. Scott enjoys the work, but also the flexibility of the job and the ability to work other than 8-5 as long as he gets his work done. He likes that the job offers him the opportunity to use creativity, logic, data analysis and math, critical thinking, and problem solving. In his spare time, he enjoys surfing, biking (he can ride his bike to work), and other outdoor activities. winter 2014 STUDENT UPDATES The past scholarship winners all express their appreciation for the support of the Benzie Spartans and donors to the scholarship fund. It is always exciting to hear what they are up to: Hannah Fallowfield ( Nugent, 2011) is graduating this semester and is interviewing for jobs. She has had several successful interviews, including second interviews in the agriculture field. She is excited to graduate and move on to the next phase of her life. Mark Gomulinski ( Herban, 2013) reports that “things have been going great. Almost every week my floor gets together to play a board game. It’s great fun and usually goes well into the night. I also joined Neuroscience Club last month….. Overall, grades have been going fine and I look forward to the summer.” Emily Gray (Herban, 2011 ) tells us she is graduating this semester with a degree in Learning Disabilities, Elementary Education, and Language Arts. During the 2015-2016 school year, she will be doing a year-long internship to get her teacher certification through MSU and will be taking Master level courses at the same time. She will be home for the summer and The Cool Spot, in Frankfort. Nathan Hejl (Blewett, 2012) is enjoying his first year as an official MSU Broad College of Business student. This summer he will be returning to Japan as the teaching assistant for a business school study abroad program. Then,he will return to East Lansing in June and continue working for Jackson National Life Insurance Co. and the MSU International Business Center (research apprenticeship) while taking a few summer classes. He has decided to pursue his Master’s in Marketing Research and will continue his studies at MSU for another academic year, graduating in December 2017. Orion Mackin (Blewett, 2014) is doing well and has decided to be a Packaging Engineer. He tells us that fortunately, MSU has the best program for packaging in the entire nation! He is looking forward to this endeavor and journey. Maren O’Connor (Herban, 2014) tells us her classes are all going very well. This semester, she continued her involvement with the University Activities Board on the marketing committee, a volunteer group called Spartans for Global Development, a girls’ health and fitness group called CHAARG, and is an active member of St. John’s parish. She volunteered at the Ronald McDonald house and the Lansing Food Bank, and attended every single home basketball game this season, once even being able to sit in the IZZONE! This summer she’ll be working as a waitress at the Cherry Hut. Kristin Smeltzer (Herban, 2013) has finished her Sophmore year. She joined PVMA (Pre-Veterinary Medical Association) this year and has made a lot of new friends through that as well as learned more about the career path she has chosen to pursue. The association hosts 5ks races and dog washes, brings in guest speakers. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science with a specialization in pre-veterinary medicine and animal biology. She loves visiting the various animal farms MSU has and get to work hands on with all the animals. She will be returning to Benzie County this summer to intern at the Platte Lake Veterinary Clinic under the supervision of David Nelson, DVM. Zachary Terwilliger (Herban, 2012) is an accounting major with a double major in finance, and is enjoying his upper level finance and accounting classes he is currently taking. He will be interning in Denver KPMG. He attended the Global Advantage Leadership program in London last summer and was extended the internship offer. He is also a Tower Guard Volunteer and did 120 hours in assistance to the Resource Center for People with Disabilities here on campus. He was the pledge class president in his professional coed business fraternity Phi Chi Theta. He is currently the Treasurer for the Broad Student Senate and is leading a team in implementing a physical and online Broad Store in the MSU Business College Complex. Next year he will be doing a small on campus internship with the Spartan Fund entertaining donors and alumni at MSU sporting events. Erin Thompson (Nugent, 2012) continues to take teaching classes every semester and is enjoying her classes especially the children’s literature classes. She can’t believe that this semester is almost over already! Soon I’ll be a senior and it’ll be my last year here at MSU, to be followed with a full year of student teaching. This summer she will take a backpacking trip in the U.P. (Isle Royale, Copper Harbor, Porcupine Mountains) and then will be working at the Cherry Hut for her 8th season! Thank you tina... The members of The Board of Directors express their appreciation to Tina Clark for managing publicity for Club events. Tina provided local newspapers with articles on Annual Dinners, Game Watch Parties and Beach Bashes. As she steps down from this position, we wish Tina all the best. 3 THE BENZIE SPARTAN FOCUS ON “NAMED SCHOLARSHIPS” DON NUGENT For many years, the Club has had a tradition of naming scholarships after individual members. This is the third, and final, article to provide a better understanding of why the Club has chosen to honor these special people. The Club’s third named scholarship is designated to honor Donald Nugent, a lifelong Benzie County resident, and loyal Spartan. The Nugent Scholarship is awarded to graduates of Benzie Central High School attending MSU. Don’s loyalty to his community, and his dedication to Michigan State University make this a particularly meaningful award. Don attended MSU and graduated in 1965 with a degree in agriculture. He returned to Benzie County following graduation, and focused on fruit farming and food processing. In 1973 Don founded Graceland Fruit, Inc., where he pioneered the production and marketing of dried fruits. Over the years, Don has received numerous local, state, and national awards for his contributions to agriculture and commerce. In addition to founding and operating a successful company, Don has dedicated many years and countless hours to making MSU the excellent institution that we all cherish. Don served on the MSU Board of Trustees for sixteen years, as both a board member and Chairman. During that time he helped to guide MSU through many critical changes and successful growth. MSU’s College of Agriculture recognized Don’s contributions by awarding him the Distinguished Service Award in 2010. Don and his wife Gail are dedicated Benzie County Spartans and residents. They remain active in the Club, and have provided essential emotional and financial support for our scholarship endowment fund. Don and Gail, as well as their son Steve and his family, continue to live in Benzie County; their daughter, Amy, lives in Ontario, Canada. We are proud to count Don as a Benzie Spartan; his outstanding dedication to MSU and Benzie County serve as a model for students who receive the Nugent Scholarship. 4 QUICK NOTES TAX EXEMPT STATUS: The MSU Alumni Club of Benzie County is a tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. WEBSITE: Our “Benzie Spartan” website is up and running at msubenziealumni.org. Be sure to check in regularly for the news of accomplishments and events. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS: While the Benzie Spartans spend much of our time raising money for scholarships, we still need funding for administrative costs, including printing, postage, advertising, and web registration. These costs are unavoidable if we are to communicate with you, attract people to our events, and increase our scholarship fund. We do our best to limit these expenses and to seek sponsorships and in-kind donations. If you make a donation to the endowment fund and note it on the check, those funds will go to the endowment. However, some of the proceeds of the 50/50 raffles and other games will be used for these administration expenses. JOIN US: We encourage you to join the MSU Alumni Association. Not only does membership in MSUAA provide you special opportunities, it also makes you a member of the Benzie Spartans. MSUAA is in the process of converting from the current membership fee schedule to a new system. To learn more, visit www.alumni.msu.edu or call 877-MSU-ALUM (877678-2586). As we learn more, we will post information on our website. www.benziealumni.org. E-MAIL ADDRESSES: It really helps us if we can send you newsletters and updates through e-mail, so if you received this copy of the ”Benzie Spartan” by mail and are willing to give us your e-mail address, you can send it to: [email protected]. SILENT AUCTION ITEMS: We are always looking for auction items for our Annual Dinner and the Beach Bash. We would like a “big ticket” item for the Annual Dinner. If you have a vacation home somewhere that you would be willing to donate for a week, or any other items, please contact Maggie VanHaften at mbrv214@gmail. com or call 231-352-6045. winter 2014 MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS FOR THE ANNUAL DINNER The Benzie Spartan Annual Dinner will be held on Friday, June 5 at the Greystone Manor in Honor. The evening starts with a social time (cash bar) and silent auction at 5:30 and continues with the dinner at 6:15. Tickets are $30 and available ahead of the dinner from Avace Wildie at 231-383-4444 or Al Flory at 612-309-9977. Our scholarship recipients for 2015-16 will be introduced. Our featured speaker, Dr. Carl Liedholm, a Professor of Economics at MSU, will excite you with his topic “The Sun Never Sets on the MSU Empire — From MSU Sports to Micro Businesses Around the Globe.” You won’t want to miss this fabulous speaker and sharing an evening with fellow Spartans. With his energy and enthusiasm, Dr. Liedholm promises to make our dinner a rousing event. Bring your friends along to enjoy the Spartan camaraderie and fun. We welcome sponsorships of the dinner to cover costs not included in the ticket price. If you are interested, please contact Avace Wildie at 231-383-4444. sponsors In the past several months, we have held three events, the Annual Dinner in June, the Beach Bash in August, and the Michigan State – Michigan Game Watch . All events were well attended and made money for the club and its scholarship fund. None of these events would have been as successful without the support of sponsors, auction item contributors, and in-kind assistance. If you would like to sponsor a future event, please contact Maggie VanHaften, 231-352-6045 or [email protected]. 5 NEWSLETTER OF THE MSU ALUMNI CLUB OF BENZIE COUNTY po Box 46 • Frankfort, MI 49635 Mark Your Calendars UP-COMING EVENTS June 5........Annual Dinner See Article for Details August 6........Beach Bash See Website for Details october 17........MSU v. U of M FOOTBALL PARTY at the Garden Theater See Website for Details
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