SUNY Oswego - Alumni Association

July 2010 • Vol 6 No 4

Longtime Lax Leader to Leave

Oswego State men’s lacrosse head coach Dan Witmer ’82, M ’87 will step aside as head coach after 28 seasons following the decision by the college to elevate the position from part time to full time.

Dan Witmer '82, M '87 During Witmer’s career as a part-time head coach, the Lakers appeared in six Eastern College Athletic Conference tournaments, winning the championship in 1996 and finishing second in 1994 and 1997. The team also earned three Empire Lacrosse League titles (1994, 1995, 1996), and ranked among the nation's top 20 teams in both 1994 and 1996 under his watch.

The 2009 SUNY Athletic Conference Coach of the Year has also sent seven players to the prestigious annual United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association North/South Game and worked with six USILA All-Americans, one USILA Scholar All-American and 100 all-conference players.

Witmer teaches English at Hannibal High School. The timing of the decision by the college was to take advantage of the foundation provided over the years by Witmer to advance the visibility of the sport at SUNY Oswego.

A two-time Empire Lacrosse League Coach of the Year, Witmer is among the top of the all-time NCAA Division III men's lacrosse coaches’ list with 183 career victories. He was inducted into U.S. Lacrosse's 100-Win Century Club in 1996.

SUNY Oswego has started a search to fill the men’s lacrosse head coaching position immediately.

— Adele Burk

PHOTO CAPTION:
Dan Witmer '82, M '87 made the Lakers lacrosse contenders during his 28 seasons as head coach.

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Oswego Alumni Association, Inc. • King Alumni Hall - SUNY Oswego • Oswego, NY 13126
315-312-2258 • 315-312-5570 (fax) • E-mail: alumni@oswego.edu • Web site: oswego.edu/alumni

Who doesn’t want to save the world? Michael Kite ’02 does that for a living through World Wildlife Fund.

As marketing specialist for one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, Kite and his team of three work to raise more than $5 million each year. The majority of that money comes from licensing partnerships and promotions with the likes of Barnes & Noble, Gap, Hewlett-Packard, Dial and Coinstar.

Retail partnerships help WWF spread its message to the general public and raise funds for its conservation work around the globe. For example, Bank of America contributes $100 for every special Visa account opened and Nabisco is supporting WWF’s “Year of the Tiger” initiative with special packaging and a $100,000 donation. The new CVS Green Bag Tag program rewards reusable bag-toting customers, and generates five cents for WWF for each tag sold.

All support WWF’s mission of protecting the future of nature, down to the finest details, Kite said.

“We like to see that the product is made from recycled material and is recyclable itself, and somehow ties into our mission,” Kite said. The Green Bag Tag, for instance, is made from a corn-based material and features a 100 percent recycled silicone lanyard.

As a broadcasting major at Oswego, Kite got involved with WRVO-FM and WNYO-FM.

“I think it gave me a lot more confidence in talking to people,” he said. It was an important part of his early career in broadcast sales and remains an important piece in the message he “sells” today.

“The best part of my job is seeing a product in the store with the WWF logo after months of working with a company to launch it,” said Kite, who joined the organization in 2006. “It’s rewarding to give people a fun, unique way to protect our planet.”

— Shane M. Liebler