SUNY Oswego - Alumni Association

June 2010 • Vol 6 No 3

Register Now for Reunion 2010

There's still time to register for Reunion 2010. Reminisce, reunite and relive the best times of your life at Reunion Weekend, set for June 10 to 13 on campus.

Each of the last two reunions have broken attendance records

"Our last two reunions have broken all attendance records, and we are expecting a similarly robust crowd at this year's gathering," said Betsy Oberst, executive director of Oswego Alumni Association. "Many events sell out, so alumni hoping to attend next weekend will want to make reservations now."

Check out the schedule of activities and see who's registered for Reunion.

Themed events will focus on memories. The "Down by the Boardwalk" picnic on Saturday afternoon will feature cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones. Saturday evening's "Memories on the Lake" dinner will feature favorite foods on a expansive buffet in Oswego's new Campus Center and nostalgic amusements including a photo booth.

Reunion 2010 is a great opportunity to catch up and network with classmates. Though all class years are invited, special events are planned for the milestone classes of 1940, '45, 50, '55, 60, '65, '70, '74, '75, '76,'85, '94, '95, '96 and 2000. Groups having mini-reunions include: Alpha Delta Eta (85th Anniversary), Alpha Sigma Chi, Arethusa, Blackfriars, Beta Tau Epsilon, Delta Chi Omega/TKE, Delta Kappa Kappa, Men's Football, Mu Beta Psi, Omega Delta Phi, Omicron Xi, Oneida Hall, Phi Lambda Phi, Pi Delta Chi, Psi Phi Gamma, Scales Hall, Sigma Gamma, Sigma Tau Chi and Theta Chi Rho.

Reunion classes have been generous this year, with the classes of 1955 and 1960 leading the race for the Participation Cup with 38 percent of each class participating. "All gifts made by June 10 count toward the Participation Cup," said Jamie Stack Leszczynski '04, associate director of annual giving. Members of the 50th, 40th, 35th, 25th and 10th anniversary classes can check their classes' progress online, and anyone can still make a gift now.

Check back often at our Flickr community for nostalgic photographs and add your own snapshots from Reunion Weekend. And tweet with us on Twitter by adding #ozreunion to your tweets throughout the weekend.

Be a part of Oswego history in our Sesquicentennial film project. As part of our celebration of the college’s 150th anniversary in 2011, the Oswego Alumni Association will film reminiscences by alumni throughout Reunion Weekend. Everyone is invited to participate. Drop a line to alumni@oswego.edu with Oswego 150 Film in the subject line to reserve your time in front of the cameras.

— Michele Reed

PHOTO CAPTION:
A record crowd enjoyed Reunion 2009. 

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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