A Message from the President
Greetings Fellow Alumni, Friends and Parents, Fall 2007
We recently completed a very successful 2006-07 year and I extend my appreciation to all CCGH members, volunteers, and our Board of Directors.
Your Club again sponsored a wide range of excellent programs. We were extremely fortunate to hear Professor Larry Walker give us a look at the future of biological fuels, and we were delighted Coach Schafer before the Cornell/Yale hockey game. We paddled the Farmington, we hiked to Hublein Tower, we toured the Yale Peabody Museum and we went antiquing in Putnam. We celebrated Zinck’s with Cornell alumns, and broadened our horizons with several intercollegiate events with alumni clubs from other universities. And we had the opportunity to attend and root for many Big Red athletic teams, including of course Ice Hockey!
Through the generosity of members and others we continued to increase our Scholarship Fund, which helps local Hartford area students afford a Cornell education. This year we provided financial aid to three local students. Our Book Awards program provided recognition to 32 local school students for their academic and extracurricular excellence, keeping Cornell’s name in the forefront of our high school students and faculty.
During the year, dozens of Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN) volunteers met with hundreds of local high school students who had applied to Cornell. These meetings helped Cornell establish a personal presence for the seniors and also helped Cornell make informed decisions about these applicants. These CAAAN volunteers play a huge role in recruiting and admitting outstanding undergrads. In fact, we had at least 34 area students enroll – a terrific figure attributable in part to the hard work of our CAAAN group, our Book Awards, and the local presence of our Club.
Even as great as last year was, we are truly looking forward to next year. We again have events that cover Faculty speakers, Family and Intercollegiate events, Young Alumni events, plus innovative new ideas combined with the classics like Zinck’s and Ice Hockey. Please stay on the lookout for email and postal mail with more details.
The Cornell Club of Greater Hartford provides a very valuable role in maintaining and enhancing Cornell’s presence in our local Connecticut communities. It provides a community where Cornellians can meet, socialize and learn. Your support, through your membership dues, your participation in our activities and our CAAAN program, as well as your donations to our Scholarship Fund and Book Awards Program, play a very critical role in our success.
Our volunteers and Board of Directors are also a key to our success. This group of very dedicated and talented Cornellians helps make this all possible. We have several new Board Members this year and look forward to the new thoughts and ideas they bring. If you would like to find out more about joining the Board, or have any ideas at all you think would be valuable to the Club, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the other board members or me.
Please be sure to join or renew your membership for the 2007-08 academic year, and help make next year even better. I look forward to seeing you at some of the wonderful events we have planned for this year!
Sincerely,
Eric Fairchild '91, MEng '92