Triangle Chapter Seeks a Volunteer for Board Secretary Triangle Chapter Seeks a Volunteer for Student Services Chair Position:...

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1 Winter/Spring Newsletter... 3 The Triangle Chapter is proud to announce that our Chapter has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year This year s Triangle Chapter scholarship was awarded to Brooke Nartey The Triangle Chapter partnered with The Obligatory PSU Pregame Show It was another record year for the Triangle Chapter s Annual Food Drive Challenge This year saw the Triangle Chapter twist things up a bit for our annual THON fundraiser Carolina Hurricanes Outing Coming Up Soon!... 9 Don t miss this year s Carolina Hurricanes outing... 9 Big Ten Alumni Night at Durham Bulls on May 4th The Chapter s Durham Bulls game always draws a big crowd Happy Valley Hour The monthly Happy Valley Hour continues Save the Date for Our Annual Chapter Picnic June 8th Don t forget the Triangle Chapter s biggest social event of the year, our Annual Picnic Triangle Chapter Seeks a Volunteer for Board Secretary Triangle Chapter Seeks a Volunteer for Student Services Chair Position:... 12

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3 The Triangle Chapter is proud to announce that our Chapter has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year as a Elm Level Group of Distinction by the Penn State Alumni Association! Affiliate groups named as a Group of Distinction have served in several different programmatic categories, including career networking, social interaction and fellowship, supporting students, and leading THON-related activities. To reach Elm Level (the highest level), an affiliate group must meet at least 14 of the 15 different categories, and we met all 15 again this year. This honor includes several benefits to our Chapter, including some financial incentives, but really, it's about being recognized as being one of the leading alumni groups in the nation. We are one of only 33 (out of about 300) affiliate groups that has reached this level this year, one of very few that have reached Elm Level all five years it has existed, and the only one in North Carolina this year. Thank you to all of you for helping us to reach this highest level of achievement. It is a testament to the involvement of a very dedicated group of alumni that we have the pleasure of joining here in the Triangle! We Are!

4 This year s Triangle Chapter scholarship was awarded to Brooke Nartey. The scholarship award was in the amount of $4,755.00, which is the highest scholarship award our Chapter has ever awarded! Thanks to all of our Chapter s members generous donations throughout the years to our scholarship fund. It is an incredible opportunity that we have as a Chapter to be able to help current students pay for the increasing cost in college tuition. From Brooke: Hi, my name is Brooke Nartey and I'm a Junior this year at Penn State; majoring in Biobehavioral Health, while also minoring in Global Health. This year I will be serving as the Activities Director for a student organization called S.M.A.R.T., which stands for Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team. WE ARE a tour guide organization run out of the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office. Our organization focuses on the importance of a diverse student body, assisting in the recruitment of underrepresented student populations, and also raising funds for THON throughout the year. I'm looking forward to another great year at my home away from home!

5 This year, the Triangle Chapter was proud to present its second annual Chuck Darran Member of the Year Award to Dan Stahlman. Dan is one of the longest serving members of the Triangle Chapter, joining the Chapter and its Board in He has held many positions in the Chapter, including Assistant Treasurer, Big Ten Liaison, Activities Chair, Secretary, Vice President, and Game Party Czar. He is probably best known for his fifteen years as Membership Chair, carefully keeping the membership rolls up to date, and gently reminding members to renew their membership! This year, Dan decided to take a well-earned break from his duties on the Board. Gratefully, he has left the Membership Committee in fantastic shape, and has expressed a strong desire to maintain his connections with the Triangle Chapter and its Board. All of us in this Chapter owe Dan a debt of gratitude for all his years of service, and it is in honor of this sacrifice of time and energy that he was awarded the 2018 Chuck Darran Member of the Year Award. Next time you see Dan at one of our events, be sure to congratulate him! The Triangle Chapter s Chuck Darran Member of the Year award is given to an active Chapter member who has made significant contributions to the mission and operation of the Triangle Chapter by providing fellowship, philanthropy, and support to alumni and friends in the Triangle area of North Carolina. It is named for our past President, Chuck Darran, who led admirably and selfishlessly from 2010 until his death in 2015.

6 The Triangle Chapter partnered with The Obligatory PSU Pregame Show, a State College-based television show, to help raise funds and awareness for Hurricane Florence victims in the Carolinas. The show taped live from our football TV tailgate location (Rookie's Sports Park) in Durham, NC on Monday, September 17, 2018, and aired on TV stations throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide within days. With short notice, we had 40 Chapter members in attendance for the taping of the show, with several volunteers showing up early to help set up and break down the set. It was a great opportunity for our local alumni to meet the hosts, including ex-nfl player Brandon Short and Mike the Mailman. The producer, Eric Porterfield, generously donated autographed items, T- shirts, DVDs, and a case of grilled stickies for us to sell. Along with on-site donations, we raised $900 in total for hurricane relief efforts, donating the money to Urban Ministries of Wake County, a local food bank that was able to use those funds to purchase over two tons of food for families affected by the hurricanes. Our Chapter received valuable exposure with this program being aired nationwide, and the Daily Collegian wrote an article about our experience. Our charity partner, Urban Ministries, received significant exposure through these means as well. Our Chapter President, Don Torino, was interviewed on camera for this show, using the opportunity to highlight both the strength of this Chapter and the worthiness of this cause. The new president of the Charlotte Chapter (Ellen Klinzing) reached out to us to see what they could do to help our community out. They provided financial resources to add to our effort. In addition, Ms. Klinzing redirected the president of the Connecticut Valley Chapter (Glenn Zinn) to us, as he had sought ways for their Chapter to help hurricane victims as well. That Chapter also contributed money and gift cards to our effort. Those gift cards went directly to victims of flooding in New Bern, NC. Mr. Porterfield explained that he had reached out to us after the PSAA had given them the heads up of our Chapter's affiliation with Urban Ministries, knowing that we had the framework in place to effectuate immediate help for hurricane victims. Our efforts involved television and print media, local alumni and three different alumni chapters, and local charities, all accomplished in a ten-day period. It was a fine example of what Penn Staters can do together to help others in need. Isn't that what the Alumni Association is all about?

7 It was another record year for the Triangle Chapter s Annual Food Drive Challenge! As you may know, our Chapter has partnered with Urban Ministries of Wake County for the past several years, raising both food and cash donations during football season to help needy area families. In our first year, we raised 600 pounds, doubling that donation the second year to 1200 pounds. In the third and fourth years, we were able to raise 2000 pounds, achieving One Ton Club status from Urban Ministries. In 2017, the Triangle Chapter received its first national award from the Penn State Alumni Association, the Outstanding Service Project Award, in recognition of our Food Drive efforts. Not ones to rest on our laurels, the following year (2017) we far exceed our previous efforts, collecting and donating 7,040 pounds of food! According to Urban Ministries, this amount of food donation is the equivalent of feeding 100 families for two weeks, and represented about 4% of their total donations for the year! This year was even more special though! Through the very generous donations of our Chapter members, we raised a record 10,400 pounds of food this past football season!!! We accomplished this goal together through actual food donations (canned and dried goods) as well as cash donations. Urban Ministries is able to purchase fresh food (fruits, vegetables, meats) through the North Carolina Food Bank at steeply discounted rates, so they are able to turn every dollar we donate into about five pounds of food. They assure us that they need both dried and canned food and cash donations to be successful, and are greatly appreciative of our Chapter s efforts. So are we!!

8 This year saw the Triangle Chapter twist things up a bit for our annual THON fundraiser under the leadership of our Philanthropy Chair, Mark Robinson. First, we moved our silent auction online, increasing exposure and allowing members who can t make the live event to participate. Second, we moved our event to Rookie s Sports Park in Durham (home to our Football TV Tailgates), and added several fun diversions, including face painting, a table top video game, and playing some Penn State football highlights on TV, as well as live streaming the THON event from University Park. We had a good crowd for the live event, and raised an above-average amount for our 40+ auction items. With at-the-door donations, silent auction proceeds, donations from this fall s Barnes & Noble holiday gift wrapping, and other online donations, we raised $3,000 for THON! Thank you to all who participated in this quintessential Penn State charity event. For the kids!!

9 Carolina Hurricanes Outing Coming Up Soon! Don t miss this year s Carolina Hurricanes outing! The Canes will take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, March 30 th at 1:30pm. The Triangle Chapter has arranged for group seating at discounted ticket prices for this game, and with the game being a weekend afternoon, we hope more families can join us this year. We re also arranging an informal lunch get together at the Edwards Mill Bar & Grill (very close to the PNC Arena), starting around 11:00am. We ve made it super easy to purchase tickets this year directly from PNC Arena. Follow this link and you ll be sure to be included in our location and group discount pricing.

10 Big Ten Alumni Night at Durham Bulls on May 4th The Chapter s Durham Bulls game always draws a big crowd, and this year will be no exception. We ve partnered with other Big Ten Alumni groups to join the Bulls for one of their biggest promotional nights of the year May 4 th. This is their annual Star Wars promotion (May 4 th May the Force (fourth) be with you get it?!?) and promises to be tons of fun. Game time against the Gwinnett Stripers is 6:30pm, with gates opening at 5:30pm. Our groups will be in the large pavilion on the third base side under the overhang, so we re out of the sun (and any precipitation). Ticket price ($29.25) includes a two hour all-you-can-eat buffet starting at 6:00pm, and kids under five are free (but won t get their own seat, so if you don t want your kid on your lap all game, you can purchase a ticket for them as well). The deadline for ticket purchase is April 18. Again, we ve made it very easy to purchase tickets directly from the Durham Bulls. Follow this link and you ll be sure be to included in our location and group discount pricing. Happy Valley Hour The monthly Happy Valley Hour continues. Look for the specific details on our Facebook page or website.

11 Save the Date for Our Annual Chapter Picnic June 8th Don t forget the Triangle Chapter s biggest social event of the year, our Annual Picnic. Held this year on Saturday, June 8 th, at North Cary Park in Cary, it promises to be a fun time for all. The park, centrally located in the Triangle, has plenty of amenities for kids of all ages, with a playground, walking paths, a rock-climbing wall, and sand volleyball courts. The Chapter provides all the food, and we usually try to score some Creamery ice cream from University Park. This event is FREE for all Chapter members and their families, and also serves as our Student Send-Off, as we welcome Triangle-area Penn State students into the family. We ll be sharing more details soon as our plan comes together! We hope to see you all there!!

12 Triangle Chapter Seeks a Volunteer for Board Secretary: The Secretary shall keep official minutes of the meetings of the Chapter and the Board and shall send a copy to the Board members and the alumni field director. He/she shall maintain the official copy of the Chapter s Charter, Constitution, Policies and Procedures, and past Chapter and Board minutes. He/she shall reconcile the Chapter s financial statements on a quarterly basis. Triangle Chapter Seeks a Volunteer for Student Services Chair Position: The Student Relations Chair shall plan an annual Penn State freshman send-off event for Triangle Chapter area students and their parents. The Chair shall serve as a liaison between the Chapter, area high schools, and area recruiters, by scheduling, publicizing and organizing staff for college fairs at area schools, and working with the Alumni Association and the Admissions Program to promote Penn State to Triangle-area high school students. The Chair shall be responsible for recommending policies regarding the scholarship fund to the Board. The Chair shall organize the scholarship applications and candidates for the Chapter's Scholarship annually, and provide such a summary for the Board. The Chair shall work the Philanthropy Chair to do fundraising for the Chapter scholarship fund. If interested, please contact Chapter President, Don Torino, at dontorino@alumni.psu.edu. We hope to have the positions filled as soon as possible. You must be a member of the Penn State Alumni Association to serve on the Board of any alumni chapter. This term will end in June, You can read more about the governance of the Chapter by reviewing our bylaws at: