Alumni Board members enjoy being nasty, dirty, sweaty

Perspiring is not usually part of the agenda for E&H Alumni Board meetings -- but their August meeting kept them sweating for all the right reasons.

For starters, they showed up on Friday, a day before their meeting, to host a reception for the faculty and staff of the college.

Faculty and staff members take turns throughout the year hosting socials, but the first social of the year is always the biggest as new members of the Emory community come together with veterans to share a light meal and get to know each other.

Board members host this first social as a way to say "thank you for all that faculty and staff do for their alma mater.

This year, more than 115 people were in attendance. In addition to all the tasty homemade treats, there were fresh grilled items created through the grilling talents of Dean Newman (Class of ’62) who brought beef tenderloin and cooked wings while folks watched … and salivated.

And if that effort wasn't enough, Board members awakened early the next day to participate in the annual E&H Service Plunge, a service project required for all first-year students as part of their general studies program.

One of the main goals for the Alumni Board is to interact with students, and spending a morning with them at a service project during their first week of school seemed like an opportunity too good to miss. Students and alumni worked side-by-side to paint, clean, mulch, weed, canvas neighborhoods, bag groceries, and work with kids.

Matt Hankins, Alumni Board president, was pleased with the day's outcomes. "Spending time with students is an important goal for the Alumni Association, and this was a great opportunity to get to know our future alumni while they're still first-year students. We were honored to be able to work side-by-side with the students and their faculty leaders on these important service projects."

So by the time Board members actually got to their meeting, they were dirty, covered in paint, and more than a little sweaty – and they were loving every minute of it. In fact, those nasty, dirty, filthy, paint-covered alums are already planning to participate next year.