Alumni Set the Standard for the Nation

I recently had an e-mail exchange with a group of directors who run programs like Leadership Akron around the country. We all participate in a peer group, and recently one asked, “What percentage of your graduates are dues-paying members of the alumni?”

The numbers began to trickle in…in a Texas program, 30%; from a Michigan program, a third. A program in New York state saw 50%. And one in Ohio reported 10%. So I asked Heidi Roane on our staff to run our numbers—and was glad to chime in that 76% of our in-town and out-of-town graduates are dues-paying alumni members; the percentage is even higher for in-town graduates. (If you still need to pay your 2008-09 dues, click here to pay online.)

The point is not to brag (although we should be very proud!), but to remind us that we have something special here. If you’ve been to the national conference—next year’s is April 26-30 in Long Beach—you’ve come to appreciate how strong Leadership Akron is with respect to other leadership programs.

The other directors asked what’s behind our impressive numbers. It's hard to isolate any one factor that produces a high rate of membership. My own opinion is that it comes down to two L-factors—Leadership and Loyalty.

Leadership comes from the alumni board, from our alumni coordinator Heidi Roane, from class officers, all of whom take ownership for sustaining a strong alumni association. Loyalty comes from the sense that one’s class year is the beginning of a lifelong affiliation—in a sense, joining a family that is bound by friendships and community spirit. At our introductory breakfasts, our board chair Riley Lochridge noted for our new class members that his participation in our second class was just the first step in a relationship that continues after 23 years.

As LAAA kicks off an ambitious endowment campaign, it’s these qualities that will drive their success. Leadership is coming from alumni co-chairs Bill Lowery ’01 and Chris Yuhasz ’06. Their leadership is joined by a host of “class champions” who are reaching out to their classmates on behalf of the campaign.

The campaign’s progress so far has been another reminder of the  leadership and loyalty that the alumni have toward one another and the organization. One class pays tribute to a treasured classmate whom they lost to cancer, designating their entire commitment in her memory. A deck party springs up on an alum’s back porch, to renew old friendships and encourage classmates to “pay it forward.” A “fifth-year reunion” of the 2003 class builds similar goodwill and renewal. 

All of this speaks to the larger value that comes from our endowment campaign: the opportunity to reveal and reinforce the spirit and commitment of our alumni to Leadership Akron, to our community, and to one another. If you were to turn it into a credit card commercial, you might put it this way—

·     An endowment that enables you to strengthen your core program and reach new audiences--$500,000;

·     A set of lifelong friendships among hundreds of leaders who build our community—priceless.

To comment on LeaderLog, e-mail Mark at mscheffler@lakron.com.