Carolina Alumni Review - March/April 2007

Clubs
How Many Heels Does It Take to Have a Ball?

116 Carolina Clubs host events of all kinds; game viewing is clear standout

“Some are more prosperous, some are less; some are sober-sided and studious, some are gregarious and gay; some are married, some are single; some in the public eye, more are contentedly obscure. But they are all alike in this, that they look back with genuine pleasure and an abundance of healthy sentiment to the days they spent with alma mater. Time and distance have stolen none of their interest in the progress of affairs ‘on the Hill.’”

— Louis Graves (class of 1902), from the Alumni Review of December 1912, writing about UNC alumni in New York.

CHRISTOPHER MOORE ’ 96

membership
matters

Number of GAA members* 71,115

Annual members 37,493

Life members 33,622

Total GAA membership (by percent of graduates)

30

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Spring 2007 Reunion Classes

(by membership percentage) Old Students Club 38 1942 42 1952 40 1957 46 1962 42 1967 40

Worldwide, some 100 Carolina Clubs held more than 1,000 events last year. The number of clubs changes periodically with the level of time and inter-

Rebecca Kauffman ’01 (MS), left, and Julie Roper ’01 get an early start on a Boston Carolina Club
^est ^of ^alumni ^club ^{leaders. With} ^theevent. The club gathered in February to watch UNC women’s basketball beat Boston College, 82– 60.
emergence of 17 new or reactivated clubs
in the past year, 116 Carolina Clubs now exist world-
wide. Any GAA member can start a club, so long as it’s
in an area with a group of enthusiastic alumni up for
participating in club events.

“We will consider sponsoring a club even in areas with the fewest alumni,” said Casey Privette ’01, coordinator of alumni clubs for the GAA. “It really depends on the desire of the person to put forth the effort to make the connection with their local alumni.”

Club leaders organize events of all kinds, but game-viewing parties are the most common; some clubs gather for every televised UNC sports event. Other club events include speaker presentations, happy hours, barbecue picnics, sports activities and service projects.

“The most valuable trait for a club leader is to be a people person,” Privette said. “The amount of time they spend on leading a club can be as little or as much as they want; clubs can be small and gather for two events a year, or can be as big as Charlotte, where they have an event almost every week.”