YOURS AT CAROLINA

The GAA — True or False

More than 10 years ago, I shared with readers a piece titled “Five Things You Shouldn’t Know About the GAA.” As this year draws to a close, it’s
a good time to reflect on these myths again and point out
some of the more frequently repeated misunderstandings
about this alumni association:
n Carolina’s class reunions and local
Carolina Clubs are run by the GAA or the
University.
From the first Carolina reunion in 1843 or the
first local club meeting in 1880, Carolina reunions
and local clubs have been led by volunteers. There
was no full-time GAA staff until 1922, when the
staff consisted of an alumni secretary, Dan Grant
’ 21, and a secretary. We have found that “if you
build it, you will come.” Classmates respond to
other classmates. Calls, e-mails, letters and personal
appeals are vital if alumni are going to be with the classmates
they most hope to see at a reunion. The GAA staff provides
needed logistical support by coordinating mailings, developing
enrichment programming and offering advice and guidance.
However, with more than 1,700 GAA-sponsored programs
each year involving more than 101,000 Carolina alumni and
friends, we depend on volunteers to lead local clubs and
reunions. (If you would like to become more active with your
class reunion, please contact Linda Rainey ’ 95 (MA) at (919)
962-3576 or linda_rainey@unc.edu; if you would like to assist
your local Carolina Club, please contact Casey Privette ’01 at
(919) 962-6705 or casey_privette@unc.edu. Anyone interested
in leading efforts to support an affinity reunion can contact
Tanea Pettis ’ 95 at (919) 843-9694 or tanea_pettis@unc.edu.)
n The GAA cares only about raising money for
UNC. It is true that in 1952, the GAA started Alumni Annual
Giving; the late J. Maryon “Spike” Saunders ’ 25 — alumni
secretary from 1927 to 1970 — was Alumni Annual Giving’s
first director. However, the GAA quickly turned over AAG to
the University. It also is true that the GAA raised more than
$12 million for the George Watts Hill Alumni Center. How-
ever, it is the University’s central development office and Car-
olina’s school-based foundations that are responsible for raising
the much-needed private support for Carolina. We join our
development colleagues from across the campus in celebrating
the remarkable $270 million raised in the past academic year.
We believe that our GAA records, publications, clubs,
reunions, travel, enrichment and many other programs provide
the essential foundation for this continuing success. However,
the GAA is a dues-based organization. Alumni annual dues
began at $1 and were first collected in the 19th century.
n The GAA serves only “former students” who no
longer attend Carolina. Unfortunately, this was largely true

for many years. But in 1980, then-Alumni Secretary Clarence Whitefield ’ 44 convinced the GAA Board of Directors to form the Order of the Bell Tower as the official student alumni association. Our student membership program began in 1995. The GAA knows that many times it is the experience students have while at Carolina that determines whether they will be active alumni. We offer a wide range of student programs and have been encouraged by the enthusiasm of Carolina students to participate in these activities. For a brochure detailing these programs, please contact Kat Butler ’07 at (919) 962-7053 or kat_butler@unc.edu.

C. Hawkins ’00 can provide details on how you can purchase
a student membership for your son or daughter, granddaugh-
ter or grandson, or nephew or niece. He can be reached at
(919) 962-7054 or c_hawkins@unc.edu.
n Only members of The Carolina Club may use
the facilities in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center.
We are delighted that nearly 3,000 alumni, UNC faculty and
staff, and friends of Carolina have become members of The
Carolina Club, and we regularly receive compliments about
what a wonderful addition to the University community the
club has been. More than 14,000 alumni, faculty, staff and
friends of Carolina made gifts ranging from $5 to $3.5 million
to build and furnish what is viewed by many as among the
finest alumni centers in the country. We have a number of
public rooms that are available to visiting alumni. Among these
is the Koury Library, which has all of the Yackety Yacks, bound
volumes of the Carolina Alumni Review and books by UNC
faculty or Carolina alumni. You can see more of the alumni
center on the GAA’s Web site at alumni@unc.edu/GWHAC.

n Only Carolina alumni can join the GAA. The GAA welcomes membership from Carolina faculty and staff who are not UNC alumni, as well as friends of Carolina. We have more than 3,700 non-alumni members who receive this magazine and are active participants in one or more of our GAA programs. During this holiday period, you may wish to consider giving a Carolina fan who may not have attended Carolina a membership in the GAA. Call Jordan Myers ’08 or Diana Koonce ’02 at (800) 962-0742 or send an e-mail to membership@unc.edu. Gift memberships also can be purchased online at alumni.unc.edu/join.