An online collection of everything we can't fit into VISIONS and ISU News Flash but that we want to talk about. And that we hope you want to talk about, too.
Ever since we launched our new Lovebirds program last year, it seems that love is in the air and we're hearing more tales of campus romance than ever.
Sometimes these tales come from unexpected places, however. Like from a TV station in Tampa, Fla., where we get the story of Richard and Ann, who met at ISU 60 years ago and today are Florida newlyweds.
Is there anyone left in the state of Iowa? Because I'm pretty sure everyone was at our spirit rally tonight at Rawhide Western Town here in Tempe. It was crazy fun! The football team and coaches were on stage, and the Cyclone Marching Band performed, fresh off a long bus ride from Iowa. The place was a wooden-planked wonderland, with a stagecoach and burro rides for the kiddoes, steaks and margaritas for the grownups, and a wild west shootout or two thrown in for good measure.
Earlier today I encountered Cyclones playing golf, gathering around cozy fire pits, walking down the streets of downtown Tempe, hiking, and even shooshing down a giant water slide. I've gotta say, it's nice weather here, but not nearly warm enough for most of us regular people to jump in the water in our swimsuits.
The ISU Alumni Association's two charter flights left Des Moines yesterday, leaving the Iowa snow and frigid temperatures behind. The first group of staff met at the Alumni Center at 3:45 a.m., but thankfully my group didn't leave until 11:30. Whee! I will tell you what -- a charter is the best way to travel to the bowl. Nonstop, no hassles, a movie, and even FOOD on the flight.
We flew over snow-topped mountains -- and even flew over Sun Devil Stadium with a big Iowa State welcome in the endzone. The buses met us right on the tarmac to take us to the resort. We're at the Arizona Grand Resort, and boy is it an amazing place. I am still lost -- it's HUGE. Our bags were delivered right to our rooms, and there were margaritas waiting for us at our welcome reception.....ahhhhh! And the best thing? No snow!
The ISU Alumni Association is now the proud owner of a Flip video camera. I'll admit I'm still learning how to use it, but I had fun taking the camera to the ISU vs. Iowa men's basketball game on Dec. 11 and talking to a few students about Hilton Magic and Cyclone Alley. Here's what they had to say.
Watch for plenty more ISU Alumni Association videos on our YouTube channel and posted to this blog in the coming year! (We promise we'll try to get better at editing them!)
Are you the type who can't live without Facebook and Twitter? Social networking junkies (like me!) who love Iowa State (like, hey! Me again!) may appreciate this directory of ISU tweets and Facebook fan pages. I'm sure the Alumni Association will be happy to know that this is how I spent the better part of my Wednesday telecommuting workday this week -- in PJs, swilling coffee, and getting swallowed up on Facebook and Twitter for hours. (Pretty much the same way I spend many a Saturday morning.)
Check out my finds by following the links below. (I can't necessarily say that all of them are particularly up-to-date, but I tried to include the pages that at least had some recent activity...)
While I've attempted to make this list exhaustive, I'm sure there are some pages I've overlooked (or pages so spanking new that they weren't available when I started creating the list). If you know of an official ISU page that isn't listed below, leave a comment or e-mail me at kbruns@iastate.edu.
On a related note, I think you can expect to see even more ISU-related Facebook pages and Twitter feeds popping up in the new year. This morning I attended a university summit at which those units that haven't yet done so were encouraged to join the social networking revolution.
I would also be remiss if I didn't remind everyone that the ISU Alumni Association has its own online directory site (the only place on the Web where you'll find listings for ALL Iowa State alumni), CySpace, and a pretty awesome LinkedIn page.
And that's not even mentioning You Tube, Flickr, Bebo, MySpace, Friendster...
Homecoming 2009 has come and gone for the Student Alumni Leadership Council, and what a great Homecoming it was! At times it was rainy and cold, but our student events were again a major success!
The week started off with Yell Like Hell! 1st cuts were at the Alumni Center, and despite the brisk weather we had quite the turnout of spectators.
Monday started us off with overwhelming numbers of people at Food on Campus. Students needed a Homecoming button to eat free all week, and by Monday we had already sold out of 1500! We made another 200 buttons for Tuesday and fed over 1000 students, faculty, and staff each day!
Yes, those are two separate lines; one heading past Curtiss and another pointing at Beardshear
Spirit display competitions took place all week, and Homecoming Central even had time to contribute a 30-foot Cy on Victory Lane!
This year saw the return of the Homecoming Concert on Central Campus, and despite the rainy weather we had excellent turnout for both Envy Corps and the preceding student Battle of the Bands.
One aspect of Homecoming that most people don’t see is all the planning that takes place the year prior. Homecoming Central is made up of 28 dedicated students, and they have an additional subcommittee of 30 “Cy Squad.” Here is a picture of all 60 of them in their final pre-Homecoming meeting:
Overall Homecoming 2009 allowed thousands of Iowa State students, alumni, and friends to show their true colors! (Oh, and Homecoming 2010 General Co-Chair applications are due on Monday!)
Pictured in front of Homecoming Central are the 2009 Homecoming King and Queen, Thomas Harmsen and Michelle Green
One day last week we had a special guest visit the Alumni Center. It’s not every day someone walks into the Center and sees a 50-year-old photograph of herself in our memorabilia display.
So I don’t know who was more surprised – Janet Abbott Busch (’55 applied art), who saw herself in the photo, or those of us who were around to see her husband present the photo to her. I guess it’s a toss-up.
Anyway, Janet and her husband Joseph (’55 architectural engineering) were visiting from their home in Gahanna, Ohio, and stopped by to see the Center. The aforementioned photo, taken in 1954, featured Janet in full Cyclone cheerleader regalia standing beside the first Cy mascot.
We couldn’t resist snapping a photo of Janet with the photo. (P.S. She’s the cheerleader on the far right.)
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