Check out pictures from the 125th Anniversary Gala in our Event Photo Galleries!
Champagne at midnight. Dessert and dancing. Five special announcements. Surprise guests. Laughter. Fireworks. These were all a part of the Iowa State University Alumni Association’s gala dinner and dance held in the historic Memorial Union the evening of Oct. 8, 2004. The Association’s yearlong 125th anniversary celebration culminated on this very special night, one that began and ended with splash, dazzle, and lots of fanfare.
Gala program:
7:30 p.m. -- Cocktails & Hors d' oeuvres
8 p.m. -- Five-station buffet
9:30 p.m. -- Program
10:30 p.m. -- Dance & Dessert
Midnight Campanile Toast
Five Special Announcements
Five special announcements were made at the gala:
1) Glen Mente (’61, ’63 animal science) presented the Official University Mace to ISU President Gregory Geoffroy. The $18,000 Mace and display stand were funded by the Circle of Former Association Leaders, University Museums, the Stanton Memorial Carillon Foundation, the Registrar’s Office, Bill (’66 DVM) and Judy Hoefle, Barbara Palmer (’46 household equipment), and the ISU Alumni Association. The artist, Jeanne Stevens-Sollman of Bellefonte, Penn., attended the gala – her first visit to the Iowa State campus.
2) The ISU Alumni Association exceeded the phase-one goal of its 125th anniversary membership campaign to reach 50,000 dues-paying members by the end of 2005. Association membership surpassed 47,500, and with this goal now being reached, the Association is fewer than 2,500 members away from its anniversary goal. Once the 50,000 mark is reached, the ISU Alumni Association will be the second-largest dues-paying member association in the Big 12, surpassing Kansas.
3) The future 30,000-square-foot, $9 million alumni center will be built on the hillside site at the intersection of Beach Avenue and Country Club Boulevard near the Iowa State Center. The ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors’ Facility Committee, following architectural firm interviews, has recommended to President Geoffroy that Herbert, Lewis, Kruse, and Blunck (HLKB) Architects of Des Moines be selected as the architects for the center. The alumni center is scheduled for completion in 2007.
4) The total construction cost for Iowa State’s new alumni center has been donated by Bobbi and Roy Reiman of Glendale, Wis. In addition, $1 million of the remaining $2 million needed to fully fund the alumni center, including the operations and maintenance endowment, has been raised from approximately 50 other donors. Roy Reiman (’57 agricultural journalism) served as president of the ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors in 1980-81.
5) The ISU Alumni Association presented its 125th anniversary gift of $200,000 to the Morrill Hall renovation fund. $125,000 of the gift came from revenues generated from the Association’s MBNA credit card, and an additional $75,000 came directly from MBNA America. This gift, plus an additional $200,000 gift from Lyle (’66 agricultural business) and Nancy Campbell, completed the fundraising initiative for the Morrill Hall project.
