A special announcement at the 20th RMI celebration of our founders and our future was the formation of the RMI Alumni Association chaired by RMI alumnus and Advisory Board member Mark Brashear ('83), President, Faconnable, Executive Vice President, Nordstrom, Inc. The objective of the association is to organize RMI alumni by providing opportunities for members to participate in ongoing education, networking and fundraising on behalf of the Institute.
In April, a steering committee was formed and has been hard at work. Steering Committee members include John Wendland ('83), Mike Osorio ('84), Vladimir Milutin ('87), and Gina Pastega ('96). The committee is headed by Mark Brashear ('83). The steering committee's initial charge is to establish the size of the Alumni Association Board, create a means to communicate with a greater number of RMI graduates, and to initiate an email/phone campaign to secure interest and participation.
After surveying several alums, goals of the association became clear: Alumni would like to focus on: education - to provide guest speakers and/or attend events where current retail topics are presented; networking - enabling individuals who are either currently working in or interested in working in retail, the opportunity to speak with fellow RMI graduates about their specific company and/or positions; fundraising - developing means by which funds will be raised to establish scholarships for current RMI students. Osorio, VP/Director of Stores for Gottschalks, reports a terrific initial response from many alums, in terms of their interest in the Association. Their interest mirrors my own - what a terrific opportunity to utilize our industry experience to bring together RMI alums talents for the betterment of all alums and current students alike! I am honored to be a part of the initial leadership of this organization.
Brashear reported at the 20th year RMI celebration the Steering Committee's commitment of raising $5,000 annually toward two scholarship awards of $2,500 to begin in the 2002-2003 academic year. The scholarships will be awarded to RMI students based on the same criteria used by the University - that of financial need and academic merit.
Brashear states, the RMI alumni had a terrific opportunity to gain exposure to the retail world via the RMI program. It is our hope that by providing scholarship support to those students in need, that we can enable more students this unique and beneficial opportunity. We hope that RMI alums will take this opportunity to contribute to the scholarship fund, as there is a continuing and growing need in this area.
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Four members of the Alumni steering committee Top Left Clockwise: Mark Brashear ('83), Gina Pastega ('96), Mike Osorio ('84), John Wendland('83)
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Additional plans by the committee include a social event in March 2002, and developing a page on the RMI website that will promote and announce alumni events and other related information. If you are interested in participating in the RMI Alumni Association, or have additional information about fellow RMI graduates or would like to update your personal information, please call the RMI office at 408.554.4960 or email Danielle Mackay at dmackay@scu.edu
Contributions can be made to the Retail Management Institute and mailed to RMI, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara CA 95053-0399
Attn: RMI Alumni Scholarship Fund.
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