Many of you have asked for a Vennard College status report. Please refer to the update posted from Jeff Morris, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

So, what's next for the Vennard College Alumni Association (VCAA)? The alumni board is working with an attorney to refile our bylaws, making sure that we retain our tax-exempt status. On March 6, we met on campus to sort, pack, and move memorabilia and books into a storage unit. Later we'll be posting pictures at this web site of items for sale to alumni. On March 7 the board held an organization session.

Now this is the part that I'm most excited about. We're opening up membership to people around, and maybe even outside, the U.S. In the next few weeks we'll be posting technology requirements, but basically, if you have a computer and camera, you can participate in alumni board meetings via live meeting. To get us started, we're looking for people willing to volunteer the following skills:

Finance
Technology (web and multi-media)
Recordkeeping
Crafts
Encouragement/support network
Conference/reunion planning
Work tour planning
Fundraising
Communications
Dove & Triangle pin ordering

If you’re interested in serving on the alumni board, we’ll be happy to provide additional information.

Because I think it's important to provide you as much information as we can, let me also give you a quick update on the VCAA financial situation. When the College closed, the alumni scholarship endowment money was turned over to the Association, so we have approximately $25,000 in the checking account. Rental cost of the storage unit will cost us a little more than $50/month.

During our March 7 organizational session, we dreamed of several possibilities: scholarships for relatives of Vennard alums who are attending Bible college; work tours to assis for Vennard pastors or missionary alums (friends as well as alums will be welcome to participate); a support network for alums; pastoral conferences; regional reunions. We're certainly going to want to recognize the significance of the 100th year. We might follow the denominational pattern of yearly regional (district) reunions and every four years holding a national reunion.

These are just a few of the ideas that are simmering. And we're just getting started! If you have a skill to offer, we need you. If you have ideas to share, we need those too.

We're going to have a Facebook account, but the main site will be VCAA.net. Pass the word...

Sharon Harris Cox, acting VCAA President

To the alumni and friends of Vennard College,

It’s been nearly four months since the last classes were held at Vennard and it’s a good time to take a few moments to let you know what’s been going on.

The fact is, it’s been a pretty quiet winter. We were able to maintain the buildings during the cold weather with minimal utilities and little to no damage. We continue to receive contacts from interested parties with regard to purchasing the campus. There are currently at least two groups who seem to be very interested and we anticipate hearing from them soon. We’ve also had several inquiries with regard to individual pieces of equipment or furniture. Some items have been sold on an individual basis, but we are waiting until we know more about the disposition of the campus before proceeding too far down that road.

We continue to employee our bookkeeper, Lois Nicholson, who handle things like payables and the processing of donations (yes…WE STILL NEED YOUR DONATIONS!!!) In addition to Lois, we’ve maintained our employment relationship with Jeff Strong, our Vice President of Business, on a part-time basis to provide leadership as both CFO and CEO.

I wish there were more details to share at this time, and I anticipate that as we move out of the winter months, there will be more to pass along soon. Thanks so much for your continued support…we are so grateful!

Yours,

Jeff Morris, Chairman of the Board of Trustees