 Former members of the Raisin Bowl and Salad Bowl teams gather at Drake’s recent Homecoming reunion. |
DRAKE FOOTBALL ALUMNI MAKE APPEARANCE AT HOMECOMING
Nearly 20 alumni from the 1945 Raisin Bowl and 1948 Salad Bowl football teams reunited at Drake’s 2008 Homecoming celebration. The alumni were honored at a banquet on Sept. 26 that featured former radio voice of Drake football Larry Morgan as the emcee.
The celebration also featured speakers including Drake President David Maxwell, Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield Clubb and Athletic Historian Paul Morrison, JO’39, who listed the accomplishments of the former players who were present at the event.
The next day, the football alums joined more than 100 other Drake alumni and Bulldog fans before the football game vs. San Diego at the Homecoming Tailgate in historic Drake Stadium. At halftime, both former teams were recognized on the field for their great accomplishments and were presented a gift from the Drake Athletic Department.
 Bruce Foster, Laurie Mardis, Cain Hayes and Tom Root at the recent panel discussion on the credit crisis. |
ALUMNI WHO ARE FINANCIAL EXPERTS DISSECT CURRENT CREDIT CRISIS
With
the recent economic bailout plan discussion, three Drake alumni
gathered to explore the plan and the economy during a panel discussion
Thursday, Oct. 2.
Nearly 170 Drake graduate students attended the event,
which focused on topics including the root causes of the current
situation, government response and responsibility and the impact on
Iowa and the global economy.
The three alumni, who are leaders in the financial industry, are:
- Bruce Foster, former managing director of HSBC Securities
and CEO of HSBC’s wholesale subprime mortgage division, owner and
operator of a private mortgage consulting practice - Laurie Mardis, senior vice president and fixed income portfolio manager of WB Capital and president of the CFA Society of Iowa
- Cain
A. Hayes, head of operations for the institutional retirement group of
the Retirement and Investor Services Division at Principal Financial
Group
Foster, who graduated from Drake in 1978, gave a presentation on the
current state of the financial industry and Mardis and Hayes shared
their personal opinions on the presentation and the situation in their
specific field.
In his presentation, Foster talked about the origins of
the credit crisis in the subprime mortgage industry and called on
Congress to pass the bailout plan. He said, the defeat of the plan in
the House of Representatives earlier this week “shows the world our
inability to govern and that is the worst possible situation.”
Drake Associate Professor of Finance Tom Root, who
recently has been interviewed by local media outlets on the current
financial crisis, moderated the panel and also discussed his views on
the bailout plan.
“Even if it isn’t the perfect plan, we need to restore
our economy and lubricate the wheels to make it work,” Root said.
“Perception is reality.”
Mardis, Hayes and Foster agreed that Congress must act swiftly to restore confidence in the economy.
“At
the end of the day, financial services is about confidence and a lack
of confidence is how we got here today,” said Mardis, a 1993 and 1995
graduate of Drake.
Despite the economic challenges facing the county, all three alumni said they remain optimistic about the future.
“This
is another rough patch in the chapter of United States economy,” said
Hayes, a 1992 graduate of Drake, “but one that will work its way
through the system.”