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Alumni activities abound

News Photo
Barbara Dietrich Boose

Calling all central Iowa alumni volunteers

Thanks to all of our great alumni volunteers throughout Central Iowa who helped with the Des Moines Arts Festival in late June. Thanks to your help, we raised more than $3,100 for local alumni programs and our Central Iowa Alumni Chapter.

We’re also looking for more volunteers to join us October 13-15 at the World Food Festival, being held in the East Village of downtown Des Moines. Last year’s inaugural festival was a great time, and this year again we will staff the Pepsi tents. We need people for the following shifts:

Friday, October 13, and Saturday, October 14
10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
1 to 5 p.m.
4:30 to 8 p.m.
7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 15
10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
2 to 6 p.m.

If you can join us, call John Brown at 515-271-3378 or click here to e-mail him. Be sure to offer your first, second, and third choice, as well as names of friends and family who would like to work together with you. We look forward to seeing you in October!

Alumni seek fellow triathletes

Bryan Ptak, JO’96, and Nolan Mitchell, AS’95, want to encourage fellow alumni to participate in the International Triathlon Union / Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon in Des Moines June 17, 2007. Des Moines is only the fourth U.S. city – with Honolulu, New York City, and St. Petersburg, Fla. — to host a World Cup elite triathlon since the competition began. It will include an elite competition with a total pro purse of $700,000, and an amateur competition with age group and team events and more than $40,000 in prizes and gifts.

Ptak, who is director, national accounts, with TEKsystems, and a resident of Lemont, Ill., and Mitchell, the U.S. sales manager for Canadian furniture manufacturer Amisco, plan to participate in the amateur competition. They want as many alumni as possible — as “Team Drake” — to join them either in the competition or as spectators.

Ptak has competed in 13 triathlons, the first in Chicago in 2002. Mitchell has competed in 11, the first in Chicago in 2003. They both got involved because of fellow alumnus and triathlete Tom Phillips, JO’96. Both participated in the Chicago Triathlon this year.

A triathlon is not a marathon, Ptak and Mitchell emphasize; participants train equally in three different sports (running, swimming, bicycling) so their bodies “don’t take a beating” as in marathons. They say “first-timers” should not be intimidated from participating, and that triathlon competition is “fun and addictive.”

Ptak and Mitchell also point out that participants get a discount for registering for the Hy-Vee Triathlon early, and they encourage interested alumni to contact them so they can start communicating, sharing training tips, and making plans for the triathlon weekend. Interested individuals can contact Ptak at brptak@teksystems.com or 312-474-5562, and Mitchell at nmitchell@marshassoc.com or 312-694-1681. The Hy-Vee Triathlon Web site is http://hy-veetriathlon.com/.

Upcoming alumni events:



  • Washington, D.C. — Drake’s 125th birthday party in the nation’s capital, Thursday, Oct. 19, Mansfield Room, U.S. Capitol Bldg., 5:30-8 p.m., $25 per person (hors d’oeuvres and cocktails). Guests must RSVP in advance with their full names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers per U.S. Capitol regulations. Attendees will include President David Maxwell, Madeleine Maxwell, Provost Ron Troyer, Vice Provost Wanda Everage, Arts and Sciences Dean John Burney and Professor Emeritus Bob Woodward.


  • New York City — Drake’s 125th birthday party in the Big Apple, Friday, Oct. 20, 5:30-8 p.m. (program at 7 p.m.), New York Athletic Club, 180 Central Park South; $25 per person (hors d’oeuvres and cocktails). Attendees will include President David Maxwell, Madeleine Maxwell, Provost Ron Troyer, Vice Provost Wanda Everage, Arts and Sciences Dean John Burney and Professor Emeritus Bob Woodward.


  • Kansas City, Mo. — Drake’s 125th birthday party in KC, Friday, Oct. 27, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd., 6-8:30 p.m. (program at 7 p.m.); $20 per person (hors d’oeuvres and cash bar). Attendees will include President David Maxwell, Madeleine Maxwell, Provost Ron Troyer, Arts and Sciences Dean John Burney and Business/Journalism Dean Charlie Edwards.


  • Chicago — A celebration of alumni camaraderie and Drake student creativity, Friday, Nov. 3, Cliff Dwellers Club, 5:30-8 p.m., 200 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago; $25 per person; (hors d’oeuvres and cash bar). Attendees will include President David Maxwell, Madeleine Maxwell, Provost Ron Troyer, Arts and Sciences Dean John Burney, Business/Journalism Dean Charlie Edwards, and the Drake Chicago Advisory Board: Jeremy Glenn, BN’94, Chair; Christin Lore Anderson, BN’93; Jeff Barrett, BN’71; Clark Bell, JO’73; Chris Faber, BN’86; Ray Gronowski, BN’85; Dan Litchfield, LA’80; Clark Maxwell, AS’94; Shirley Hansell Oliver, ED’56; Art Renier, BN’94; Gary Rogaliner, BN’72; Athena Golianis Walker, JO’85; Joe Welcome, GR’84; Chris Witte, BN’89; Richard Worcester, LA’71; and Elaine Hanna Wright, ED’69.