UMass Disconnect

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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:10 am

The three current AA BOD Officers detailed above will have collectively served, through 6/30/21, at least 37 years on the AA BOD;
12 years & 13 years & 12 years.

per Doc Moonlight...
"The administration selects who can be involved in the Alumni activities. The wrong word or opinion can get you whisked to the cornfield. The administration even proposed doing away with elections for members of the Board of Directors and switching to an appointment system. Many on the BOD have served multiple terms. Others are not allowed to serve more than one. Some are not even allowed on the ballot. Ironically, this group includes Sam the Minuteman. They don't understand passion. They don't understand how to create relationships. And they frequently throw their most loyal Alumni volunteers under the bus."

Sam the Minuteman, Doc Moonlight, and many others have been treated as persona non grata

The University of Massachusetts Alumni Association, Inc. is not a big successful non-profit organization.
The three current Officers with 37 years we know of on the BOD ...
they are not Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Abraham Lincoln.

The question remains:
"What's Up Doc?"
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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:41 am

re: our failed 50th Reunion...
I have heard from one of my Classmates
I have heard from Class of 1968 teammate re: the 1968 50th last year.

My 1969 Classmate said that my posting re: the fiasco was very well stated and affirmed why he decided not to drive the 4 hours to attend whatever little they did for it this year.

1968 teammie friend described a much better experience. He and a few others worked on it with success... Their committee worked with an AA Staff person assigned to the task...a Staffer who has left the AA for another position within UM...not uncommon.
Their committee was provided with needed assets...a list with names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. and support.
They had about 100 attend with many activities specific to them.

He also said they were put in touch with my class President, Wayne Thomas; that they had at least two conference calls with him; that, in his opinion, there was little interest in our 50th.

It seems to me that the AA highly paid Staff, JC Schnabl and Deb (Masloski) Goodhind, did vitually nothing to make it succeed...
looking more like they did not want it to...

1968 friend suggested maybe we could combine the 1970 50th with a real reunion for 1969 in our 51st year...

I think they should refund us all our frosh year room, board and tuition...
($875.00 for the entire year).
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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Wed Oct 30, 2019 11:10 am

Re: Game 8: vs UConn - 10/26/2019 (Homecoming Weekend)
post by LS71 » Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:42 am

"The gift fiasco is yet another example of poor sports management by UMass.
We UMass fans are a masochistic lot.
Everything is more difficult than necessary. Everything that is except scoring on UMass’ defense."

Last Thursday, I saw and chatted with UM alum friend I met when I was actively promoting GIC Memberships for that all-too-brief but very successful effort dissed by Athletic Dept and the GIC BOD...
We met when he recognized Sign Man and I gave him my pitch for joining the GIC along with an application brochure. When I saw him a few weeks later he told me he had sent it in to join and apologized it was only for $250.
Already a STH for grid and hoops, I believe he likely continued it through the present.

Before I left, he told me he is through giving football any more $$$.
I said nothing...He said it all...
that he had contacted UM several times re: his GIC donation gift; that each time they said they would get and done and did not.
He further mentioned the former player (who I was getting along well back during my brief stint), until they got to him, and everything changed for the worse posthaste).
that he had been trying to call this Staff person in charge of the GIC...several times...
continually unavailable...with an ongoing Voice Mail stating that his Mail Box is FULL...all the time
I have heard same from others.
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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:19 am

Homecoming/Class of 1969 non-Reunion

The AA has sent out an email, extolling their successful Homecoming Weekend a week ago.


"Dear Edward,

Homecoming 2019 was a PROUD & LOUD celebration of UMass Amherst achievements from cutting-edge research to leading academic programs, brilliant faculty, NCAA Division I athletics, award-winning dining, and more.

Thank you to all our alumni and friends who attended Homecoming, celebrated with us from afar, and pushed for excellence since the beginning. Through your dedication, we are now No. 24 among the 146 national public universities ranked in the U.S. News & World Report 2020 Best Colleges guide.

View Homecoming 2019 photos and continue to share your UMass pride.

#ProudLoudUMass #UMassHomecoming #UMassProud"

Do note that they do not mention, nary a word, re: the Class of 1969/50th Anniversary...

I went to the photo link...
There are 17 links to photos re: various gatherings on Homecoming Weekend; almost 500 pictures in all...

Not one mention nor even one picture re: the 50th Anniversary Class of 1969...
I looked at every picture, to see if anyone wearing a nametag was from the Class of 1969.
Not one.

It appears they have expunged the class from the history of UMass.







































UMass Amherst Alumni Association
Memorial Hall
Amherst, MA 01003
Manage Email Preferences
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69MG
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by 69MG » Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:56 am

Ed, I agree 100%. I attended a number of events over the weekend and as a member of the Class of 1969 I was very disappointed over the lack of recognition for the 50th reunion. I have no idea who is in charge of these things but they fell short in my opinion.

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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Sat Nov 02, 2019 9:45 am

^ I think we can start right here, at the top of the page...
https://www.umassalumni.com/s/1640/rd17 ... =552&gid=2

I received feedback from others, not members of our Class of 1969...
corroborating everything stated here and then some.

I was told that the AA tent attendance was "sparse." When I went through the 500 referred-to pics, looking for one in that tent, it was difficult to find anything attesting to this...Deliberate or not, the pics mostly were close-ups, avoiding a pan of many places depicted.
However, I found one pic which I am certain is the AA tent, and when looked at carefully, it appears that "sparse" was the case.

The AA tent food was apparently below expected standard; well overcooked and cooled to the outdoor tent temperature. From many past experiences there, I am not surprised.

Apparently, several AA BOD members left the AA tent and crashed the (free) ISOM tent...albeit some of them are ISOM alums.
Some AA tent attendees felt that these BODers, who left their tent, abandoned their obligations to them, their constituents, in the AA tent.
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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Sun Nov 03, 2019 12:35 pm

Quick recap re: Class of 1969 50th Reunion ...
AA 100% FAILURE!!!
AA plans it for a Spring 2019 Reunion, then cancels it and reschedules it for part of Homecoming Weekend, masking their failure as an opportunity to make it better with more activities...
Homecoming...no evidence of anything for the 50th...

At the same time, I am rather amused, and abused, by the fact, that the following 50th Reunion took place between the failed Spring 1969 50th and the failed Homecoming replacement (non) Reunion...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/umassalum ... 9144111358

Without a doubt, we were THROWN UNDER THE BUS!
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Doc Moonlight
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by Doc Moonlight » Sun Nov 03, 2019 2:24 pm

Regarding the e-mail quoted by SignMan:

"Thank you to all our alumni and friends who attended Homecoming, celebrated with us from afar, and pushed for excellence since the beginning. Through your dedication, we are now No. 24 among the 146 national public universities ranked in the U.S. News & World Report 2020 Best Colleges guide."

While I am proud of UMASS' ascension into the top 25 NPUs, I cannot think of anything that the Alumni Association did to contribute to that ranking, and it appalls me that they would try to suggest such a connection.
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by 69MG » Sun Nov 03, 2019 5:05 pm

^ +1

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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Mon Nov 04, 2019 12:49 am

Doc Moonlight wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:00 pm Sign Man's experiences are not unique. The Alumni Association has continually failed to acknowledge that their raison d'etre is to serve Alumni. Sign Man is an alumus. Schabl (may he rest in peace) who had the power to remove SM from the mailing list is not. Neither are many of the other administrative employees of the AA. The administration selects who can be involved in the Alumni activities. The wrong word or opinion can get you whisked to the cornfield. The administration even proposed doing away with elections for members of the Board of Directors and switching to an appointment system. Many on the BOD have served multiple terms. Others are not allowed to serve more than one. Some are not even allowed on the ballot. Ironically, this group includes Sam the Minuteman. They don't understand passion. They don't understand how to create relationships. And they frequently throw their most loyal Alumni volunteers under the bus.
per the departed AA Executive Director JC Schnabl (his current information)

"Chief Executive Officer
Company Name University of Massachusetts Alumni Association
Dates Employed Jan 2012 – Mar 2019
Employment Duration7 yrs 3 mos
Location Amherst, MA
Led alumni and donor engagement efforts during the university’s meteoric rise in the US News rankings from #52 public university to #24. Implemented best-in-class life-cycle engagement initiatives for 275,000 alumni worldwide, connecting the admissions process, campus life and students, alumni networks and career support, and leading to unprecedented volunteer involvement and philanthropic support of the institution."
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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Mon Nov 04, 2019 1:15 pm

For the Record, the final Attendee List(s) included the same 18 for the Class of 1969 50th Reunion & 5 for the Emeriti Reunion; both skewed higher by family members/friends who likely are all not alums.
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Old Cage
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by Old Cage » Mon Nov 04, 2019 2:39 pm

No one has commented that they were on the main campus during the Homecoming, so here's my take:

Mrs. Cage and I had long planned a two night stay in the Valley because of hockey vs. AIC and football againt UConn, plus our tailgate group would assemble Saturday pre-game. When the Homecoming email arrived, we registered because we would be there. I attended an Isenberg event and Mrs. went to a function hosted by her major. Both were at four on Friday. We were glad we signed up. We then wandered about near the chapel, before hockey, where several tents were set up. Maybe 150 folks were wandering about - everything from face painting to science projects. It certainly was not a well attended "reunion."

We had wins with the department events (and we recommend that there are more similar opportunities), the hockey game, the tailgate, and our Saturday night out to eat. Football, not so much.

Now, finally getting to the reason for my rambling: the thought was tossed out there at Isenberg - by someone in position to know - that the future of the Alumni Association is being discussed, and one of the talking points is that it be abolished.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... _tn__=HH-R

And, the most important point of all: I now have a Kumble Subbaswamy bobblehead!
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by 69MG » Mon Nov 04, 2019 5:04 pm

^ Two points.
1. The Isenberg events were excellent. The event at 4:00 on Friday and the tailgate tent on Saturday.
2. I'm bummed that I forgot to pick up my Swamy bobblehead.

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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:46 am

^ good to hear re: the two ISOM events. Same two I wanted to attend and signed up for, but the post Tuesday cataract op night vision was too much of a problem to risk driving back at night that Fri/Sat.

^^ Interesting re: the AA.
Some of us suggested, several years ago, going back to when I was on the BOD...imploding the AA.
The AA is a separate not-for-profit 501(c)(3). The understanding we had was that the U itself was in a quandary re: trying to "incorporate" it into the the U itself. One issue that kept coming up was the employee union involvement, and the relationship of the current AA Interim E.D. with union activities, which I was told was very involved.

We (a concerned group of us) thought the process could be easier this way...
The U was/is paying most of the costs to support the AA... providing the infrastructure/Mem Hall, employee's salaries/benefits, and a rather large annual budget support generally kept under wraps.

During the latter part of my tenure on the AA BOD, '01-end June '07, I attended a BOD Executive Committee Meeting (as a non Exec Committee Member [(I was, among others, blackballed from that ever happening)]. The major Agenda item was the financial support of the AA. Member dues were not done away with until circa 2010, so there was some income from that and the Life Member Endowment supposedly provided some income, as well.

Former (2007-2017) UMB Chancellor Keith Motley was in attendance. He apparently must have been involved somehow in the oversight of the AAs...all campuses. I was there to observe the meeting, being a non Committee member. When Chancellor Motley revealed that the U itself was providing the AA in excess of $1M/year to help run it...I assumed in addition to the salaries, infrastructure costs, etc., I was stunned...this information had never been properly disclosed to general (non-Exec Committee) BOD members like me.

I asked permission to speak and asked Chancellor Motley if this $1M was being given to just our Campus or all the UM campuses.
He responded it was to every campus and asked us all to keep this information non-public.

back to the present...
It seems a rather simple process that UM could defund the AA, transfer the paid Staff elsewhere within the U, and reoccupy Mem Hall.
Whatever investment money the AA has left...when I was on the BOD, it was at least $4M, maybe $5M, including approximately $1M in the Life Members Endowment (I will address the investments issues separately...it is it's own major issue unto itself). How much of this was spent down under the recently departed Exec Dir is nor known...but, I would not be surprised if it were)...

If what is currently in these accounts were to be spent down to zero, for maintaining the AA as long as the $ lasts, it seems like maybe three years at most...this was being discussed around 10+ years ago...

The alternative would be to have the org itself recognize it's demise and turn the money over to the U and have that money designated for specific purposes...I would recommend a student need endowment, using income only toward scholarships.

RE: the lately gone E.D. and spending down...something must have been awry from early on when he arrived in 2012.
The AA had a deal with Athletics. In exchange for an annual contribution by the AA to Athletics, the AA received a pkg of benies from Athletics, including blocks of tix for games, when games were more important, more competitive, and when fans flocked to Mullins and to McGuirk.
Early after the E.D.'s 2012 arrival, the AA was then providing Athletics at least $75K/year. I know, for fact, via Athletics, that Schnabl soon reduced that amount to $50K, insisting on receiving the same pkg from Athletics as when it was $75K. Not long after that, I was told, he went to Athletics and told them he was reducing the annual amount to just $25K, still demanding the full benefit pkg (it was greatly reduced, I was told).
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SignMan
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Re: UMass Disconnect

Post by SignMan » Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:09 pm

^ I just received AA financial data, FY17 & FY18 from an alum who has been following this thread; all legally info obtained from Public info sources...

Don't have time to get deep into it now (need to get ready to head out for tonight's hoops game)...

However... salaries, other comp, & benies are listed as $0.00
meaning that the U itself must be paying for all this...
Although there is no $1M+ income listed from the U, as I stated in previous post re: many years ago, one could surmise that the cost of all salaries, other comp, & benies would exceed that amount.
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