Spring 11 MASTER.indd - Thunderbird Magazine

chapter news
DARYL JAMES
Phoenix Alumni Chapter members Leah Kumayama ’10 and Marcelo
Nieto ’10 mingle with prospective students, faculty, staff and other
alumni on March 1, 2011, during a Super First Tuesday event at Monti’s
La Casa Vieja in Tempe, Arizona.
Super First Tuesday
events aid recruiting
O
nce a year, regular monthly T-bird gatherings grow
into larger events with the goal of uniting prospective
students with the one group that can best
discuss the Thunderbird experience — the school’s
valued alumni.
“Alumni are our best recruiters for the school,” said Jay
Bryant ’04, Thunderbird assistant vice president of admissions
and recruitment. “Through their own success stories, they
help to promote Thunderbird to the next generation of global
leaders.”
More than 70 chapters in 29 countries participated in the
sixth annual Super First Tuesday, which started March 1, 2011.
Thunderbird recruiters attended 10 events, and Alumni Relations
staff provided additional support.
Phoenix Alumni Chapter President Mike Cottrell ’07 has
been steadily increasing his chapter’s attendance at Super First
Tuesday. He said the Phoenix Chapter is in a unique position to
promote the Thunderbird brand because members live in the
home base of the school.
“I cannot think of a better endorsement of a Thunderbird
education for a potential T-bird than an evening spent with
alumni from all different backgrounds and industries,” he said.
About 60 guests attended the Phoenix event, which featured
a presentation from local entrepreneur Andrew Allen ’10,
founder and president of More Marbles.
The concept for Super First Tuesday was created by Director of
Recruitment Tom Brennan ’05 with input from Bryant.
FRANCE
Bernadette Martin ’84,
author of “Storytelling
about Your Brand Online
and Offline,” spoke Dec.
7, 2010, during a First
Tuesday alumni event at
the American Library in
Paris. Afterward, teams from
Toastmasters, Thunderbird
and the American University
Clubs of France competed in
an impromptu storytelling
competition.
JAPAN
The Tokyo Chapter, which
normally meets on First
Fridays, started 2011 with
a special event on Jan. 15
to coincide with Japanese
New Year festivities. Alumni
selected a new venue for the
gathering called Mille Wine
Bar.
SINGAPORE
About 50 alumni and
guests attended the Singapore
Chapter holiday party
Dec. 9, 2010. The event included
Thunderbird recruiter
Bell Benjapatanamongkol
’08 and several prospective
students. Alan Giebel ’92,
a sales and business development
professional in
Singapore, helped organize
the event and delivered the
welcome speech.
TAIWAN
About 20 alumni and their
guests celebrated New Year’s
Day together in Taipei.
VIETNAM
Ho Chi Minh City
alumni bid farewell to
longtime chapter leader
Jim Echle ’72 during First
Tuesday in September 2010.
Echle, an Indiana native
who has lived in Asia since
1973, now represents the
American Soybean Association
in Japan. The Vietnam
Chapter has continued
strong with regular First
Tuesday events under the
leadership of Hao Diep ’10,
Jessica Tartell ’10 and Kurtis
“King” Kovach ’91.
UNITED STATES
Idaho and Wyoming:
Eric Laird ’09 has helped
launch the Greater Teton
56 spring 2011