October 2006 Development Newsletter

Article Body: What a great way to start your day, digging into a tasty bowl of Kellogg's Cornflakes cereal and beaming with pride over your alma mater along the way. That's exactly the experience for thousands of Graceland grads around the country right now and you can enjoy the prideful nourishment too.

Hello and welcome to another edition of the award winning Graceland University Development Newsletter. Okay, we haven't quite been nominated for anything with this monthly correspondence yet, but some folks think we should. I digress, so back to our lead story.

It's absolutely awesome, the fact that you can shop at Wal-Mart or a Sam's Club near you, and pick up a collectors edition of the family sized box of Cornflakes sporting a great photo of Graceland's Students in Free Enterprise Team (SIFE), smack-dab on the front. The last time we felt this good about breakfast cereal Bruce Jenner had just won the Olympic Decathlon and that put Graceland on the Breakfast of Champions map. If a late afternoon snack is better for your diet then you need to know that at selected locations around the USA Graceland's SIFE team is also on the box of Cheez-It crackers. Not a bad perk for finishing second at the World Cup back in September, eh? To be sure folks with ties to Graceland are buying up these products in record numbers. Click on Andy Simpson's picture to see the details on the box and click here to read an email from a GU Alumna that was part of the Championship team.

"Eh" is a familiar part of the vocabulary north of the border and we heard it a lot during our Campaign Canada dinner party swing thru Ontario the last week of October. Graceland Vice President and Dean of Admissions Brian Shantz was the keynote speaker for get togethers in London, Wabash, Windsor and Toronto. For those of you who couldn't attend please enjoy the photo gallery we have put together by clicking on Campaign Canada Dinners. You can also make a gift or a multi-year pledge to the Graceland Canadian Foundation by contacting peggys@graceland.edu.

Not a single trick but plenty of treats for Gracelanders Halloween night. Not only did students living in Tess Morgan and Walker Hall have candy on hand for Lamoni youngsters out and about during the bewitching hours, but all were invited to the annual Graceland Orchestra Halloween concert. We don't mean to scare you but you can enjoy some of the pictures we took by clicking on Halloween Concert. Boo!

Now to arguably the most enjoyable part of our monthly newsletter, the moment when we say "thanks." Actually we have aptly named this monthly feature our Investor Spotlight. This time around, our hats are off to Bobbie and Tom Rastle of Escondido, California. The Rastles are both GU alumni and because of Tom's admiration and respect for retired Biology professor John Edwards, they've gifted $20,000 to put Professor Edwards' name on a Biology room in the new Science and Technology Center. Says Mr. Rastle, "I will never forget those late afternoon chats with John. He was not only a great teacher but a personal mentor to me, and he played a major role in my special Graceland Experience." The Rastles want to challenge other Gracelanders who enjoyed the same kind of special relationship with Edwards to step forward and possibly help name the Micro-Biology lab in his honor. The naming right for the Micro-Biology lab has been set at $100,000. Please click on Science and Technology Center Project for other naming opportunities or contact me to discuss the wonderful possibilities.

Now, to our Estate Planning Tip of the Month. Did you know that the current tax law contains a provision that actually helps you keep more of your hard earned money? That's right! This provision allows you to save for retirement at levels that exceed the current limits established for IRA's, 401k's, and your employer's savings plan, without a penalty. You receive an immediate tax deduction plus having the choice of receiving income that is tax-deferred or partially tax-free. Call or e-mail to receive your FREE information packet. You are not obligated in any way. Contact Todd Sturgis at tsturgis@graceland.edu or call 1.800.645.3582.

It's been another banner fall for Graceland University Athletics. Both the men's and women's soccer teams won Heart of America Conference crowns, and the women's Cross-Country team under the direction of HAAC coach of the year Kent Allshouse is headed to Nationals in Kentucky. You can get a play by play account of the wins and losses by checking out the University's athletics web-page.

Who says Development Officers don't have any fun? Early in October, Kelly Everett, Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement, and Stu Sherman, Associate Director of Development, led the University's College Republicans Club on a weekend tour of Washington, D.C. Kelly and Stu teamed up with Judy Badder and Kurt Remmenga who also work on campus to make the 18 hour trip to our nation's Capitol. Many thanks to our Graceland connections back east who helped make it all happen. For the record, there were actually 5 registered Democrats traveling with the group - true victory for bi-partisan fun and fellowship!

Graceland's Honors Program students were also on the road in October trekking over to Chicago and they got a lot done in the windy city. For starters the group, led by Professor Bob Mesle and GU Community Outreach Director Tom Morain, stopped by the Steppen Wolf Theatre. On Saturday Graceland's Steven Lloyd, of Lakeville, Minnesota, gave a brief presentation at the King Tut exhibit. The weekend was capped off by a trip to the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre to experience Hamlet.

For those of you who not only missed Homecoming but also last month's Development Office Newsletter, we put together more great pictures for you to view. Please click on Awesome Homecoming Pictures.

The next time we visit, Thanksgiving will have come and gone, so let me speak for all of the Graceland University community in wishing you and your family a thankful turkey day.
Event Date: 10/31/2006 10:25 AM