A message from your Alumni Association President: a year worth celebrating

With 2016 almost over and 2017 on the horizon, it’s a great chance to reminisce about the past year while also looking forward to the exciting next events planned for our Alumni Association centennial.

By Sean Conroy

In September, we kicked off our centennial year at the annual U of S homecoming game. Our official launch was followed by a near record-breaking attendance as our Huskies football team had a great game with the Vanier Cup bound University of Calgary Dinos.

Homecoming was just the beginning of our celebrations; the tip of the iceberg you may say. Since then, our alumni staff have been out to the west coast to meet and celebrate with our Victoria and Vancouver alumni. We've also hosted alumni at several Huskie Athletics games with our Alum Nights.

A very special fall event was our annual Alumni Achievement Awards, where 11 esteemed alumni were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments.

When talking to alumni at these events, I always find it inspiring to see the common vitality that exists in U of S graduates. We are ambassadors of this campus. We are proud of our U of S roots. We have that distinct Saskatchewan charm; both humble and self-assured in our pursuits.

It's wonderful that so many alumni have already participated in our centennial year. With this momentum, we head into 2017 and continue to celebrate our historic 100 year anniversary.

March 25, 2017 marks our inaugural Volunteer Summit. You're invited to save the date as we gather together to make Saskatchewan's volunteer community richer, more diverse and stronger than ever before.

Once again we're coming to you with events planned in Regina, Moose Jaw, Calgary and internationally in Arizona, Palm Springs, San Francisco and London. For more details on these events, head to our centennial website.

Our celebrations will end in May with the Alumni Weekend. We plan to celebrate with a bang and you won't want to miss the chance to reconnect with our classmates, reacquaint yourself with the beautiful U of S campus and remember your time as a U of S student. I encourage you to join us May 18 - 21 for a weekend full of events including much reminiscing, campus tours, college activities and family-friendly events.

This centennial year provides our 150,000 alumni across the world the unique opportunity to reconnect with our alma mater. I'm looking forward to joining as many of you as possible as we embark on this last leg of our celebrations. 2016 was indeed an exciting year for us as an association, and I anxiously look forward to what 2017 has in store.

The Alumni Association Board of directors and staff join me in wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season with health and happiness in 2017!

Best,

Jim Blackburn (BSP'60)

President, University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association