Alumni Council Sponsors Southeastern Conference
UNDER the sponsorship of the Dartmouth Alumni Council, and with the dual purpose of strengthening regional alumni organization and interesting more southern boys in the College, a two-day Southeastern Dartmouth Conference was held in Atlanta, Ga., on November 6-7.
Meeting with alumni delegates from five states were four of the top officers of the College: Sidney C. Hayward '26, Secretary of the College; Albert I. Dickerson '30, Director of the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid; Edward T. Chamberlain '36, Executive Officer of the College; and Robert K. Hage '35, Executive Secretary of the Committee on Scholarships and Loans. In five sessions on Friday and Saturday the alumni and College representatives worked out a program of coordinated effort that should strengthen Dartmouth in the southeastern states.
Sid Hayward opened the conference Friday morning with a talk on alumni organizations as the basic units for all Dartmouth activity outside of Hanover. He hit the keynote that only through greater representation from the whole country can Dartmouth's educational work remain a positive force in the nation. With the rise of population and industry in the South, it can readily be seen that Dartmouth seeks and needs more recognition in this region.
After Sid's keynoting, the group met with city and county school officials and the college counsellors retained by Atlanta schools. William C. Marsh Jr. '31 did a rousing good job of emceeing, giving the Dartmouth group a fine example to place before local educators. He introduced E. L. Floyd, liaison officer between colleges and Atlanta's Board of Education. Mr. Floyd has and will continue to work closely with our alumni group. The next speaker was A1 Dickerson who informed the guests of the financial aid program offered by the College and requirements needed by prospective students at Dartmouth. Beginnings were made at this luncheon for alumni to speak at schools or with interested students.
The Friday night dinner and reception had as its chairman Louis Fortuna '38 who, more than ten men, had devoted a great deal of effort to the success of this conference. He introduced Eddie Chamberlain, who was the silver-tongued orator of the conference. Eddie's talk dealt with
the many ways in which the local alumni groups can best work towards our goal. He had everyone so worked up that if we hadn't eaten so much and so well, we might have run yelling into the night lassoing likely prospects.
Saturday morning began with a meeting followed by a luncheon. Chairman Joe Lane '21 of Chattanooga, Alumni Council member and another tireless worker, introduced Bob Hage. Bob spoke in detail about the financial aid program and its requirements. This program, especially the Daniel Webster Scholarships, is a wonderful tool with which to form a base of publicity, besides its more obvious advantages.
After full discussion of this, Joe Lane developed a method of getting the alumni into a more coordinated effort. In short it will be an emissarial plan carried out by those who travel in business. Some towns have no alumni organization due to their numerically low'group or (as is sometimes the case) lack of knowledge of other alumni in their area.
Saturday afternoon brought a break for the Georgia Tech-Clemspn game. However, some loyal souls watched television and were rewarded by the appearance of the College officers on "School of the Air" at 3 p.m.
Saturday night we had a soiree. All alumni and their ladies were invited, along with the delegates, local school officials, and parents of Dartmouth undergraduates from this area. Louis Fortuna gave a summary of the conference, and was applauded for his outstanding job. Ernest Rogers, columnist for the Atlanta Journal, gave a report on his son Wally's ('56) progress at Hanover. He had us all chuckling at Wally's discovery of Dartmouth life from Campion's to Smith and the resultant effect on budget planning in the Rogers home. A1 Dickerson spoke briefly about admissions and "Third Person Herbert" much to everyone's delight. Eddie Chamberlain introduced A1 and Sid Hayward. The evening was the perfect culmination of a successful conference.
Thanks must be rendered to the host committee Louis Fortuna '38, Joe Lane '21, Duncan Dobie III '38, Ted Walter 46 and myself. Thank you.
Alumni delegates attending were:
Earl K. Arthurs '35, Charlotte, N. C.; A. Pollack Boyd '22, Chattanooga; James H. Brennan '39, Macon, Ga.; John W. Bryant '29, Spartanburg, S. C.; L. Hardwick Caldwell Jr. '44, Chattanooga; Graham B. Conklin, '43, Atlanta; Duncan A. Dobie, III '38, Decatur, Ga.; Louis J. Fortuna '38, Atlanta; Bradbury P. Foss '25, Athens, Ga.; W. F. Garth '35, Gainesville, Ga.; J. Ed Gingrich Jr. 48, Atlanta; Edward R. Hodgson '42, Miami Springs, Fla.; Richard H. Houck '34, Chattanooga; Joseph H. Lane '21, Chattanooga, Richard D. McCarthy '50, Atlanta; William H. Marsh Jr. '31, Atlanta; Wilton F. May '30, Greenville, S. C.; Charles Van S. Mottola 47, Newnan, Ga.; Von Daniel Oehmig '36, Columbus, Ga.; Benjamin S. Read '32, Atlanta; William C. Shaw '36, Nashville; A. L. Starrett •29, Atlanta; Fred Thorpe '38, Birmingham, Ala.; John Tiedtke '30, Winter Park, Fla.; and Theodore Walter '46, Atlanta.
Men who will work with us on the program but who were unable to attend are Charles F. Palmer '18, Atlanta; Harold F. Jones '24, Atlanta; William C. Embry '34, Louisville, Ky.; Robert Jones '50, Evergreen, Ala.; Scott Probasco '50, Chattanooga; James Gray '37, Albany, Ga., and others.
The greatest work has yet to be done by all.
A similar regional conference held in Dallas, Texas, on November 13-14 will be reported in next month s issue.
ALUMNI COUNCIL REPRESENTIVES at the Southeastern Dartmouth Conference in Atlanta last month were (I to r) Edward T. Chamberlain '36, executive secretary of the cOUncii's enrollment; William H. Marsh Jr. '31, former Council member; Joseph H. Lane 21, present Council member from that region; and Sidney C. Hayward '26, Council secretary.
