How to help The UConn Club
If you are interested in helping the Board of Directors, there are opportunities to help with activities, or consider becoming a Board Member.
Purpose
The primary goal of The UConn Club is to raise funds for scholarships for UConn student- athletes and to help fund facilities for UConn Athletics. Current donors to The Husky Fund for UConn Athletics are members of The UConn Club. The UConn Club scholarship fund is currently valued at approximately $5.2 million.
Goal
In 2018-2019, The UConn Club has pledged to raise $1,000,000 for the new campus sports complex over an expected period of ten years. The annual goal is to raise $100,000.
History
The UConn Club was started in 1952. Since its inception, the Club has raised millions and sponsored hundreds of student-athletes with athletic scholarships.
The UConn Club Board
There are currently 27 Board members with another 5 Emeritus members. The Athletics representative is Cat Zuppani.
The UConn Club Board website is TheUConnClub.org, and members of the Board are listed there and on the Husky Fund web site. The Twitter feed is @TheUConnClub, and the club sponsors a Facebook page.
Board Membership
Members are elected to serve a three year term with approximately 1/3 of the current board up for re-election each year. Members are not required to be graduates of the University of Connecticut but must be an active member of The Husky Fund. An email is sent in May to all members of The UConn Club to help solicit candidates for new board members.
Board Responsibilities and Needs
Board members are expected to help solicit funds for the various fund raising initiatives. These include a Golf Tournament, where Board members solicit sponsorships such as event sponsors, Tee sponsors, or foursomes; an auction, where members solicit items and services; and several types of raffles, where members sell tickets. Board members are not required to make a direct pledge or their own monetary commitment to The UConn Club, only their donation in excess of $100 to the Husky Fund. In past years the Board has conducted an Annual Awards Dinner, sponsoring various athletic alumni awards and recognizing significant contributions to Athletics. Board members solicited ads for the Awards Dinner program. The Board may decide to reconstitute the recognition dinner and create other new activities to raise funds. The Board is in need of skills for social media (@TheUConnClub on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in the future); communications and advertising; and web site support.
2021-2022 Officers
Steve Weir- President, Mike Cartona, Vice President, Frank Tavera- Secretary. Steve Germaine is the Treasurer; Lori Riiska- Assistant Treasurer.
In addition to recommending a slate of candidates for the board each year, the nominating committee identifies potential officers from among active Board members. Officers often progress through the roles: Secretary, Vice President, then President. The maximum term of the officers is 2 years at each position. Officers can serve again after a hiatus of at least a year between terms.
The two most recent past presidents serve with the current officers on an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee meets an hour before the full Board to plan out the full meeting. Past Presidents currently active on the Board include: Sandy Senich, Paul Young, Bill DeGrazia, Jim Oleksiw, John Driscoll, and Al Kelland. The Emeritus members are Barry Botticello, Ramona Beckius, Rick Carbray, Bob Goodman, Paul Samele, Mark Sinatro, and Brian Smith.
Meetings
Meeting dates are announced by the President. They usually occur each month at 6:00 p.m. Games do not conflict with meetings. Normally there is no meeting in August due to vacations, and March due to the Basketball Tournaments. The Secretary works with the president and Athletics on an agenda. Members are expected to attend every meeting. Meeting absences must be cleared with the President. Any director missing three (3) successive meetings of The Board of Directors without proper excuses (as determined by the President) shall be considered to have resigned from the Board. Board members may also attend a Board meeting via teleconferencing. The meeting location is usually sent out a month ahead. The Board provides dinner during the meeting. Beverages are purchased by the member. Meeting locations vary; the location may change to try to accommodate member’s locations. The Annual Meeting is held in June and is open to all UConn Club members. Elections are conducted at this meeting. Candidates are selected by the nominating committee from an open application process.
Athletics annually distributes a list of all the Board members and their contact information.
Board members are expected to help generate new ideas for fundraising events – and run them – as well as improve current events. The Board has run “Game Watches”, Car raffles, season ticket raffles, 50/50 Raffles, and Casino Nights; other fund raisers such as a wine tasting/fashion show have been under consideration.