On April 14, 15 and 16, the National Alumni Council (NAC) held their annual Spring meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of current projects and services and to decide on the direction the Council should take over the next six months. Four new Council members along with Mary Murphy (National Alumni Affairs Intern) and Ken Taylor (Southwest Regional Director) joined the NAC in Dallas. In addition, on Saturday afternoon Sally Grooms Cowal, YFU President, and Len Doran, Director of Public Affairs and Development, shared their perspectives on alumni issues with the Council and participated in some of the project planning. It was a fascinating and invigorating weekend for all involved.

NAC Project Highlights

The NAC has met with great success on many of its ongoing projects. One example is the Alumni Referral Program, which connects potential YFU students with YFU alumni, either by phone or via e-mail. This program now has over 150 alumni in the US who are participants. In the past year, the program developed a web-based component, so that prospective students can now go to the YFU website and e-mail alumni who went to their country of interest.

The YFU-USA Alumni Association Website continues to attract more and more visitors each month. The site is continually updated with news, event information and opportunities for YFU alumni. Additionally, the YFU Alumni Listserv (yfu-alums@yahoogroups.com) currently has over 350 members worldwide. Through the use of the listserv, members of the YFU community can discuss topics of mutual interest, post information about events and opportunities and become part of a "virtual" community.

This past April brought some big changes to the NAC. Three of our founding members and an additional Council member moved on and four new members were brought on board. While our members may change, our goals and mission remain as strong as ever.

During February and March, the NAC was presented with an excellent group of nominees for our open Council seats by staff, volunteers and alumni. After thoughtful consideration, the following four individuals were asked to join our team.

Congratulations to new NAC Members:

We look forward to your contributions to the NAC and the YFU-USA Alumni Association. The NAC would like to thank all of the nominees for their interest in joining our team and we hope that you will continue to work with us in the months ahead.

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