Spotlight

Class Agents in Action

In April, john derose, from Katy, Texas , stepped up to be the Class Agent for the class of 1987. Through his diligence and persistence the class (shown above) had one of the largest turnouts of any of the Honor classes to attend Homecoming 2017.

The idea for the Class Agent alumni program was introduced in February by Shawn Longfellow ’86, Chair of the MMA Alumni Association Alumni Involvement Committee, as a way to generate interest, create a spirit of participation and, above all, increase contact with our alumni.

With cooperation from the Office of Alumni Relations, the Alumni Association launched a campaign to recruit Class Agents to serve as “go-to” individuals for each alumni class, as a means to improve communications among classmates and MMA, obtain accurate and complete alumni contact information, encourage alumni to engage with MMA through events and volunteerism, and reconnect with “lost” alumni.

In short, a Class Agent is a volunteer who helps maintain a peer-to-peer relationship within his/her class and serves as a liaison between classmates and MMA.

The response to the call was outstanding, for example:

“I graduated in ’46. If you are interested in having representation from my class, count me in!” —Monty Small

“I am interested in being considered for the Class Agent program for the Class of ’61. What can I do to help?”—Jerry Gotlieb

“I’d love to be part of your program…” —Mark Jenkinson ’74

“Count me in for the class of ’86” —Rod Fraser

“If you need someone for ’97, let me know.” —Scott Frost

To date, there are 73 Class Agents representing 57 of the 73 MMA classes. Though most classes have a single class agent, two classes have three agents, 1971 (Peter Longley, Ralph Staples, Tim Plummer) and 1998 (Josh Collamer, Jason Grabelle, Jeff Linton), nine classes have two agents, and 16 classes have yet to identify an agent.

Following an initial letter of introduction to fellow classmates, email is the main information delivery system of the class agent. Information is quickly passed along this way efficiently; plus it’s easy, convenient and can save money.

There are scheduled communiques with classmates in December, April and August. However, each agents’ approach may differ, with means and frequency of communications varying.

“Having just started, my experience is that contacting classmates by phone is the best method,” says John Gillis ’72 Class Agent (with Ed Rosenberg). (One classmate admitted he doesn’t even have a computer.) A phone conversation also provides the opportunity to reconnect more meaningfully and collect info on other classmates.”

Contact your class agent to submit class notes, employment updates, change of address, articles of interest, or just to say hello. If you have email but have not heard from your class agent, contact your agent or the Alumni Relations Office (alumni@mma.edu). Learn who your class agent is by visiting http://mainemaritime.edu/mariners-forever/get-involved/class-agent/. If you are interested in being a class agent and do not have access to the internet or email, contact the Alumni Relations Office.
­—By Jeff Wright, Director of Alumni Relations