The Valley Buckeye Fall 2010

The Valley Buckeye
www.sacvalleybuckeyes.com
Fall 2010
Need Buckeye Gear this Year?
Calling all Buckeyes:
Inside…
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The Holiday Silent
Auction is planned
for Dec 9th.
Board Bios: Ralph
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Cornwell and
Sharonlee Johnson
Hey area Buckeyes, are you planning to buy
Buckeye clothes, music, or a big inflatable Brutus this
year? If so, buy from the store that gives a hefty sum
back to our club.
College Traditions (www.collegetraditions.com,
800-628-4678) has a program where our own
Sacramento Valley club receives 15% of your total bill
just for shopping with them. So, if you are thinking
about buying something, ANYTHING, that is
Buckeye related, check with College Traditions and
you’ll be giving back to the club.
All you have to do is give them our club code:
AL9563
You can order by phone or on the ‘net. If you
order by phone, provide the code or let them know
that you are from the Sacramento Valley club.
We’ll see a portion of your purchase to use for our
Updates to the
Sac Valley
Website
www.sacvalleybuckeyes.com
Holiday Social,
Silent Auction and
Board Elections
When: Thurs, Dec 9th
Where: Lion’s Gate Hotel at
the former McClellan AFB
Why: Our holiday social is a
great time to wind down the
year and peruse the great
silent auction items we have
for sale. All auction sales help
our scholarship fund.
Cost: $30 per person
Auction items include:
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OSU Alumni logo wine
glasses
Handmade OSU
Christmas ornaments
OSU t-shirts
Gift cards/certificates
GO BUCKEYES!
Club Website
Our club has an amazing
website to keep everyone up to
date on club events, Buckeye
news, and fun photos of
Buckeyes in action.
Thanks to board member Gary
Penwell for putting in countless
hours and volunteer work to
keep it up and running.
Gary has updated the
information on the website,
created a PayPal link for dues
and event payments, as well as
uploaded pictures of our
events. If you go to a Buckeye
event and have pictures you’d
like to show off on our club
website, contact Gary Penwell,
our Webmaster!
Come visit us at
www.sacvalleybuckeyes.com.
We have links to all your
favorite Buckeye related sites,
including traditions and trivia
about OSU. There is a page
about all the events the club
sponsors. We have posted
words to our beloved Buckeye
songs and there are mp3s so
you can also listen to the
songs. Check out all the links to
vendors who also sell OSU
related merchandise. There are
over 100 pictures of our
members from club events and
games. Visit the website to see
if you are in a picture! There
are dozens of jokes and funny
pictures about Michigan and
other foes, a Buckeye candy
recipe and much more.
Call Gary at 916-722-3368 or
email him at
gpenwell@comcast.net if you
have ideas, pictures or other
information to post.
BIG-10 Picnic:
This year the Big-­‐10 committee held the picnic at the William Pond park in Carmichael. We hosted about thirteen club members at the event and we had fun socializing with the other Big-­‐10 clubs. Club members brought food to share, we had burgers, brats, and hot dogs for everyone too. It was a wonderful afternoon of great fun with fellow Big-­‐10 alumni! We look forward to the event again next year! The Valley Buckeye :: Fall 2010
The Valley
Buckeye
www.sacvalleybuckeyes.com
Press from the Pres: Hello Sacramento Buckeyes! I’m excited that my first year as club president has gone well. We’ve had some change and new direction throughout OSUAA and our local club but we’ve done well this past year. Archie Griffin announced, during his visit, that OSUAA and the university would band together to become one. He has transferred from being the alumni association president to being the Vice President and CEO of Alumni Relations at Ohio State. Our first change is our new game watching location at the New MVP Sports Bar and Grille on L Street. As a club we appreciate the owner’s willingness to display our school spirit on a weekly basis and allow us to decorate tables, walls, and inflate LARGE mascots throughout the second floor. It was a big change from our last location, and we’ve had some growing pains. As a club we have taken great strides to continue our membership drive and want to continue to grow. It’s always exciting to speak to members, new and old, and find out the similarities among each of us – having grown up in the same areas, going to the same “hole in the wall” pizza place on campus, spending time in the library coffee shop or just being the #1 fan in the land for the BUCKEYES. That sharing is what is so important – and keeps us growing! Please renew your membership on our website or ask a board member for a membership form and we’ll get you in the loop. In 2010 we were able to offer three scholarships to area students enrolling at OSU. We would love to continue the tradition of providing scholarships but need your help to do it. 3
At each of the game watches we have raffles to raise money for our scholarship fund, a donation option with our membership forms, and a silent auction -­‐ which is our biggest fundraiser. We are also looking to expand our offerings of other activities, both with the other Big-­‐10 clubs and throughout the year with our club. We also like to host athletic teams that come to town (softball, crew, etc...). On the nonathletic front, our members have enjoyed a walk through an arboretum, a photography workshop, and provided Christmas meals and food to a local needy family. These are all ideas from the members and we would be happy to hear about activities in which you would like to participate. If you are not yet a member, take a little time and see what we can offer. In closing, remember what our club is all about: sharing a common experience, helping to send area students to Ohio State, and serving our community together. With your help, our club can grow, fulfill our goals, and enjoy our time together. Please let any of the board members know if you have any suggestions. Go Bucks! Disa L. Banker President, Sacramento Valley Alumni Club johnson.1806@osu.edu
The Valley Buckeye :: Fall 2010
Board Member
Biographies:
Sharonlee Knepshield Johnson:
I am Sharonlee Knepshield Johnson and
graduated from The Ohio State University
in 1964. My major was Home Economics
Education. I held a teaching certificate and
vocational certificate in Ohio for over 30
years.
The first year after graduation I was a
Home Service Advisor with the electric
company in Columbus. After one year of
that job I was so poor I jumped at the
chance to accept a teaching position in
Upper Arlington and stayed for 30 years.
After retirement my husband and I
traveled in our Airstream trailer through
the US and Canada, and traveled to Europe
numerous times. After Gene, my husband,
died in 2003 of pancreatic cancer, I sold the
house and left Ohio for beautiful California.
I have been in California ever since and
enjoy being closer to family. Last year I ran,
unopposed, for the office of Secretary of
the Sacramento Alumni Club and won by
an overwhelming margin.
It has been fun being associated with
fellow Buckeyes so far from Ohio. I enjoy
the club and other alumni activities.
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Ralph Cornwell: Ralph was born in Portsmouth,
Ohio and grew up in the hills of Minford, OH. He
attended Minford High School where he was a
three-sport athlete playing football, basketball and
baseball. Upon graduation he worked at Williams
Shoe Factory and continued playing baseball until
Uncle Sam called and he enlisted in the Navy. He
and Patsy met on a blind date in June 1970 and
married in August of 1970. In the summer of ’70
he met Johnny Edwards, catcher for the Houston
Astros (Ohio State Alumni 1960). John helped him
sign with Houston and after the Navy let him
discharge early he reported to Spring Training with
the Astros. After playing a year he had a decision to
make about his career in baseball and decided give
it up.
In the fall of 1971 he enrolled in a tech school
for Electro Mechanical Engineering. After one year
he choose to attend Cedarville University (college at
the time) where he majored in Physical Education
and Health. Upon getting his degree he taught in
Madison County Ohio. At the same time he enrolled
at The Ohio State University for classes in Special
Education and Adaptive Physical Education. In
1982 he took a teaching job at London Middle
School in the London City School District. There
Ralph taught and coached for London schools. He
retired after having a heart attack in November of
2002 and completely retired at the end of the
2003-04 year.
Now he and Patsy volunteer and raise puppies
for Canine Companions for Independence, an
organization that trains Golden Retrievers, black,
and yellow labs to be assist dogs for people with
handicaps.
Ralph has been a lifetime member of The Ohio
State University Alumni Association for eight years
and a member of the Sac Valley Alumni Club for
about four years. What a great, strong alumni group
we have here!
The Valley Buckeye :: Fall 2010
Archie Griffin Ohio State Senior Vice President for Alumni Relations Alumni Association President/CEO F
all is always an exceptionally active time of year at Ohio State and this one has been no different. There are two recent events I wanted to spotlight because I felt they represent the challenges and promise that are in front of Ohio State and its accomplished alumni. The first event was our Alumni Leaders Conference, which we hosted at the new Ohio Union in early October. The conference is one of our signature events because it gives us a chance to recognize the important grassroots efforts that alumni groups lead around the country. It is so important for us to show our appreciation for our volunteers. They carry the ball for the Alumni Association and do it with an admirable level of Buckeye spirit and enthusiasm. I had a chance to talk with many of our club and society leaders at ALC and I came away 5
encouraged by the level of commitment they have to helping their university. My staff and I have a great deal of appreciation for the work that happens in the name of Ohio State, but in my mind ALC provided us with an important reminder of the key role these folks play and will continue to play. Another event worth mentioning was the first-­‐ever meeting of the all-­‐Advancement team in September. This meeting was noteworthy because it was the first assembly of all key staff members involved in Ad-­‐
vancement. We had more than 375 staff members from the Alumni Association, University Development, University Communications, and other units within the Ohio State community, including many reps from our regional campuses. The meeting did a wonderful job of illustrating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and the response we received from those in attendance was overwhelmingly positive. Our team members clearly recognize that a more cohesive approach is going to be good for Ohio State and its broad base of constituents. In regards to the work being done, much of it is still of an internal nature. To be successful in this endeavor we must work from a solid foundation and that base is being constructed now. Our four action teams reported to the Board of Trustees Advancement Committee in early September, and those teams are now working on concrete plans that will form the foundation of our efforts. What is clear to all of us is that this effort will require a concerted approach that involves people both within the university and around the country. At our Alumni Leaders Conference I issued a challenge to our leaders regarding advancement and told them that, “It starts with you.” Now, sitting here today I cannot issue a list of tasks and goals for our groups to tackle. But I do know that success will be defined not only by internal accomplishment, but also in the way that our alumni groups interact with each other and their own specific Definition of University
Advancement: The strategic, university-­‐wide integration and coordination of alumni relations, communications and marketing, and development functions to foster positive relationships with students, alumni and other key audiences, provide multiple opportunities for engagement, and generate involvement with and support for the mission of The Ohio State University.
twitter.com/OSU_Alumni
www.facebook.com/OSUAA
www.ohiostatealumni.org
The Valley Buckeye :: Fall 2010
Special Guest Appearances
The OSU Alumni Club of the Sacramento Valley hosted a Reception in March for Dr. E. Gordon Gee and Archie Griffin. The event was held at the Holiday Inn downtown. Both Dr. Gee and Archie spoke to the members present and told about current events at OSU. At that time the new Ohio Union on High Street was just opening. Two students from the Fisher School of Business also made the trip to Sacramento. Archie and President Gee signed many autographs and answered a number of questions Alumni had to ask. Archie stayed well past the hour allotted for the evening, chatting with everyone and graciously posing for pictures. The Club gave each guest welcome baskets and a beautifully framed photograph taken by member Mark Zablotzky. Everyone enjoyed the evening and appreciates the University sending these special guests to our area.