GriffinShare @ Fontbonne University

Students smile together at a Day of Service in October 2023.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/uasc-photos/8297/thumbnail.jp

University Archives Photos: 7298

Students were challenged to choose a style of a specific target market and create a fall-themed window for them. In this display, Airi Murata and Grace Blackwell chose a vintage aesthetic as their inspiration.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/fas-309-2023/1007/thumbnail.jp

Murata, Airi

Blackwell, Grace

2023: Vintage Window Display 01

Fontbonne Community Connection

1 
 
EAC Meeting Minutes 
February 8, 2023 
Zoom 
 
The meeting was called to order at 9:02 a.m. by Chair JoAnn Donovan.  Ruth Ann Kerr read the 
opening prayer.  
All members were in attendance:  Barb Atteln, Connie Diekman, JoAnn Donovan, Nancy English, 
Joan Falk, Lucy Hahn, Joan Kelly, Ruth Ann Kerr, Susan Lenihan, Barb Stroer, Kathy Tanner, 
Wendi Valenti and Mary Lee Walter.  
Agenda and Consent Agenda:  JoAnn Donovan 
The Agenda and the Consent Agenda were both approved.  
 
Annual Awards Meeting – April 22, 2023 
Joan Kelly will send proposed agenda and further discussion will be delayed until the next EAC 
meeting on March 8, 2023. The meeting will be hybrid and the RSVP will request whether 
attending remotely or in-person so that Joan has a better estimate of refreshments needed. 
 
Fontbonne Gala - Membership Committee 
• Lucy and Connie reported the cost of placing an ad in the program is $500 for half-page 
and $1000 for a full page.  A discussion centered on the pros and cons of each type of 
ad. 
o The program will likely be taken home and an ad will be a reminder of the FCC. 
o The Gala is an opportunity to reach the broadest audience in a long time and for 
a long time and a full-page ad is worth the expenditure.  
o A lengthy discussion followed on what kind of information to convey in an ad, 
appropriate wording, and potential incentives to join the FCC included:  
▪ A listing of some of the award projects 
▪ Joining the FCC at a 10% discount for those attending with a deadline date of June 30, 2023 
which is the end of FCC’s fiscal year 
▪ Susan Lenihan suggested that the 10% discount not be mentioned but that the incentive be 
tied to the Centennial Celebration – the opportunity to join the FCC for a $100 reduction in 
honor of Fontbonne’s 100th Anniversary until June 30, 2023.  This idea was favored. Susan 
will assist with the wording for the ad.  
▪ Should the cost to cover this $100 reduction be pulled from the FCC’s General or 
Sponsorship Fund? 
▪ There is $3300 available in the General Fund 
▪ If the cost is disbursed from the Sponsorship Fund, no change in the by-laws is needed.   
2 
 
o Nancy English moved that we offer a $100 discount on each new membership 
fee for those who join FCC after May 13 (the date of the Gala), until June 30, 
2023.  It will be necessary to reference the Gala ad in order to receive this 
discount.  This motion was seconded and approved.  
 
• Corsages - The cost of corsages to ID FCC members is $10 each with a pin to attach and 
$12 each with a magnet.  Wendi will count the number of FCC members attending and 
order half of each.  Members will receive their corsage as they enter the Gala and have a 
choice between the two options until the supply runs out.  A motion to approve this 
expenditure was made, seconded and approved.  
• Follow-Up Valentine - Lucy reported that the Valentine is written and will be sent to all 
members via email on February 13th. 
Gala Information from Wendi Valenti 
• Table Seating - Some members have requested a table and other members will be 
seated at different tables as reservations are made.  FCC members will be identified by 
the corsage and some mention will be made of its meaning.  
• Paddle Raise Auction - The Gala organizing committee will not include FCC as part of the 
bid fundraising.  No specific departments or programs are included. The Paddle Raise is 
limited to student scholarships and the student emergency fund. This is considered one 
type of funding.                
• Information Table at Exit – There is table space at the exit where information can be 
provided about the FCC (e.g., displaying Nancy English’s posters) and sign-up for 
attendees who want to become members for the $100 reduction in honor of 
Fontbonne’s 100th Anniversary.  In addition, envelopes will be available so that donors 
can specify their contribution if they would like to support FCC without joining.  
• Microphone time – Wendi will continue to try to obtain mic time so attendees are made 
aware of the information table and to look for the corsages to speak with a member.  A 
suggestion was made to share that the Gala was started by the FCC.  Wendi will also 
continue to look for speakers who may have been assisted by funding awarded by FCC. 
 
Awards Committee Update on Award Signage                                                                                       
Susan Lenihan provided an interim update on thoughts about signage for all FCC projects.  The 
Awards Subcommittee met on Feb 1st to discuss Sr. Mary Carol’s idea about a permanent 
display outside the Library Board Room.  This is a place where people usually socialize before 
and after events and would be a perfect spot to have a permanent display. Dr. Blattner and Sr. 
Mary Carol will meet in the next week or two to discuss this plan.  Once information on the cost 
of the project is known, the EAC will be asked for approval of the expenditure.  
 
3 
 
Planning Ahead – Expanding Membership 
• JoAnn clarified that the one-year sponsorship (January to December) being offered to a 
woman member of the Alumni Board is courtesy of the FCC.  It is not a position 
representing the Alumni Board nor is it an official position.   
 
• In the past, FCC considered offering a similar sponsorship to a Student Government 
member.  Wendi has spoken with Joel Hermann, the advisor for Student Government 
and additional student organizations.  He recommends FCC have a joint meeting with 
the chairs/presidents of interested clubs in late August or early September 2023.  There 
has been a disconnect between these organizations and the FCC for several reasons – 
past project proposals have not been accepted, students have not been encouraged by 
staff facilitators to submit, students don’t know enough about the process, student 
dreams often differ from how FCC views dreams.  FCC needs to consider what students 
see as dreams to enhance their lives as Fontbonne students.  Available faculty, staff or a 
grant writer in Advancement could mentor these leaders in how to write proposals. The 
grant-writing experience involved in project submission can be added to a student’s 
portfolio. 
 
• Possibility of offering an FCC membership to a female graduate who has received 
Fontbonne’s Leadership and Service Award. This might be done a year after graduation 
and might also create further interest by younger alumni.  Keep in mind that male 
alumni have also received this award.  
 
• Tiered-Membership.  This has been discussed over the years and, about six years ago, a 
subset objected to members paying a reduced fee and having full voting rights. Kathy 
Tanner encouraged FCC to look internally at what needs to be done to implement this.  
JoAnn will send an email to EAC members to respond to her privately if interested in 
being a member of an AdHoc Committee to review justification, benefits and the By-
Laws over the summer.  It would be helpful to include some younger members whose 
input would be valuable since their ages and/or chosen careers still restricts their ability 
to join, but may be able to join with a tiered membership.   
Follow-Up – Calendar Updates                                                                                                               
The calendar updates not covered during this meeting were EAC Officer Nominations for 2023-
2024 (May) and EAC Officers – Vote (June 2023).  JoAnn discussed the term limits, including 
hers as Chair, Joan Kelly/Immediate Past Chair and Connie Diekman/Immediate Vice-Chair.  
Other members will be asked if they want to remain in their current positions. 
The meeting was adjourned at 10:10  
 
4 
 
Officer and Committee Reports 
• Treasurer’s Report:  Kathy Tanner                                                                                           
As of January 31, 2023  $90, 951 is available for future rewards. 
• Corresponding Secretary: Ruth Ann Kerr 
o For some reason, I don’t have a listing of members who renewed for January. I think it 
will come when things are not so hectic at Fontbonne as they send out the notifications to 
donors for last year. If not, it means I lost the list somehow in the bowels of my computer.  
I sent a note to our new member, Juli Nieman since I had her contact information. I have 
nothing for the newest member, Delah Jones, too I will have to wait for the official 
notification. 
• Communications Committee:  Joan Falk 
o The FCC Winter 2023 Newsletter issued this past Wednesday will serve as the report of 
Communications Committee's recent work. We hope to meet with Fontbonne's new 
Marketing and Communications Director soon and work more closely to publicize FCC. 
And, of course, we'll begin planning for the Spring 2023 Newsletter, which will cover the 
coming roundtables, voting, awards and Annual Meeting -- and other features. 
o We also designed the FCC Valentine to be emailed to members next week in 
appreciation and gratitude for their membership. 
• Archives Committee:  Nancy English 
I continue to work on the archives. This seems like a broken record, but 
there just has been a lot of work to do.  Soon I will be at a point where the 
archives will begin to be posted to Griffin Share, but not quite yet.   
• Awards Committee:  Susan Lenihan and Mary Lee Walter 
o The Awards subcommittee (Sr. Mary Carol and Barb Stroer) have been figuring 
out the signage for various FCC projects.  An update will be given at the EAC 
meeting. 
• Events Committee: Joan Kelly 
o Joan had nothing to report 
• Membership Committee:  Lucy Hahn and Connie Diekman 
o We welcomed another new member, Juli Niemann, recruited by Mary Lee 
Walter.  
o JoAnn Donovan, Connie Diekman and Lucy Hahn met with the Alumni Board on 
January 5 to extend a complimentary FCC membership to an Alumni Board 
member of their choice.  The new member is Delah Jones. 
o Current membership is 78. The committee continues to discuss the results of the 
strategic planning session to find new ways to recruit new members and retain 
current ones.  
o We continue to discuss the possibility for a tiered membership in order to recruit 
younger members.  This will require a by-law change so will have to be carefully 
thought out. 
o  The upcoming centennial gala on May 13th will recognize all members of the FCC 
in attendance with a boutonniere corsage plus a sign on each table with an FCC 
member.  We would like to place an ad in the program booklet from the FCC, but 
that requires a vote from the EAC.  
5 
 
• By-Laws:  Barb Atteln 
There is no report for this month.  I am planning to restart the FCC Manual 
Update activities when tax day is over.   
• EAC Liaison Report:  Wendi Valenti 
o Attached proposal for the small corsages for the Gala and information on the 
program ads for the discussion about the Gala. 
o As reported in the FCC newsletter, Delah Jones, an Alumni Board representative, 
accepted the FCC Fellowship and plans to participate in the Roundtables.  I will 
send her information to the welcome group soon. 
o FCC was included in the February Centennial Newsletter and we will include FCC 
in another spring issue near the time of the award announcements. 
o Several FCC members are planning to go on the Heritage Pilgrimage to France.  
Feb 28 is the deadline to guarantee availability and pricing.  A link to the 
brochure was included. 
o Next Wednesday, Feb 15, is the career development event that will have a lot of 
young and mid-career Alums attending.  It is a great opportunity to share 
information about FCC in a networking environment. A flyer is attached 
o Dr. Ben Moore will give the Faculty Lecture on Feb 28. The registration link was 
given. 
o Reminder to sign up for the Roundtables in March with link provided. 
  
 
 
 
Respectfully submitted by Barbara Stroer, Recording Secretary on March 7, 2023. 
 
 
 
 


English

FCC Minutes: February 2023

Minutes of Fontbonne Community Connection Executive Advisory Committee Meeting 
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 8:45 am via ZOOM 
  
Call to Order 
The meeting was called to order at 9:01 am. Members present: Barb Atteln, Connie Diekman, 
JoAnn Donovan, Nancy English, Joan Falk, Lucy Hahn, Joan Kelly, Ruth Ann Kerr, Susan Lenihan, 
Barb Stroer, Kathy Tanner and Mary Lee Walter. Also present: Wendi Valenti.  
Approval or Modification of Agenda 
Motion to table the approval of the March and April EAC meeting minutes to the next meeting 
was approved by vote. 
 
 Consent Agenda 
  Motion to approve the following reports was approved by vote:                                
                                 b. Treasurer’s Report 04/30/2023  
                                 c. Corresponding Secretary’s Report  
                                 d. Communications Committee  
                                 e. Archives Committee Report (no report) 
                                 f.  Awards Committee Report  
                                 g. Events Committee Report 
                                 h. Membership Committee Report  
                                 i.  By-laws Committee Report  
                                 j.  Advancement Liaison Report 
  
Annual Meeting (Joan Kelly) 
A review of the most recent annual meeting. Updated hybrid meeting technology is planned 
for the college (funded by FCC) which will improve the hybrid meetings when in place. 
 
 Planning Meeting 
The annual planning meeting will be held on August 9, 2023.  The focus will be on the 
strategic plan issues, especially membership.  
  
 Ad hoc Committee on Expanding Membership 
The committee wants to survey members to better understand their relationship to the 
organization.  After discussion, the consensus was that the survey should wait until after the 
planning meeting and should be a broader survey of the membership. 
 
 Nominating of Officers 
The nominating committee will present a slate for EAC approval by the June EAC meeting.  
 
Meeting adjourned: 9:59 am  
Respectfully submitted by Barbara Stroer, Recording Secretary, May 12, 2023 
 


FCC Minutes: May 2023

Left to right: Mary Abkemeier, Beth Newton, Teresa Jeevanjee, Kay Graves, and Dr. Dennis Golden smile together outside Ryan Hall.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/uasc-photos/8044/thumbnail.jp

University Archives Photos: 7045

Left to right: Beth Newton and Mary Abkemeier of the Math and Computer Science department walk together during commencement excercises.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/uasc-photos/8047/thumbnail.jp

University Archives Photos: 7048

Fontbonne librarians and faculty celebrate at the retirement party of Karen Domagalski in 2019.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/uasc-photos/8039/thumbnail.jp

University Archives Photos: 7040

Sr. Mary Carol Anth shares more memories of her time at Fontbonne as student and faculty member with Golden Arcade alumni

Anth, Mary Carol, CSJ

Fontbonne Centennial: Golden Arcade Conversation with Sr. Mary Carol Anth

Students in the Disney Leaders Institute program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/uasc-photos/7842/thumbnail.jp

University Archives Photos: 6843

Students in the Disney Leaders Institute program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/uasc-photos/7845/thumbnail.jp

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