Greetings, Auburn Alumni Band! Thank you all for your membership and participation this year. Below are Fall 2022 updates from your Auburn Alumni Band Board of Directors:
2022 Reunion Recap
We celebrated two major milestones at our reunion on 9/24/22: the 35th Anniversary of the Auburn Alumni Band and the 125th Anniversary of Auburn University Bands!
We kicked off the weekend with a fun Reception and Silent Auction held at the Band Pavilion on Friday evening, followed by an EARLY practice call at the field on Saturday morning due to the 11:00 a.m. kick-off against Missouri. Alumni Drum Majors John Warner ’09, Portland, OR & Michelle Smith ’12, Irondale, AL led over 250 AUMB alumni representing 17 states from Oregon to Maine and eight decades (1950s-2020s). The Alumni Front Ensemble was an exciting new addition this year that will be continued in the future. Also new this year was the opportunity to return to the Band Pavilion after halftime for an Alumni Band Tailgate. Dr. Vinson, the creator of the Auburn Alumni Band in 1987, was recognized on Friday evening with a special thank-you gift in honor of our 35th Anniversary.
Special thanks goes to Immediate Past President Deborah Martin Dickerson, our Reunion Committee led by Richard Martin, the entire Board, former VP Jill Applegate Warbington, and Sarah Ferguson, Coordinator of AU Bands, who all worked so hard to make this a special and memorable weekend.
Several new Alumni Band merchandise items were made available this year, including a special 35th Anniversary/135th Anniversary commemorative t-shirt designed by Board Member Scott Wright, who also designed our new Alumni Band Banner. In addition to our usual merchandise of “Band A” pins, earrings, decals, and mugs/tumblers we also offered visors, key chains, clear stadium bags, jackets, and other new clothing items for sale this year. Special thanks goes to our Promotional Items Committee led by Traci Ash for selecting/ designing, procuring, and selling/shipping all our Alumni Band merchandise at the reunion and online via our Square store. Some inventory still remains from the 2022 Reunion and may be purchased at https://auburnalumniband.square.site/ – check it out!
Endowed Scholarship
A portion of our annual dues and all profits from merchandise sales are donated back to the AU Band program each year. During 2021 we received a total of $33,000 in donations and the scholarship was valued at $122,733.000 as of 12/3/21.
For 2022, the Alumni Band donated an additional $5000 to our scholarship and $5000 to special one-time student scholarships to participate in a band performance trip to Spain in Spring 2023. Total donations for 2022 will be made available when we have those numbers.
To make additional donations to our Endowed Scholarship, click the “Donate” button on this website, go to our Square store (https://auburnalumniband.square.site/), or go to the University giving page at https://alumniq.auburn.edu/giving/make-a-gift and type in “Auburn Alumni Band Endowed Scholarship“.
Members of the Board of Directors
At the reunion, we recognized both our outgoing officers/members whose terms expired in Fall 2022 and our new officers/members whose terms began in 9/2022. Deborah Martin Dickerson was also recognized for her role as President from 2022-2024.
Outgoing officers/members:
- Gerritt Keaton ’15, Immediate Past President;
- Sidney Keywood ’70;
- Jeffrey Rowser ’80;
- Betsy Noll Logan ’78;
- Christiania Morris Jordan ’09.
New officers/members:
- Mary Monk-Tutor ’84, President
- Deborah Martin Dickerson ’85, Immediate Past President
- Christiania Morris Jordan ’09, VP
- Rob Cothran ’01, Treasurer
- Taylor Nails ’06, Secretary
- Doty Spurgeon Henderson ’84
- Joye Kralovec ’94
- Brandy Sponsler ’00
- Sally Nichols Traylor ’81.
Board and Committee Meetings
The Board met via Zoom on 10/25/22 to establish our committee charges and timeline for the coming year. The Executive Committee met with our new Advisory Committee (Dr. Rick Good, Dr. Rusty Logan, and Mr. Steve Fleming) on 11/16/22. Our other 7 committees have also been working on their charges in preparation for our next Board meeting on 1/31/2023. Our focus this year is on documenting all of our processes, updating our By-laws, and planning the 2023 Reunion.
Welcoming New Alumni
Board Member Traci Ash attended the AUMB Senior Reception on 12/4/22 at the Bottling Plant in Opelika to welcome our 78 new alumni! Each person was given a Band A pin along with a welcome card containing information about the Alumni Band and how to follow us on FB/IG/web.
This new initiative was headed up by our Membership Committee (Alison Foster, Chair) with assistance from the History and Traditions Committee (Paul Wright, Chair), the Executive Committee (Mary Monk-Tutor, Chair), the Advisory Committee, the Promotions Committee (Traci Ash, Chair) and the design talents of Board Member and Webmaster, Scott Wright. Mary Monk-Tutor sent out a welcome email to all seniors at the end of the semester as well.
National Association of Alumni Bands (NAoAB) Meeting
Board Member Richard Martin, Chair of the Reunion Committee, made a presentation about our 2022 Reunion on 12/7/22 at the NAoAB 2022 Fall Recap Zoom meeting. Other attendees were our Vice President, Christiania Morris Jordan, and Mary Monk-Tutor. We gathered ideas from the following bands who also made a presentation about their reunions: Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Pitt, South Carolina, and Texas.
Reminder: ALL Alumni Band members are welcome to join NAoAB zoom meetings! Mark your calendars for the following upcoming events:
- 2/1/2023 @ 6:30 p.m. CST: Funding the Alumni Budget: To Fee or Not To Fee
Register at: http://bit.ly/3itKNcV - 3/22/23 @ 6:30 p.m. CST: Non-Band Events
Registration link TBA
Be sure to follow us on social media and contact any of the officers if you have questions, comments, or suggestions.
War Band Eagle!
Mary Monk-Tutor ’84, President
Deborah Martin Dickerson ’85, Immediate Past President
Christiania Morris Jordan ’09, Vice President
Rob Cochran ’01, Treasurer
Taylor Nails ’06, Secretary