CAGOW 20152014 Medium Club of the Year: Dartmouth Club of Western Pennsylvania

There is a youth movement afoot in Pittsburgh these days which has led the Dartmouth Club of Western Pennsylvania to its very first "Club of the Year" award. President Brian Lenz '07 and his vice president, Richard Walton '06, have taken a club which was struggling to find consistency two years ago to a new level of stability and activity.

This is a story of rebirth and rejuvenation. In fiscal year 2013, the club reported a grand total of four events. In fiscal year 2014, that number rose to 14, a remarkable 350 percent increase. More than 260 alumni attended events such as a Czech folk music concert, a talk and tour of the "Roads of Arabia" exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, a concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony, lectures, happy hours and numerous collaborations with other Ivies in Pittsburgh. The highlight of the schedule was one which has become an annual event, the summer send-off party hosted by Freddie Fu '74; David Shribman '76, and David's daughter, another young alumnus, Elizabeth Shribman '10; at the University of Pittsburgh Sports Medicine Complex.

The club has also greatly enhanced its communications tools over the past year by sending emails one to two times per month, distributing a paper newsletter to positive reviews, and establishing a Facebook page and LinkedIn Group. In addition, the leadership has begun working on a new iModules website.

Dr. Seuss, the renowned expert on the young, once wrote: "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose."

The young leadership of the Dartmouth Club of Western Pennsylvania has taken this to heart and is steering themselves and the club in an upward trajectory which is both admirable and much appreciated.