Mailing in progress

Lot to catch up on:

2/29: Co-opers got together over dinner to brainstorm for the invite letter. We confirmed the major points, came up with a "through the ages" theme, and teased out what to ask for in an RSVP.

3/2-3: put the letter together in Word. It takes time to edit images and get the formatting correct. Meanwhile, alumni are writing back, due to some early networking. They're getting excited about the event, about seeing each other, but also about the possible threats to the Co-op. Vocal are Elisabeth Sperling, Mitsu Hadeishi, Eva Thaddeus, and Vlad.

3/4: the letter goes to Paul McCloughin (student groups guy) for approval. He quickly does so. There is also some correspondance with Jim Hogle, precipitated by alumni comments, regarding the possibility of other events than the main Saturday one, and even the possibility of moving the day. However, because the Co-op June 6th moveout is rigid, the event stays. But people have expressed interest in coming to secondary events.

3/5: final instructions come from Lauren Brodsky regarding turning our list of names into email and snail-mail addresses. Major correspondance happening between alumni, and i'm getting plenty of names/emails i didn't have before.

3/6: we send Lauren Brodsky the email text.

3/10: the email goes out to 591 alumni @post addresses. over the next few days, i cajole Lauren into revealing the names of people who did not receive the email and those who are deceased. Included is degree information, which requires some decoding, but will be very useful. The mailing labels are now ready. We schedule a session at the College Fund (Cara's workplace) for stuffing and affixing labels to envelopes, since all such work is required to be done on premises.

3/11-12: email to Jim Hogle announcing the impending mailing. The last time he confirmed help from Dudley was 2/22, and little was said in between. Now, though, the costs seem too great for Dudley to do alone. He recommends looking into Kinkos, Pitney Bowes, etc.

3/13-14: research on Kinkos, USPS, Pitney Bowes, HAA. Since Friday 3/14 is when we have the space at the College Fund, we pull out the stops to do it today, assuming that costs will be covered by Co-op Savings + Dudley + alumni. Friday night, Jim sends a number of emails, revealing that he has been working behind the scene to make things easier/less expensive. In the haste to get the letters out as soon as possible, though, the Friday hustle costs 487.06 (and will probably cost $50 more for the rest of the letter printing, unless HAA lets us do it for free.) Jim, meanwhile, has been investigating using the Harvard Mail Center (hadn't considered that before) and is talking with Dudley folks about providing funds. Basically, the bureaucracy, kind as it may be, was getting to be too slow. Or maybe i was just impatient. (But some of the letters have to go c/o parents before they'll get to the alumni... just a bit frustrating, all of this...) Jim will hopefully write back today to let me know whether he thinks we can still save some money, and i need to know so i can tell Cara whether we'll go in tomorrow to finish the stuffing.

Another issue in my mind is a disconnect between Dudley and the Co-op about "proper" ways to communicate with alumni. They express a desire that the invites be "nice." Meanwhile, i'm fairly self-conscious/embarassed about how they turned out, (having put in much of the content.) Jim also thought it was one sheet, instead of two. Overall, it's really hard to keep so many busy people on the same page. So now, there may be some confusion/disappointment, but i think the Co-opers and alumni will be fine, and that's important.