GIA graduates who want to connect with fellow alumni just got a new tool to help them do so: the Institute's "Quick Start Guide: Create a GIA Alumni Association Chapter."
The 12-page brochure walks users through three simple steps to create and maintain a new chapter: contact the GIA Alumni Association, notify grads in your area and schedule your first meeting. "It's as simple as that, said Rose McKenna, GIA's manager of Alumni Relations."
"Demand for new chapters around the world has never been stronger," said McKenna. "We've heard from graduates in Mexico, Lebanon, Indonesia, Greece and Indonesia since the Quick Start Guide launched in August. And that's on top of the 20 potential chapter volunteers who were already waiting to get started."
McKenna says Alumni Association chapters can simply consist of a small group of three or four graduates who gather bimonthly to share advice and exchange ideas or they can develop into a larger, more complex organizations.
Either way, the Quick Starter Guide outlines chapter responsibilities, including meetings and contact with GIA; Web site links to GIA; officer recognition; alumni programs and services; and guidelines on liability, use of names, trademarks and copyrights. It also includes information on the new Alumni Awards program.
"The increased interest in starting new alumni chapters worldwide is something we want to support and encourage," says Linda Ellis Harmeling, GIA vice president and chief Advancement officer. "We will help launch as many new GIA alumni groups as there are volunteers wanting to run them."
Tammy Jones, the Web site editor for Jewelry Television in Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of those volunteers. Jones, an Accredited Jewelry Professional and Pearls Graduate, is working toward her Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) diploma and plans to start an Alumni Association chapter in East Tennessee.
"I'm almost finished with my G.G. courses, but I'm encouraged by the prospect of creating a group in which this kind of learning and discovery could continue," she says.
McKenna could not agree more.
"Our goal is to reach as many GIA graduates as possible and provide them with continuing education and networking opportunities," she said.
To get a copy of the Quick Start Guide, e-mail alumni@gia.edu click here to download a PDF version.
The 12-page brochure walks users through three simple steps to create and maintain a new chapter: contact the GIA Alumni Association, notify grads in your area and schedule your first meeting. "It's as simple as that, said Rose McKenna, GIA's manager of Alumni Relations."
"Demand for new chapters around the world has never been stronger," said McKenna. "We've heard from graduates in Mexico, Lebanon, Indonesia, Greece and Indonesia since the Quick Start Guide launched in August. And that's on top of the 20 potential chapter volunteers who were already waiting to get started."
McKenna says Alumni Association chapters can simply consist of a small group of three or four graduates who gather bimonthly to share advice and exchange ideas or they can develop into a larger, more complex organizations.
Either way, the Quick Starter Guide outlines chapter responsibilities, including meetings and contact with GIA; Web site links to GIA; officer recognition; alumni programs and services; and guidelines on liability, use of names, trademarks and copyrights. It also includes information on the new Alumni Awards program.
"The increased interest in starting new alumni chapters worldwide is something we want to support and encourage," says Linda Ellis Harmeling, GIA vice president and chief Advancement officer. "We will help launch as many new GIA alumni groups as there are volunteers wanting to run them."
Tammy Jones, the Web site editor for Jewelry Television in Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of those volunteers. Jones, an Accredited Jewelry Professional and Pearls Graduate, is working toward her Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) diploma and plans to start an Alumni Association chapter in East Tennessee.
"I'm almost finished with my G.G. courses, but I'm encouraged by the prospect of creating a group in which this kind of learning and discovery could continue," she says.
McKenna could not agree more.
"Our goal is to reach as many GIA graduates as possible and provide them with continuing education and networking opportunities," she said.
To get a copy of the Quick Start Guide, e-mail alumni@gia.edu click here to download a PDF version.
16th October 2007