ACUTA eNews April 2017 - Volume 46, Number 4 | Page 2

Say Goodbye ... continued from page 1
organization . She hired Aaron Fuehrer and Amy Conrad ( now Burton ), and ACUTA grew its membership and its menu of services . With Jeri ’ s unfortunate passing in 2011 , the Board looked to our own and found her replacement in former ACUTA President Corinne Hoch .
Corinne is a gracious lady who loved ACUTA and gave everything she could to strengthen our association and make it a must-have membership for every institution coast-to-coast . Unfortunately , different technologies , diminishing budgets , and changing attitudes toward both membership in professional organizations and participation in face-to-face events have ultimately become too much to overcome , and — in spite of valiant efforts by the staff and others — here we are , saying goodbye .
ACUTA has obviously always been a great organization to work with — just look at the longevity of our final staff , who have been in the office for 27 , 24 , 21 , 20 and 10 years ! In the not-too-distant past , we lost Donna Hall , Joanie Byrd , Michele West , and Tom Campbell . And we ’ ve appreciated Drilon , who just joined us last November . Our history attests to what a great experience being a part of this team has been .
You can ’ t work with people for that many years and not get involved to some degree in their lives outside the office . Through the years , we have experienced births and adoptions of children , marriages and divorces , deaths of family and friends , a variety of illnesses and injuries — all the things that are life . We have helped , encouraged , consoled , and learned from each other , and enjoyed being friends as well as a family away from home . A few have come and gone — but even those came back occasionally for a visit .
2014
As we go our separate ways , we will stay in touch . It ’ s just been too good to walk away and not look back . We will all be looking for appropriate opportunities , and time and new obligations will put distance between us . But our years with ACUTA will always be a part of us . It ’ s been a terrific ride , and to all of you who have shared it with us from your campuses and offices , we thank you .
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learned about the high-quality educational programming that was focused precisely on the issues facing campus telecom . ACUTA membership became more valuable as the professional network attracted more colleges and universities and soon included the vendor community as well .
Looking at some statistics and milestones through the years , membership peaked at 817 institutions in 2003 and 163 corporate affiliates in 2008 . At one point , the 50 largest institutions in the U . S . were all ACUTA members . ACUTA always appreciated our loyal vendors ’ support .
We have to take our hats off to a number of influential people who have played key roles in ACUTA history : Luther Robb , Dorothy Heinecke , Bill Morris , Mal Reader , Del Combs , Mike Grunder , Pat Nelson , Ruth Michalecki , Jeri Semer , Corinne Hoch , all the Boards of Directors , and others . And ACUTA would not have existed without all the committee members , session presenters , exhibitors , listserv participants … well , let ’ s face it : Everyone really counted at ACUTA !
So why are we where we are today ? A combination of circumstances . Technology has changed a lot since the telecom folks created ACUTA back in 1971 . “ One port per pillow ” is no longer anyone ’ s goal . Communications technology has shifted to the Internet and cell phones .
Information sharing happens online in a pretty significant way . The economy has dictated budget cuts in the educational world , reducing the opportunities to travel for face-to-face meetings . Many in the younger generations are expected to be satisfied with a virtual handshake online rather than a meeting of minds in a room full of people with similar purposes .
We started in Chicago , we celebrated our 25th anniversary in Chicago , and now we said goodbye in Chicago . But in between , we have taken events to 26 states plus D . C . and Canada . Our committees , composed of our members , have driven the programs so that they always focused on what was hot on campus . Events were successful because everyone worked together toward a common goal .
Now technology is also going to enable us to continue to benefit from the most valuable asset of ACUTA — the professional network . Plans are underway to establish at least an electronic connection so that we can still turn to our colleagues from coast to coast when we have questions or challenges--or break-throughs . You should have received an email about how you can stay connected . Please respond so that we can continue to share our difficulties and our successes in the years to come .
Thanks to everyone who made this a wonderful journey . We are all a lot richer for having been a part of ACUTA .