Vanessa Warren ‘93 (ABJ public relations) is participating in the NBC television Reality Series American Gladiator.  So far Vanessa, a Major in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Colorado Springs, has made it through step one and is looking forward to moving through the competition. 

I recently corresponded with Vanessa and she told me her first win was a “preliminary” victory and that there are 10 preliminary rounds and the fastest six winners move on to the semi-finals.

Vanessa also is a group fitness instructor for “Moms in Motion,” a national group which trains women and gets them involved in charity work (http://www.momsinmotion.com/).

Please join me in wishing Vanessa much success!

Our own UGA Men’s Tennis Team is, once again, NCAA Champions, successfully defending its 2007 title and becoming the first team to repeat in 11 years.  Seniors Travis Helgeson and Luis Flores led the team to a 4-2 victory over Texas at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Coach Manuel Diaz (BA ‘88) called his leaders “two of the most courageous competitors we’ve ever had.”  Coach Diaz has been involved in all six of UGA’s national championships, four as head coach and two as assistant to tennis legend Dan Magill.

Sophomore Nate Schnugg was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and he was joined by teammates Flores and Jamie Hunt as they were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.     

I know you join me in congratulating our UGA Men’s Tennis Team!

Coach Mark Richt was part of a contingent of football coaches who traveled to the Middle East last week to visit the troops.  The trip was to boost morale of our forces in the area.  Accompanying Coach Richt were Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville, Charlie Weiss of Notre Dame, Jack Siedlecki of Yale and the University of Miami’s Randy Shannon. The coaches visited bases in Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates before ending the journey with a visit from President Bush Monday. 

Before the troop visit, Coach Richt and 24 of his players set out on a mission trip to Honduras where, together, they worked to improve living conditions for the people of Guaimaca. 

We salute Coach Richt and his players and applaud their efforts to improve the lives of our military personnel and those in Honduras.  They truly embody ‘Bulldog Spirit.’

UGA alumnus and The National executive chef Peter Dale (ABJ ‘99) was featured recently in the Athens Banner-Herald as part of the newspaper’s recognition of “National Eat Dessert First Month.”  Chef Dale says the most favorite desserts on the rotating menu are always chocolate and that chocolate lovers are easy to please.  “The challenge is to come up with desserts that aren’t chocolate and appeal to people.”  To read more click here: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/051808/living_20080518001.shtml

Lucy Pope Dodd received a taste of fame when she graduated from the University of Georgia Law School earlier this month.  She became the subject of a small media blitz when it became known that she was a fifth generation graduate of the school.  Lucy was featured in both the Athens Banner-Herald  and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspapers.

Actually, her sister, Elizabeth Palmour Dodd Kanne, was the first to attain this distinction when she graduated in 2000. 

The sisters trace their UGA Law School legacy back to their great-great grandfather, Middleton Pope Barrow, who was a member of the school’s first graduating class in 1860.  Great-grandfather, Francis B. McIntire, graduated in 1903, grandfather, Pope “Hoho” McIntire, received his degree in 1947 and, in 1980, her aunt, Sarah Ellen McIntire, became a fourth generation graduate.

Lucy says she loves Athens and will continue to live here reviewing for the Georgia Bar in August.  Then she plans to move to Augusta where she will serve as clerk for Superior Court Justices in Columbia County.

The Skin Cancer Awareness Network (SCAN) is holding its second annual Save Our Skin (SOS) 5K and community educational event this Saturday, May 24 at Perimeter Place in Atlanta. SCAN Founder and CEO Marilyn Fry ‘70 expects hundreds to participate in the run/walk and the cancer screening process. Festivities get underway at 8 a.m. For information about SCAN’s SOS 5K click here: http://scanfoundation.com/.

Marilyn is a Life Member of the Alumni Association and is the immediate past president of our Fulton County Chapter which she helped found.

FOX 5 Atlanta’s morning program Good Day featured the event earlier this week. Click here for more information.

Today we mourn the loss of UGA alum Hamilton Jordan ‘67.  Just last month Hamilton was a recipient of our prestigious Alumni Merit Award.  As many of you know he had been battling cancer for quite some time and succumbed to ravages of the disease at his Atlanta home at age 63.

Not only was Hamilton Chief of Staff to President Jimmy Carter, he was the chief political strategist that vaulted President Carter from Plains, Georgia to the White House.  In 2005 Hamilton re-connected with his alma mater, joining the public service faculty of UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.  He also helped spearhead last year’s celebration marking the 30^th anniversary of the Carter Administration.

We send our deepest sympathies to the Jordan family and will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#24761995

Network television anchor and Grady College grad Amy Robach ‘95 was in Athens recently to visit one of her favorite professors, David Hazinski, head of the broadcast news program.

The NBC and MSNBC anchor interviewed Hazinski in a feature aired last Saturday on a weekend edition of the Today show. Robach said Hazinski was a prime influence on her professional life. Amy is a Saturday co-anchor of NBC’s weekend Today show, a correspondent for MSNBC Live and fills in on the weekday edition of the Today show.

Amy lives in Manhattan with her husband Tim and their two daughters. Click here for more information.

Congratulations to Parvati Shallow (ABJ ‘04), winner of the latest in CBS’ ‘Survivor’ series. For her victory on Survivor: Micronesia-Fans vs. Favorites, the 25-year-old kickboxer was awarded a $1 million prize. She previously came in sixth-place on Survivor: Cook Islands.

Parvati is a native of Vero Beach, Florida but she and her family moved to Atlanta when she was 11 years old. While at UGA, she majored in Public Relations and minored in French and was an active member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.

Click here to read more.

I’m Georgia…You’re Georgia…We’re Georgia!

Membership in the UGA Alumni Association shows that you are proud of your UGA degree and that you believe in the University’s tradition of excellence and its commitment to the future.  With nearly 250,000 living UGA alums, you are a part of one of the largest alumni groups in the world.  Think about that the next time you drive to work, visit a shopping mall or travel through a busy airport.  There’s not a better way to show “I’M GEORGIA” than to be a card-carrying member of the UGA Alumni Association.  Join today…it’s only $35 a year. 

To share in the tradition with fellow Bulldogs, you may want to purchase a membership for current UGA students or new alums.  Student memberships are only $20 a year.  Giving this gift ensures a continued connection to UGA.  For more information about becoming a member of the UGA Alumni Association, call 800-606-8786 or click here http://www.alumni.uga.edu/alumni.