I hope you can join one or more of the alumni events we’ve scheduled this weekend.  Starting today, we’re having two Women of UGA Lunch Groups in the Atlanta area.  The Midtown gathering will be at Twisted Taco and the Perimeter group will meet at Eclipse di Luna. 

Saturday brings us an event we can share with our pets.  Tomorrow the Jackson County Alumni Chapter hosts Pet Fest at Birdhouse Studio in Hoschton.  Vendors will be on hand for puppy pedicures and pet massages.

Inez Moore Tenenbaum ‘72, ‘74 has been tapped by President Obama to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  Inez is a political veteran, having served two terms as South Carolina’s Superintendent of Education, and a researcher for the South Carolina House of Representatives.  The CPSC is a $100+ million agency charged with making sure products, such as toys and cribs, are safe for use.  We wish this Bulldog much success as she heads to Washington.

We are proud to co-host the 4^th annual Alumni Career Fair Wednesday, June 3 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. inside the Grand Ballroom at the Gwinnett Center.  This event is being offered exclusively for UGA alums with expectations of being one of the largest career opportunities for Bulldogs in the Metro Atlanta area.  Last year, more than 600 alumni attended and met nearly 100 different employers.  Where else can employers have access to hundreds of job-ready candidates who have UGA degrees?  Click here to RSVP for the Alumni Career Fair.  Or, if you’re an employer and are interested in showcasing your business, register for the career fair here.  Good luck in finding the career path you desire.

I trust everyone had a great Memorial Holiday weekend, and you spent it with family and friends celebrating the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and remembering those who fought to keep us free. 

As we jump back into all-things alumni, I invite you to An Evening of Good Taste Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at the State Botanical Garden off S. Milledge Ave. in Athens.  We’ll have a wine tasting by Boutier Winery and live music from Rand Lines Jazz Trio.  For more information about the event and to register, click here.

Earlier this month UGA conferred more than 4,000 degrees, and graduates’ families and friends converged on Athens Mother’s Day weekend to see their students reach that important milestone.  May commencement can be a hot day in the Classic City so our astute Athens Alumni Chapter set up a “welcome station” on the downtown sidewalk in front of UGA’s famous Arch to greet visitors with bottles of cold water and juice.  What started out as an 11a-1p project, turned into an 11a-3p celebration with hundreds of cap & gown-clad students, families and friends enjoying the moment, and we were pleased to be a part of that celebration.  Not only did we pass out refreshing drinks, but also assisted with taking memory-making pictures.  I want to publicly thank Athens Alumni volunteers Kim Rogers ‘72, Jessica Lewis ‘02, and Janet ‘72 and Jack Damhorst ‘70, ‘72 for helping out on graduation day.

If you’d like to get involved with the Athens Alumni Chapter, or any of our alumni chapters and clubs, please contact Regional Programs Director Tami Gardner at tgardner@uga.edu or call the Alumni Association office at 706-542-2251.  To join the Alumni Association, please visit our web site.

Charles Wadsworth ‘50, well known for his chamber music work with Spoleto Festival USA, hits two milestones this week.  He turns 80 today, and on Friday begins his last stint as chamber music director at the three-week Charleston, South Carolina arts celebration.

Charles was raised in Newnan and came to the University of Georgia as a teenager to study piano under his mentor Hugh Hodgson, for whom UGA’s Music School is named.  Upon Professor Hodgson’s urging, Charles relocated to New York where he earned a master’s degree from the Juilliard School.

In 1969 he established the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center before being lured by Spoleto founder, Gian Carlo Menotti, to begin a similar chamber music effort for the festival in 1977.

Thank you, Charles, for representing UGA so well, and happy birthday.

I am happy to announce the Alumni Association’s newest signature program, Bulldog 100, which celebrates the Bulldog entrepreneurial spirit.  Designed to showcase companies owned or operated by UGA alums, Bulldog 100 will commemorate the fastest growing companies regardless of size because the criteria will be a three-year growth rate average.

Nominations are now being taken and will be accepted through Sept. 30.  Nominate a friend’s business…or your own company.  Click here for all the details and an on line nomination form.

Atlanta CPA firm Gifford, Hillegass and Ingwersen, LLP will conduct interviews of the nominated businesses and rank the companies.  The top 100 will be revealed and the top 10 recognized at our inaugural banquet scheduled for Jan. 30.

For all the details about entering your business, or someone else’s company, please visit the Bulldog 100 web site. 

Special thanks to GH&I for being a charter sponsor of the event, and we would certainly welcome your business.  For other sponsorship availabilities, please contact Atlanta Alumni Center Director Meredith Carr ‘97 at 404-266-2622 or mcarr@uga.edu.

I hope to see you at one or more of the following alumni events this week.

Buffalo’s Southwest Café in Athens is the place to be for an alumni gathering this afternoon from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. 

Our Fulton County alumni chapter is hosting a Bulldogs After Business Hours Wednesday, May 20, at River Room Restaurant & Tavern in Atlanta.  Click here for more information.

If you live south of Atlanta, our Coweta & Fayette Counties alumni chapter is having its monthly Third Thursday event May 21 at El Reposo in Peachtree City, where you’ll enjoy meeting and networking with other Bulldogs.  Find out more here.

Kick off your weekend with a Women of UGA Lunch Group Friday, May 22 at Murphy’s in Atlanta.  This event is for Women of UGA who live or work in the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta. 

I hope you’ll take advantage of these wonderful opportunities to network and socialize with fellow Bulldogs.  For more information about all Alumni Association events, please visit our web site.

We are pleased to co-sponsor a career fair for UGA grads coming up next month.  It’ll take place Wednesday, June 3 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Gwinnett Center Ballroom.  In preparation for the event we’re offering a resume clinic this Wednesday between 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Atlanta Alumni Center.  Click here to learn how you can get your resume into tip-top shape.  Also, click here for information about the June 3 Career Fair.

We have just the ticket if you want to be involved in your community.  Three of our Georgia alumni chapters are hosting Paws Across America events Saturday, May 16.  DeKalb and Hall County Chapters are participating in separate Habitat for Humanity projects, and members of the Coweta/Fayette Counties Chapter are putting on work gloves for a Line Creek Clean Up. 

On Sunday, I’ll join our New York City Chapter and participate in the AIDS Walk with a goal to raise $5,000.  Click here if you’d like to join Dawg Walkers – 3163 and stroll through Central Park for a good cause.

If you want more information about the UGA Alumni Association, please visit our web site.