Tech Topics - Spring 2008 - (Page 17)

AlumniHouse Centennial Buzz Yearlong celebration marking ‘century of impact’ Alumni Association Shares 1908 With Airplane, Model T Among the noteworthy events at the Georgia School of Technology in 1908 were the formation of the Anak Society and Institute band. The night school opened and architecture classes were offered for the first time. The first issue of the Blueprint was produced. Inside the yearbook, the words to “Ramblin’ Wreck” were published for the first time. The Fulton County Superior Court granted a charter to the Georgia Tech Alumni Association on June 20, 1908, and J.B. McCrary was elected president. Also in 1908: • In January of that year, Georgia became the first Southern state to officially become dry with the enactment of prohibition. • In New York, a ball was lowered at midnight Jan. 1 in Times Square for the first time. On Jan. 8, a subway linking Brooklyn and Manhattan opened. • In Paris on Jan. 12, the first long-distance wireless message was sent from the Eiffel Tower. In Portugal on Feb. 1, King Carlos I was assassinated. • In Atlanta on May 8, a fire near Terminal Station destroyed a block of buildings between Mitchell, Nelson, South Forsyth and Madison (now Spring) streets. • On May 10, the first Mother’s Day observances took place during church services in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. T he founders of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association declared their mission in the 1908 constitution: “The object of this Association shall be to promote the cause of technical education in Georgia and the South and to establish and maintain scholarships; to aid in the development of the Georgia School of Technology; and to promote the mutual interest of the members of the Association.” The Alumni Association has carried out this mission for 100 years now and will continue to do so throughout the 21st century and beyond. Throughout 2008, alumni will be invited to celebrate their centennial in a variety of ways. Centennial activities will be promoted at www.gtalumni.org/100. The Web site also carries information on purchasing the newly published book, “Ramblin’ Wrecks From Georgia Tech: A Centennial History of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association,” and the companion DVD, “TechTone News.” Banners touting the Alumni Association’s “century of impact” were hoisted onto street poles around campus in February and illustrate the organization’s strong ties to the Institute. “There is not a single great American university that truly succeeds without the extraordinary leadership, advocacy, philanthropy and passion of its alumni,” Association president Joseph P. Irwin wrote in the “Ramblin’ Wrecks From Georgia Tech” epilogue. The Association is calling on alumni and local artists to help express that passion for Georgia Tech. Renee Queen, vice president of Marketing Services for the Alumni Association, explained, “Alumni and students are invited to bring Buzz to life with one-of-akind designs that reimagine a 5-foot-tall fiberglass form of our beloved mascot to reflect their visions of what embodies the pride of the Tech community.” Each sponsor of a sculpture will be paired with a professional artist to bring the vision to life. Sponsors will be matched with artists in May. The Buzz sculptures must be completed by mid-September. The Buzz Around Town sculptures will be displayed on campus this fall, then will be auctioned off to benefit Roll Call and student organizations. Sponsorships are available for $1,500. Sponsors will be recognized with plaques on their Buzzes, listed on locator maps and recognized during the auction. Prospective sponsors and artists may contact Queen at renee.queen@alumni.gatech.edu. Eighty-eight alumni and friends will set sail on a centennial celebration cruise around Italy and the Greek Isles from April 3 to 16. In addition to enjoying the sights of Portofino, Monte Carlo, Capri, Malto and Mykonos, the travelers will have special onboard celebrations marking the Alumni Association’s centennial year. Also in April is the annual Dean Griffin Pi Mile 5k Road Race. But this year there’s an added incentive for participants: prizes for the first 100 people to cross the finish line on April 12. Register at http://gtalumni.org/ site/Page/PiMile. In the fall, commissioned art produced by the acclaimed Moulthrop family will be unveiled. The wood-turned bowl is being created from the 100-yearold elm tree that graced the Basil Garden outside the Alumni House until it was severely damaged during a storm last summer and taken down. Matt Moulthrop, MBA 04, is crafting the bowl to commemorate the Association’s centennial and to leave a piece of the elm tree at the Alumni House. His father, Philip Moulthrop, also is a world-renowned wood turner, as was his father, Edward Moulthrop, who taught architecture and physics at the Institute in the 1940s. Alumni and friends will be invited to join the Georgia Tech band in New York City, where the marching band is planning to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and the symphonic band is planning to perform at Carnegie Hall. The band also is celebrating its centennial in 2008. Travel details will be posted on the centennial Web site when they become available. Irwin wrote in the centennial history, “As alumni of this great institution, we carry a ‘noblesse oblige’ — a noble obligation — to carry Tech forward on our shoulders as those before us have done to this point in our history — not for us but for the generations to come after and for our society, because, in the end, a worldclass university makes the world a better place to be for everyone through education, research and economic development.” • The Wright brothers registered their flying machine for a U.S. patent on May 22. • Beloved Georgian writer Joel Chandler Harris died of acute nephritis (an inflammation of the kidneys) on July 3. He was buried in Atlanta’s Westview Cemetery. • On July 4, East Lake Country Club opened in Atlanta. It was managed by Robert P. Jones, whose son, Bobby, would go on to graduate from Georgia Tech, win the Grand Slam of golf and serve as Alumni president. • Robert Peary’s expedition to the North Pole sailed from New York City on July 6. • On Aug. 12, the first Model T rolled off the assembly line. • Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in Texas on Aug. 27. • On Oct. 14, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series. The Cubs have not won a World Series since. • William Howard Taft was elected president of the United States on Nov. 3. • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were shot down in Bolivia on Nov. 6. • Robert Lee “Bobby” Dodd was born on Nov. 11 in Galax, Va. Three days later, Albert Einstein presented his quantum theory of light. GT www.gtalumni.org/100 TECHTOPICS | SPRING 2008 17 http://www.gtalumni.org/100 http://gtalumni.org/site/Page/PiMile http://gtalumni.org/site/Page/PiMile http://www.gtalumni.org/100

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Topics - Spring 2008

Tech Topics - Spring 2008 Contents Mail Call Gold & White Honors Alumni House Sweet Spring Centennial Buzz Supreme Court Victory The Hill ‘Treasure Trove’ of Stories Living History Forget-me-not Fashion Student Life Investing in Graduates Giving Back Training the Next Generation Burdell & Friends Ingredients for Success Yellow Jackets Hockey Club Ices Georgia Tech Job Hunters Fare Well Real World

Tech Topics - Spring 2008

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