The Newton County chapter of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association was honored for its work in revitalizing a stalled chapter Saturday at the annual MSU Alumni Conference at The Mill in Starkville.
In September, several MSU graduates reached out to the Alumni Association in an effort to revitalize the local chapter, Joshua Yeager, president of the Newton County chapter, said. Newton County had previously had a chapter for MSU alumni, but it had not been active for several years and was considered defunct by the greater Alumni Association staff.
After speaking with Alumni Association leaders in Starkville, Yeager and others began recruiting MSU alumni and planning events. Since September, Yeager said, the chapter has participated in Decatur’s Treat Street festival, held a winter dinner with MSU Athletic Director John Cohen as keynote speaker, written cards to local high school graduates and participated in the J.K. Robinson Memorial Golf Tournament Silent Auction.
Though still relatively new, Yeager said he was proud of what the chapter had accomplished.
“The Alumni Association contacted me towards the end of the 2018 year and stated that our chapter had performed successfully in just one quarter term since its origin in September,” he said via text. They were impressed with our efforts to revitalize what has always been a struggle. However, no longer will it be. The local chapter received an Honorary Award for advancing so quickly.”
The Alumni Association was so impressed with Newton County’s work that they contacted Yeager to ask if he would share the secrets of the chapter’s success with the rest of the association at Saturday’s conference. Yeager, who has a background in education, said many of the principals he used were identical to those used to bolster failing schools.
“My response was simple,” he said. “Shared leadership with a paradigm shift in expectations.”
That means every member of the chapter has a say, Yeager explained. No member is excluded, and all ideas are considered.
“No one person can be the whole chapter,” he said.
Moving forward, Yeager said he hopes the chapter will continue to grow and more alumni will join. However, membership is not the goal. Once firmly established, he said he hopes to establish scholarship opportunities for students, hold events and become an asset to the Newton County community.
