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Wittenberg hits the road for 18-city tour
Friday, July 11, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Eighteen cities, 7,000 miles, 25 days.
That's what Wittenberg University staff members hope to cover during a cross-country road trip that embarked for Cleveland, Friday, June 11, and will touch two oceans before returning home Aug. 2.
Ashley Petersen, assistant director of alumni relations, Brian DeSantis, assistant director of the Wittenberg Fund, and Ross Ballinger, new media assistant for interactive communication, all class of 2007, hope to interact with alumni across the country as they participate in service projects and social events. Colleagues, such as Bob Rafferty, director of new media relations, will join them on various legs of the tour.
"We want to talk to the average Wittenberg alum and really find out who they are and why they are where they are," Rafferty said.
The group will conduct video interviews with alumni to create a new video archive for the university.
Planning started late last year and quickly gained momentum, Petersen said.
"We have an event planned in Dallas, Texas, and we already have a lot of people signed up," Petersen said. "They're just so excited that there are enough people in Dallas for an event."
The group posted their intentions on the Web and alumni immediately began to contact the group to offer their assistance — from places to stay, to food, to Bluetooths to keep the drivers hands-free, to making the trip carbon neutral.
"One alum did donate the van wrap and is paying for all of the gas for the trip," said Linda Beals, director of alumni relations. "So I guess you could say he's fairly excited about this."
DeSantis is also excited but is aware the unexpected can happen, such as flat tires and dead car batteries.
"So it's the kind of things that we don't know that are going to happen that makes the whole thing exciting," he said, "but along the way hopefully we'll find alums that are mechanically inclined."
The team will log their experience at www.wittenberg.edu/wittnation.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0347 or kmori@coxohio.com.
