Alumnotes, Summer 2021

ALUMNOTES Summer 2021 Hello, Cedarville Alumni! I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Director of Alumni Engagement. As a Cedarville alumna myself, I look forward to getting to know you and serving you in this new role! Until we have the opportunity to meet, I wanted to share a little bit about myself personally and professionally and my vision for alumni engagement. My professional experience comes from a variety of program leadership and executive administration positions from corporate business, education, and nonprofit environments. It has been my pleasure to serve in these roles by training and deploying volunteers, planning and executing special events, and developing programs and processes that move organizations forward. Beyond my professional experience, much of who I am is defined by family and the amazing journey we have been on together. I am married to my best friend, Bret. For the last 30 years, we have shared many mountain-top highs and valley-bottom lows as we raised three children and served together. A quarter of those years found our family traveling to Africa and Central America as we ministered to abandoned children and served vulnerable families. We were blessed to have our eyes opened, to meet so many forgotten and overlooked people, and to see a passion grow in our hearts to share the good news and work to make a difference in their lives. In 2017, we returned to Springboro, Ohio, where we currently live with our two daughters. Liz, our oldest, is graduating this summer with a degree in nursing and then will be married at the end of August. Our younger daughter, Emma, is completing her senior year at Dayton Christian and is excited to enroll at Cedarville in the fall. She plans to major in industrial and innovative design. Ethan, our son, was married last summer and is in his “sweet spot” working as a carpenter for a custom homebuilder in Waynesville. These days, my favorite pastime is reading a good book, cooking or baking for my family or friends, organizing my house, or taking long walks. My battery is recharged as I trek through the woods, wander along a river’s bank, or dig my toes into my absolute favorite place on earth . . . a sunny beach! Enough about me; my hope for the future of alumni engagement is simple. My goal is to serve you by helping you reconnect with old friends, find alumni in your community, and explore ways to build the bridge between Cedarville alumni and current students. We as alumni have the opportunity to invest our time, talent, and treasure in the next generation of Cedarville students. I’m excited for what the future holds for this department and my time at Cedarville. It is incredible to see the changes that have taken place on campus since my own graduation in 1991. I hope that you will consider returning to campus this fall for Homecoming 2021 on October 1–2 so that I can meet you in person! This is going to be an incredible event, especially because we will be celebrating double reunion years. If your graduation year ends in a 0, 1, 5, or 6, then this is your chance to gather for a milestone celebration. I hope you will consider coming and help make this the biggest and best homecoming yet! Diana (White) Perkey ’91 Director of Alumni Engagement Office of Advancement Vice President for Advancement Rick Melson Associate Vice President for Advancement Albert Grunenwald Associate Vice President for Development Will Smallwood Director of Operations and Campaign Manager Jonathan Lyons ’17 Senior Director of Development Nancy Holmes Voorhies Regional Director of Development Kevin Howells ’90 Regional Director of Development Stephen Schindler ’13 Director of Strategic Relations Jeff Beste ’86 Director of Alumni Engagement Diana (White) Perkey ’91 Director of Annual Giving Angie Bartel Assistant Director of Scholarships Trixie (Massey) Dobney ’15 Director of Gift Planning Roscoe Smith ’82 VANTAGE POINT Summer 2021 | Cedarville University