What's gone down ...

Dues for one thing, until the end of our fiscal year.

If you've paid your club dues, many thanks! If you haven't, you can become an official member of the club for $10. That will cover your dues through June of this year.

You can send a check made out to "Stumptown Ortange" to our club treasurer:
Shane Ratigan
2316 Crestview Drive S.
Salem, Or 97302

Our club's fiscal year is July - June, so come late spring, expect a call from one of your friendly board members reminding you that it's time to pay $20 for the following 12 months.

Your dues help us pay for room rentals, food for picnics and BBQs, make advance payments for ticketed events, and help defray transportation costs for out-of-town events.


A Roadie to Seattle for the Gates of Paradise ...

Over 260 people attended a University-sponsored event at the Seattle Art Museum on Jan. 27, including 14 Stumptowners. The day began with a brunch and presentation by S.U. Fine Arts professor Gary Radke. Prof. Radke has been instrumental in mounting the four-city U.S. tour of Lorenzo Ghiberti's 15th-centry bronze and gold masterpiece, The Gates of Paradise. That's Ghiberti himself, cast in bronze as part of the Gates, to the right. Then, after a chance to mingle with Seattle alums in the waiting line for the exhibit, we got an up-close look at three of the 10 panels that make up the famed Gates. After the museum, it was time to hit the road back to Portland. The six vanpoolers who travelled together even got a dose of Syracuse winter on the ride back. For more about the event and the exhibit, click here.

Stumping through the "Beermuda Triangle" ...

On Jan. 19, following the club's board of directors meeting, 22 Stumptowners learned a little about beer and sampled a little more at our first pub crawl.

We started at Roots Organic Brewery by screening '77 alum Beth Harrington's Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary, "Beervana", about the history of Oregon beer. Beth was on hand to answer questions about her film and about life as an independent producer.

From there it was a leisurely stroll (thank goodness no one actually resorted to crawiling!) from pub to pub within a 15-square-block area of inner Southeast Portland becoming known as the "Beermuda Triangle". We even happened into an impromptu chat with national beer writer Lisa Morrison at the Green Dragon pub. (That's the Green Dragon, not Lisa, over there to the right!) For more on where we went, click here. By the way, if you;re interested in the microbrew and pub scene in Syracuse, check out this article which Ken Kane wrote recently.

What's coming up ...

The club's goal is to hold one "event" and an informal "happy hour" get-together each month.

After a period of experimentation both with dates and locations the past few months, the board decided to try setting a consistent schedule for the happy hour gatherings. Happy hours will take place on the LAST THURSDAY of each month at 5:30pm.

We're going to congregate at Macadam's Bar & Grill which is about 10 minutes south of downtown on SW Macadam Av. Macadam's is a full-service restaurant, has an ample selection of drinks and has lots of TVs. We're also going to use Macadam's as our "home" sports pub for watching Syracuse games. You may remember we met there when the Orange kicked-off their football season last August. (Then again, perhaps you've successfully blotted that game from your memory!)

Some of our happy hours will include an informal talk or Q&A with a special guest, often a member of our club. Come join us at our next happy hour on Feb. 28 when VPA graduate Linda Cahan will share her knowledge of interior design and feng shui.

Future happy hours will take place at 5:30pm on Mar. 27, Apr. 24, May 29 and June 26.

We'll have a crowd of 41 at the Rose Garden when former Orange star Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets come to town on Feb. 4. Sorry, the registration for this event has closed. The schedule is: 5pm — if you want to try to get a close-up look at Carmelo, come to the lower bowl of the arena during early warm-ups. 5:30 — 23 Stumptowners will gather for a pre-game meal in the Fountain Room of Memorial Colliseum. 7:00 — tip-off right after the game — Stumptowners will be able to come down on the court and try their luck from the free-throw line.

This has been an up-and-down year for Boeheim's Boys, but we're going to root the men's basketball team on from afar on Mar. 8 at Macadam's at 1:00pm. The game, which is on ESPN, is Syracuse's regular-season finale — a home game against Marquette. We're also hoping for another trip to Macadam's later in March to watch some tournament basektball. Watch the StumptownOrange.org Events page for details in early March. To view the basketball team's schedule, click here.

We're planning to watch one of Syracuse's legendary lacrosse players, Ryan Powell, and his Portland Lumberjax teammates take on Philadelphia. The game, on Apr. 11, is the Jax' last regular-season home game. If you're looking for a fun family event, this is an affordable evening out for you and your kids! Keep an eye on the StumptownOrange.org Events page for details in a few weeks. Ryan's a member of the Stumptown Orange as well as the Jax. We're hoping to get a primer on indoor lacrosse from him at one of our monthly happy hours!

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On the drawing board ...

The board also has a few other events in the early stages of planning. Exact dates have not yet been set for these happenings, so stay tuned for details...

Club members will join a "build team" with Portland Habitat for Humanity to mark National Orange Day. The home we'll be working on will be in Southeast Portland's Lentz neighborhood. We will probably be scheduled to help build the house on a weekend in April. Details should be known in early March.	We're in the early stages of planning an event with a dual purpose. It will be our annual general membership meeting but we'll also take the opportunity to welcome home Syracuse students and new grads. This "Soft Landing"/annual meeting will probably take place in mid-to-late May. It could be a kid-friendly picnic at a city park (with shelters!) or it might be at a restaurant. Details to follow.
We're working on an evening at the theater. The show is the 2004 Tony winner for Best Musical, Avenue Q. The national tour will be in Portland in late June. It's appropriate for our club since it deals with a new college graduate in New York, learning the ways of the world. It is smart, topical, and unlike any puppet show you've ever seen. (Half of the actors are humans, the rest Muppet-like creatures.) But despite the presence of puppets, this is not a children's show. The lyrics are smart, the humor sassy, and the topics and language decidedly adult. So, find a sitter and come relive those "good" old days, right after graduation — when you had the world by the horns ... or vice versa! Watch for info about the specific night and ticket prices coming in the next few weeks.	Of course, we'll have a Student Send-off party later in the summer, probably in late July. We hope to build on last year's Send-off success where we had a wonderful coming together of current students, incoming freshmen, recent graduates and, uh, shall we say, more sage alums. The date and place is to be determined. If you'd like to volunteer to host this party/BBQ, please let club president Ken Kane know. Last but not least, we're in the preliminary stages of arranging a tasting at the Rex Hill winery in Newberg for a weekend day this spring or summer. We'll let you know as things firm up.

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And finally ...

Farewell to alum Brad Brokaw, our club V.P. for Communications & P.R., who has taken a new job back east. Erika Kirkland (that's her to the right) is moving into the Comm V.P. post. Thanks, Erika!! The position of club secretary is open. Shorthand skills are NOT required! If you'd like to fill this position which sits on the board of directors, please let Ken Kane know. Use our Website to tell your fellow alums more about yourself. Join the ranks of those who have short biographies posted on our Website. Just e-mail a couple of paragraphs about yourself and a photo and we'll do the rest. If you have any stories, ideas or information for future newsletters, please e-mail the editor.

And, speaking of newsletters, the SULA (Syracuse University in Los Angeles) office has created a twice-yearly newsletter for West Coast alumni. Click here to download the Winter issue.

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Hope to see you at an upcoming event!
As you can tell, we've got lots to choose from!

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Links to previous newsletters:
Fall 2007

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