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Saint Viator seeks Alumni Ambassadors for new program

The Saint Viator and Sacred Heart Alumni Association Board has reached out to more than 5,000 graduates in hopes of identifying volunteers to help launch a new Alumni Ambassador program.

According to a new charter recently approved by the 14-member board that represents alumni of Saint Viator and the now closed Sacred Heart of Mary high schools, the Alumni Ambassadors will be tasked with several key responsibilities.

"The Alumni Ambassadors will take charge of keeping their class connected, generating enthusiasm for alumni events and programs, and supporting alumni to alumni activities," said Chris Wells, director of Alumni Relations for the Arlington Heights School.

"We foster ongoing relationships with all graduates, offering a wide range of opportunities to be active and stay connected to Saint Viator. With 51 graduating classes from Saint Viator, as well as the 23 from Sacred Heart, we want to do a better job of engaging our alumni."

Several recent events have given the program clarity. Wells pointed to a recent alumni survey that generated more than 700 responses in which the results indicated that 92 percent of respondents want to be more closely connected with the school, and 60 percent strongly desire reconnecting with old classmates.

In addition, a reformatted Reunion Weekend built around homecoming in 2014 brought out larger crowds than normal, with participants vocalizing a desire to be more connected.

"Connecting over 14,000 alumni is challenging, but we are learning that when you break the class years down into eras, the alumni want to hear from us in different ways and about different things," said Wells.

"We want to match the message and delivery with the audience so a group of active Alumni Ambassadors can assist us in achieving the level of connectivity that our alumni want. Regardless of your era, we believe that when you're a Lion, you're a Lion for life, and our alumni can help us further the mission of Saint Viator High School."

To that end, the school is asking volunteers to step forward and help kick off the new initiative this year.

"Time commitment is flexible and term is for one year, with a kickoff celebration this summer," said current Alumni Association Vice Chairman Court Harris (SVHS '03).

Harris said the current board has laid out a plan that they will share with the new Ambassadors that will make the time commitment "fun, meaningful, and rewarding by creating structure, purpose and direction for the group."

If anyone is interested in learning more about representing their class, they can simply fill out an online form at http://bit.ly/1BH3lsL or call Chris Wells at (847) 392-4050, ext. 259.

"We've heard from the great alumni base of Sacred Heart and Saint Viator and we are ready to take them up on their offer to be more engaged," said Wells. "Get ready, because our Alumni Ambassadors are on the way."

Saint Viator High School is a Catholic, college-preparatory community called to provide religious formation and an academic program of excellence to young men and women of the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

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