Alumni Association

The purpose of the Hilbert College Alumni Association is to “advance the interests of the college, to develop and foster a mutually beneficial relationship between the college and its alumni by providing educational opportunities, social programs, services and benefits, to build ties and relationships among alumni and students at the college, to provide alumni input on college concerns and to link the college of today and tomorrow with its heritage of excellence, commitment and service.”

Benefits:

  • Automatic membership upon graduation
  • Free subscription to Hilbert Connections magazine
  • Free, lifetime access to the college’s career counseling center
  • Continued library services
  • Membership to the athletic facility fitness center
  • Alumni grants for children of Hilbert alumni
  • Membership in Meridia Community Credit Union (formerly Hamburg Credit Union). Call 716-648-4411 for details.
  • Bonaventure Advantage Program
  • Discount on select IBM standard computer models
  • Many events geared specifically for alumni at a very low cost or free!

  • NO DUES

The Hilbert Alumni Association allows great opportunities for career networking and professional development through educational seminars, workshops and conferences. Staying involved can increase the possibility of meeting potential employers or employees.

You can give back to Hilbert by assisting or mentoring students, who can benefit from the practical insights and experience of positive alumni models.

Hilbert College Alumni Association
End-of-Year Report
December 31, 2008
Submitted by Amy M. Bartz, President

As 2008 comes to a close, the Alumni Association has engaged in several accomplishments and continues to strive to make even more progress in the upcoming year. The dedicated board persists to work on ways to provide both professional and social programming for all alumni and to support the college as it consistently grows and transforms.

The Board had the exciting opportunity to join the President of Hilbert, Dr. Cynthia Zane, for dinner. The dinner gave us the ability to review the future of the Association, as well as looking forward to the future direction of the college.

We hosted a Lenten Fish Fry fundraiser in March with the funds benefiting the continuation of Alumni programming and offsetting some of the expenses for our annual events. We also cheered on one of our own, alumnus Kyle Schmelzle BS ’07, who plays defense for the Bandit’s at one of their home games.

As we headed into Spring, we hosted a Professional Success program which assists students with the skills necessary to enter the workforce. This gives members of the Association an opportunity to conduct workshops, provide networking advice, and offer personal experiences to the graduating students looking for employment. We were also involved in the Accepted Students Reception and volunteered our time at the Hilbert College Scholarship Golf Tournament.

We also hosted an Alumni reception and had an opportunity to see The Buffalo Laboratory Theatre perform a one-act play, “Brilliant Traces,” which featured Hilbert alumni, Taylor Doherty in the new Swan Auditorium.

We had the opportunity to attend the Graduation ceremony again this year. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate with the future graduates and welcome them into the Alumni Association. The Kimberly Bruch Raczkowski Award was given to William Haas III. It is always a challenge to determine one recipient from the number of qualified candidates. As President of the Association, is was a great honor to present this award at Commencement and speak to the entire graduating class in welcoming them to our distinguished Association.

Hilbert has achieved its Capital Campaign and Kresge Challenge goal by raising more than $3,500,000 and successfully completed the First 50 Campaign. This was an important challenge to meet and by doing this the Kresge foundation matches a portion of our raised funds. It was a great accomplishment for Hilbert.

Over the summer, we hosted our annual Friday Night Bash with the Buffalo Bisons at Dunn Tire Park. The committee was chaired by Jerry Wszalek ’73 and the event has become one of our most successful alumni gatherings. We had a record crowd of 209 participants in attendance this year and we are hoping for even more next year.

In September, we had the honor of attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the next new residence hall on the campus. There were a number of college officials and a couple of town officials that spoke at this momentous celebration.

During the fall, we participated in the “Light the Night Walk” in memory of Kimberly Bruch Raczkowski, for whom our Alumni Award is named in honor of at Graduation. Our team raised over $300 for this worthwhile cause.

We celebrated the First Alumni Awards and Reconnection dinner in November which was very well attended. This popular event is an opportunity to reconnect and celebrate the achievements of the alumni, faculty, staff and friends of Hilbert College. It also gives alumni an opportunity to “Come Home to Hilbert” and observe all the spectacular changes that have taken place on the campus. Many members of the class of 1977 – 1984, 1989 – 1990, 1996, 2000 – 2002, and 2004 were in attendance. The award recipients that were honored this year included: David Olday ’90, Professor of Business Administration Patrick Heraty, Trustee Emeritus Brad Hafner, and Amy Bartz ’01. I would like to extend congratulations to all of these individuals for all of their hard work and dedication to the College; your actions don’t go unnoticed.

Under my leadership, our fundraising committee once again organized the Enjoy the City coupon books which are always a beneficial opportunity for the Association. We are also planning on hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre, another Lenten Fish Fry Dinner, and a Spaghetti Dinner next year, as additional upcoming fundraising efforts.

Our last effort this year as an Association was to continue to increase the Board’s active involvement to 100% in the efforts of contributing to the Hilbert Fund which is necessary for the success of the College. This commitment will exemplify the prestige, honor, and value of the current Board positions. Our Board members are committed to making a donation of any amount to the Hilbert Fund before December 31st; to date we have 100% participation from the Board.

As the year and my presidency comes to a close, I feel that we have made significant strives in programming and advancement of the image of the Association. I have enjoyed working with a wonderful and dedicated group of Alumni members. I am looking forward to a busy 2008, under new leadership, eager to see how much more we can accomplish as a group. As always, I hope to see more Alumni, “Come Home to Hilbert.”