A Message from the APO Uptown District of Columbia Alumni Association

[Rashid Darden]

Dear Brothers of Section 85,

The Uptown District of Columbia Alumni Association met on yesterday to begin the process of reorganizing the association in such a way that it may be of greater service to the communities of the District of Columbia, alumni living in the DC area, and the chapters of Section 85.

We came up with a list of action items for immediate implementation, including two which will affect chapters:

1)  We request that chapters in Section 85 let the association know when you have service projects in which you'd like alumni participation.  We feel that while an alumni service program on its own is important, it is also important to respond to the needs of the chapters when asked.  We believe that we can respond to the need -- now all we need is the ask.  So please let us know when you would like an "alumni enhancement" to your existing service program.  You can email me directly.

2)  We would like for you to know that bylaws amendments have been proposed which drop all reference to "Uptown" in the name of the association.  In line with this change, we have also proposed redefining the service area as the entirety of Washington, DC rather than just Uptown.  As there is no other geographical alumni association in existence for this area, we believe that it is in the best interest of the fraternity to expand to serve all of Washington, while still allowing for the growth of additional alumni associations in Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Northern Virginia should there be a need.

We are not sad to shed our old brand identity of "Uptown DC" because it has served us well in the past two years.  We look forward to developing our new identity as a city-wide alumni association with the amazing graduating seniors of section 85 and those who will be joining us from other sections as they graduate and relocate to DC this summer.

If you'd like more information, please visit my workshop at the section 85 conference in a few weeks!

Fraternally,

Rashid Darden

President of the Uptown DC Alumni Association