A brief history of the

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

By Carrol S. Small ’34, Editor emeritus, AJ*

When CME was young and life was simple, the 18 alumni/ae of the School decided to form an Alumni Association, complete with officers. Leslie Trott '15, served as President through 1917. His administrative abilities may be judged by the growth in membership during his three year tenure-from 18 to 41!

The years of World War I were strenuous, and apparently the Alumni felt little organizational urge, for no record of Association activities during 1918 to 1922 survives, nor were any officers chosen until a revival in late 1922 when Leslie A. Smart '22 became President. No more such lapses have occured. Political competition must have lagged in 1924, for Charles H. Lewis '20, elected in 1923, served two years. Five others have served two terms,

1 - Emerald Steen '20

1925 to 1926, 1929 to 1930

2 - Walter E. Macpherson '24

1931 to 1932, 1938 to 1939

3 - Benton Colver AMMC '04

1933 to 1934, 1939 to 1940

4 - John E. Affeldt '44A

1954 to 1955, 1955 to 1956

5 - Floyd E. Wergeland '32

1968 to 1969, 1970 to 1971

Two presidents were not alumni: George Thomason AMMC 1899, 1945 to 1946 and Benton Colver AMMC 1904.

Not only were World War I times stressful, but also were those of World War II, when many of our alumni entered military service, some for as much as five years. The added burdens of Alumni affairs in 1941 to 1946 fell onto Roy A. Cummings '30, Paul D. Foster '33, Donald E. Griggs '24, R. Theo Bergman '30, and George Thomason '99, in that order.

We should not fail to mention the valiant efforts of our Executive Directors through the years. First on board was Jerry Pettis (1947 to 1951) who really got the Association into high gear. Jerry later became US Congressman form the district that includes Loma Linda, and after his death, his equally capable widow Shirley, succeeded him in Congress. After Jerry Pettis came Walter Crawford (1953 to 1960), then Jerre Iverson (1975 to 1982), Gery Friesen (1982 to 1994) and most recently Dennis Park, who is still in office. These men have provided managerial skill and stability to an organization which changes elected leaders yearly, and needs some continuity of administration. Three of them also acted as managing editor of the Alumni JOURNAL.

Another era of special stress and decisions came in the years 1958 to 1962 when the Board of Trustees of LLU wrestled with the question of consolidating the School on one campus. This move was first urged as early as 1947, but reached a climax in 1953 (voted to remain '' status quo'') and in 1961 to 1962, when the Board swallowed hard and almost decided to move all but the first year to the Los Angeles campus, only to reverse field in late 1962 and move all to Loma Linda.

Another difficult decision, to move the whole Alumni Association operation to Loma Linda, fell onto the shoulders of master diplomat Wilfred Snodgrass '38, in 1975. The deed was done, and success ensued.

Only in 1931 did the Association office secure budget for office space and help, in the person of Mrs. Faye ( Reuben '36) Nelson, ( Mrs. Nelson's pay was $1024 per year!) and a long train of loyal staff have followed. Currently the Alumni Association is staffed by the following who have given to date a total of 101 service years to the Alumni Association: Dennis Park, executive director/director of development (18 years), Wanda Watson, Advertisting Coordinator and secretary (12 year), Carolyn Wieder, convention manager (24), Karen Sutton, manager of finance (23 years), Ath (A.T.) Tuot, manager of records (20 years), Janelle Michaelis, publications assistant (2 year), and Maria Madrid, accounting clerk (2 year).

One of the most notable achievements of the Alumni Association has been the Alumni Fund, which has gathered contributions from alumni totaling over 17 million. Of this, approximately 6 million has gone to support research and endowed professorial chairs, while over 11 million has been devoted to the student loan fund.

*Editors note: Dr. Small updated the history of the Alumni Association,

just prior to his death on August 23, 1997. Other facts have been updated and brought current.