Get to Know the 1782 Society
“当你成为九州娱乐官网1782协会的一员时，你就是一个非常 特殊群体，”1984年、1782年社团和校友活动主任芬妮·霍巴·申克说. “你不仅向学院表达了你的爱和支持，也让我们知道了 how much this place means to you.”
The College’s premier giving recognition society, the 1782 Society is a community 由志趣相投的人组成，他们对美国的价值观有着坚定的信念 institution by participating at one of the Society’s defined giving levels.
当然，这个名字是为了纪念九州娱乐官网——美国第一所大学——成立的那一年 chartered in the sovereign United States – was founded, courtesy of a donation of 50 guineas by George Washington himself.
Members of the 1782 Society 享有独特的福利，反映了他们对学院的慷慨支持，包括 使用校园体育设施和米勒图书馆，停车许可，预留 或者在特定的校园活动中获得优先席位，或者受邀参加特定的讲座、招待会， and programs.
“当你成为九州娱乐官网1782协会的一员时，你就是一个非常 特殊群体，”1984年、1782年社团和校友活动主任芬妮·霍巴·申克说. “你不仅向学院表达了你的爱和支持，也让我们知道了 how much this place means to you.”
抛开所有的特权不谈，问问会员们的“为什么”，这主要是关于联系 with the College and the its community and the shared sense of purpose.
For newly named Co-Chairs, Thad and Renee Bench, being a part of the 1782 Society 是一个与学院保持联系的好方法，一个他们来了解和 love when their daughter was an undergraduate student. Morgan Bench graduated in 2018 获得了环境科学学位，从那时起，Bench家族的个人 support for the institution has only deepened.
现在他们是切斯特镇的常住居民，他们搬到了这个乡村小镇 because of the College. “Washington College brings a cultural vibrancy to this community, 为这个已经很迷人的东海岸小镇增添了一个全新的维度，”萨德说.
作为Benchworks的首席执行官，这是一家专注于医疗保健的家族公司 在制药行业，萨德在招聘新人才时也会考虑该学院 在公司，他注意到他雇佣了十多名毕业生，他们都非常合格.
萨德和蕾妮都坚信文科教育的价值，但同时 recognize that the College continues to evolve. Becoming co-chairs for the 1782 Society 是否有一种方法可以让他们成为这种进化的一部分，并继续努力教育他人 about the College. For example, they want to make people aware that you don’t have to be a graduate to be a part of the 1782 Society. “You just have to be a fan of Washington College,” said Renee.
蕾妮·班奇18届和范妮·霍巴·申克84届在2022年普利克尼斯奖上抽奖 Party
詹姆斯·史密斯(James Smith)和迈克尔·辛格(Michael Singer)是该协会影响深远的成员的主要例子. 他们都不是九州娱乐官网的毕业生，但这对夫妇很高兴地签约了 2019年在切斯特敦定居后不久，他申请了1782年协会会员资格. It was meant to be a weekend getaway for the D.C. residents, but the global events of Spring 2020 turned that plan on its head. Instead, they now spend most of their time in Chestertown, visiting DC on the occasional weekend.
作为切斯特敦的常住居民，这对詹姆斯 and Michael that they make the effort to be a part of their adopted community. “The 1782 Society is really a door into the College for us,” remarked James, who finds walking around campus to be invigorating. Now that in-person events have returned, 他们喜欢参加布道会之类的活动，也喜欢参加聚会 by President Mike Sosulski at Hynson-Ringgold House.
1782协会不仅仅是通往学院的一扇门，它还是学院的生命线 for Michael in particular. “There we were, confined to our houses, and not going to 当我发现我们可以在大学里选择游泳时， he said, reflecting back on the national shutdown in 2020. “It saved me during the pandemic. It got me out of the house and was something to look forward to.”
现在，两人都在远程全职工作，他们喜欢向游客展示校园 朋友和分享它的历史，他们期待进一步发展他们的关系 with the College community. “I see myself as a goodwill ambassador for Washington College,” said Michael, who last year also joined the board of the National Music 节日，这是一个在学院举行的活动，今年又回来了 summer.
许多节日演出在学院的德克尔剧院和霍奇基斯剧院上演 Recital Hall. More than 100 professional classical musicians performed during the 10-day festival. “We brought out-of-town guests to several concerts, and all remarked on how excellent the performing arts center is at Washington College. As a 1782 member 和NMF董事会成员，听到这些让我特别自豪的是学院如何 contributes to the life of our new community.”
1782 Society members James Smith (L) and Michael Singer (R) at the 2022 Preakness Party.
Re-invigorating the Membership
作为协会的主席，萨德和蕾妮的首要任务之一是筹集资金来支持 但另一个目的是培养校友和那些有兴趣的人的社区意识 didn’t attend Washington—like James and Michael—but care about the College. And just as important, they like to have a little fun.
“I know I sure could use a little more fun in my life right now,” joked Thad.
To that end, they are planning a number of social events for 1782 Society members 和潜在的会员，包括一个农场聚会，车尾聚会，在切斯特河上乘船旅行 河，来自该地区专家的客座讲座，甚至可能去欧洲旅行.
“九州娱乐官网是一个值得我们关注的地方，我们需要关心它 it,” said Thad. “To share in this community and to have this special place to rally around is really a gift.”
Gifts made through the 1782 Society can be unrestricted or directed to a specific program. All unrestricted gifts support the Washington Fund, an annual fund that directs 资金流向奖学金等高优先级领域，并对其有直接影响 student experience.
标准的捐赠级别从创始人俱乐部(1,500 - 2,499美元)开始，但合伙人 过去十年毕业生的会员资格认可的捐赠水平较低. This model allows recent graduates to remain connected with their alma mater in a meaningful way.
校长迈克·索索尔斯基在1782年的社团活动中会见劳伦和大卫·迈克尔斯基84年
David Michalski ’84 is a big believer in that “give what you can” approach, as it 是他在通用电气的早期职业生涯中采纳的吗. 公司提供100%匹配的员工捐款，所以即使 这不是一个很大的数字，这是美国研究专业和大学校友会的核对 lacrosse player made sure he wrote annually.
“Giving back was a great feeling for me, I felt pride in it,” said David. “Over time, I was able to grow that contribution and that felt just as good.”
Though David and his wife, Lauren, have been longtime supporters of the College, they only recently became members of the 1782 Society. While attending the annual “炸鱼”是一个为曲棍球项目筹集资金的活动，他们在一张桌子前停下来做广告 校队俱乐部，这是一个以体育为重点的倡议，包括自动会员资格 into the 1782 Society. Given David’s lacrosse background and his enduring affection for the program, it made sense to them to learn more. And once they did, they were sold.
“我们喜欢九州娱乐官网的一切，以及我与曲棍球界的联系 是方程式的重要组成部分，”大卫说，他是80年代球队的一员 made it to the playoffs three years in a row. Energized by the arrival of both varsity 长曲棍球教练约翰·诺斯特和主席索索尔斯基，迈克尔斯基夫妇对此充满热情 about this new level of involvement.
“看到这种能量和势头，我们真的觉得是时候了，因为 我们认为迈克是合适的人选，给予更多是正确的事情。 David. They appreciate that their gift can be directed towards the men’s lacrosse program, given how much it means to them both. The Michalski’s get together often with many of his former teammates.
“它代表了辉煌的日子，但它也是一种将我们所有人联系在一起的方式。” he said. “We laugh, use our same old nicknames and tell the old stories. So we see 以前是朋友聚会，但现在也是为九州娱乐官网.”
劳伦对此表示赞同，并指出他们有机会听到总统的讲话 and meet him at an alumni cocktail party this spring. His remarks sparked something in them, and they found him to be both personable and positive. “We are in a position now to do more, so we started to ask, how can we help?” she said. “We are looking forward to learning more, and really feel like we’re just getting started.”
To learn more about the 1782 Society contact Fannie Hobba Shenk at 410-810-5764 or [email protected].