Jaleh Hagigh

The group traveled to Bay St. Louis, Miss., May 23-27 as part of Elon's ongoing efforts to assist the Gulf Coast community. The group worked on seven houses, including painting and cleaning debris, and visited with families devastated by the storm. The trip was Elon's first young alumni service trip, which will be offered in the future. Mandie Rose Danielski ‘02 of Brooklyn, N.Y., traveled to Bay St. Louis and wrote about her experience.

Elon’s generous community of supporters made fundraising history this year by donating $16.5 million to the university during 2007-2008. That mark surpassed the previous fundraising record at Elon of $13.6 million during 2005-2006.

Kate Catlin '06, an account executive with the Raleigh, N.C., public relations firm MMI Associates, has received the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Leadership Award, which honors up-and-coming leaders under the age of 40 who are making a difference in the community. 

Brian Donnelly ’04 traveled to China in late May as part of a law school/MBA dual-degree program at Rutgers University. He landed in Beijing two hours before the earthquake rocked the Sichuan Province. Donnelly passed up sightseeing in Xi’an to travel to the quake epicenter to help out. The business administration major wrote about his experience.

Alumni, faculty and students will gather in Los Angeles June 5 to kick off the Elon in L.A. internship and study program. The new program offers students an inside view of the entertainment industry and opportunities to network with alumni. Alumni also will gather June 3 to launch an L.A. alumni chapter.

A $500,000 gift from Thomas E. and Lynn B. Chandler of Burlington, N.C., will further strengthen the professional sales program in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.

Expanding the collection of Elon’s magnificent trees inspired President Leo M. Lambert and his wife, Laurie, to make a generous gift to the Campus Conservancy Endowment, which funds future maintenance of facilities and ensures that Elon remains one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation.

Elon parents Howard C. and Judy Pickett of Cary, N.C., have made a $110,000 endowment gift to enhance the university’s Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows program. The couple made the gift because of the transformative experience that their daughter, Hilaire, a senior, has had as a Leadership Fellow at Elon.

Helping to make an Elon education possible for additional deserving students was the motivation behind a $500,000 gift from the Hall Family Foundation. The gift was made in memory of Margaret “Peggy” Hall, a former Parents Council member and the mother of Gretchen Hall Archibald ’02.