The 2021 CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame ceremony in February netted more than $36,000, a record amount for the event and a huge boon to the alumni programs it supports.
The event also reached its widest-ever audience through its airing on television and social media. While there aren’t viewership numbers for the KGET Channel 17 broadcast, there were 6,100 views of a livestream on the station's Facebook page and more than 1,000 additional views on other KGET and CSUB social media pages.
That compares to the approximately 350 people who attended the in-person Alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony held at the Seven Oaks Country Club in February 2020.
"A national pandemic couldn't stop our community from supporting CSUB students,” said CSUB Alumni Association President Nancy Solis. “To the contrary, we received more support than ever because the need by our students is greater than ever. We are truly thankful for our community's continued support. "
VIDEO: Recap of Alumni Hall of Fame ceremony
During this year’s ceremony, the CSUB Alumni Association grew its Alumni Hall of Fame to 59 members with the addition of educators Mary Barlow and John Means, businesswoman and philanthropist Raji Brar, nonprofit entrepreneur Clark Jensen and Stanford University head men’s soccer coach Jeremy Gunn.
The event not only highlighted them through video profiles but celebrated CSUB’s 50th anniversary. It featured a tribute to notable alumni by CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny and video and photo slide shows chronicling a half century of university history.
The full broadcast can be viewed on CSUB’s YouTube channel.
The money raised will fund Alumni Association programs including scholarships awarded to alumni working toward their graduate degree on campus and mentoring initiatives that match up CSUB alumni and current CSUB students.
"In spite of a difficult year for everyone, our community has once again proven that investing in our students is a priority and the Alumni Association is excited to direct these generous donations straight to our students via scholarships, RAMP and other methods of support," said Linda Lara, past president of the alumni board and current chair of its Scholarship Committee.
One reason the event was so financially successful was the continuing support of sponsors. The top sponsors were:
- Diamond Presenting Sponsor: Chevron
- Diamond Sponsor: The Wonderful Company
- Gold Sponsors: Grimmway Farms and Bynum Inc.
- Media Sponsor: KGET
- Silver Sponsors: Countryside Market & Restaurants and the Kern Community College District.
KGET was an invaluable partner, helping produce the hour-long broadcast with videos provided by CSUB and sharing anchors Jim Scott and Maddie Janssen with us to emcee.
New this year, sponsors and friends of the inductee offered messages of congratulations published in the event digital program and webpage, which raised additional funds. The digital program can be found online.
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