Category Alumni Newsletters

Spring 2014 Alumni Newsletter

June 1, 2014
Gentlemen,

The spring rugby season has come and gone, with success in Charleston, and around the country with alumni playing in New York, Washington DC, Chapel Hill, and more. Before you head off for vacations, kick back and enjoy the weekend: here’s your alumni newsletter…
  • Alumni Match Recap
  • Alternate weekend: Chicago – September 7
  • Non-Profit Filing Status
  • Pullovers – Get Yours Today!
  • Alumni Notes
  • Team Support
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Alumni Match 2014
 
Thanks to everyone who came down for the alumni game back in February. The full match report can be read here with pictures here.
While the game may have been a run-away for the alumni, it’s heartening to see the club rebuilding and showing promise for the future.
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Inaugural Alternate Weekend: Chicago
 
One alumni weekend just isn’t enough: join us this fall up in Chicago as we kick off our alternate weekend on September 7.
Logan Honeycutt has done a great job putting together a great program for the weekend, so I hope you can join us – the tentative schedule is:
  • Friday Afternoon: Sight seeing- Boat Tour/Sears Tower Etc.
  • Friday Evening: Poker Tournament
  • Saturday Afternoon: Cubs Game
  • Saturday Evening: Booze Trolley Bar Crawl
  • Sunday Morning: Brunch/Recovery
Sign up and complete the Google docs survey here.
Joining us in Chicago? Hit Reply and Let me know!
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Non-profit Filing Status
 
Our main focus for the summer off-season is to get the club registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. This will be a substantial undertaking, with Jeff Seidel working with me on this issue. It is however critical to our future growth.
This status will help us attract more funding from current and new supporters and achieve the goals of our roadmap. Our aim is for the filing to be complete by the end of the year, and status before next alumni weekend. Approximate costs associated with this project are $1,000 and we will seek to raise these funds as specific donations for the filing.
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Rugby/Golf Pullovers
 
Get your gear restocked with a CofC rugby pullover! Jeff has put together a design with our club crest, that is great for either rugby warmups, golf, and more. They’re going to be ordered soon, so get your order in to Jeff: seideljj9@gmail.com and tell your friends/significant others/families. Pullovers will be $55 (including shipping) and help build our club reserves to invest in the team. Designs are attached below.
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Alumni Notes
 
Brendan McSherry is currently living in Hoboken NJ and has avoided no less than three accidental pregnancies.
Lawson Ballard will be heading to Philly this summer to help coach (honorary) The University of South Carolina in the College Rugby Championship 7’s tournament. Watch him on NBC Sports!
Chris McMullin is living/working in Philadelphia, PA as an attorney for the firm Kent/McBride, P.C. He and his wife, Brie, are expecting their first baby this June. Congrats Chris and Brie!
Ryan Murray is a 2nd Lt in the United States Marine Corps undergoing his first deployment in Okinawa.
Joey Ingham is getting married to Julianne Weddel in September.
Christian Massimilo is playing for NYAC hoping to become first CofC USA eagle.
David Bethel living in his homeland working as the Operations Director at Stingray Island.
Dan O’Harra left his job as project manager with the Medical University of South Carolina to to get back into real estate. He will be working with fellow alum Brian Beatty. Keep them in mind for your real estate transactions – business and referrals will result in money contributed back to the club.
Andy Evans and his wife Katy are expecting their second child in September.
Rob James is currently living in Baltimore, Maryland. He works for Toll Brothers Inc. as an Assistant Project manager overseeing the Arundel Forest Development.
Dan Markovich, is a 2nd Lt in the Marines, based at Quantico. His son, who just turned 4, is being fed a high protein diet to build him into the next pacific islander/American US Eagles player. Next year he will be getting married to Kimi Parkhill. Dan adds:
“I know i’m not alone when I say playing Rugby at C of C was the best experience of my life. Truly a brotherhood without equal. I’ll give praise where praise is due. College of Charleston was a beautiful school which had everything one could hope for, but when I think of my College experience, I think only of playing Rugby in the rain and being forced to drink a  shot out of Sam Cook’s belly button. Some memories are better than others. Keep pushing brothers and I look forward to alumni weekend every year. Oorah Gentleman!”
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Team Support
 
Thank you to the 40+ guys who have paid dues this year. There’s still few of you who I’m sure would like to join our peers and become paid-up members. The link of the site will take you to our PayPal page – I can take credit cards over the phone if that’s easier!
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Thanks for the help of everyone pushing to keep growing our club, and for the support of our alumni. Hope to see a lot of you in Chicago!
All the best,
Rupert Munro ’10
President
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August 2013 Alumni Newsletter

August 26, 2013

Gentleman,

With the summer heat starting to abate (at least here in DC), the NFL back our on TVs, and the College team getting ready for the coming season, it’s time to reminisce about our college rugby glory days for a few minutes; here’s your Summer ’13 alumni newsletter…
* 15’s Season on the Move
* Spring Season Overview
* Alumni Weekend
* New Website!
* Like us on Facebook
* Details, details, details
* Fall Schedule
* Alumni Updates
* Alumni Association Update / Membership (Important – Read This!)
***
15s Season on the Move
 
Over the past year there had been musings that the collegiate season for 15s could be moved to the fall to better align the southern conferences as part of the USA Rugby collegiate realignment. This spring this came to pass and the CofC team now plays in the Southern Rugby Conference. The conference is broken down into three regional divisions:
Coastal: Coastal Carolina, UNC-W, CofC, Citadel
Piedmont: UNC-G, Elon, UNC-C, Eastern Carolina
Mountain: Furman, Appalachian State, Lander, Western Carolina
More information about the conference can be found here – http://www.rugbysouthernconference.com/about.cfm
***
Spring Season Overview
 
In what was a rebuilding year for the college team, we saw some strong development in key areas with players such as Thomas Smith (current President), Kendrick Evans, and Marcus Johnson all being named to the SoCon All-Star team. On the field the team grew as the season progressed, which culminated in the traditional beating of the Citadel in a close 14-13 CofC win. This was just the latest in a string of wins over our neighbors and keeps the Holy City Cup in the hands of the good guys for another year.
A full schedule result will be added to the website shortly.
***
Alumni Weekend
 
Due to the matrix season moving to the fall, alumni weekend will be moved to the Spring. Although this is a change from our usual gathering, it allows us to maximize the number of former players that can attend. More details will be sent out later in the year, so keep in shape (looking at you Logan) and get ready to put another pounding on the college boys.
***
New Website
 
Over the summer, former President Sam Cook has been working hard to develop a new website for the team. The results are pretty amazing, especially for a college team, and are part of a strategy to develop the CofC Rugby brand with the aim to attract more sponsors that will help grow the club.
The structure rivals any other collegiate club team’s site and is better than many of the pro club sites. If you have any comments, match photos, or ideas to improve the site, send them along to alumni@cofcmensrugby.com. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out here: www.CofCMensRugby.com
***
Like us on Facebook
As part of our effort the expand the recognition of the club, we have a new Facebook ‘fan’ page. Please take a moment to ‘like’ it. You won’t get hundreds of posts, but occasional club updates and it helps us show potential sponsors the large support we have – invite a friend to like it too!
***
Details, Details, Details
We hope you enjoy getting these updates and enjoy being a part of the alumni rugby tradition. If you haven’t updated you info recently, please take a moment to let us know your contact details and a little about your CofC rugby past. It’s only 10 short questions, and it’s all on one page!
***
Fall Schedule
Anyone in Charleston come along and see the team play! The matrix schedule will be:
September 28 – Home vs. Coastal
October 5 – Away vs. App State
November 2 – Away vs. UNCW
November 9 – Final Four
November 16 – Conference Finals
Keep an eye on the website for schedule updates.
***
Alumni Updates
 
Logan Honeycutt married longtime (suffering) girlfriend Erika Lindroth in Charleston this summer. Many alumni were in attendance.
Todd Burnaford and Allie Stack tied the knot in a ceremony in NJ.
Jon Hansen married Shauna Ford in a waterside ceremony.
Kyle Pudney and Kate were married this summer.
 
Andy Evans and his wife are celebrating the first birthday of their daughter, Molly.
Kevin Coco and his wife are living in Northern Virginia and will be welcoming a son in October.
Lawson Ballard is getting his Masters in Teaching, and coaching USC’s B side
Cullen Lea saved 15% by switching to GEICO
Christopher McMullin is living in Philadelphia and working as an attorney for Kent/McBride P.C.
David Bethel is living in the Bahamas playing with fish – check out his Fat Tuesdays if you’re down there!
Chris Sigmund (Grandpa) trained with the USA Eagles during a scrimmage at the Citadel
If you have updates for our next newsletter, let me know.
***
Alumni Association Update / Membership
 
As the Alumni Association enters it’s second year, we are developing the structure to grow fundamental areas of the club. Funds raised through the association will be used to strengthen three key areas of the club – Training (through equipment), Performance (through scholarships to recruit better players), and Sustainability (through long-term goals such as finding field space and growing club resources).
The majority of this work will be achieved through club sponsorship and donations. The association is seeking to become a 501(C)(3) non-profit to allow this support to become tax deductible.
Alumni are invited to join in the growth and development of the club through becoming Members. Membership is set at a modest $25 ($15 for first-year alumni) with the membership year starting with the fall season (September to August). Alumni whose means allow are encouraged to invest more than the membership amount (and will be recognized as such on our website). Participation in the alumni weekend game requires current membership.
Membership can be paid by check or paypal (preferred) – donation@cofcmensrugby.com or click the link on the membership page: www.cofcmensrugby.com/association
If you have any questions about membership, would like to make a larger donation, or find out more about the long-term strategy of the alumni association, please contact me.
Before the next alumni game we will be emailing out a detailed strategy on our short, medium, and long term plans.
***
Thank you to everyone who has helped grow the club and continues to work to promote the game of rugby at the college.
Until next time,
Rupert “Pip” Munro ’10
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December 2012 Alumni Newsletter

December 30, 2012
Alumni,First off we want to thank everyone who has been a part of C of C Men’s Rugby both past and present.  We would not have made it to 10 years without the help of each and every one of you.  As we head into 2013 we ask that you stay involved and help support our growing alumni base in any way you can.  Obviously the best way is through donations.  It can be as simply as $5…it all helps.  Please visit the website and donate today!  We know you all have money right now because Christmas just passed.  Please click the link to the left to visit the site and donate today.  Have a safe new years and best of luck in 2013.On to Alumni Weekend…

And so it began. With a healthy showing of over thirty alumni readying for kickoff, the captains for the alumni and the college engaged in the annual battle; are we playing four, 15 minute, quarters or regular halves? With Ian “Sean White” Mueller in no mindset for losing, he tried to dismiss the Alumni’s kind offer of playing quarters and became irate when Logan “holy shit he’s still alive” Honeycutt chimed in that he was good with eighths, and disgruntled he settled for two, thirty minute, halves. But that was a choice that he would come to regret.

The alumni had been descending on Charleston for a few days; Jeff “I’m too short to come to the gangbang” Siedel was so excited he turned up on Wednesday. By Friday night the alumni were getting up to full strength, announcing to the town that they were back with the finesse that only the rugby team can achieve through taking over bars decked out in social jerseys.

While tucking the children into bed, Sean White read a fairytale to his young team:

“The alumni are out getting hammered as I post this, I hope you are not. Some good news, there are missing several of their best players and we stand a real chance of beating them tomorrow. I just listened to them threaten me with death on the field for the last two and a half hours so lets go out there and SHOCK THE ******* WORLD TOMORROW!”

With a brief reminder from Uncle Andy “Wandy” Evans that “you were threatened with rape, not death”, the thoughts of the alumni returned to the important issues at hand: finishing the keg.

Festivities continued and some pressing matters were concluded; with this being the tenth anniversary of the club, we took the steps to cement our first ten years through ratifying the Constitution of the club (available on the website). Elections followed as did the inaugural induction to the Hall of Fame with Brad “Box” Burns and Iljia Velkovic becoming the first two names emblazoned on the plaque.  Much merriment continued on into the night and then, with the dawning of the rugby day, we took to the field to teach the children a lesson.

Convinced that they were in a better position, having secured halves over eighths, the College proceeded to lose the toss, which would become the first of many losses that day. The alumni kicked off and after a tepid start, the fortitude of the alumni soon kicked in. Jon “Head” Hansen made some powerful drives, breaking tackles and advancing the team up the field. Strong rucking from the forwards, who included Steve “The Animal” Leamon, Greg “IDF” Fronda, and Joey “I’ve been sharpening my elbows” Ingham led to some early scores, and within no time the alumni had built up a solid 17-0 lead. Kicks from Grandpa “Pip’s forgotten his real name” Grandpa and tries from Austin “Are there Jell-O shots?” Coon, George “George Play’s wing now?” Woolstan and Lawson “Judge” Ballard quickly racked up the score and by half it was turning into a rout.

The second half picked up where the first left off. Quick scores by a host of players, including Wade “Easter” Berreth, Paul “I’m half the man I was” Fowler, and Rupert “Pip” Munro finalized the result. With the sound of Logan wailing about his femur and beer-cans cracking, the alumni rounded the game off with a convincing 46-0 win.

On to the social…

As socials go, we usually do a damn good job. This year we outdid ourselves – over 100 ruggers crammed into the back porch of Boone’s celebrating a day of team-building, ass-whooping, and ready to have a good time. With songs being sung, golf balls placed in the cups of the unsuspecting (and unwilling) and a good night had by all, it was an overwhelming success to a great alumni weekend. The bar even said we may be able to come back next year.

While the score may show a very one-sided game, the effort and potential shown by the college was very encouraging. No-one can say that this isn’t a rebuilding year, but the effort and raw talent shown by the team is a great sight. In the coming year they will be able to learn more about the game, and develop their abilities to the level that they show through effort. There’s a lot of potential in this club, and at the first major milestone of the club, it’s great to see that the team will carry on the great traditions of before.

The alumni association will be doing its part to try to develop this and we hope that all alumni will continue to be actively involved in the team. Thanks to everyone who helped make this weekend possible, from the organizers on the alumni and college teams, to everyone who paid dues. Two people deserve a special thank you for taking a leadership role in the financial development of the team; Sam Cook and Philip “Flip” Levi, both went above and beyond with significant donations – thank you to them! We’ve got a bright future ahead for the club – the first ten years were a great success – here’s to the next ten!

See you next year,

Pip

Officer election results:

 

President:                    Sam Cook

Vice-President:           Andy Evans

Fundraising Chair:       Rupert Munro

Treasurer:                   Todd Burnaford

Marketing Chair:         Andrew Muller

Club Coordinator:        Austin Coon

Social Chair:               Lawson Ballard

 

Hall of Fame Inductions:

 

Brad Burns- 2003

Ilija Velkovic- 2007
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August 2012 Alumni Newsletter

August 3, 2012

Greetings Alumni!

Here is our attempt at the second edition of our new Alumni Newsletter. We are excited to announce that this fall will be the club’s ten year anniversary! We are hoping to have a healthy turnout at the Alumni Weekend Festivities which will be held on the weekend of November 9th-12th. In this issue you will hear about Steve “Animal” Leamon, the new club website, donation drive and updates from alumni around the country.

Steve “Animal” Leamon- We have found Steve!!!

After years of searching, we have finally heard from Steve. For those of you that do not know Steve, which is many of you guys, Steve was and is still the most beastly player to come through C of C Rugby…This is a man that got shot outside of his dorm room, took the guys gun and held him down for the police to arrive. Enough said. Steve is now married to his lovely wife, Min, and they live in Summerville. They have a 3 year old son named Dylan. Steve is the Operations Manager for FedEx Ground. Steve said that he is looking forward to the alumni game.New Website- Please visit the new C of C Rugby Website and check out all the new stuff. There is a tab for alumni where you can view previous newsletters, see old team photos and learn more about Alumni Weekend. You can also follow the current team’s schedule and here about their matches and real time stats. We encourage you to monitor the website frequently for updates and we look for your support if the team is playing near you.
September 9th-

This coming September 9th ALL Alumni that are available are asked to participate in a meet and greet with the new team. The purpose of this is to get to know the new guys, see some old faces and get the team pumped up for the coming year. More to come on the location and time of this event…most likely will be downtown at a local watering hole.

Donation Drive and Dues-

Alumni Dues and Donations- Click Here or visit the C of C Rugby Website and scroll down and click the button on the bottom left to make donations. Keep in mind that we are now an official 503(c) so all donations are tax deductible. As with the past, the club and Alumni Association run on dues, donations and parents! As we enter into the 10th season of the team, we are trying to become more professional and take the team and alumni association to the next level. We are asking that all alumni donate $50 annually to help support the team and alumni events. Our goal before 2013 is to raise $5,000 for the alumni association. If most of us help out and contribute then we can easily meet this goal. As an idea, if 80 guys donate $50 each then that would total $4,000 and we ave well over 80 alumni just to let you all know! This money is not going to be wasted on team socials or anything similar. All money will be “ear marked” for specific needs i.e. Scholarship Fund, Piece of Equipment, Alumni Weekend. This money is really more for the Alumni and not the current team, however, as I mentioned, we would like to start a scholarship fund that will be given to a current team rugger that meets certain qualifications and will be given by the alumni association. This money will be controlled
monitored by the Alumni Board.

10 Year Anniversary T-Shirts-

We are in the process of creating a 10 year Anniversary Tshirt. They will be for sale Alumni Weekend and any leftovers can be purchased through the alumni board. Shirts will be priced around $20 a piece and all proceeds will be put into our alumni fund bank account. Please let us know if you will definitely be buying a shirt (whether you can make alumni weekend or not) so we know how many we need to order. Please provide a shirt size as well. They make great birthday and Christmas gifts as well!

Updates-

Please take a look at the attached PDF for an update of some of our fellow alumni. This update was provided by the people that responded to the email a few weeks ago. If
you would like to be included on the next update, please email Andrew Muller at AEM84@yahoo.com.

C of C Men’s Rugby Schedule- Fall 2012
9/22-23 – @ Wilmington, NC 7’s
9/29 – Coastal (home)
10/6 – Savannah Shamrocks (home)
10/27 – @ Rucktoberfest Boone, NC
11/3 – @ ECU (tentative)
11/10 – Alumni Weekend (home)
12/? – @ Toys for Tots Tournament
We look forward to seeing everyone alumni weekend. If you have any request or recommendations for alumni weekend, please email the alumni board. All emails can be found on the C of C Rugby website.

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May 2012 Alumni Newsletter

May 3, 2012

Rugger Alumni,

The newly formed C of C Rugby Alumni Board would like to take a moment and thank you for being involved with the 10 year history of C of C Rugby.  We are starting to grow a great alumni base and we want to make sure that we are doing our best to keep everyone involved and informed.  Please take a few minutes to read the below and to catch up on all the exciting things we have ahead, not only this year but years to come.  This is the first edition of our new newsletter, please let us know your thoughts.

 End of Season Wrap-Up
 End of Season Awards
 Alumni Donations
 Scholarships
 What is Going On?

End of Season Wrap-Up Spring 2012
For the spring season of 2012, CofC put together a young and athletically talented squad under the leadership of new coaches Greg Lambton-Carr and Dr. Lance Davis. Along with Furman, the Citadel and Lander, CofC moved up to play Division II rugby in the newly formed Southern Conference. This new organization includes a total of 12 teams split into Eastern and Western Divisions. With additional help from a couple English exchange students, the Cougars earned four wins and one loss in the regular season. The wins included blow-outs against Furman (57-27) and the Citadel (57- 13). The Furman win was particularly satisfying, as the Cougars gained revenge for their playoff loss against the Purple Paladins in the Spring of 2011. Other wins included solid victories over UNC Charlotte (34-14) and a surprisingly strong Lander squad (22- 12). The one defeat came in a bitterly cold and snowing away game against Appalachian State University (45-29). The overall record earned CofC the second seed in the conference playoffs with their first match against the East division leader and nationally ranked UNCW Clamdiggers. The Cougars played a tough and physical match against UNCW, regularly beating them in the rucks and scrums. But sub-par backline play and the dominance of UNCW lineouts cost CofC the game, final score 26-7. The score does not properly attest to the overall closeness of the game. UNCW scored three quick tries in a span of ten minutes thanks to relentless kicking for which the inexperienced wings and fullback were unprepared. Even when the Cougars successfully defended the kick and forced the Clamdiggers out-of-bounds, they lost at least two-thirds of their own lineouts. At the same time, the Cougars played hard-hitting defense and forced UNCW to stop play multiple times to deal with injuries. For the majority of the game, CofC was within two tries (19-7) but were unfortunately unable to score anymore points. However, the alumni will be happy to know that the severity of aggression with which CofC played caused UNCW to file a complaint, which was promptly dismissed without consequence (other than to show that UNCW are a bunch of pussies). The next day, CofC lost to UNC Greensboro in the third place match (27-14), although they probably would have won had they not gotten so drunk the night before. While the playoffs were once again a disappointment, College of Charleston had an all-around good season that shows just how much the team has grown these past 10 years.

End of Season Awards
Golden Boots: Lock Hugo Roller who played every minute of every single game with unmatched intensity and ferocity.
Steve the Animal: Scrumhalf Brian Ablapnap who also played every minute of every single game with great skill.
Zulu Warrior: Inside Center Ed “Fletch” Fletcher who played a great season and motivated everyone with his fiery English-accented half time speeches.
Sexy Dan: Outside Center Ian “Shaun White” Mueller who scored 7 tries in regular season play. (10 including tournaments).
Dick of the Year: Outside Center Ian Mueller who also earned Dick of the Day more times than anyone else.
Jon Hansen Drinking Award: Freshmen backs John Sussingham and Conner McCoy who got hammered drunk almost every single night and behaved as such.
The Jeremy Tindal Most Likely to be a Father award was not given this year, as it was not earned. A note on the name change: Jeremy received the award in the Spring of 2011 and then promptly got a girl pregnant and is now actually a father.

Alumni Donations
• We have begun the process of establishing an official “non-profit” status so we can all donate to the club and deduct the donation for tax purposes.  Todd Burnaford is heading this project.
• Sam Cook is working on a new website for the club which should be done in the next few weeks.  This new site should be easier to navigate through and it will have a direct link to make donations to the club and to the alumni fund.
• We alumni need to support the team’s success and to help grow the team for the future.  With the little funding the team receives from the school, it is imperative  that we assist them to help with travel expenses, new equipment, new jersey’s, socials…We would also like to establish an annual goal to reach for donations.  There will be more to come on a goal establishment for this year but with nearly 90+ alumni we are hoping for a good turnout!

Scholarships
• At some point in the near future, with the help of all of us, we would like to establish an annual scholarship to a current player.  We have not set the requirements for this yet, nor a scholarship amount but we will start small and grow it as we can.

What is going on?
• Charleston Memorial Day 7’s-  The Charleston Outlaw’s will be hosting their 10th annual Memorial Day tournament.  If you wish to participate or watch please contact Sam Cook directly at  sambcook@gmail.com or call him at 404.433.6747.  You can also visit the outlaw’s website to find out more.  http://www.charlestonrugby.com/tourney.html
• Charleston Affair-  Many alumni and current players met up at this year’s Charleston Affair event at the College which was a blast (although very crowded).  Rugby songs began to be sung but were quickly stopped when we realized the event we were at.  This event occurs on the first Saturday of May each year.  Next year we would like to have a rugby social on the Friday night prior to for those who are in town.
• Logan Honeycutt- Logan recently engaged his lovely girlfriend, Erika Lindroth, on Sullivan’s Island Charleston Affair Weekend.  Congrats to you both!  Let us know when the wedding is so we can all show up!
If you have news to share, please email Andrew Muller at AEM84@yahoo.com and we will share it in the next newsletter.

All the best,

C of C Rugby Alumni Board

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