On Friday, September 17th in Morgantown, PA, the Crossmen Alumni Association kicked off its 2011 season with one of the most well-attended, enthusiastic, and informative meetings of its history.

Billed as "A New Beginning," the evening began by introducing those who have formal responsibilities to the organization, including co-Chairpersons of the Northeast Chapter Rick Reedy and Michele Williams. Earlier this spring, the CAA announced the formation of a Southwest Chapter based in San Antonio, TX to more directly assist in the corps' regional needs. One of the goals set forth for the 2011 season is to see the Southwest Chapter get off the ground and running. With two large pockets of alumni concentrated in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and the San Antonio area, and with the corps growing more firmly entrenched in their new Texas home, the need for a strong and active CAA chapter in their own backyard becomes more vital. It also serves to strengthen the CAA as a whole, with more alumni getting directly involved in different parts of the country, all helping the Crossmen. If you're an alum living in Texas and are interested in helping get the Southwest Chapter of the CAA off the ground, please contact Rick Reedy.

Along those same lines, another goal set forth at the meeting was the need to grow the CAA membership substantially. This past year, the CAA sponsored several successful events including the Annual Beef n Beer Scholarship Event, Crossmen History Night, and the Alumni Homecoming and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Allentown. As exciting and memorable as these events were, with a larger and more active CAA membership, these events can be taken to the next level. And as always, 100% of the CAA membership dues ($25 annual and $300 lifetime) go straight into the General Fund, which go directly towards sponsoring these events and helping the corps in so many ways. For example, last year it was reported that the CAA contributed $1200 in member scholarships, $500 for souvie truck alterations, $1500 to help defray the total cost of a new generator for the food truck, and sponsored several pizza dinners and a Philly-style hoagie night for the Crossmen at their housing site in Allentown. Plans are to exceed those contributions next year substantially, with a target number of 100 paid CAA members by the end of the 2011 season next August. This would far surpass any previous number of paid members for any one year. It would also serve as a strong starting point for even more growth in the next several seasons.

An official CAA Membership Drive will be held later this year. If you are interested in serving on the Membership Drive Committee, please contact Rick Reedy or Michele Williams as soon as possible. The next CAA open meeting will take place on November 19th (location TBA) and will focus specifically on the 2011 Membership Drive. The committee will need to be in place by then with an agenda for the meeting ready to go.

It's clear to everyone who attended this meeting, either live or via Skype, that the CAA is looking for 2011 to be the most active and most successful season in its history, and that they are well underway towards accomplishing their goals. If you would like to see the minutes of the meeting, please click here. And if you haven't taken the time to join the CAA yet, please do so. You can join online by clicking here. Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting!