Sherman College Alumni Office Weblog

Visiting with Alums in Michigan

I recently returned from the Michigan Association of Chiropractors Convention in Kalamazoo where I was wo-manning the booth for Sherman College in the exhibit hall. It’s a huge state convention with rows and rows of exhibitors. I heard that there were more than 700 chiropractors there. Working this convention gave me a chance to visit with lots of our alumni, including Aaron Fisher who just recently (like 3 weeks ago) opened an office in nearby Jones, MI. As are many, many Sherman alumni, Aaron is loving his work and being in practice.

Sunday morning our president, Dr. Jon Schwartzbauer, and I hosted a breakfast for Sherman alumni at the convention. Dr. Jon shared news from the college and I showed alumni the new look of our college website on a laptop computer. Click here to go to www.sherman.edu and see the new look yourself.

We were also able to talk about the clinic challenge program being implemented next week and then showed video clips of the Sherman Health Center faculty and staff training on the low ropes course on campus which is part of the clinic challenge.

As Dr. Jon talked about the construction of the Helen and Gordon Brown Student Plaza between the Scallon and Taylor Buildings, I showed a computer animation of the area. This virtual tour was posted on our Pardon Our Progress blog last spring. Click here to see the video. The plaza is such a nice place for students and employees alike to enjoy our great weather here in South Carolina. The plaza features benches and pleasant walkways, a fountain, amphitheater, and wireless internet.

One of our admission counselors, Daria Winnicka, who was in Michigan visiting colleges and universities and meeting prospective students, joined us for breakfast and also helped at our exhibit table. In fact, she hosted a career gathering with prospective students at the hotel during the convention. Be sure to check out Daria’s blog about her work and travels that she co-writes with the other admission reps on the road.

Sherman College at SCCA Convention

Every now and again I'll work a convention for the college. This week I'm at the South Carolina Chiropractic Convention where they have one of the bigger attendance numbers in recent years. It's a great convention and I'm getting a chance to visit with lots of alumni. Brad Fraum, Bob Iannace and Chris Black just stopped by the table where we are showcasing the new mascot and the reborn student newspaper, the Spizz.

The convention started yesterday. The college sponsored the welcome reception where Drs. Jon and Mitzi Schwartzbauer joined me and chatted with attendees. I have a photo of Dr. Jon with outgoing SCCA president Farell Grossman, a Sherman alum from Charleston. Here's that photo. 

Carl Whetsel just stopped by. I've also seen Nick Wise and Sarah Stephens, both alumni from Spartanburg and Mitch Falk, Roxzanne Breland, Greg Cooper, John Goolsby and Pat O'Neill yesterday.  I probably shouldn't have started naming names because I'm certain I've failed to mention a bunch of them.

My booth is next to our good friends at York X-ray. John Halsey is working the York exhibit and is good company during the slow times when the docs are in sessions.

Yesterday I pleasure of meeting Harold Wood, one of our pioneer class alumni. I've seen his name time and again associated with helping start the Alumni Association. I took a photo of him in front of the college display. 

Visit to Denettes' Office in MA

Admission Director Lisa Hildebrand is my guest blogger today. She wanted to share about a recent trip of hers to New England.

Lisa says,

"I recently traveled to Massachusetts and Rhode Island to attend the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society’s Spring meeting, and also to meet with a few chiropractors in the area, and visit a few colleges, too!  While I was there, I had to opportunity to visit the brand new home office of two of our recent graduates, Dan and Kristen Denette. 

"They were in the process of setting up the office. In fact, the day after I visited was their grand-opening, but they still welcomed me with open arms and we had a very nice visit.  I knew Dan and Kristen quite well when they were students here.  Both were very involved with pretty much everything on campus, and Kristen was both a tour guide for me, as well as my intern in the health center for almost a year, so I was so excited to see them out in the world and finally doing what they loved! 

"The Denettes have a very nice office, and it's in a great location. Even better for me, the office is located not too far from my family when I go home to visit!  Enjoy the few pictures I took…I hope to return some time this fall or again in the spring to check in with them to see how they are doing.

If you are in the New England area, and would like me to make a personal visit to your office, please email me at [email protected] I would love to meet you!

Be sure to check out Lisa's blog when you get a chance.

Alumni Visits in the Carolinas

I just returned from a 4-day trip where I had a chance to visit 4 alumni in their offices in addition to attending a conference. I had great visits with Drs. Andre Santangelo and Kevin Johnson in Wilmington, NC. Both are in large practices in great locations. Andre is in practice with 2 Logan graduates at Coastal Chiropractic on Market Street, one of the most traveled streets in town. Kevin is in practice with his step father at Carolina Chiropractic Center on 16th Street, an area with a heavy concentration of doctors’ offices in all disciplines. Here we are above in his office.

I was traveling with Karen Rhodes, our director of communications. We attended a College News Association of the Carolinas (CNAC) conference dealing with alumni and student communications issues and trends for colleges. I think Karen enjoyed visiting with our alumni as much as I did. And she took photos that we can share with you. See our Alumni in the Carolinas photo album.

On the drive home we stopped in Florence, SC, to visit Drs. Steven McKay and Stephen Skipper who practice at Advantage Health Center on West Palmetto Street. It was another fine location in a large building, recently re-designed for best use of office space for their chiropractic practice, they told us. You can see photos of their office in the photo album also.

Alumni Photos Added

I uploaded alumni photos into the photo album called (tada) Alumni Photos. This was a long overdo task. In the album are photos of alumni that I visited or who sent photos. No, I didn't go to France! But darn, that would be a great trip. We have lots of alumni to visit in France.

Send a recent digital photo of you to me at [email protected] with a note to add them to the alumni blog photo album and I'll do it!

Alumni Visits in Philadelphia Area

Today I visited FSCO (Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations) headquarters in Hellertown, PA, a little more than an hours' drive north of Philly. It snowed about three inches Saturday night but the roads were clear. More snow is expected tonight. I hope it doesn't delay my flight home.

After my visit with Renee Hillman at the FSCO office, she kindly escorted me around the area, guiding me to the chiropractic offices of Sherman and Penn Straight grads. We ended the afternoon with a quick bit of shopping at the Moravian Bookstore in Bethlehem, PA, which is actually more than a bookstore; it's a block-long strip of adjoining stores and themed shops.

Driving back to Philly at night I encountered the first flurries of what ended up to be a five-inch snowfall as the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Seattle Seahawks at home. It was the biggest loss in the history of Monday Night Football, 42-0.

Chamber networking events

Last week I attended a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours networking event in Mauldin, SC, co-hosted by our own Sherman College alumna Dr. Yvette Edwards, '02. There was a great turnout from the Mauldin business community, and Yvette was proud and pleased as she played hostess to the movers and shakers in that Greenville suburb.

What a great way to get people into your office so that you can talk about chiropractic and offer them your services. Getting involved in your local Chamber of Commerce is a good way to meet more people in your community and make your services known.