Dear Fellow Alumni,

As I sit down to write to you all, I feel at a loss for words. We started this spring semester
off with great momentum. The fall had us growing our community with so many
successful and exciting events. Basketball season took off and we looked great! We also were able to welcome a new Executive Director of Alumni Relations, Kim Weddle. And then as life happens, we entered into the COVID-19 pandemic.

But before I address the pandemic, I do want to give a big heartfelt Griffon welcome to
Kim Weddle ’00. As a graduate, she is passionate about Missouri Western and is looking forward to meeting with alumni and continuing to take this momentum to the next level.

I also want to give a shoutout to our stellar Griffon basketball teams. We finished the season with some fabulous stats. Our men’s team ended 18-14 and the women with a 21-8 record. Oh, and were they ever fun to watch – impressive Griffs!

This year March Madness took on a whole new meaning as the pandemic took hold. For the first time ever, as you probably know, on-site classes were cancelled for the rest of the spring semester. As I was struck with bits of melancholy as events were getting cancelled, I had another thought: We Griffons do not get discouraged. We rally and we fight. We’ve seen it all year in our growing events, in our sports teams performances and in our alumni support. This is a chance for us to grow closer.

I look back on my college days with great fondness, as those days helped to really shape a lot of the person I have grown into. This is an opportunity for us to find new ways to connect with each other and with our alma mater. This is a great opportunity for us to start thinking of how we can recruit, promote retention, and give back. It is our opportunity to push that momentum to the next level, as we come together as a world, a nation, a community, as a Griffon family. I challenge each of to reach out to an old college friend, share a story with Kim or share your love of MWSU on social media. I implore you to flood Kim’s email with all of us sending support to the students as they face a new way of learning and connecting.

My heart goes out to everyone who is directly affected by the virus. I applaud MWSU leaders for taking proactive steps to keep us safe. Let’s hear that MWSU alumni pride so loud virtually that we forget we aren’t together in person.

Go Griffs!

Tona Williams ’00
President
MWSU Alumni Association