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WE DID IT!!!
The past
year was the busiest year in GSAA and GS Foundation history. First, we had
to raise $700,000 to keep Governor’s School open for 2012. We did. Then we
had to work with the legislature and encourage them to restore funding for
Governor’s School. We did that, too. Then we had to organize and put on the
biggest GS Alumni event in history to celebrate 50 year of Governor’s
School. If you weren’t there on July 14th, then we’re sorry you
missed it. It was a blast from the past, present, and future.
The
thanks of future generations of Governor’s School students go to all of you
who helped out. Whether you volunteered for any of our events, donated to
the Foundation, wrote your newspapers or legislatures, or all of the above,
this victory is as much yours as it is anyone else’s.
For
those who have not seen the final results, they are amazing. The General
Assembly restored 95% of the funding for Governor’s School. This was listed
as a recurring expense, which means that it will be available year after
year (unless things change again). This is an unbelievably good result, and
we owe it to all of you. Our friends in the legislature tell us that, while
statistics are interesting, what really made the difference was the many personal stories of the powerful impact
that Governor’s School had in your lives. Thank you for speaking up in
support of the program.
Now, our
efforts turn to making sure that our legislators never forget what
Governor’s School does for our state and its students.
Elections for 2012-2014 Officers Are Complete
Speaking
of the efforts who which we will turn, our new officers will be leading the
charge. Elections were held from May to July. Come and meet your new GSAA Officers.
GSAA Alumni Impact Survey Results
In
March 2012, GS alumni told us all about themselves, what they do, and how GS
made a difference in their lives. You can see what GS really means to those
who attend by looking through our Impact Survey
Results.
Join Our Facebook Group
The
GSAA is on Facebook. Connect with other alumni at the Governor's School
of North Carolina Alumni group.
Join the Alumni Forum on Yahoo!
Stay
in touch with alumni, collaborate with other GSers,
and find out what happens beyond the summer sessions. Just click the
link to left to the GSAA Yahoo Group.
Write Your Legislators!
If
you have just returned from Governor's School, the GSAA asks that you write
your state legislators and tell them what you thought of the program. Every
year, Governor's School has to prove its value to the people who fund it,
the state government. Your letters go a long way to convincing them that GS
is worth keeping. You can find out who represents you at The General Assembly Home
Page. Look on the right for the Who Represents Me lookup, find
out who your representatives are, and write them. It's the best thing you
can do for the Governor's School, so please, write them today.
Looking for Fresh Content
Attention
all alumni, we are looking for new, fresh content for the NCGSAlumni site. We are looking for
digital photos and even digital videos. We are looking for your stories and
memories. We are looking for success stories, and we are looking for
your article on what Governor's School meant to you. Please contact Sam Sanders (Art 71) to learn how to
submit your material.
Update Your Information in the Alumni Database
Help
us keep in touch with you! Please update your contact information in our Alumni Database. Everyone is in there,
whether you joined the GSAA or not. From 1963 to now, you can find
long-lost friends, and help them find you!
About GSAA...
The
North Carolina Governor’s School Alumni Association is a service
organization comprised of people who once attended the NC Governor’s
School. It is not a non-profit organization, and it is not a registered
political action committee, though it does have as its core goal to support
the Governor’s School through contributions and raising public
awareness.
What Does the GSAA Do? 
The
purpose of the GSAA is threefold:
1. To
promote and raise public awareness of the Governor’s School.
North
Carolina’s Governor’s School is the oldest Governor’s School in the nation.
It is a part of our statewide heritage. Today, there are over 50 governor’s
schools in over 35 states, many of which were modeled on the North Carolina
concept. Despite that heritage, many people in our own state have never
heard of the Governor’s School, and many who have heard of it do not know
what it is. Particularly, many members of the Legislature have never heard
of it. So part of our goal is to make our state aware of the Governor’s
School and to focus attention on this excellent program among the
legislators who provide the funding for the School. We do this through
letter-writing campaigns and by promoting GS among high-school guidance
counselors. Several attempts at wider-ranging media coverage have gone
nowhere, as GS is simply not controversial enough to attract the attention
of the papers and television.
2.
To provide funding for the Governor’s School’s student activities.
Due to
the shrinking budget for GS, many programs related to student activities
were cut from the budget in the mid-1980’s. These
programs, while not essential to the mission of the School, were considered
essential to the sanity of the students and faculty. Simple things, like
music for parties, social events, ice cream and lemonade, and gas for the
bus would not be available if the GSAA did not make a donation each year.
Even with our support, the funding for these events has been scant for the
past few years. So a large portion of our proceeds goes to this. In a way,
the students from each class are given the opportunity to provide support
for the class that will follow after. Without this support, the social
interaction of GS would dwindle, and along with it the opportunities for
students to make new friends and interact with their peers. The GSAA believes
that this social growth is equally as important as the intellectual growth
that GS fosters.
 3. To provide a forum through which
alumni can stay connected.
This is
primarily accomplished via our web site, and secondarily via our annual
Alumni gathering. Our goal with the web site is to keep track of all GS
alumni and make contact with those who have been lost over the years. We
want to provide a place where all alumni can come and make contact with one
another, find long-lost friends, connect with their classmates, and stay
informed on the news about Governor’s School. Since we get very little
media attention, the web site is probably the only place to get news about
GS. On Alumni Day, we try to provide the alumni with an annual return to
Governor’s School, so that they can re-experience the atmosphere that
changed their perceptions of themselves and their environment. For many, GS
was a life-changing experience. Through alumni gatherings, we attempt to
let alumni experience that again.
Along
with these primary goals, the GSAA also selects the members of the GS
Foundation Board and assist with setting policy for the Governor’s School
via their permanent position on the Department of Public Instruction’s GS
Board of Governors.
Read
more at GSAA Membership page.
GSAA News
Check out the GSAA News!
Attention All GS Alumni!
The
GSAA was founded in 1986. However, the school itself began in 1963.
Therefore, there are thousands of potential GSAA members with whom we have
lost contact. If you are one of these members, please let us know where you
are by e-mailing us or
updating the Alumni Database with your
new contact information. Please include the year and school you attended,
your Area I, and your maiden name.
NCGSAlumni.org offers:
·
 Links to the Yahoo discussion groups to communicate your comments to other alumni readers.
·
Photo album
·
Memories: stories and flashbacks of
Governor's School
·
Links to websites managed by the state
and alumni
·
Email addresses of alumni
·
Forms to submit your contact information
or website URL's
·
Current news from staff and alumni.
·
GSAA organization information
·
Campus visitor information
·
Downloadable files
For
detailed information on Governor's School of North Carolina, take a look here.
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