Dear Alumni,

As the first official communication of the Daily Free Press Alumni Association, we’d like to thank you for your service to the newspaper that has helped shape so many of our lives.

These past few years have been challenging ones for the Freep and the newspaper industry as a whole. Although the paper has continued to provide comprehensive, daily coverage to the Boston University community, the industry-wide predicament reinforces the need for a coordinated, visible alumni presence. This letter marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term effort that will reap benefits for both the staff of the Free Press and the alumni community.

Through this effort, we hope to connect the thousands of far-flung Freep alumni from every generation – those whose broad experiences, both within and outside of the newspaper industry would be valuable to the young reporters, photographers, editors and business managers that make the Freep what it is. In addition, the Alumni Association will provide reliable and regular networking opportunities for our diverse alumni population.

Unlike some of the piecemeal, singular efforts of the past, we plan on building a nationwide infrastructure – our application for federal non-profit status is under review – that gives alumni a year-round forum to interact and share ideas. This letter also marks the launching of our website, dfpalumni.org. Over time, we hope this site becomes a hub for The Daily Free Press alumni community, upon which we can post job opportunities, alumni gatherings, meeting schedules and the latest news from inside the Freep newsroom.

But more than anything, as we attempt to grow as an organization, we need you – your input, your suggestions for how to make this budding association successful. To keep you all informed, we will send out a monthly e-newsletter with updates on our progress, and we welcome any feedback and suggestions along the way to make this as interactive a process as possible.

Our next newsletter will contain more detailed information about the structure of the alumni association, including an overview of our by-laws, subcommittees and early goals. We look forward to collaborating with all of you and thank you for your continued support of The Daily Free Press.

Best,

Bill Yelenak, President

Neal Simpson, Vice President

Jessica Kribbs, Treasurer

Kyle Cheney, Alumni Liaison

Priyanka Dayal, Clerk

Maggie Mastricola, Webmaster

Dan Atkinson, Board Member

Chloe Gotsis, Board Member

Chris Cassidy, Board Member