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First
four-year phonathon caller Scott Lindsay
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Top
marathon callers for 2003-04 Heather Nickol and Megan
McDonald
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| Annual
Fund Phonathon Wrap-Up |
| The
Annual Fund phonathon completed another record breaking
year in 2003-04. In addition to some impressive numbers,
there were some individual caller accomplishments that
are noteworthy. |
| Both
fall and spring semester, the top caller (based on the
number of specified pledges received) is awarded a free
round trip airline ticket (compliments of Montana Travel)
to anywhere in the continental USA. Last fall's top caller
was Heather Nickol, a junior majoring in secondary education
and Spanish from Great Falls. This spring semester's top
caller was Megann McDonald, a junior majoring in landscape
design from Great Falls. This is her second such award. |
| "I
really enjoy the people I get to meet and work with,"
says McDonald. "Heather and I graduated from high
school together in Great Falls, but we really didn't know
each other. Through working at the phonathon we have become
great friends. I'm really going to miss her next year." |
| McDonald
plans to give her free airline ticket to Nickol as a wedding
present this summer so Nickol and her husband can go on
their honeymoon right after their wedding instead of waiting
until winter break. |
| Nickol,
who also counts the friendships she's made during the
phonathon among the best parts of the job, says she will
definitely make a gift when she is called as an alumna. |
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| "I know
what it feels like to be said "no" to. When I give, I will
definitely use a credit card and upgrade my previous gift." |
| Scott Lindsay,
a graduating senior in elementary education from Libby, earned the
distinction of being the first four-year veteran caller for the phonathon.
Lindsay credits the great staff and flexible working hours for bringing
him back every year, not to mention a few memorable gifts. |
| "I got three
$1,000 gifts from education majors. They were the nicest people,"
says the unbiased Lindsay. "Also I got a chance to talk to people
from all over the country." |
| Over the four
years that he called, Lindsay accounted for 2,130 pledges and $80,771. |
| Lindsay, McDonald
and Nickol were part of a group of 24 callers who made an impression
on phonathon managers Dawn Silva and Renee Stoltz. |
| "I feel
privileged to work with such great students," says Stoltz, a
junior photography major from Tacoma, Wash. "I know that they
have become very close because they come back year after year." |
| Silva, a doctoral
student in education, was delighted with the success of the phonathon. |
| "Fall semester
we beat all our previous semester records for pledges and dollar amounts.
I attribute our success to a great pool of student callers. We have
some students here that have been with us since they were freshman,
and they are now juniors and seniors. It has been such a pleasure
for me to work with these students." |
| The future looks
good for the MSU phonathon as several experienced callers are planning
to return next semester. |
| "This fall
semester, 17 of our callers are planning to return to work for us,"
says Silva. "With all that experience it should be a great semester
of raising funds for the university." |
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Phonathon
Pledge Comparisons
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| Year
Pledged |
Number
of Pledges
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$
Amount Pledged |
Average
Pledge |
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2003-04
|
7,065
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$426,647
|
$60
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2002-03
|
6,319
|
$360,858
|
$57
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Change
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| For more information
about the Montana State University Foundation, visit the MSU
Foundation web site. |
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