On the job -- Lois Wood

Q: What's your job title?
A: I'm the secretary in College of Agriculture's resource
development office.

Q: What are the functions of the office?
A: We're the fund-raisers for the college. This also is the
office that takes care of all our Agriculture alumni. We're
fund-raisers and friend-raisers. We hold events like the
annual alumni meetings, the fall basketball pavilion party
and the winter basketball party for our alums.

Q: How many alums and donors do you work with?
A: Twenty-six thousand alums, and 400 members of the
President's Council.

Q: What are your responsibilities?
A: The daily routine of letters and paying the bills;
sending thank-yous to the alums when they send gifts; trying
to keep in touch with donors - we send out birthday cards to
them. We have lots of events ... there's always some kind of
meeting, so I help plan meetings, making sure the guest list
is complete, making sure everything is complete - from the
room to the food to the speakers. I just helped plan the
dedication of the new college library. We're also involved
in the Farm Progress Show and the Ag Open House. It's often
just one crisis after another!

Q: How long have you worked there?
A: Five years.

Q: Where did you work before?
A: Eight years at UI Alumni Association, which was good
preparation for this job.

Q: What do you like best about your current job?
A: The daily challenge. Every day you come in, there's
something different. For instance, someone will write in and
say, 'We're giving such and such because our grandfather was
a friend of the dean in 1900,' and we'll dig to find out
what the relationship was back then. Or some alum will call
and ask about the history of Illini Nellie, and I have to
dig it up and find out what it's all about.

Q: Who is Illini Nellie?
A: She was a Brown Swiss cow that was famous for her
fantastic milk production records. She died in 1940 and is
buried at the dairy barn on South Lincoln.

Q: If you could pick any other job or career, what would it
be?
A: I've enjoyed this so much, I wouldn't change what I do.
The team we have here is wonderful. I'll stay here, thank
you.

Q: When you're not on the job, how do you like to spend your
time outside work?
A: I love to paint and cross-stitch and garden. I've been
married 35 years, have three children who are married, six
grandchildren, and my daughter has twins on the way any
time. I'm a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Urbana,
where I sing in the choir; I belong to the Women's Guild;
and I'm a member of the county homemakers' extension. I'm
also chair of the Faculty-Staff Social Committee.

Q: What does the Faculty-Staff Social Committee do?
A: We're responsible for four travelogs a year, held at the
Illini Union. We usually have three to four other events we
sponsor at the Union - the Children's Holiday Party in
December, Country-Western Night, and the Mystery Night in
April. Every other year we hold the Chocolate Night. The
committee consists of 12 members from across the campus. Dan
Stoffel in the Illini Union's program department is our
adviser.

Q: Sounds like a lot of work. Why do you do it?
A: I love meeting people. There are so many wonderful people
I've met across campus who I wouldn't have met any other
way. Also, there's the satisfaction you get, for instance,
when you know that you've had to open Chocolate Night to a
second night because so many people want to come.

Q: How can faculty and staff members get involved with the
committee?
A: There are four openings this year for positions that
start in June. If someone is interested, they can call Dan
Stoffel at 333-3660 to get an application form. (Entries
must be received by March 31). After they return the form,
the committee goes through the processing, and people are
interviewed.

Q: When does the committee meet?
A: Once a month we meet during work time. Subcommittee
meetings are usually after work.