June 28, 2010
Notre Dame, Ind. – From June 24-26, representatives from more than 30 universities from around the country congregated at the University of Notre Dame for the 15th Annual National Letterwinners Association Conference.
Each year the conference provides members of the NLWA with an opportunity to share ideas with one another in effort to improve their organizations.
“The Notre Dame Monogram Club is proud to host the 2010 NLWA conference,” said executive director of the Monogram Club Beth Hunter. “This is a great opportunity for us to showcase our campus and facilities to our peers from around the country.”
The conference commenced on Thursday evening with a prayer service and welcome reception held in the press box of Notre Dame Stadium. During the reception, Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick offered welcome remarks.
Following the reception, participants were provided with the opportunity to tour the football locker room as well as the Shivarelli football players’ lounge. Throughout the weekend guided tours of campus were provided along with visits to the new athletics facilities at Notre Dame including Purcell Pavilion, Alumni Stadium and the Gug.
On Friday and Saturday, conference attendees gathered in the Monogram Room and Club Naimoli for presentations and discussions on ways to improve and evolve letterwinner clubs. Topics included, maximizing contact with current student-athletes, outreach initiatives, and ways to utilize social networking and the internet.
“From my personal experiences at previous NLWA Conferences, I have come to appreciate the value this conference adds to our organization,” said Monogram Club president Joe Restic. “I look forward to taking the lessons we learned throughout this weekends conference to continue the growth of the Monogram Club.”
To conclude each day, conference attendees headed off campus to continue idea sharing over dinner. On Friday evening, dinner was held at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown South Bend. Following dinner, the Hall of Fame remained open, allowing conference attendees the chance to take in the history of the game. On Saturday evening, the group gathered at Villa Macri for one last time to enjoy each others’ company and to reflect back on the weekend.
The 2011 National Letterwinners Association Conference will be held June 23-25 at the University of Tulsa.
“The University of Notre Dame hosted a first class conference this year,” said Brian Kegler, director of development for athletics at the University of Tulsa. “We are very proud to be hosting next year’s conference at the University of Tulsa and we are looking forward to everyone attending to experience our university and town.”