The Mont
WHE
S t#d e n t Voice
ONE
Volume IV, Number VIII Montreat, NC 28757 February 27, 2004
Scholarship Fundraiser
Stalled by Laws and Love
by Batchimeg Sambalalbat
Phonathon, the biggest annual
student fundraising event, is
cancelled this year due to the
National Do Not Call Registry.
Montreat has approximately
8.000 alumni, out of which over
3.000 are on the National Do Not
Call Registry. According to the
September 2003 legislation lim
iting telemarketing, non-profit
organizations can still raise
money over the phone, but must
transmit their caller ID informa
tion.
The college is a legitimate caller
because of its non-profit status.
However- their phone system
does not currently provide caller
ID information for long distance
calls. According to Interim
Alumni Director, Anita Sayles, the
Advancement Office deci4ed to
compare the alumni database with
the National Do Not Call Registiy,
even though “the law technically
does not affect us,...because of
love for alumni.”
The Advancement Office
decided not to proceed with Pho
nathon 2004 out of respect for
alumni who wish not to be called.
Phonathon Jhas been bringing in
alumni dollars since the 1980s, and
depends on student callers, particu
larly the Wilson Scholars, who are
required to participate. Students
call alumni and ask them to support
Montreat by donating to the Annual
Keystone Fund. “It has been suc
cessful because the former students
are talking to the present students.
And It’s a wonderful connection
between the two,” says Sayles.
“It’s a great way to assure our
alumni that the college is still
alive and kicking,” adds Dirk
Wilmoth, Vice President for
Advancement and Finance. Last
year the students raised $14,000
and $17,000 the year before. The
money raised during Phonathon
goes to the Annual Keystone
Fund and is used for unrestricted
scholarships for students.
Phonathon usually takes place
for three to four weeks in Febru
ary. Students get together weekday
evenings in the Alumni Office for
dinner, then get to work making
calls. “It’s real fun, almost like a
party atmosphere,” says Sayles,
who has helped organize the event
for the last several years.
“It is kind of strange not
having it [Phonathon] this year,”
comments Kortney Blythe, top-
caller for 2002 and 2003. “I
loved it because I got to meet
all the alumni and hear their sto
ries, and I liked the interaction
between the students who were
helping.”
In the meantime, Sayles is work
ing on an alternative fundraising
effort, called Zonathon, involving a
special mailing to the alumni. The
mailing will include personal notes
from the Wilson Scholars. “It’s an
opportunity for us to do something
creative,” says Wilmoth. “We
acknowledge the people who dpn’t
want to be called but we still want
them to know how important their
support is.”
According to Wilmoth, Phona
thon will be back in 2005.
“By this all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another. ”
-John 13:35 mV
Struble Chats With SGA President
by Lyndsay Mayer
SGA president Lyndsay Mayer
sits down with Montreat College
president Dr. Dan Struble to talk
about family vacations, beef
stew, and Dr. Struble s passion
for his calling.
Q: You have been spotted work
ing out in the college gym, even
asking students for a spotter on
the bench press. What is your
motivation for keeping fit?
A: The body is the temple of
the living God (“for we are the
temple of the living God” 2 Cor.
6:16). This is true individually,
for the Holy Spirit indwells
each of us, and of the body of
the Church, which is the bride
of Christ. As a sign of respect
for the Lord, we must take care
of our physical bodies, and as
members of Christ’s body we
are called to care for one another.
The better we care for our bodies,
the better we will be able to care
for others.
Students to
Simulate Life
as a Civil War
Soldier
by April Heyward
History students from Montreat
and Asheville Christian Academy
(ACA) anticipate dramatizing the
hardships of war through battle
reenactment at the academy’s Civil
War Day, tentatively planned for
March 2.
Tlie event’s lead planner and
Civil War professor. Dr. Bill Forst-
ehen, began organizing the event
in tire fall with teachers from ACA
to, “give students a better sense of
the life of a young recruit during
the Civil War and to learn about
the hardships and sacrifice that all
' soldiers face, then and now.”
The professional reenactment
team Hardtack & Wool will play a
huge role participating in the event.
Students fi'om both schools look
forward to suiting up and taking
Continued on Page 2
Q: What was the most exciting or
memorable revelation of God’s
hand working in your life?
A: I have never felt more called
by God to His purpose than now,
in His call for me to come to
Montreat. Sometime, though.
I’d also like to tell you how
God used me during the war in
Afghanistan.
Q: Is Montreat the first institu
tion at which you’ve filled a
completely civilian capacity
throughout your career?
A: I have been active duty or
reserve Navy since 1979, so in
that sense I have been in the
military all my adult life. But
since leaving active duty in
1990, I have been a civilian at
work and a Naval Officer when
called to duty.
Q; How will your reserve status
affect your position at school and
at home?
Continued on Page 2