All of us Cass Tech Alumni know that we went to a great high school where our families, friends and the school's faculty had high expectations for our academic success. For 100 years now this "Cathedral of Learning," to quote the late Dr. Eugene Strobel, has prepared some of our community's best and brightest to help lead and shape the world in which we live. And while we all have the same Alma Mater, we do not all share the same memories because routines and practices change over time. However, the one memory we do all share as Cass Tech Alumni is remembering that hard work must be combined with any gift or talent in order to experience true success. It is the same hard work that was required of us as students when we attended Cass Tech that is required of us now as alumni to make our alumni association work.

CTAA is a great idea but not yet a great organization. We work hard to help our members re-connect and stay in touch with former classmates. We also raise money to help students and student organizations meet their challenges. And last, but not least, we raise money to buy equipment and supplies that are needed at the school. We do all of these things without any paid staff. That's right! We are a 100% volunteer organization - and that's where you come in.

The responsibility our alumni association has undertaken is not going to be undertaken by anyone else or any other organization. Our association belongs exclusively to us alumni, to benefit us and future Cass Tech Alumni who are current and future Cass Tech students. In order for our organization to become great, each one of us must make a commitment of time or resources.

If you have time to contribute, we are always in need of alumni to serve as volunteers either on our board of directors, one of our committees or to help us cover our office at the school: You would be amazed how much of a difference you can make in the lives of Cass Tech's students and even the faculty by working in our office only 4 hours each week. If you would rather contribute resources, you can do so by joining our Giving Campaign. Either way, we can only win when each of us contributes to the success of our alumni association.

Give us a call or send us an email to let us know how you want to help. Alternatively, you can support our Giving Campaign by sending us a check or calling us and placing a contribution on your credit card. We need you.

Lawrence C. Patrick Jr.
President
Cass Tech Alumni Association

How many times when discussing Cass Tech have you been asked...

"is Cass Tech as good as it was?" If your experience has been like mine- many times. We need to focus on support, suggestions and personal commitment to make the answer to this annoying question: Not only as GOOD, but BETTER.

Here are some of the activities we C.T. alumni can do that will help us make "BETTER" a reality.

1. Join and/or support a school parent organizations, i.e. Cass Tech Marching Band, Cass Tech soon to be organized Athletic Committee, Performing Arts clubs, Senior class trip committee and others.

2. Attend student performances in all areas: such as art and music, athletic, forensic, etc..

3. Become active in Cass Tech Alumni Association, physically and monetarily.  Gifts in kind can be given to the school for items not provided by DPS Funds to help needy students and other items such as trip support, can be put into use by the students and faculty. Help CTAA become better organized so that its mission and objectives are communicated to alumni around the world, motivating the inherent pride we all have in Cass Tech.

4. Support CTDAPS, the historic Cass Tech building project to replace an empty building with a vibrant community center with educational support facilities for use by Cass Tech students. This project will generate funds to be used for additional site acquisition, contiguous to the new building. Proposed uses for this acquisition are a softball field and parking. The rehab of historic Cass Tech will make the area safer for students and local citizens, as it will not continue to be a haven for copper thieves and homeless types.

5. Develop a positive relationship with principal Lenora Ashford and her staff to aid in moving forward to our goal.

6. Bring to CTAA any information and experience you have with the International Baccalaureate program. I believe that implementing the IB program at Cass Tech would help bring students in to the school from all over the world, as there are many parents would come from other countries on assignment to local businesses who teach would enroll their students in an IB program.

The enrollment of these students would help provide the racial, social and economic environment that many of us alumni feel was helpful in developing the understanding that all people have the same basic needs and desires.

7. Support an effort to make Cass Tech a school of self-determination. I believe that the faculty, students and alumni of Cass Tech with the leadership of principal Lenora Ashford have the capability to determine the use of the per student funds it would get from DPS. Certain standards set by DPS would have to be met. With this arrangement, funds could be diverted to new programs, such as Alternative Energy, and old programs that need more monetary support.

I am certain that you have ideas, which when implemented will move us forward toward "Better".  Let us hear from you via www.casstechalumni.org or directly via e mail to me at cassalumnict.com

Health Happiness and Success,

Ray Litt
Chairman
Cass Tech Alumni Assciation

I am honored to accept the role as the Vice President of Fund Development for the Cass Tech Alumni Association. In this role, my primary focus is to increase giving to strengthen and empower the organization to better serve its alumni and alma mater. Alumni organizations serve to provide opportunities for alumni to keep in contact, socialize, and network. Additionally, when the alumni association speaks, the school should listen. The alumni should have power. Strong financials create that power. We hear about large universities all the time with huge endowments, football stadiums, scholarships, etc. provided by the alumni. They have a voice. Students at Cass Tech should want for nothing and we should see to it!

Currently I am in the process of reviewing past fund raising efforts and their effectiveness, how much money they generated, and various uses of the funds. I have participated in various events over the years, so I know we are raising money and helping out wherever we can. So, I am making a blind and ambitious statement when I say that whatever we have been able to contribute in the past, we are going to do even more!

Some of the annual events which generate significant revenue annually are the Annual Pancake Breakfast held in February, Membership Drive, and Golf Outing held in August or September. We would like to have even more events that will be fun and bring in the funds!

When I hear that athletic teams need basics like uniforms, it troubles me. That's a basic necessity for an athletic team. The volleyball team needs practice uniforms. They should have them. When I hear that our marching band is the only high school in the country invited to play in the Orange Bowl, I am overjoyed! But I immediately realize that money is needed to get there. A wise man was quoted in the best selling book of all time when he said: "Money answereth all things."

Cass Tech has been thriving in a school system that has struggled financially for many years. Yet, we continue to churn out nationally ranked scholars and high achievers year after year. We have orchestra students performing at Carnegie Hall! We have an absolutely exquisite building with state of the art equipment and facilities. Our graduates are going on to become published authors, entertainers, lawyers, doctors, real estate developers, CEO's, engineers, and mayors! We have every reason in the world to be honored to call ourselves Cass Tech Alumni.

We can use all the help we can get! To develop a truly strong fund raising program, we need grant writers, individuals experienced with fund raising events, planned giving, online giving, direct mail campaigns, etc. The first thing we need is for every Cass Tech Alumnus to obtain or renew their membership, and keep it active annually. Visit www.casstechalumni.org and activate or renew today! Next, we need your bodies, your skills, your expertise, and your energy! If you are just too busy to participate, we need your money! Sponsor a hole at a golf outing or sponsor a foursome of students to play. Buy a block of tickets for the Pancake Breakfast and make them available to students. Or simply sponsor an event or make a donation on our website. There's truly a need for whatever you can bring to the table! Find your place with CTAA!

The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. Vincent Lombardi