Message from the TABA President: Looking Back on a Great Year

As we look back on 2009, all Freeman School alumni should be proud of our many accomplishments. The 30th annual Tulane Business Forum was a tremendous success with a record number of attendees, outstanding speakers and incredible participant feedback. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, gave the keynote presentation to over 600 attendees at the luncheon. While we did fall short of our financial goal, we remain pleased with the overall event and look to carry the momentum forward in planning for the 2010 forum. The Tulane Business Forum generates over 95 percent of TABA’s funding, which in turn enables TABA to support programs such as the Tulane Business Plan Competition, expenses associated with Freeman Days New York, Houston, Washington D.C. and New Orleans events, and snacks for students during exam weeks, just to name a few.

In addition to funding Freeman School programs, TABA is working to increase its visibility and involvement with alumni and students. One new initiative was to underwrite a stipend program to assist students with travel costs associated with attending Freeman Days events. All undergraduate and graduate students were invited to participate, and six students were selected to receive the stipend. The students thoroughly appreciated the sponsorship and are now more familiar with TABA’s goals and mission.

The annual Freeman Graduate Student Orientation event was held in August at the new Rock ’n’ Bowl. Attendance was at an all-time high and provided students with opportunities to meet new and old alumni, build relationships and increase networking opportunities. TABA also supported the Freeman 50, the newly established MBA alumni group of recent grads, in its goal to increase donations to the school as well as create a class agent program. We look forward to continuing to support the Freeman 50 in the coming years.

Finally, we have had the opportunity to speak with alumni, both nationally and internationally, about establishing TABA chapters in select cities. We have listened to your ideas and look forward to working with you to get these chapters set up and connect more alumni with each other and the Freeman School.

Best wishes to all,

Jerry W. Lenaz (MBA ’97)

President, TABA

For more information about any of the initiatives above or upcoming programs or events, please visit http://freeman.tulane.edu/alumni or contact me directly at jerlenaz@yahoo.com. I look forward to meeting you at a future Freeman School event.