z - Past News
Summer 2009 Newsletter NOW AVAILABLE
Thursday June 4, 2009
Our latest newsletter has just been published. See the newsletter for a recap on this past year's events.
Click here for the pdf
DC Club honored at the Charter Gala 2009
Saturday April 4, 2009
The DC Alumni Club was honored as the Alumni Group of the Year at the Charter Gala taking place in the Festival Pavilion at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Honored among us were Alumnus of the Year Robert D. Haas '64, and other recipients of prestigious awards in Excellence in Achievement; Mark Bingham Award for Excellence in Achievement by a Young Alumnus/a; Excellence in Service; and Bradford S. King Award for Excellence in Service by a Young Alumnus/a.
Our Club President Dave Timmons and Executive Vice President Kathy Molina were in attendance to receive the honor.
Thank you for your support of the Club's growth and continued development!
Mark DiPaola grew up with entrepreneurship in his blood. One of his first ventures was "Mark's Restaurant"—that is, the kitchen table, where at age 5 he would serve his dad breakfast. By 2002 when he founded Vantage Media, a search engine marketing company, it was already his "sixth or seventh business," he says. The company refers clients, including Netflix and eHarmony, through online search ads. What differentiates the company is that customers, as he explains, pay only if the person who clicks on the ad is actually eligible for their service. After selling a portion of the company in 2007, DiPaola set up the DiPaola Family Foundation with his parents and two brothers.
Today he stays busy with the foundation, a generous donor to the Haas School of Business and the campus; identifying new companies to invest in with D3 Ventures, an angel investing firm; and maintaining balance in his life after "seven years of 100-hour weeks." Last fall also marked the first Career Conference for juniors and seniors at Haas, a program made possible by funding from DiPaola.
For more information:
http://alumni.berkeley.edu/CAA_Events/Charter_Gala/2009/awards.asp
MOURNING THE DEATH OF A FELLOW BEAR AND FRIEND --
News of Erik Bluemel’s death from a tragic bicycle accident reached us a few days ago and is still hard to believe. <Denver Post article: “DU law professor brain dead after bike accident” May 6, 2009>
DC Cal Alumni Club offers Erik’s family and friends our deepest condolences for their sudden and great loss.
Erik Bluemel (Class of 2000, B.A., PEIS (Political Economies of Industrial Societies)) was one of the DC Alumni Club’s leaders, instrumental to the club gaining its current momentum, and served as its first true Webmaster. He was always willing and able to help – even before he arrived in DC, he contacted our then president to help when we most needed it. His service to the club continued throughout his time in DC. He was also a fixture at the club’s game viewings at the Sign of the Whale during Cal football season, cheering on his beloved alma mater. As he left DC last year, excited to start his life in Denver as an Associate Professor at University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, he offered guidance to his successor to ensure a smooth transition for the club. Even from Denver, Erik was in touch, helping with any issues that came up.
His genuine kindness and warmth could be felt through even the briefest encounter; in his down-to-earth, easy and honest demeanor, his quiet intelligence and concern for the world was apparent, marking him a true representative of the Cal Bear spirit. So to us in DC, Erik wasn’t known as an accomplished legal expert or law professor that he was, but a highly reliable and kind friend. He has made an impression on us and we are honored and privileged that our paths crossed.
<Please send all condolences to Erin Proudfoot at the California Alumni Association (contact information below), who will forward them to Erik’s mother.>
Denver Post Article: “DU law professor brain dead after bike accident” May 6, 2009 http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_12308168
DU Faculty Profile: http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/profile/erik-bluemel
Erin Proudfoot, Manager, Alumni Events & Groups
California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley
1 Alumni House, Berkeley, CA 94720-7520
erin.proudfoot@alumni.berkeley.edu
T: 510-642-0227 | F: 510-642-6252
