Official Site of the Le Mars Community School District Alumni Association
Alumni Association History We turn 30 years old this year! The LCSD Alumni Association began in March 1993 as a separate enitity from the LCSD Foundation board. Basic membership began at $5/year, but many of the original alumni association members purchased life memberships for $100 to help the group become viable. The first Alumni Association newsletter was printed in spring 1993, in preparation for a membership drive over the Fourth of July that brought us 100 members. Today, membership levels are available at Basic, Kennel Kapers, Bark, Red & Black, Bulldog and Big Red Booster. The Alumni Association provides a centralized source of information and activities of interest to members. Our database currently holds 13,900 names, alumni from 1880 through the present plus a number of teachers and friends of the school district. This data is used for the membership mailing as well as being a source for class reunions. Publicity about the newly formed alumni association was spread through mass mailings, class reunions and word of mouth. Numbers steadily increased and we were able to begin awarding $250 scholarships to the graduating seniors by our second year. In June 1999, the Alumni Association became a part of the tech world with its own web site. The Alumni Association is governed by a board of 15 members. The executive officers are chairperson, vice chair, secretary, treasurer and publicity, all serving two-year terms. The membership director has no term limit. The board also includes nine members-at-large, all serving three-year terms. The year runs from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31. An annual meeting is held in September for all association members.
The 2023-2024 Board (Term expirations follow their name) Executive: Chairperson: Val Hamilton Smith (‘71) - 2024 Vice-chair: Secretary/Publicity: Julie Jones Beitelspacher ('73)2024 Treasurer: Karen Orban Fischer ('85) - 2024 Membership Director: Carolyn Swenson Vance ('69) - no term At large members: Kari Beitelspacher Kopperud (‘99) - 2023 Abby Ohm Phillips (‘99) - 2023 Open slot Eric Tammes (‘87) - 2024 Nancy Thoma (‘73) - 2024 Open slot Sandy Frerichs Downing (‘76) - 2025 Deb DeYoung Pottebaum (’82)- 2025 Kerri Black Petersen (‘78) - 2025