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BU Alumni Club of L.A. - Building Community and Making a Difference.

Sarah Mason (COM'90) and Jonathan Tavss (CFA'92) are the co-chairs of the BU Alumni Club of Los Angeles, one of the largest, most active, and most successful of BU's alumni clubs. On January 23, the club co-hosted a reception honoring Dr. Robert Brown, BU's new president, for 330 alumni and guests. Mason and Tavss introduced Brown and announced an initiative to pair alumni mentors with current BU undergraduates studying at BU's L.A. Internship program. While careers in consulting and communications keep Mason and Tavss busy, they took a moment to answer some questions from BU Forward.

BU Forward: What initially motivated you to become involved in the club, and why did you decide to take on a managing role?

Tavss: I had always been involved with event planning at BU, so it seemed like a natural thing to do. Even before I moved out to L.A., I [had] planned a Beanpot event in Miami and a retirement event for two of my professors back in Boston in the year between graduation and moving to Los Angeles. I looked at the alumni club as a way to connect with other alums [and] make new friends and [as] an opportunity to network for my career. Ultimately, through my volunteering, it became a way for me to give back to the University.

Mason: When I moved to Los Angeles, I didn't know anyone. The only resource I had was BU, so I tapped into the alumni club as a starting point-it saved me. I took on managing the club for several reasons. One, I do events and marketing for a living, and I love that aspect of bringing people together. Secondly, I saw potential for the club to serve as an invaluable resource for other alumni, and I wanted to help develop its assets.

BU Forward: Since you've been involved, how have you seen the club grow and change?

Tavss: For the first ten years I was involved, Tony Scudellari (COM'82) was the president of the club, and he did a lion['s] share of the work. A few people would step in to run Beanpots and other events, such as our informal BU Connections, but it was Tony who really was at the center of starting the alumni club's involvement in the BU Film Festival and another L.A. club annual staple, the Hollywood Bowl night..We wanted to create a family of people with the common thread of Boston University and do so in such a way that alums would feel comfortable as a community first and then if they chose to give they could. Since then, we have looked to develop varied programs that can do just that.

BU Forward: With the help of your leadership, what goals have you seen the club achieve, and what is your proudest accomplishment?

Mason: I believe we've been able to enhance the appeal of the club by increasing outreach and infusing more creative energy into the activities we do. It's an organized and energetic club. I also feel that there's a more welcoming atmosphere at club events than there was in the past. Helping establish that atmosphere, which has led in turn to getting more alums involved with the club, is my proudest accomplishment.

Tavss: Since taking on the leadership along with Sarah, we have seen attendance grow, programming diversify and multiply, and a true sense of community among the alums.

One thing that has become tremendously helpful to us is the Internet, which allows us to get the word out about events without having to use the mail. Now, we can plan casual events at the last moment, and through the BU Alumni Listserv, we can get a good group of people together.

My proudest accomplishment occurred when I was not even leading the club, but just looking to help out. .The first summer I moved to L.A., there was a hugely successful entertainment industry career forum with some heavyweight alums on the panel. Though it was a huge success, we didn't have one again for years. After 9-11, I brought the career forum back. We have done the forum every year since in different formats reaching different branches of the alumni community, and not just the entertainment industry.

BU Forward: How do you organize your events?

Tavss: Essentially, we look at the calendar and determine where we think there should be an event. We then look at what's going on around town and plan from there. .The last major event we had was the Tut exhibit at LACMA [Los Angeles County Museum of Art]. This was an instance where we saw it was coming and then worked to get the tickets and the special reception beforehand. Invitations were created and sent out to a huge sampling of the alumni community, and we followed up with e-mails. There was a huge turnout, and everyone was extremely happy in the end.

Mason: [For a screening of the Chronicles of Narnia], we had over [100] in attendance, which was incredible. Jonathan and I had tossed around the idea a while back and thought it would be a good winter event. We publicized it on the listserv, and the alumni office handled the RSVPs. There was not a lot of prep work to this event.

BU Forward: What plans are on the horizon?

Tavss: Recently, we have been planning events based on what we are excited about and what we think will draw a lot of interest. This helps to make it more fun for us. For instance, I have become quite involved in the art world and truly enjoy wine, so it seemed like a cool event would be a wine tasting at an art gallery..Our previous alumni relations manager, Cara Mia Bruncati, helped to put together a fantastic event at Gallery C in Hermosa Beach [owned by Jason Moskowitz (SMG’86)] with wine tasting and a delicious hors d'oeuvres menu tied to each of the wines.

Mason: We're working on a cooking class. We will collaborate with COM by hosting a Pub Night during the COM screening week in March. In May, we will be collaborating with Permanent Charities for the Revlon Run/Walk for Breast Cancer. Our joint mentoring program with the L.A. Internship Program was introduced at the President's event-that will get underway this spring. And we have lots of exciting things going on this summer and fall.

BU Forward: As the club co-chairs, what do you hope to achieve?

Tavss: Ultimately, we want to grow participation. .With over 5,000 alums in Los Angeles County alone, there is no reason we cannot have more people involved and [host] more events. The key to doing that is to have more people volunteering to run things.

I would love for the L.A. Alumni Club to have something like a board of directors with members from all different industries, ages, areas, etc. that can get together once or twice a year, discuss and decide what events will happen during the course of the year, and then determine who will run each. If we were able to do this, it would allow for more events and prevent the dastardly "volunteer burn out."

Mason: I'm interested in possibly getting a location for club events similar to what the Harvard Club has in Boston. It's a big project, but I think it's possible. I'd like to increase our alumni involvement at all of our events and also increase the number of people we have on the listserv. And I definitely want to continue adding new and innovative event ideas.