Christi Crowe (McIntire '01) (center) accepts the first ever Ginny Rettig Award from Ginny's parents, Marsha and Darrell Rettig.

Emotion flowed freely at the first presentation of the Ginny Rettig Award April 18, 2001, to Christi Crowe (McIntire '01), who was nominated by her "Advertising Campaign" classmates and selected by Ginny's parents, Darrell and Marsha Rettig, and members of the McIntire faculty.

Virginia "Ginny" Rettig (McIntire '00), an inspiration and joy to all she came in contact with, lost her life Aug. 5, 2000. Those who knew and loved Ginny initiated The Ginny Rettig Fund, establishing the award and ensuring that her determined optimism and spirited leadership will live on at McIntire.

Marsha Rettig addressed an audience of students, staff, and faculty as well as sorority sisters, friends, family, and neighbors who had traveled considerable distance to attend the presentation. She spoke of Ginny's appreciation of her professors and fellow classmates at McIntire and the University and described Ginny's fun-loving approach to life, optimistic and confident leadership, and good moral character strengthened by a strong belief in God.

Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Student Services Rebecca Leonard (McIntire '82) recalled teaching Ginny her first marketing class and reflected on her outstanding character. Professor Jack Lindgren acknowledged how Ginny had touched his life and that of many others.

Many in the audience dabbed tears from their eyes as Crowe stepped forward to accept the award and embrace the Rettigs. The fourth-year student and Secretary of the Commerce Council introduced and led her "Advertising Campaign" classmates in an outstanding DaimlerChrysler presentation just before the award ceremony.

Madhu Chopra (McIntire '89).

2001 Madhu Chopra Writing Contest
McIntire congratulates the winners of the 2001 Madhu Chopra Writing Contest. First-place winner is Dinesh Kalwani (McIntire '01) for his poem "Change"; second-place winner is Elizabeth Oldach (McIntire '02) for her poem "Climb On."

Madhu Chopra (McIntire '89) was a dedicated, spiritual McIntire student tragically killed in the summer of 1988. Madhu's parents annually sponsor a writing contest in her memory. Thanks to all McIntire students who shared reflections on their experiences and to the faculty judges—Gib Akin, Elizabeth Gray, Lynn Hamilton, Bill Kehoe, and Susan Perry.

Sky Alland Scholarship winner Cara Coolbaugh (McIntire '02) receives congratulations from Connee Sullivan (Darden '82), Senior Vice President at Summit Capital.

Sky Alland Scholarship
Congratulations to Cara Coolbaugh (McIntire '02), this year's recipient of the Sky Alland Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to a rising fourth-year McIntire student who exemplifies leadership, achievement, enterprising spirit, humility, and devotion to the University.

Alland (McIntire '79) died in 1992, and those who knew and loved him established the scholarship as a way to honor and celebrate his life and values.

McIntire/Navigant Case Competition
The team of John Teter (McIntire '01), Eli Muis (McIntire '01), Matt Rice (McIntire '02), Mike Ferrari (McIntire '02), and My-Van Nguyen (McIntire '01) prevailed over 11 other student teams to win the second annual McIntire/Navigant Case Competition Feb. 8 and 9, 2001.

The contest, sponsored by Navigant Consulting and the McIntire Consulting Group, presented students with a real-life business problem involving one of Navigant's clients. The consulting firm selected the team with the best solution.

The winning group took home a prize of $2,500. Navigant also awarded a second-place prize of $500 and three runners-up prizes of $250. The second-place team included Colette Hastings (McIntire '01), Carrie Spengler (McIntire '01), Sarah Choi (McIntire '01), Brian Grabenstein (McIntire '01), Amy Tsang (McIntire '02), and David Ding (McIntire '02).

In its second year, the competition attracted four more teams and 24 more students than last year. For the full story, see Cavalier Daily.

Ana Palaghita (McIntire '01) presents David Bloovman (McIntire '02) with the first-place award of the Beta Gamma Sigma Speech Contest.

Annual Beta Gamma Sigma Speech Contest
David Bloovman (McIntire '02) is this year's winner of the Annual Beta Gamma Sigma Speech Contest, which took place April 6, 2001. Christopher Smith (McIntire '01) was the second-place winner; Heather Terry (McIntire '02) placed third.

Students were asked to apply a personal, profound lesson they learned at McIntire to problems currently facing e-commerce; each had five minutes to present his or her speech. Faculty members Rich DeMong, Elizabeth Gray, and Lynn Hamilton judged the speeches.

Commerce Council
Kudos to the newly elected Commerce Council members for 2001-2002:

President Steve Parker (McIntire '02)
Vice President Jon Prober (McIntire '02)
Treasurer Vicky Jong (McIntire '02)
Secretary Susie Oblak (McIntire '02)
Social Chair Omar Garriott (McIntire '02)
Fourth-year Representatives Jeremy Albirtton (McIntire '02), Grant Fankhauser (McIntire '02), and Ginny Turner (McIntire '02)

New Raven Society Initiates
The McIntire School congratulates five McIntire students who were selected as initiates to the Raven Society in March 2001:

Caitlin Anderson (McIntire '02)
Maren Blankenship (McIntire '01)
Nicholas Harrison (McIntire '01)
Chris Plasencia (McIntire '01)
Stephanie Wilson (McIntire '02)

Election into the society is based on academic merit and outstanding service to the University and Charlottesville community.

"Raven Society membership a great honor," says Dean Carl Zeithaml. "We should all be pleased that so many members of the McIntire community are recognized for their achievements and commitment to excellence."

Other current McIntire student members include Tiffany Butcher (McIntire '01), Jeffrey Dunn (McIntire '01), Amanda Eisel (McIntire '01), Anne Himpens (McIntire '01), Dinesh Kalwani (McIntire '01), Leigh Katcher (McIntire '01), Fraser Reid (McIntire '01), April Shimshock (McIntire '02), Adele Skaff (McIntire '01), and Christopher Termini (McIntire '01).

McIntire students and Proxicom hosted the 20th anniversary of the Proxicom/McIntire Global Student Leadership Conference, formerly known as the McIntire International Case Competition, Feb. 21-23, 2001, launching a new era for the student-run event. No longer just an interschool case competition, the conference broadened both its focus and appeal by offering panel discussions that were open to the public as well as leadership seminars. All events were tied to the theme "Multi-Channel Delivery: Creating Customer Value in the Internet Economy."

"Best Overall" presentation team (left to right): Derek Supranowicz, The College of William & Mary; Michael Vecellio, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Tiffany Butcher (McIntire '01) and Jin Xu (McIntire '02), University of Virginia.

Panel discussions were broken down into three major topics: media/entertainment, telecom/wireless, and financial services. Speakers from such companies as The Walt Disney Company, Verizon, Z-Tel, House of Blues, washingtonpost.com, IFILM, WebFN, Wachovia, Nasdaq.com, and KPMG examined the impact of the Internet on each of their respective industries. Craig Miller, CTO of Proxicom, delivered a keynote address to students and faculty, speaking on the rapid advances in emerging technologies that have created new opportunities for increasing customer options and service.

The second part of the conference focused on a case competition. Distinguished student leaders from both McIntire and invited schools, including the University of California, Berkeley, The College of William & Mary, Texas A&M University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, analyzed and presented a comprehensive solution to a real-world business case written by Proxicom. For more information visit allen.comm.virginia.edu/mgslc.

Classes of '56, '61, '66, '71, '76, '81, '86, '91, '96

Save the date for Reunions 2001! It will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, enjoy informative seminars—and get down to the rockin' music of Scott Sinclair's (McIntire '93) ultra-happening rock group, Freeloader. For more information, contact Katie Whittier at 804-924-3394 or e-mail whittier@virginia.edu. U.Va. Reunions 2001 information is also on the Web at www.alumni.virginia.edu.

Under the guidance of Commerce Career Services, a dozen students toured San Francisco and the Silicon Valley over spring break. The group visited technology companies, met venture capitalists, and checked out a genuine start-up venture. Shelby Bonnie (McIntire '86), CEO of CNET, discussed the current Internet market and his business. Students also visited Proxicom, Intraspect Software, and Gap.com. Cisco Systems gave a tour of its futuristic Internet Home, wired for remote access, even down to the online refrigerator! Bob Bissell (McIntire '69), of Wells Capital Management, hosted an enthusiastic group of students and Bay area alumni for the evening, proving yet again that the West Coast warmly welcomes all U.Va. alums to its shores.

University students and alums enjoy the San Francisco alumni-student reception in March.

"We feel fortunate to have such strong corporate and alumni connections—it makes a tremendous difference to the students to have access to the intellectual capital that is shared during these visits," said Associate Director of Corporate Relations Allison Teweles. "These trips provide students with unique, real-world insight as they prepare for life after McIntire."

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Center for Innovation in Professional Services is pleased to grant faculty awards to Professors Paul Walker, Bill Shenkir, Elizabeth Thurston, Jack Lindgren, and Lynn Hamilton for four student-centric programs during the upcoming academic year. Intended to provide broad exposure to diverse issues across professional service domains, program topics range from financial risk measurement, e-business consulting trends, and career dynamics in advertising to the impact of new technologies on business-media relations. Integrated into the McIntire curriculum, these programs will be open not only to interested undergraduate and graduate students at McIntire but also to faculty and other University students as appropriate.

Faculty sponsorship of these student-centric programs supports the Center's mission to advance the collective knowledge of professional services by actively engaging students, faculty, and practitioners interested in exploring innovation opportunities and best practices. The Center emerged from the long-standing relationship between PricewaterhouseCoopers and the McIntire School and is committed to both knowledge development and academic excellence within professional services. For more information on the Center and these exciting new programs, visit the Center's Web site.