Tim Lafferty, B.S ’86 (left) and his wife, Kathy, converse with Ronald Balter, B.A. ’80, during a reception held in conjunction with the UB Alumni Association’s fall board meeting in New York City.

For the first time in its history, the UB Alumni Association held a board meeting outside Western New York. “Our board is represented by alumni from across the country, so it made a lot of sense to choose another location,” says UB Alumni Association President Jennifer Wozniak, M.B.A. ’96 & B.A. ’92.

The meeting was held at the Westin Hotel in midtown Manhattan on November 14 and 15, with 25 board members attending. Wozniak presided over the meeting, which included a presentation by Jennifer A. McDonough, vice president for university advancement, whose division includes the Office of Alumni Relations.

During their free time, the group attended an evening performance of 42nd Street, and was treated to a tour of Grand Central Terminal by Mark Nusbaum, M.Arch. ’85 & B.P.S. ’83, project architect for the restoration of the terminal, completed in 1998.

Jennifer Wozniak, M.B.A. ’96 & B.A. ’92, president of the UB Alumni Association, led the first-ever, off-site board meeting in New York City on November 14. To her immediate left (as viewed from audience) is Willie Evans, Ed.B. ’60, former UB Alumni Association president, and to her immediate right is Robert O. Davies, associate vice president for alumni relations.

“When Bob Davies told me that he wanted to hold a board meeting here when we first met three years ago, I thought it was a great idea,” says Helene Blieberg, B.A. ’77, New York City chapter president. “I was thrilled to … welcome participants from Buffalo, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Chicago and New Jersey to the first Alumni Association board meeting to be held outside of Buffalo.”

According to Blieberg, the weekend represented “the best of the alumni experience.” She adds: “We talked at length about how we, as alumni, could support events and objectives of the university. We experienced how UB continues to be a part of our lives in the places where we now live and work. In addition to being briefed and updated by UB professionals, we had the chance to meet and interact with new and returning members.

“Those conversations usually included discussions of what was happening in each chapter and how we could work with the university to strengthen them even more. My hat’s off to Bob for organizing such a productive meeting and my only question is ‘Where are we headed next?’”