Affiliated with Florida State University and the Florida State University Alumni Association)
INTERNET SEMINOLE CLUB HISTORY
ISC History
- We are proud to announce the formation of the Florida State University (FSU) Internet Seminole Club (ISC), the first Internet-based alumni/booster club of which we are aware. The ISC was founded with the idea of uniting Alumni and friends of the University who are displaced geographically or otherwise prohibited from forming, or becoming physically involved in, a local Alumni or Booster club. The Internet Seminole Club is intended to provide a medium to help strengthen ties between the University and these displaced alumni and friends.
The idea for the ISC originated within a group on the "seminoles" email listserv at FSU. Most list topics are FSU-sports related, and discussions produced considerable camaraderie. In March 1997, some of the listserv members grouped to combine contributions for the Betty Smothers scholarship fund (honoring Warrick Dunn's mother). An organized framework seemed a logical way to name the source of our combined contribution. In a real sense, then, we consider Warrick Dunn to have contributed to the inspiration of this club. Within the listserv group, we also began compiling an archive of FSU images. However, we had no specific storage site for this archive, and have had to move it several times; the proposed ISC seemed a logical home for this archive. In this context, the idea for the ISC was proposed privately (off the list), initially in December 1996 and again in March 1997. The idea then was proposed to the entire email listserv and Betty-Smothers-scholarship group, as a seemingly logical extension of the closeness that developed during that scholarship campaign. Throughout March, details were assessed regarding logistics and gaining approval from the FSU Alumni Association. In late March, a preliminary, restricted website, for use by the group evaluating these logistics, was erected; that site still functions today as our "member's only" link. Approval to distribute a modified Seminole-Club interest survey was received from the FSU Alumni Association, and on April 22, 1997 the revised ISC survey was posted on the listserv.
Throughout June, July, and early August 1997, discussions centering on logistics continued. Nominations and volunteers for various club offices were solicited, surveys regarding equipment and accessibility were distributed, tests were held of both chat sessions and message-board discussions, and the decision was made to operate the initial meeting in a message-board format. The initial FSU Internet Seminole Club organizational meeting then was held, in message-board format, during a 24-hour period on Thursday-Friday August 28-29, 1997. This launched what we believe to be the first-ever Internet-Based Club of Alumni and Friends for any University.
Since this official formation of the ISC, we notified FSU officials of our formation (by email, of course) and have begun pursuing a suitable provider for our permanent web site. We received encouraging and exciting email replies from Alumni Association officials, University Relations, and even President D'Alemberte. We extend our special appreciation to these folks for their interest and advice (Jim Melton, Betty Lou Joanos, Steve Curvey, and Beverly Spencer).
We hope to establish the ISC web site within the FSU domain, but currently are awaiting a reply on this request. In the meantime, we have launched temporary web sites to provide initial information on the club and some useful links. A preliminary ISC Information Page can be accessed at: http://www.seminoles.net/home/iscinfo.htm. Links are included there to pages that contain a list of ISC officers (http://www.seminoles.net/home/iscofc.htm), this ISC History Page (http://www.seminoles.net/home/ischist.htm), and an ISC Mission Statement (http://www.seminoles.net/home/iscmiss.htm). We expect to grow rapidly beyond our charter membership of 34.
08/23/98
LINKS:
Return to ISC General Information and LinksFor a list of downloadable FSU images, click here
