Having been in a relatively beta format for over five months, expanding and contracting through my own education and understanding of the WordPress environment and the language of PHP, and listening to several suggestions and requests of current and past members, ug2.org has frankensteined itself into an awkward organism with no sense of purpose or direction. With lulls and explosions of member activity, strange and clumsy appendages, and an apparent lack of awesome, our website needs some counsel.

It is my understanding that hardly anyone uses the website. And those that do visit are often frequenting on Thursdays, which is not surprising. Also, although greatly appreciated, most of the blog posts are completely unrelated and discontinuous in nature.

So in an effort to repackage and tame this bolt-necked creature, I’d like to welcome the awesome. Bring it on as if it were a Teen Choice and MTV award nominee about cheer leading. Suggest new features, or spit upon the unpopular ones. Feel free to use references/examples as well.

To start, I’ll share what’s been on my mind:

1. A dedicated area for upcoming events and reminders, aside from the calendar page
2. Guest contributors who are professional designers and/or faculty
3. UG2 Review posts, like this one, that spark dialogue about websites, print pieces, or user submissions (student portfolio reviews!)
4. Weekly Q&A from professionals and/or faculty
5. Weekly/biweekly design competitions
6. Website staff, who collaborate on interesting topics, and post weekly textures and tips

Suggestions are open to the public; membership is not required.

New Lifetime Members

A UG2 Lifetime membership is not something easily obtained. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to the organization, while both a member and an alumnus. This special membership is only awarded once a year and there are several strict criteria that must be met in order for an alumni member to be accepted. With this level of membership a member retains all membership rights (except voting) for their lifetime with out paying any membership fees, in return all we ask is for their continued support in our endeavors. This year we were given a special opportunity to elect more than one to this prestigious honor.

Since this organization is in its fifth school year of existence (fourth full school year) only one member has been elected to this position. This fact left the governing body with the rare opportunity to elect four past members to the elevation of Lifetime Members of UG2. Each of these members has sacrificed time, money or effort to our cause; and each one has done so for many years. So with out further ado, this years four Lifetime Membership Awards go to:

• Anne Bollich
  Member since our creation, won our first poster design contest, designed our current logo, set up our first trip to Mad Genius Inc., which has become a recurring annual trip, and also acted as our unofficial tour guide of Dallas during UG2-DSVC 3. Graduated May 2007 with a BFA in Communication Design, Currently works as a designer for IMC².
• Megan Bourgeois
  Member since creation, worked with the council to form the UG2 Constitution and actually edited the original version, was elected first Secretary of UG2, was also elected as UG2’s second Treasurer, came up with fundraisers such as the t-shirt painting which was a huge success. Graduated May 2007 with a BFA in Communication Design, Currently works as Creative Coordinator/ Multi-Media Specialist for On Center Software.
• Lindsey Croft
  Member since creation, worked with the council to form the UG2 Constitution, was elected as the first President of UG2 served as UG2’s second Vice President, worked diligently to raise funds, and insure the survival of UG2 in its genesis. Graduated May 2007 with a BFA
  in Communication Design, and currently works as a designer for D. Hilton and Associates, and 30 Degrees North.
• Jeremy Honea
  Member since creation, created first UG2 logo with just spray paint and stencils, was appointed as our first publicity chair, designed our second t-shirt, planned and led a group of members to the Creative Summit, and has agreed to help in a trip to Creative Summit this year. Graduated May 2007 with a BFA in Communication design, Currently a Graduate Student/Teaching Assistant at Texas State University in San Marcos.

As you can see these members have put forth a lot of time and effort in to this organization. That is not to say that they are the only ones, because I would also like to take this opportunity to thank every member past and present for making this organization what it is today. I would also like to say with hard work like that put forth by the members listed above this group can go very far. Imagine how far this group could go if we all strived to be Lifetime Members of UG2.