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ProfileKerry Jones, UI Alumni Association
Kerry Jones has her work cut out for her this fall. As a programs assistant for the University of Iowa Alumni Association, she’s responsible for helping to organize and run a dozen events throughout the year, but Hawkeye football season brings some of the alumni association’s biggest events, including Member Appreciation Day, Make-A-Wish Game Day, and UI alumni class reunions. Jones recently talked with fyi about what it takes to make it all happen—and about dinner with Cary Grant, among other things. You work on 12 events per year, including some big draws like Member Appreciation Day and the Make-A-Wish Game Day. It must keep you extremely busy. What was that like during your first year at the alumni association? It was overwhelming. After I got through the summer and fall events, I said to myself, “I can’t do this again.” This year is my ninth year. I’ve gotten better at my job and learned some shortcuts over time. I love the variety and the people I work with—alums, students, and staff. Sometimes I get to travel to bowl games. I like that I’m able to get out of the office to work at things like the University’s Welcome Week and the student activities fair [events for new and returning UI students at the start of the school year]. What’s the biggest event that you work on, and what kinds of things have to be done for it to run smoothly? Our largest event on campus each year is our Member Appreciation Day in the fall. We sponsor a tailgate for all alumni association members, who also have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the day’s game. We usually have 900-1,400 alumni association members register for the event. This year, our Member Appreciation Day is the Nov. 4 home game against Northwestern. It’s a great event because it gives members across the country a chance to come back to campus and enjoy a Hawkeye football game. We have the food, game tickets, and some hotel rooms blocked just for them. It’s a good event because it’s a chance to thank our members. The entire alumni association staff is there to help out. For an event to run smoothly, we do the majority of the work before the event, including planning, invitations, catering, location, decorations, giveaways, name tags, and so on. The day of the event is usually preparing the location by setting up decorations and supplies, arranging food, getting the location ready, and then working the event’s food lines, registration, raffle prizes, and even trash duty. You have to be willing to chat with people, and have a lot of Hawkeye spirit, especially at our football tailgates. If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be? Maybe I’d like it to be a little less busy in the summer and fall, distribute the workload more evenly across the year so I can get a real vacation in. What’s the most unexpected thing that has happened to you at work? The staff threw me a surprise “funeral” on my 40th birthday. Now tell us more about your life outside of work. I live in Downey. That’s about four miles south of West Branch. I have an 11-year-old son, Cade. We’re thinking about moving to Iowa City because he will be attending Regina this year. I’ll be graduating from Mt. Mercy College in May with a bachelor of arts in English. It has taken me 15 years to complete my degree. It was a risk, but it’s definitely worth it and I think it will pay off. As a child what career did you dream of? I wanted to be a singer. In high school, my best friend said that she was going to be a comedienne and that I would be her manager. She works at the hospital now. What was your first job? Detasseling corn. When I thought I was getting to the end of a row, it was actually the top of a hill, and then I’d see a long row of corn in front of me. If you could have dinner with a famous person, who would it be? Cary Grant. Not only was he a dashing and charming man of the 1940s and 1950s but also I would love for him to talk about his early life as Archibald Leach and the transformation he made into Cary Grant. He also may have some good stories to tell about some of his costars. I think it was a glamorous time to have lived. Tell us about your favorite things. Food… Seafood, though it’s hard to get in Iowa. Drink… Diet soda. Books… Biographies. Music… Top 40 and R&B. Movie… A good comedy, anything with Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell. Sports team… Hawkeyes. I really like watching college football. by Lesly Huffman Editor’s Note: For more about upcoming UI Alumni Association events, visit www.iowalum.com. Past Profiles
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