Escape to 117 Ash

This golf-plus weekend has been a hit among DU alumni and undergraduates since 2014. Since that damned virus knocked us out the last two years, it’s time to make the trip again!

The first big event will be Friday evening, when you (and guests are welcome, wife, sweetie, whatever) visit Johnny’s for dinner. This is the premier dining venue on campus, inside Hilton Coliseum, and is exclusive to major donors to Iowa State athletics – except when you pull strings, like we did, etc. This dinner will be preceded by a private tour of Hilton including places the average visitor never gets to see.

Golf on Saturday will be at the home of the Iowa Masters since 1938: our own Veenker Memorial Golf Course on campus. Tee times will start at 11:00 AM. Whether you played Veenker every day that one summer, or just once, or never, you’ll find it a challenging course. As we have done in past Escapes, we try to pair alumni with one or two undergrads, keeping in mind skill and what interest (e.g. majors) they may have in common.

New this year is a speed networking hour for undergrads and alumni. We will split into five career groups for this session: Engineering; Business/LAS; Architecture/Design; MIS/Computer Science; Education.

This happens at 4:30 Saturday afternoon, right before the social hour and steak fry.

Looking at the full weekend, the house will be open Friday afternoon with refreshments, followed by the Hilton activities at 4:30 p.m. Special speaker at the dinner will be Dr. Toyia Younger, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs at Iowa State. After Johnny’s, the social hour will continue at the Gateway Hotel Lounge.

Saturday morning will have brunch starting at 9, and an appearance by ISU’s Director of Greek Affairs, Billy Boulden. He will help tell the story of why the Iowa State Chapter won the Sweepstakes Award last summer as DU’s best chapter. Get a selfie with the trophy!

As mentioned, golf starts at 11:00 AM. For non-golfers, guided walking tours of campus leave from 117 Ash at 11 and 1:30. In downtown Ames there is a farmer’s market until 12:30 and lots of retail open all day. We can also get you to Reiman Biological Gardens or the Brunnier Art Museum on campus, or arrange special tours of other Iowa State buildings that may interest you.

After the speed networking hour, we’ll have Happy Hour at 5:30 and the courtyard memorial ceremony at 6:30. Then comes the steak fry dinner from 7 to 9 p.m. (Who knows, maybe Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen will stop by, she does live just across Lincoln Way from us, takes about a 5-iron.) Then comes continued socializing at Gateway or elsewhere. And Sunday morning brings another brunch and sendoff from 9 a.m. to noon.

Where to stay? The Gateway has a block of rooms reserved, 20 to start. You can stay at the house (sorry, the sundeck is closed, although…). And the Ames-Des Moines area has lots of other options.

As mentioned, you can attend all or part of Escape to 117 Ash, and feel free to bring your wife, sweetie, partner, or whatever else a guest might be called. We’ve had up to 100 people attend an Escape in the past, and with this being the first summer people can travel, we might top that. This alumni gathering is an award winner in its own right, being picked for DU’s first annual alumni engagement award. And you can meet other DU award winners – best chapter advisor, best alumni volunteer, best undergraduate, etc., etc.

So please click the link below and to find information about our special rates at the Gateway Hotel. You can say “yes” and pay now, or pay later. Or you can say maybe; or if you know you can’t attend, you can let us know but perhaps chip in for an undergrad’s expenses for the weekend.

We’re hoping for a fine turnout and a great weekend of friendship – and that you will be there!

Click here to sign up: https://www.memberplanet.com/events/iastatedu/escape117ash2022

Escape to 117 Ash Committee:

Tom Rice ‘78

Tom Hansen ‘79

Jeff Courter ‘84

Colin Finn ‘05

Sam Kammermeier ‘14