We are a fairly active group with several events each month (
email Mike, Yale '84) to get on our list. To keep the offerings varied and top notch, we encourage both our respective alumni clubs and individuals to organize/share events with our group, which we publicize via the Teamivy network. As an individual, this may help you find other alumni who share your interests - for example, as a direct offshoot of this group, Rick Woroniecki with the Cornell Club founded
IvyRiders, a group for motorcyclists. For the local alumni club, this may help your club bring more interesting people to your event, thus achieving "critical mass", which is better for everyone. Again, please
email Mike with your event ideas, preferably 45 days in advance, so we discuss publicizing your event through our network.
Here are some of our core events, as well as events we do from time to time (click on each link to learn more about the respective event). Also, to give you a better idea what our events are like, check out the above link to our sample newsletter.
After Work Happy Hour at Park Tavern - (monthly): we hold this event at Park Tavern every second Wednesday of the month from 7:00 - 9:30 pm. No RSVP required - just show up, and feel free to bring friend(s). Park Tavern is located near downtown Atlanta at the intersection of Monroe & 10th (right on the SE corner of Piedmont park). Once you arrive, just ask for the Ivy League Happy Hour, and they will direct you to our area. We have had as many as 80 people show up on a given night; typically we usually have around 25-40. For directions, see www.parktavern.com.
Breakfast Speaker Series - (monthly):Several of the area business school clubs have been doing these for the past 4 years, and have graciously invited us to attend. Notable past speakers include the CEO of UPS, Cingular, and the Director the GA Aquarium. The group meets at the Buckhead Club with a Traditional Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and the featured Speaker Presentation beginning at 8:10 a.m., with a promised adjournment by 9:00 a.m. sharp (so people can leave for work). Because of the success of previous programs, and the growing popularity of these events, they give priority to Season Ticket Subscribers and expect to have limited individual seating capacity for some events.
TeamIvy Bookclub- (monthly): Very active group - see the monthly schedule for event times, and/or email Laurie Marion to get on her list for bookclub updates.
Tables for 8 (weekly): the idea with Tf8 is to have 8 or more people meet for dinner at various good Atlanta restaurants. This way, you can both try out different restaurants and meet new people in a low key setting. We ask everyone to bring business cards to give out afterwards, and whenever possible, try to have an even distribution by gender as well as diverse groups. Also, this is not a "singles only" thing - couples are welcome. Depending upon the restaurant's seating capabilities and demand, we may have one group of 8-12, or multiple tables (we have had as many as 38 show on a given night). For that reason, we cannot guarantee that you will always get into a desired night, so earlier rsvps are very helpful.
Day Hikes (monthly): These hikes are typically up in the North Georgia mountains, and we usually meet at 10 am here in Atlanta to carpool up, and get back into Atlanta from 4-6 pm. Group sizes have ranged from 5 to over 20. It is a great way to enjoy the beautiful outdoors in good company.
Sky Diving: We did a trip some time back; there was about 45 minutes of instruction and then an exhilarating free fall from 14,000 feet, ending with a peaceful parachute descent. Everyone’s jump was assisted by a tandem instructor from exiting the aircraft to landing. First time jumpers were welcome and encouraged! For more information on the sport of skydiving, check out: Adventure Living's skydiving section. If you are interested in future sky diving events, let mike@teamivy.com, and we will see what we can do to organize a trip. It is an unbelievable experience!
Hang Gliding: We leave Atlanta for Lookout Mountain in northern
Georgia, and will then do a tandem trip with an instructor at the #1 rated hang gliding school
in the country. You are towed up to 2,000 (or 5,000 feet for more $$$) feet behind an ultra light, released, and you and the instructor then sail, soar, glide your way through the North Georgia scenic mountains for a 12-20 minute flight (or considerably longer with the 5,000 foot option). Best of all, if you like, you can control the glider for virtually most of the descent. The other option is the powered sky trike lessons, where for $99, you get 45 minutes of flight time with an instructor. Since we have a sizable groups going, we get a discount rate of $99 per person for the complete trip. Details about the school and the glide can be found at:
http://www.hanglide.com
This event is a lot of fun and a good way to meet fellow alumni with a little verve... besides doing the glide, we picnic together at the landing field to cheer on everyone as they take off & land. We have done several trips so far, and everyone has had a great time.
Martini Night at IMAX & These are held on Friday nights, and we meet at 7:00 pm at the bar for drinks, live music and general hanging out, and then view the movie at 8:00 pm. Besides the IMAX movie, the Martini hour is a fun event in itself - for more details, click here or call 404 370 1822.
Horseback Riding We typically do this event in the fall/spring, and have group sizes of 20-40 people. We met at TrackRock Stables in the north Georgia mountains, and a good time was had by all.
Finally, we are open to other events - provided someone is willing to volunteer to organize it. There has been talk about a white water rafting trip, as well as rock climbing... If you are willing to organize an event, drop me an email, and if it looks good for our group, I would be glad to include it in our schedule.
