Practice adds alumni membership to benefits list
Working for W. Baxter Perkinson, Jr., D.D.S. and Associates Ltd., the largest dental firm in Virginia, just got a little sweeter.
Alumnus and Board of Visitors member Dr. W. Baxter Perkinson Jr. (D.D.S. ’70) and his practice’s executive board have decided to make a special gift to employees who are fellow Virginia Commonwealth University alumni: Payment of the annual membership dues for the MCV Alumni Association of VCU is now an employment benefit.
The idea, Perkinson said, was prompted by partner Dr. Kit Tucker Sullivan (D.D.S. ’83), who serves on the MCV Alumni Association’s membership committee. Perkinson recalled Sullivan’s announcement made during a Perkinson and Associates’ annual office lecture this past October.
Sullivan discussed the importance of joining the alumni association and was very active in trying to recruit new members, he said.
“Graduates are enthusiastic about giving back to their alma mater,” Perkinson said. “Advancement of the alumni association has improved because of these efforts.”
The goodwill won’t stop with this year’s memberships. Paying for employee memberships is a new, permanent benefit, Perkinson said. Current association members can look forward to having their memberships renewed and future employees will receive memberships upon hire.
“We tend to hire at least one hygienist and dentist out of each class, each year,” he said.
One recent alumnus who is a new MCVAA member thanks to his employer, Dr. Michael V. Catoggio (D.D.S. ’08), joined the practice in July 2008.
“I graduated in 2008, so being an alumnus is still pretty new to me,” Catoggio said. “Many of us who just got out of school don’t even know the benefits of becoming a member.”
Offering membership to doctors and staff creates a great opportunity to become more involved, Catoggio said.
“Alumni membership will allow me to network with other alumni, stay in touch with my classmates and get to know others in the field,” he said.
Catoggio is also looking into the variety of insurance benefits available to alumni members. Other benefits include a subscription to the semiannual alumni magazine, Scarab, career services programs, special events and much more.
Perkinson is thrilled to offer the benefit. “I consider promoting VCU as important as the work I’m doing,” Perkinson said.
And he hopes other companies will follow suit. For the VCU and MCV alumni associations, new members means more opportunities to bolster all alumni activities.
“Membership dues are vital to supporting the many programs that are sponsored by the alumni associations,” said MCVAA President Dr. Jim Revere (D.D.S. ’65), director of planned giving for the VCU School of Dentistry. “Publication of our alumni magazines, association-sponsored scholarships, events for graduating students, career resources and programs for currently enrolled students all are made possible by funding through our dues program.”
To learn more about the alumni associations, contact Gordon McDougall, assistant vice president of alumni relations, at (804) 828-8192 or gamcdougall@vcu.edu.