By Todd Michaelis, ’90
THE Petersons once resisted the request to chair a BYU alumni regional chapter. Now Randall T. Peterson, ’68, and Judith Ashcroft Peterson, ’68, head one of the most successful chapters in the country in terms of encouraging donations to the BYU Annual Fund.
A year ago the alumni board appointed the Chicago chapter as a “pacesetter chapter” with a challenge to increase the number of donors by 5 percent. “Judy set it clearly in her mind to meet this objective,” Randy says. With the help of many volunteers, the chapter met the challenge.
The Petersons had 100-percent success; everyone they approached agreed to donate. “We felt it was part of our responsibility during this visit,” Randy says, “to teach alumni a new way of thinking about their contributions to the university—such as making small contributions consistently. Also we wanted people to get a vision of the potential of BYU and its role in the future.”
When the tally was in, about 75 people were contacted and the goal to raise donations by 5 percent was achieved. To keep the momentum, the Chicago chapter already has its volunteers recruited for this year.
