Mississippi State University’s Alumni Association broke records for having an all-time high of 39,418 active members for the year 2010.
This is the second year in a row membership has broken previous records. Jimmy Abraham, associate vice president for development and alumni and executive director of the MSU Alumni Association, said active membership has been above 30,000 for the past five years.
He said his personal opinion as to why membership has been so high the past five years is because there is no better time to be involved with the university than right now.
“We’ve got an outstanding president [who has] a great administration. We have a faculty that is second to none, we have an enrollment increasing substantially each and every year, and we have an athletic program that is on the rise,” he said. “All those things add together, and the little things become big things.”
To keep membership high, the association keeps in contact with the alumni, Abraham said.  The MSU Foundation keeps track of whose membership is about to expire. The chapters also have “phoneathons,” in which alumni chapters will call inactive members in their area and try to get them to participate.
To be in the organization, a financial contribution must be made to MSU from the alumnus.  All graduating seniors are given free membership for a year to encourage them to become and stay members.  Graduates can donate whatever they can afford to spare because there is no minimum amount required.  Abraham said gifts can be made to the MSU Foundation or the Bulldog Club to be considered active in the Alumni Association.
The association has 91 chapters worldwide with plans to develop more.  Chapters are considered active by meeting their membership goals, and 96 percent of all chapters were active this past year.
Alumni give back to the university by talking about their time at MSU, attending chapter meetings, organizing events and making donations, Abraham said.
This past year, 583 events were organized by the association, which was also record-breaking. Members organize various events such as the Alumni Association tailgate tent, Send-off Parties and MSU’s birthday party held every year in The Junction. Students can receive free food at each of these events.
“We want to do as much as we can for our currently enrolled students,” Abraham said. “Without students, we don’t have alumni.”
One of the most important events the organization puts on is the annual awards banquet and leadership conference in which outstanding alumni and alumni chapters are recognized, Abraham said.  The leadership conference allows the association to talk to chapter officers about future goals and thank them for past work.
The MSU Alumni Recruiting Network is also a part of the Alumni Association and works with the Office of Admissions and Scholarships to help bring students to MSU, Abraham said.
 Bruce Franklin, a volunteer MSU Alumni Recruiter, said he is very passionate about the association. 
Being a recruiter means he is not involved with his alumni chapter, but he is still an active member of the organization, he said.
“Commitment to the Alumni Association is a great way to stay connected to the university,” Franklin said. “When you just get out of school and either just got a job or don’t have a job yet, you can use it for networking, and it’s a great way to give back to the university.”
Heather Richardson, junior kinesiology major, said she plans on becoming a member of the Alumni Association after graduation. 
“I like the Send-off Parties because [alumni] go to actual towns around the state, and it gets more alumni involved to recruit students to come to Mississippi State,” Richardson said.
Abraham said the organization held 59 Send-off Parties around the country.