Two goals are uppermost on Amy E. Stone’s mind as new president of the Carolina Alumni Association: increasing association membership and building the new Alumni Center.

“We know that people who are members of the Alumni Association are much more likely to be University donors, and they help us attract good quality students,” said Stone, who assumed the presidency July 1. “That makes membership vital.

“The Alumni Center is equally important as it will give graduates a home on campus and a starting point for reconnecting with the University. This will be a place for casual gatherings as well as a first-class venue for University events and celebrations.”

Stone’s presidency is the culmination of an eight-year involvement with the association that began when former president A.C. “Bubba” Fennell, ’72, asked her to serve on the Board of Governors.

She sees the presidency as an opportunity to learn more about the University and to serve alumni. “It’s a very active organization, and I’ve found that the staff and the board are eager to stay current on what alumni want and need,” she said.

Stone’s earlier alumni involvement with Carolina was more oriented toward sports, which was natural. Her husband, Charles M. “Mack” Stone, ’72, vice president and general manager of the Columbia Metro Convention Center, was a Carolina football player.

They met at the 1969 Peach Bowl when Amy was a Middle Georgia College student from Hawkinsville, Ga., vying for the title of Peach Bowl Queen. She later transferred to Carolina for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education in 1972 and 1976.

Now she works as vice president of retail recruitment for the City Center Partnership Inc., recruiting businesses to downtown Columbia. The job dovetails perfectly with her role as Alumni Association president in which she extols the University’s assets.

“One of the things that makes Columbia unique is that it has the University along with Innovista and all the other cultural, sports, and educational opportunities that are here,” she said. “We have so much to offer, we sometimes forget to toot our own horn.”