STRIPES elects new executive director
Published Nov. 5, 2004
Come January, STRIPES will have a new head honcho: Mike Ekey.
Ekey, a former employee of The Maneater, was elected as the new STRIPES director at the organization's weekly meeting Wednesday night. He will take office when the new semester starts in January.
Ekey said though he won't take office for a few more months, his work starts almost immediately.
"I will be starting work as soon as next week," Ekey said. "I want to sit down with the people involved with STRIPES, including people with the university. I want to get to know as many people as I can."
Ekey said though it isn't his goal to make changes in the organization, he does have several ideas about improving it. He said he wants to increase the number of sponsors and hopefully publish a monthly newsletter.
"We want to get our name out in the community," Ekey said. "A lot of people don't understand what we do. We're a safe-ride service. You don't have to be drunk to use STRIPES."
Ekey said STRIPES will be choosing a new assistant director sometime after Thanksgiving break. He said most of the other officers would stick around.
Dale Thuet, assistant director of STRIPES, said he felt good about Ekey's election.
"I'm confident," Thuet said. "I think he has a lot of good ideas about where the organization will go. I think he'll step up and do a good job for us."
Thuet said he thinks Ekey will stress member retention.
"I think one of his main points is that he wants to have a lot more consistency with the organization," Thuet said. "We do a very good job of getting new members" we always have a problem retaining them. He wants to help retain those old members."
