Spring Training 2009
March 15, 2009

The Tucson Illini club enjoyed another perfect day at Tucson Electric Park as we watched the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Chicago Cubs.  The Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, potato salad, chips and cookies were delicious. There were plenty of cold beverages on hand as well. The tradition continues and we hope to see you next year for another beautiful day of baseball, Illini style.

Mike Hatfield Meets with Tucson Illini Club

On Thursday, November 6, 2008 Mike Hatfield, Associate Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics, met with members of the Tucson Illini Club  at the Fox and Hound. Everyone enjoyed delicious snacks and beverages while Mike answered questions about athletics at the U. of I. Mike also gave updates on all the Illini teams and gave a short presentation on the newly renovated Memorial Stadium.

Fall Dinner

On Tuesday, November 18, 2008 the Tucson Illini Club presented their Fall Dinner at the Viscount Suites. Guest speakers were Roy Smalley and Jerry Kindall who both played for the Chicago Cubs and enjoyed many years in the major leagues and now call Tucson their home. Club members enjoyed cocktails outdoors on the patio and then a delightful Italian Buffet followed by some entertaining stories from Roy and Jerry.

Janice Ladd with one of our newest and oldest members, Butch Seisiminger.	Jim Tate, Deloris Tate and Jerry Felmley enjoy some time on the Patio.
Master of Ceremonies and event organizer Bart Ladd.	Guest Speaker Roy Smalley
Guest Speaker Jerry Kindall

The Rose Bowl

Two dozen club members with their families made the trip to Pasadena to watch the Fighting Illini in their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1984.  Everyone had a great time, but unfortunately the results were the same as 1984.

Tucson Symphony Orchestra

On Sunday, December 16th, the Tucson Illini Club with approximately 24 members attended the presentation of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Rossini’s overture to the opera “William Tell.”  Everyone had a great time and is looking forward to our second trip to the symphony this fall.

U of A vs. UCLA Football

On Saturday, November 3, 2007, we enjoyed our first outing to a University of Arizona Football game. We are looking forward to another game this year and hope to add a tailgate party before the game.

Spring Training 2008

Make it Five in a Row! That’s right; we’re batting a thousand as we had another beautiful day at Tucson Electric Park.  Unfortunately it will be our last Cubs vs. White Sox game, but we will be back next year with another popular contest.  We can’t break our streak now can we?

Gaslight Theatre

“On Wednesday, May 7th, we enjoyed another comedy filled evening as the Tucson Illini Club attended the Gaslight Theatre’s production of “Arizona Smith and the Relic of Doom.”  This is always a sellout for the club and one of the most entertaining evenings we have all year. The jokes are corny and the songs are hilarious.  We all leave with a big grin on our face and full of good food and drinks.

Mike Hatfield Visit

At 9:00a.m. early on Saturday morning, October 13th we gathered at Gavi’s Piazza to watch the Illinois vs. Iowa Football game with special guest Mike Hatfield from the Athletic Department. Mike updated us on all the activities back in CU and we enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Unfortunately we lost to Iowa.  Other than that we enjoyed a wonderful morning together cheering on the Illini football team.

U of A vs UCLA Football Game

On November 3 a group of about 20 alumni attended the U of A vs. UCLA football game.  And what a game it was.  The U of A dominated the Bruins and began their streak of what is now 3 wins in a row.  It a was a warm and sunny November day.  We hope to repeat this event next year with a pregame tailgate party.  After the game we drove the Rusty’s to watch our Illini defeat the Gophers.  What an incredible day of football.

Fall Dinner 2007

Roy “Bud” Strom was our speaker at the Metropolitan Grille for the Fall Dinner on October 30.  We enjoyed some cocktails followed by a delightful dinner.  Then Bud entertained us with his Cowboy Poetry and interesting stories about owning a ranch on the Mexican border.

Game Watch

November 10 & 13 we gathered at Rusty’s to watch the Illini beat OSU, the number one team in the country at that time and then the season finale against Northwestern.  As always, we enjoyed cold beverages, delicious food and the opportunity to meet new and old alumni as we cheered our Illini onto victory.

Gaslight Theatre

On Friday, May 18th, we enjoyed an evening of corny jokes, overacting, and wonderful song parodies as the Tucson Illini Club attended the Gaslight Theatre’s production of  “Buccaneers of the Caribbean or Corn for a Buccaneer.”  As usual, the food was hot, the drinks cold and the laughs plentiful.  A great time was had by all. The Gaslight Theatre has been staging performances in Tucson for thirty years and continues to entertain all who attend.  The Tucson Illini have attended performances in recent years and we look forward to a return visit in 2008. -- Marty Kissil – Vice-President

Fall Dinner at Skyline Country Club

Our evening with the coach was a terrific night. Illini Soccer Coach Janet Rayfield updated us her soccer team and the development of the program. There record has been nothing short of amazing the past few years challenging for the Big Ten title every year and always in the NCAA tournament. The Illini boast the best soccer field and lighting in the Big Ten. Coach Rayfield has her team ready to challenge for a national championship every year. Everyone appreciated the update she provided on many other Illini sports and showed us a very entertaining video involving all sports and gave us a little insight into Coach Zook's football recruiting and the amazing job he and his coaches have been doing.

Everyone enjoyed the evening and we were all quite impressed with Coach Rayfield and the soccer program. I know she has many new fans here in Tucson.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

On Monday, October 16, we invited current and new club members to watch the Arizona Cardinals vs. the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football at Old Chicago. We had a great crowd that enjoyed some delicious deep dish Chicago style pizza, appetizers and cold beverages as we watched an amazing comeback by the Chicago Bears to defeat the Cardinals. We were fortunate enough to be joined by Vicki Trimble from the U of I Foundation.

ILLINI VS. WILDCATS IN PHOENIX

Everyone had a great time at the basketball game on December 2nd in Phoenix. From the pre-game party at Jackson’s on Third, to the game itself (except for the final score) it was a huge success. The club sold over 200 tickets to the events and took 55 up with us on the bus. Jackson’s was full of orange clad Illini. We met alumni from Prescott, Las Vegas, Bloomington-Normal, Atlanta, San Diego, Chicago, Phoenix, and from the campus in Champaign-Urbana. Mike Hatfield and Shawn Wax from the athletic association joined us there. A number of Illinois representatives were unable to make the trip because of the bad weather back in Illinois. Another reminder of why we live here and not there. Even though we had large groups of people scattered throughout the arena, the Illini were well represented and we made lots of noise to support our team. ILL – INI!!!

Gaslight Theatre

On Tuesday, May 23rd we had 36 Alumni join us at the Gaslight Theatre on Broadway for a the parody, “The Three Musketeers”. As usual it was a filled evening as the cast of the show had us laughing from beginning to end. Our thanks to David Pashkow for arranging the evening and we hope to see many more next year as a trip to the Gaslight Theatre has become a most expected event.

2006 Cubs - White Sox

Saturday, March 18th we had 98 Alumni and friends at Tucson Electric Park for the Spring Training Game between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. The Sox won, but nobody cared because we all got to see our favorite teams and players from Chicago. And just to make us feel back at home it was a very windy day. Regardless, we all had a good meal and a great time at the old ball park.