June 2009

Thank you for your interest in coordinating an Alumnae Book Club. For the 2009-2010 academic year
Peace College has chosen to focus on Peace Passport - Your Journey, Your Future. Peace Passport
represents our value system as an academic institution. It identifies the knowledge, skills and experiences
needed to prepare and strengthen our students for their future.

Most people would agree that thoughtful behavior and common decency are in short supply, or simply
forgotten in hurried lives of emails, cell phones, and multi-tasking. In Choosing Civility, The Twenty-five Rules
of Considerate Conduct, P. M. Forni identifies the twenty-five rules that are most essential in connecting
effectively and happily with others. In clear, witty, and, well...civilized language, Forni covers topics that
include:

* Think Twice Before Asking Favors

* Give Constructive Criticism
* Refrain from Idle Complaints
* Respect Others' Opinions
* Don't Shift Responsibility and Blame
* Care for Your Guests
* Accept and Give Praise

Finally, Forni provides examples of how to put each rule into practice and make life - and the lives of others -
more enjoyable, companionable, and rewarding. For more information on the book and author, please visit
http://krieger.jhu.edu/civility.

To help you get your book club going with other alumnae in your area, we have enclosed a “tool kit” of
information that will help you to plan and implement a successful event. Whether you prefer to email,
mail, phone (or all of the above!) fellow Peace alumnae about your book club, what matters is that you are
helping Peace to better engage and better connect our alumnae to our alma mater! Something to consider
before you get started: Would you like to hold a pre-planning meeting with a select group or would you
prefer to just set the date and send invitations to your area alumnae? The approach is up to you.
Enclosed you will find everything you need to get started.

We hope that your book club event will entice alumnae to participate in campus events throughout the
upcoming academic year. In conclusion, we ask that you collect an email address from each alumna you
connect with. Please forward these email addresses to the Alumnae Office and keep them informed of your
plans. Good luck!

With Peace Spirit,

Carolyn Hollis Dickens ’72 Meghan McCleery ’95

Alumnae Board of Directors Director of Alumnae Affairs

Enclosures (4): checklist; event confirmation form; sample letter; and discussion questions.

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 Planning Checklist
Alumnae Book Club

Here is a “checklist” to help you think through some ways to organize your event and make it successful.
Throughout this project, you are serving as an ambassador to Peace each time you connect with fellow
alumnae. The best way you can help the College is to collect updated information (i.e. emails, addresses and
class notes) on every alumna you speak with and share the information with the Alumnae Office.

Collect email addresses! We love spending time with alumnae in cyber-space, so be sure to get
those emails from your Peace sisters.
Recruit your fellow Peace sisters to join in on the fun. If you live in a large community, consider
forming a small committee to assist you in making phone calls. For example, five alumnae can each
call 20 other alumnae to help you make 100 phone calls in your area. In addition, this committee will be
helpful to you when it comes time to entertain the book club group.
Save the Date! Selecting a date, time and place for your book club event is the first step. The next
step is communicating this information to alumnae and inviting them to participate.
Email is the best. Create an email distribution list in your email address book for easy, quick
communication to area alumnae. You may also want to send out an Evite. Visit www.evite.com for
directions on creating and sending Evite invitations. They are a fun, easy way to communicate with the
entire group and keep track of who is coming. For those that don’t have an email address, consider
sending them a letter or calling them.
Send a letter/invitation. Refer to the enclosed “sample book club letter” as a guide to wording your
own personalized invitations. Or, if you wish, you can plug your information into the sample letter and
email it to the Alumnae Office at modorizzi@peace.edu. The Alumnae Office will format, print and mail
the letters for you.
Share your signature with us. If you would like to include your signature on these letters, sign your
name three times on a blank sheet of paper and fax it to: Meghan McCleery ’95 at (919) 508-2385. We
will scan your signature into your letters before mailing them.
Collect RSVPs. Once you’ve sent your invitation with an RSVP deadline, let the Alumnae Office know
who you expect to attend. We can then mail you essentials like blank nametags and copies of
discussion questions and know the levels of interest alumnae have for future programs like this!
Collect email addresses! Just a friendly reminder to collect and share this information with the
Alumnae Office whenever possible. 
Complete, sign and return your book club event confirmation sheet to the Alumnae Office.

Remember, we are here to help you make your book club event fantastic. Meghan McCleery ’95, Director of
Alumnae Affairs, will follow-up with you to answer your questions or concerns in the coming days. You may
also contact her at (919) 508-2024. Or, by email at: modorizzi@peace.edu

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 Book Club Event Confirmation Form

To: Peace College Office of Alumnae Affairs

From: _________________________

Today’s Date: _________________________

I gladly agree to host a regional book club in _____________ (city/state) on the following date and time:

______________________.

I plan to include alumnae in surrounding regions (for example, Raleigh may wish to involve Cary and Apex
alumnae, etc.):

The address and location of the book club event will be:

The following alumnae have agreed to help me coordinate the event:

Other information I would like to share with the Alumnae Office:

___________________________________
Signature/Date

Please sign and return this form to:

The Office of Alumnae Affairs
15 East Peace Street
Raleigh, NC 27604
modorizzi@peace.edu

Page 3 of 5
SAMPLE LETTER

Date

Name
Address
City, State

Dear Name,

For the 2009-2010 academic year, Peace College has chosen to focus on Peace Passport - Your Journey,
Your Future. Peace Passport represents our value system as an academic institution. It identifies the
knowledge, skills and experiences needed to prepare and strengthen our students for their future.

Most people would agree that thoughtful behavior and common decency are in short supply, or simply
forgotten in hurried lives of emails, cell phones, and multi-tasking. In Choosing Civility, The Twenty-five Rules
of Considerate Conduct, P. M. Forni identifies the twenty-five rules that are most essential in connecting
effectively and happily with others. In clear, witty, and, well...civilized language, Forni covers topics that
include:

* Think Twice Before Asking Favors

* Give Constructive Criticism
* Refrain from Idle Complaints
* Respect Others' Opinions
* Don't Shift Responsibility and Blame
* Care for Your Guests
* Accept and Give Praise

ENTER YOUR EVENT DETAILS HERE:

Let’s gather together and stimulate our intellectual curiosity as Peace sisters! I would like to invite you to be a
part of the <insert area here>-area Peace Alumnae Book Club. On <date here>, we will gather at <insert
location/address> to plan our next book club discussion/ get to know each other better as Peace alumnae.
Purchase your copy of Choosing Civility through the Peace College Bookstore by calling (800) PEACE-47 or at
your local bookstore. Even if you have not yet read the book, please join us still for lively conversation and
fellowship!

Finally, please send me your email address so that I may be in further contact over the next several weeks.
Let’s start reading!

With kind regards,

Name
<REGION> Alumnae Book Club Coordinator
Phone and e-Mail

P.S. I want to hear from you. Even if you are unable to make it on the <date>, I would love to hear your ideas
and interests about this new group!

Page 4 of 5
 Choosing Civility Discussion Questions

When you meet to discuss Choosing Civility, use the following questions to start the discussion.

1. Dr. Forni writes, “Our contentment and happiness are a matter of personal attitude.” Do you agree? Does
your attitude affect the people around you?

2. Dr. Forni writes, “Our challenge is to pursue relationships while keeping at a minimum the hurt that they
entail. How can we do that?”

3. “Restraint is the art of feeling good later.” Think about things you’ve done that feel good immediately. Think
about things you’ve done that feel good later. What do these things have in common? What separates them?

4. What does it mean to go “one step beyond the golden rule”?

5. We often ask, "What’s in it for me?" Can you think of a time when your life has been improved by a personal
relationship?

6. What do all of these--personal attitude, kindness, restraint, the golden rule, and relationships--have to do
with Civility?

7. Share a personal experience about how a civil or uncivil action affected you.

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