Letter From Norman West to Bob Edwards(161).  About Norman: West was never a TKE but always did everything with us and therefore became one of those "unofficial" brothers.  He has been a factor at WCU for a long time and is now Pres. of the Catamount Club.
 
After 46 years of being a Catamount fan, after continued support of a program that has often been hard to support, after suffering through some of the biggest blunders ever made by a university (Firing Bob Waters, not hiring Gudger as AD, firing Phil Hopkins after winning the conference championship, firing Bill Bliel after our best football season in years.......... the list goes on and on, after 46 years, I'm still trying to help.
 
After 46 years they may or may not have continued making bad decisions with the election of the new Catamount Board President..................ME.  I will, after all the years of saying "If I was running this thing I would do this or that" am at a point where I have to put up or shut up.
 
So the absolute first thing I am doing is writing this.  I have 2 main goals and both are in line for the purpose the club is intended for..........it is the fund raising arm of Catamount Sports.  The money they raise goes to provide scholarships to WCU athletes.
 
My  2 major goals:   1- To come up with a good fundraiser (I have a plan for that).  2-To increase the membership of the Catamount Club.  I think if we can do number 2 (Ken Gibbons once wrote a country song titled "If you won't be my number one, then number two on you") I will accomplish half of what I want to do. I am sure that WCU is on the brink of being what we all want.  Football is going to be a force to be reckoned with, basketball has become exciting again, baseball is still a winner, track and field is always on top, men and women's golf are good.  What we desperately need are the fans supporting us. 
 
This is why I am writing you.  The TKE's are, without a close second,  the best fraternity WCU ever had in terms of spirit, purpose and longevity and I guess their loyalty is what I am trying to capitalize on. I am amazed how much support the TKE's put into the Charlotte Golf Tournament.   I would like to ask you to put out a formal request to the fraterland and ask those who do not belong to the Catamount Club to join up for this coming year as a member of the 2010 Catamount Club.  On June 26, I  am going to ask each member of the Catamount board to enlist 10 new members and to support that request I want to be able to show them that it can be done.  The memberships starts off at $ 100. per year and increases to $ 200., $ 400.,$ 750., $ 1250., $ 1850 and up,  each with increased benefits.  My main goal is to get new people involved and I will be happy to have whatever people can afford.  At the top left of the WCU Athletics page you can click on Catamount Club and see a more detailed explanation of what I am trying to explain.
For those who join, please have them make out checks to Catamount Club and send them to me at  3085 Old Cullowhee Road, Cullowhee, NC 28723.
 
I am starting my request campaign today and you are the first person I choose to write to, feel free to critique my method before I start writing the entire freshman  class of 1964, which I will try and do.  I guess WCU helped make us what we are so we owe them.
 
In 46 years I have found out 3 things:
Bad decisions get made and you have to get over them
College athletics cost a lot of money
Scholarships build Championships
 
I'm going to try and get 100 new members before June 26th.
I am also going to throw a reception for the TKE's at the football game this fall.   Norman West