GM's False Payback

LIES!!! Completely false. Okay lets go through a little recent history first. For GM's bailout, the US Fed purchased $49.5 billion in GM stock and gave them a loan of $6.7 billion. In addition to this GM was allowed a $13.4 billion line of credit in TARP.

What GM is referring to when they say they have paid back their loan in full is that they have tapped into that $13.4 billion line of TARP credit in order to pay off the $6.7 billion loan. So GM still owes the US just as much as it did before. They just did a little window-dressing to make it look like they did something good. Look at their financials. They still are no where near having a positive operating income.

New Beautiful Bulldog

And the winner is ... MEATBALL! Meatball is the winner of Drake Beautiful Bulldog contest. This is the fella right before we were about to drive them around the track Saturday. Now I know there have been a lot of rumors about what will become of Porterhouse, last year's winner and our unofficial mascot. Well be sure Porterhouse will still be Drake's number 1 dog and mascot. He's just too lovable.

Another Great Relays!

Well that's the show. It's the perfect way to end the year (while technically we still have finals but we're not going to think about that right now). I work with the Athletic Department's marketing team and actually got to stand on the field right in the heart of the whole relays; an absolutely amazing experience.



I actually got to stand about 10 feet away from the finish line, when Lolo Jones ran. Now it's not a great photo and I could point out Lolo in all the crowd, but trust me when I say this is the photo finish of Lolo Jones right here. She unfortunately did not win. She ran a 12.50 and was just like a few hundredths of a second behind the other lady.

RELAYS!!!

RELAYS is here!!! Whooooooo! This is the biggest celebration of the Drake year. Three straight days of awesomeness (or more depending on when you like to start partying).

Last week we had Street Painting, which, in my opinion, is the BEST day of the ENTIRE year. Now you are supposed to be painting designs to represent a student group you are in on concrete squares, but that's boring. The best way to celebrate is to grab a bucket of paint and just walk around splashing paint on folks. Trust me, they'll thank you for it.

Election Results

So we got the results of the runoff vote the other night. Unfortunately we didn't make it this time around. Not a whole lot of people seemed to remember to vote the second time.

The Runoff Vote was:
Allen: 64
Hall: 50
Abstain: 4
Total: 118

Togive you an idea Reed and I tied the first time with 170:169 votes. So I alone got 50 more votes the first time and there were votes on a whole the first time.

It's all right. Reed is a real good who can actually get some stuff. He'll do a good job.

Chalk Drawing

So kind of a way to get the name out there for the election. I drew a gigantic, obnoxious picture of my face that would catch everyone's attention walking up to Aliber. It doesn't have any artistic merit; it's just kind of well drawn. Either way, it got a pretty good buzz going which is what we wanted. Hope it works.

Hall for CBPA Senator

The other big project that I've been working on was running for CBPA student senator. The actually announced the results last Tuesday, and it was a tie. So now they are having a runoff vote tomorrow. So its still all up in the air. Below are some of the posters we used. Hope you like them.

Finance Week

I've been stupid busy these past couple weeks mostly due to this project. It may be a little dorky, but I'm really proud of this thing. As Drake Investment Club's Professional Chair I organized the 5 day series of events and lectures. It was quite the circus, but it turned out really well. We were filling the rooms on these things.

"Financial Management for the College Wallet" - April 5, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, Meredith 229
Matt Busick founded RiverGlen Wealth Counselors in 2006. While at the time a successful franchise owner of a large financial planning and investment advisory firm, Busick experienced a near life-death experience while surfing in Hawaii. In thinking what would have happened to the financial security of his wife and children had he died, Busick realized the need for a new kind of wealth management with a genuine interest in the best interest of the client and their loved ones. Busick comes to Drake bringing his wealth of experience and expertise in the industry to prepare students on the early steps towards acheiving financial security and retirement bliss.

"Tales on the Titans of Wall Street" - April 6, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, Olmstead 310
Robert "Skeet" Wootten, a true Oklahoma native nicknamed for his skeet-shooting grandfather, has had over 30 years of experience in the financial industry. Within that time Wooten has worked and held senior positions with such notable firms as Bear Stearns and Company, Equitable of Iowa Companies, J.P. Morgan, and currently Wells Fargo Financial. Wooten over years has collected a number of remarkable anecdotes surrounding some of the most significant moments in financial history. Come hear his amazing tales of the true Wall Street.

CBPA Awards Ceremony - April 7, Parents Hall

"The Art of Real Estate Investment" - April 8, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, Olmstead 310
Jason Wilste is the co-founder and investment executive of Naavigator Financial Partners. The firm specializes in the vast market of alternative investments; those innovative investment opportunities that are often not made aware to the average public. With a world increasingly connected, it is no longer enough to have stocks in technology, shipping, and automotive to have a truly diversified portfolio. Wilste focuses on the in's and out's of the real estate investment.

"Finance Speed Networking" - April 9, 10:00am - 11:30am, Aliber 009
Open to 20 finance majors, students will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with local professionals in the finance industry of a wide variety of careers and seek their advice in navigating the course of their career. RSVP to jmh054@drake.edu

"America's New Financial World" - April 9, 2:00pm - 3:30pm, Aliber 101
Scott Johnson, CEO of Wells Fargo, will offer students his extensive and expert insight into how the recent, dramatic alterations to regulation and industry have impacted the world of investments. Over the past two years we have seen the crash and fall of some of the industry's greatest giants and experience the biggest threat to our nation's economy since the Great Depression. The government has responded with new litigation and unprecedented methods. It is a new world investing face.