Martee Horne is on the move.
It’s the evening of the donor dedication dinner to commemorate Phase III of the Business Learning Community, and Horne is making sure everything is in its right place. As the Terry College’s executive director of development and alumni relations, Horne (BBA ’78) played an integral role in making this night a reality. She was there when the plan for new B-school facilities was not six buildings, but one; when the team around her was not 19, but two.
So she paces, checking seating, checking sound, making sure her staff has what it needs. She’s there because she’s always been there.
But that’s about to change.
After 22 years at the University of Georgia with 20 at the Terry College, Horne is retiring in January, leaving a post and office she built from the ground up.
“I think it’s time for new blood,” she says. “Time for me to do the things I still want to do while I still have my brain and my body.”
Horne’s role in engaging Terry’s alumni cannot be understated, say those who know her best. She set about bringing more alums back to campus while helping to raise the money to transform the college into what it is today.
“The biggest thing that Martee has done is be the catalyst for the Terry College, and I think more broadly for the University of Georgia building relationships with its alumni on a regional and national basis,” says Darren DeVore (BBA ’86), managing partner of Broad Pine Investments. “Martee was at the forefront of leading that charge.”
I sat down with her this fall to see where she’s been and where she’ll go from here.
How did you get your start in fundraising at Georgia?
It’s 1996 and I had been at home with my children for 12 years and done lots of leadership volunteer work in the community — president of the Junior League, president of PTO, chairman of the Clarke-Oconee American Cancer Society — stuff like that. After completing some service for the 1996 Olympics, my husband suggested the next thing I took on have a salary and benefits attached! (laughs) I began to think about going back to work. I have a degree from Terry in MIS, but the computer world had changed dramatically plus I never felt computers were my strength anyway. I told a few folks I was considering reentering the working world. My friend, Kathy Bangle, who works at the UGA Foundation, reached out and she said UGA had a position in development that ‘has your name written all over it.’ I asked her what they developed! Seriously, I didn’t know development equaled fundraising! But I got the job and started in October 1997. I was so green it made the Wicked Witch of the West look good. I was fortunate to fall and grow into a role that was really perfect for me and the rest is history.
What prepared you for the job before you came to Georgia?
I did some event fundraising with my volunteer work, but I don’t think that’s what landed the position for me. Scott Sikes (former UGA executive director for leadership and major gifts) told me he hired me based on the reputation I built in the Athens community of being a volunteer who got things done. He also said he could see me talking with a farmer in the field as well as a CEO in the boardroom building solid relationships with both!
Where was Terry at the point when you came in?
I made the change from central development to Terry in April 1999. I made that move because this is where I hailed from, I had a business degree, and it seemed like a nice fit. At that time, Terry had one person in development (me) and one person in alumni relations. We were an immature fundraising operation. Of course, I didn’t realize that at the time. Remember I was as green as the wicked witch. Let’s just say we had nowhere to go but up.
Why do you think that was?
Changing times, shrinking resources, and the increasing emphasis on securing private gifts were key drivers of building the Terry development and alumni relations (TDAR) operation. Dean George Benson, who was kind enough to take a chance on me and hired me, was a very good fundraiser and friend-raiser. Under his leadership, we began to engage greater numbers of alums. Through that alumni outreach we began to expand our development efforts. It was definitely a grassroots approach through which our operation began to mature. All four deans I have worked with have made college advancement a top priority. Each brought special gifts to the table, each gave me opportunities to succeed and were amazing mentors. As their emphasis on development and alumni relations grew, our TDAR staff grew, alumni engagement grew, private financial support grew, opportunities for students and faculty grew. Looking back I can see how over the years one thing built upon the other.
The Terry brand grew as well, and that could be part of it.
You are right about that. It was another one of Dean Benson’s priorities. In 1999 if you asked a student they would say they went to the business school at UGA. A few years later, they would say they went to the Terry College. A few years later, alumni in Georgia and throughout the Southeast echoed the Terry name and the brand began to take off. Many of our C-suite executives in Atlanta — the Pete Corrells, the Earl Leonards, the Doug Ivesters — were clear Terry needed to have a physical presence in the Atlanta market. When the college leased space in Buckhead with UGA and Terry’s name on the building, it was tremendous for visibility and the brand.
There have been many remarkable people who came through Terry over the years, a college can’t reach those upper echelons if you don’t have those graduates.
It’s pretty incredible how many affluent alumni Terry has. When we launched the Building Terry campaign, the number of successful alumni discovered across the nation was astounding. They had been busy building careers and were disconnected from UGA, many since graduating. It was so fun to bring them back to campus, share their walk down memory lane and watch their amazement in discovering how far our B-school had come since they were students. Priceless!
It was different for them because when they were here there wasn’t a brand or a central place within the college to get together.
True for them and for me. We came to UGA, we went to class, then we went back to our dorm room or apartment to study, socialize, etc. That’s what we did day after day. We had no place to gather, no place to get to know our classmates or our teachers. It was sort of like being a commuter school. It’s so different now. The Business Learning Community facilitates engagement. Case in point, Terry hosted an event in Atlanta for the Class of 2019 and about 150 attended. They had never been to an alumni event because they had just become an alum. They didn’t really know what to do upon arriving, but they all knew each other. That would have never happened 15, 20 years ago! It was so gratifying to see the camaraderie among these new alumni. I am confident this trend will continue.
When did you first hear the idea of building the Business Learning Community, and what were your initial thoughts?
Around 2000 or so there were conversations of a new complex for Terry, a new building for Terry or possibly an addition to Brooks Hall. These conversations were with people who could make a difference in terms of the private funding piece. One of the alums involved in these discussions came over, unbeknownst to us, and scoped out the idea of adding on the back of Brooks Hall. During our next meeting, he was clear that expanding Brooks Hall would only be ‘putting a band aid on the problem.’ However, if the college built a new home, he was interested in making a lead, anonymous gift. This was the catalyst needed. The university committed the perfect building site and the college began to move forward with a concrete plan. Dean (Robert) Sumichrast came in 2007 and we began to work with a fundraising consultant to plan the Building Terry campaign. After much discussion, we launched an aggressive $90 million campaign — $70 million for facilities, $10 million for faculty support and $10 million for student support. And we launched it in July of ’08, simultaneously with the Great Recession. Some folks thought we were crazy. I think maybe they were right! (laughs) But seriously, we just didn’t have a choice because the need was so great.
At the time, more and more students were choosing the business school too, so the college really needed bigger facilities.
Yes we needed space, but a key driving factor was the type of space needed. Terry had little space for students to gather, to meet with faculty and recruiters. That now happens in the Casey Commons in Amos Hall. There was no cafe or project team rooms… no capital markets lab, music business recording studio, innovation lab, all the specialized spaces business schools aspire to have. With the completion of the six building Business Learning Community, Terry now has space for students to gather, study together, and meet with faculty, potential employers, and alumni. It has been a huge success because students are here day and night!
What about your job has brought you the most satisfaction?
The thing I most enjoy is the opportunity to re-engage alumni with this special place. We had such limited ways to do that in the beginning, but now there are myriad ways for alumni to engage with their time, talent and investment. To see an alum walk back on this campus, reminisce about their time here, be wowed at what’s happening now and want to give back has been very special and rewarding.
And beyond just giving, alumni are engaging because they want to be part of what is happening at Terry.
I believe strongly in family and positive, caring relationships. One of the things I tried to do is treat every person I work with both internally and externally as I would treat family. This philosophy has bled over to the way the TDAR staff works with all of our constituents … our Terry Family. When meeting with a potential donor, my words have always been something to the effect of ‘Yes, my role is to raise money for UGA, however, I do not want to talk about that until you have the opportunity to engage in ways that are meaningful to you. Come to campus, meet our leadership and understand their priorities and vision. Engage with students to understand from their prospective how the Terry College is working and continuously improving to broaden their career aspirations.’ This helps people engage and find the right fit for their time and talent. Ultimately, most discover this is a place where they want to invest and make a positive impact. It’s been so much fun to have been a part of this journey for so many amazing alumni, friends and parents.
What are you going to miss?
All of it (laughs). I’m going to miss the incredible people I work with every day — it’s a tremendous staff. I just can’t say enough about their professionalism, positive attitude, and caring spirit. Each person on the TDAR team truly cares about UGA, Terry, and the people they work with. When alumni are sick we check on them, when they’ve had babies or grandchildren we congratulate them, when they receive an award we praise them. We work very hard to show we care about them because they are an important part of our Terry Family. So you ask what will I miss…I will miss my Terry family.
What are you going to do next?
I plan to spend more time with my family, particularly my six grandchildren. I also have a passion and a heart for mental illness and addiction, and I’m going to work toward trying to effect change for the better because the system is currently flawed. I don’t know what that will be — is it fundraising, is it being in the political world, is it choosing one place and working with it? I’m not sure at this point, but that is going to be a big part of my life moving forward. And, I will certainly remain engaged with UGA and Terry always.
Last question, tell me honestly, is retiring exhilarating?
I don’t know yet, but I feel like the time is right for me and for the college. The buildings are complete and we have made great strides toward building the college’s endowment, which will be important for Terry’s future. I don’t know how exhilarated I will feel, but I’ll let you know when I find out!
One last comment if I may. A huge shoutout to Dean Ben Ayers, (President) Interim Dean Chuck Knapp, Dean Robert Sumichrast and Dean George Benson for their tremendous support of my career. I learned so much from each of them and owe what success I have had to them. Thank you to all of the alumni and donors I’ve had the privilege to work with over the past 22 years. I am so proud to have been a part of their UGA Terry journey. Thank you for everything you have done and will continue to do to advance a place we all love dearly.
GO DAWGS!