Program Success Christian Reader September 2007 | Page 35

The Christian Reader September 2007 35
Florida A&M University
Announces New Executive
Director of Alumni Affairs
By LaNedra Carroll
Tallahassee, Florida
Carmen Cummings Martin, former aide to Congressman
Allen Boyd, has been named the new executive director of
Alumni Affairs at Florida A&M University. Cummings is a
1984 FAMU graduate who is one of the most recognizable
faces in the Tallahassee area, as well as among other FAMU
alumni.
“Already, I have received so many calls from alumni who
wanted to offer congratulations on this appointment,” said
Dr. Alvin Bryant, president of the National Alumni
Association. “I have been really impressed with their
comments about Carmen. I look forward to working with
her. “We have wanted a director who is going to help us
improve our membership, help us with our fundraising
activities and provide professional support as we work
together to achieve the objectives that have been set by Dr.
Ammons,” Bryant said.
Cummings joins
the FAMU staff
after
serving,
since 2002, as the
community-
relations director
for Boyd, who
represents
the
S e c o n d
Congressional
District of 16
North
Florida
counties. Prior to
her work with
Boyd, she was
news anchor and
Carmen Cummings Martin
reporter
for
WCTV-Channel 6
(Tallahassee). “Deep in my heart, I have always wanted to
go back to the Hill,” Cummings said. “The timing was just
never quite right until now.”
Cummings earned her bachelor’s degree in broadcast
journalism at FAMU. She is an award-winning journalist
who has also earned numerous awards for her community
service work, including: the 2006 recipient of the Sickle Cell
Foundation Humanitarian Award; the Veterans Military
Order of Purple Heart Award; and, the Refuge House
Domestic Violence Awareness Advocacy Award, to name a
few.
“I have spent more than half of my life dealing with people,”
she said. “What I’ve learned is that you can’t make 100-
percent of the people happy 100-percent of the time, but you
can certainly try . . . because one of the strongest elements
of my character is having a genuine concern for what people
care about. I really believe in listening to other people.”
Cummings said she plans for one of her first “heart to
hearts” to be with Dr. Bryant. “I have so much respect for
him and really believe in the team approach. I don’t believe
in conducting my professional life as a committee of one.
We all need each other.”
FAMU President James H. Ammons telephoned Cummings
himself, to ask her to join his team. “I just knew, after talking
with her, that I had found the right person to harness the
energy of the alumni,” Ammons said. “Anyone who knows
Carmen and talks with her about our alma mater, can feel the
love that she has for this institution. I feel confident that she
is going to be a great fit and that, with her energy, experience
and creativity, she will help to build a model program for
alumni relations.”