It's a great day at Proctor! It is a day some of us have been anticipating for years. Of course, that is true for just a few of us. Sudents and most adults haven't been anticipating anything but the first truly spring-like day.



So, what is it a few of us have been anticipating?



The launch of a new website!





Going back fifteen years, to Proctor's first website hosted by WhippleHill, we enjoyed distinct advantages in this medium. WhippleHill was just beginning to focus on the independent school market, and its founder and CEO was (and is) Proctor alumnus Travis Warren '91. So we had sound advice from a knowledgable, creative insider. I had just moved from Admissions to Communications, was handed a digital camera, and was told I could write stories on a page WhippleHill named Chuck's Corner. Terms like "weblog" and "blog" came much later!



While many schools invested in websites as static as their magazines, we conceived of "pushing" customized sites to specific constituencies: parents (weekly), alumni (monthly), parents of alumni, and--most significant, perhaps--people who support the school with gifts to the annual fund. Proctor became the first school or college--anywhere--to replace magazines and newsletters with customized, focused web communications. 





As we grew into this new, electronic media, the demand for photography exploded; (the parent page is populated with dozens of photographs shot within the week.) When you shoot thousands of images a year (which I do,) you get a percentage of zany, funny pix that find a place here on the blog. Here are some varsity boys' lacrosse players enjoying a varsity baseball game.



This technique takes web communication from being informative to being entertaining in its authenticity. 

Below, Cole and Thaddeus use skateboards as weapons. 



Today, we open a new chapter of a great story. Few schools have seized the opportunities provided by web communication as has Proctor, and we now enjoy a smart-looking, easy-to-navigate, informative website that meets the needs of prospective families, current parents, alumni and others. Congratulations to the Communications Team and our many friends at WhippleHill.



Tell someone about it!