WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU MIX 600 DUKES, 25 BUSHELS OF CRABS. 300 POUNDS OF SHRIMP AND 400 EARS OF CORN? Even when preparing the ingredients for a plain ol' good time, these Dukes cook up their purple pride into scholarship gold.

It may sound unconventional, but the Metro Washington Alumni Chapter has scholarship building down to a science. More than 600 alumni attended the annual $25-a-person Crabfest in September to relax and reminisce, while profits went to the chapter's Metro Duke Scholarship.

The all-you-can-eat-and-drink Crabfest is in its eighth year, and the Dukes partied down, thanks to event coordinators Mike Jones ('94), Sam Jones ('91) and Mary Jones ('91). Guitarist and vocalist Doug Segree ('92) entertained alumni with acoustic rock hits at Fort Belvoir's Soldiers' Statesmen Park. And event coordinators always remember the future Dukes; little ones feasted for free on hot dogs and munchies and wore themselves out on two inflatable moon bounces.

Lest you think that all the Metro Dukes do is get their grub on, the purple pride of these volunteers includes community service. In October, the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Chapter of the Year Metro Dukes helped pick up trash in Vienna for their semi-annual Adopt-A-Highway program. Alumni also trick-or-treated for canned goods on Oct. 30 to benefit Fairfax's Food For Others Food Bank. The 17,000-plus-member Metro Dukes chapter also sponsors a community career fair each January.

www.jmu.edu/alumni/metrodukes

-- Michelle Hite ('88)