Kristi Vidler is a 2010 University of Arkansas graduate and the social chair for the San Francisco Hogs, a chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association. As the social chair, Vidler helps “coordinate multiple events that allow us to come together to share our passion for the Hogs.”
Vidler was compelled to get involved with the San Francisco Bay area chapter because she wanted to develop a local connection to her home so many miles away. Vidler, along with other alumni, works hard to send Bay-area students to the U of A.
“The number of Arkansans in the area is growing almost daily it seems,” Vidler said. “As long as we maintain our tradition to come together, we will continue to effectively grant Bay-area students the opportunity to call the Hogs with pride!
“Californians already have a developed appreciation for the outdoors, introducing them to the Ozarks and all the beauty that the natural state has to offer allows them to naturally be attracted,” Vidler said.
Established in 1991, the San Francisco chapter represents alumni and friends of the University of Arkansas in the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco Hogs represents about 530 known alumni in the Bay area.
The San Francisco Hogs host an annual wine tasting at Louis Martini Wineries. Annually, the winery hosts a private party for Bay-area alumni, hosted on their estate properties in the beautiful hills of Sonoma County. “It really poses as a wonderful social event for Arkansans to congregate in wine country and share each other’s company over craft wine and Southern-style barbecue,” Vidler said.
Vidler also spearheaded a crawfish boil in the summer of 2013 to bring Bay-area friends together with the Golden Gate Bridge serving as a backdrop. “The crawfish boil is definitely a delicacy of the South that we brought to the Californians table,” Vidler said, “This event provides an entertaining how-to instructional of the technique on eating the mudbugs.”
She graduated 2010 from the U of A with a degree in food, human nutrition and hospitality. “I honestly had a vague understanding of what (hospitality) entailed,” said Vidler. “It was the diversity of career directions this degree provides that made it intriguing to pursue further.”
Vidler said the networking through her degree program helped give her a better understanding of the hospitality industry and gave her the inspiration to explore it in more depth.
Her desire to travel guided her to hospitality and living in San Francisco. “I moved to the Bay Area to broaden my experience with diverse lifestyles and cultures,” she said. “Ultimately the passion to explore was my drive and the enticing weather held as a value as well.”
While a student, she worked full time and took out student loans to pay for her education. She said it was worth it as she now works at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in San Francisco as the sales and marketing manager.
Vidler has expressed her love for California’s wine country. If she’s not sampling California’s world famous wines, she said she can usually be found “park lounging with my dogs.” She often spends time watching the Hogs play or catching a San Francisco Giants baseball game.
