| Co-Presidents: | Bill Higgins, 5360 Miami Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243 |
| Steve Warhover, 33 William Fairfield Drive, Wenham, MA 01984 | |
| Vice-President & Webmaster: | Chuck Sherman, 3100 Rittenhouse Street NW, Washington, DC 20015 |
| Secretary: | Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605 |
| Treasurer: | Jim Weiskopf, 13125 Willow Edge Court, Clifton, VA 20124 |
| Head Agent: | Bob Spence, 16 Surrey Road, New Canaan, CT 06840 |
| Bequest Chairmen: | Rich Daly, 5036 N. Creosote Canyon Drive, Tucson, AZ 85749 |
| Steve Lanfer, 178 Sea Meadows Lane, Yarmouth, ME 04096 | |
| Alan Rottenberg, 24 Gould Road, Waban, MA 02468 | |
| Mini-Reunion Chairman: | Al Keiller, 85422 Dudley, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 |
| Newsletter Editor & Alumni | Bob Serenbetz, PO Box 1127, Newtown, PA 18940 |
| Council Rep: | Phone: 215-598-0262 Fax: 215-598-0770 |
| Email:BobSerenbetz@prodigy.net | |
| Class Website: | http://www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/66 |
March-April 2004
Headin' for the Frisco Bay
By the time many of you (the non e-mail receivers) get this Newsletter, almost 100 of us will have congregated in San Francisco for the 60th Birthday Party, April 30-May 2. Walt Knoepfel and his team of Roger Brett and Ken Zuhr have done a marvelous job in planning three days of activities, starting with golf on Friday morning, a tour of the Asian Art Museum in the afternoon, a post-tour welcoming reception at the Chancellor, our hotel headquarters, evening tickets to the revue "Beach Blanket Babylon", Saturday tour of Napa Valley wineries and the quaint town of Sonoma, the Birthday Dinner at the North Beach Restaurant, Sunday Brunch at the top of the Bank of America Building, and baseball tickets at Pac Bell Park to see Barry Bonds' San Francisco Giants host the World Champion Florida Marlins.
The latest list of attendees includes: Rich and Judy Abraham, Bob and Jenene Bach, Jack Bennett and Liz Callison, Roger and Korki Brett, Gary and Sharon Broughton, Halsey and Isabel Bullen, Erv and Chris Burkholder, Rich and Mary Daly, Jeff and Penny Gilbert, Dave Gordon and Lucia Heldt, Don and Margot Graves, John and Nancy Hargraves, Bill and Jane Higgins, Wayne and Weetie Hill, Tom and Judy Hoober, Bill and Nancy Hobson, John Hughes, Ken Ireland, Ed and Paula Jereb, Walt and Murni Knoepfel, William Koelsch and Amanda Gooden, Rock Ley, Wayne and Kathy LoCurto, Jim and Elizabeth Lustenader, Jim and Jennifer Makol, Mike and Mary McConnell, Rob Page and Grace Brown, Bill and Judith Ramos, Alan and Debbie Rottenberg, Bob and Karen Serenbetz, Chuck Sherman and Margie Carpenter, Dean and Carol Spatz, Bob and Linda Spence, Dave and Mary Spring, Jack and Nancy Stebe, Brad and Mary Stein, Tom and Barbara Steinmetz, Harold and Judith Stoddard, Tim and Toni Urban, Mike and Joyce Urbanic, Steve and Anne Warhover, Mac and Connie Whitaker, Jack Young and Kathy O'Sullivan, and Ken and Ann Zuhr.
Bay Area email recipients still have a few days to sign up for the dinner only, as a few spots remain at the North Beach Restaurant. If interested, please contact Walt at 415-821-3598 as soon as possible.
News from Classmates
Jon Colby is among a number of classmates with conflicts that prevented them from making the trip to the West Coast. His son is getting married over the same weekend, so John and Sue will be with us in spirit. “It’s killing me. So many great guys ‘n ladies I’d really love to see, but we’re bound to join my #2 son who chose this very weekend to celebrate his nups in NYC.” When told of the number of his fraternity brothers that would be attending, Jon added, “Ah, Tabard, the scourge of the Greeks. Yet such gentlemen in the long run.” Jon’s handle is jon@colby.net.
Jim Nutt will be in his medical office thinking of us and sent along this message: “Have a great time on the trip. Betsy and I will miss you all. I cannot get away from the office (not yet retired). Working in Pennsylvania is getting to be a tough job (malpractice insurance issues). We are looking for a young fellow or gal to join us, but the new residents are reluctant to consider our fine state. We have two new dogs, so are waiting until they are older before we travel. The lambs are all delivered, so we are also nurturing them. Betsy is on a trip for learning to the Galapagos Islands. I am babysitting all the critters. Jim and Rob both should graduate this year, so there will be two new Dr. Nutts. Have a great birthday!” Other Class Docs wishing to vent on the insurance or other medical issues can contact Jim at jnnutt3@aol.com.
Gus Southworth writes, "I am one of the 66's still working, lawyering, for a living and can't make the reunion. One of these years we should organize this again on the East Coast. You (and other Dartmouth crewmen) will be shocked to learn that I was asked to cox a Rome, Italy elite men's eight at the Head of the Charles last October. I agreed reluctantly, it having been 30+ years and 30+ pounds since I last coxed on the Charles. I will tell you those bridges, and those turns, are still a (bleep) to negotiate. But it was a terrific experience, hampered only slightly by the fact that only 2.5 of the eight spoke English. We raced hard and finished first among the Italian entries. I also filled in as a cox in a local women's eight, rowed in that boat, am regularly rowing a single, and have been asked by the Italian crew to compete in a May race in Rome, which I probably cannot do, but will do sometime in the future.
Susan and I are also in the last stages of renovating, and building, a vacation home we purchased on a lake in Enfield, NH.” Gus’ old boat, and any other classmates, can reach Gus at asouthworth@carmodylaw.com.
A number of classmates will be using the Party as an excuse to visit sons, daughters, friends and relatives. Rich and Mary Daly will be visiting son Eric, a first year MBA student at Berkeley. Mike and Joyce Urbanic will be visiting Joyce's cousin in the South Bay.
And Jim and Elizabeth Lustenader will be visiting his brother following the weekend with a trip to Sonoma. Jim recently retired (sort of) from marketing services consultant DVC Group, working about three days a week, while taking courses at Princeton, a short walk from home. Liz is writing for the new bi-monthly "Bucks" magazine, published in New Hope, Bucks County, PA.
Class Grandfather (twelve is the latest count I have) Wayne LoCurto, who with Kathy will join us in SF, writes, "A few weeks ago I received a surprise phone call from Dave Pothoff and Steve Zegel. I hadn't talked to Dave since 1966 and Steve since our 30th reunion. Dave is recently retired and looking forward to traveling and enjoying his summer home in the Ozarks. Steve is an Adjunct Professor at Saint Louis University; both Dave and Steve live in St. Louis. They both send their best wishes to our classmates and regret that they will not be able to attend the San Francisco party. I spent Wednesday evenings this winter coaching Tuck students on interviewing skills and networking. It was a blast! I am a ‘Career Services Fellow’ at Tuck.” Congratulations to Wayne on his appointment; his email address is wlocurto@aol.com.
Will Morgan and Ned Pratt are collaborating on a book entitled "Abrams Guide to American House Styles"; publication is set for the Christmas season.
Another publishing venture involves Ted Temple, who writes, "Involved in the introduction of 'Nor'easter Magazine' to New Jersey – Jersey Coast edition. Recently, wife Barbara and I had lunch with Bill Bryan and his wife Connie to hear about Bill’s Narragansett Bay-front property renovation.” Ted can be contacted at tted@Comcast.net.
Ben Day writes, "All is well with the Day family. Lauren (Dartmouth '99, AM '00) is currently in Munich, Germany on a one-year Robert Bosch Fellowship. Alexandra (Princeton '02) is finishing up an assignment at the International Herald Tribune in Paris. Jed is a junior in high school and is interested in music, and, naturally, cars. My spouse, Sharon, has somehow magically kept this whole show running smoothly for the last 36 years while still finding time to teach piano and French. I am currently working for a Chinese-American company which develops and produces data and telecom equipment for customers all over the world. Right now our main markets are China and India, but we are quickly establishing a presence in other places, including North America.” It is with this background that Ben was moved to respond to Stan Colla’s speech on the lack of civility in our culture, which was published in the last issue of "Along Route '66":
Dear Stan,
I read with interest your outstanding speech to the Alumni Council in the latest class newsletter. Bravo! The lack of civility in many areas of American life is making all of us, and this country lesser for it. The examples you address have analogues outside the Dartmouth community, and, as you so well stated, "I don't know how you feel, but this is not the Dartmouth College (or community, or world) that I know or want." Thank goodness that Dartmouth changes. If it had not, my daughter could not have been a member of the Class of 1999. Going forward, as the
world continues to shrink and geopolitical borders dissolve in favor of compassion and reason, facilitated by the Internet, I want Dartmouth to represent that "new" world. Even beyond the ideals of breadth, richness and diversity, the REALITY of the world and the times we share dictate such changes. And here your words ring true, "Regardless of the word we use to describe ourselves, let's be clear about one thing: we are not talking about anyone's qualifications for membership. We all, including "those people," belong. If anything, we should be discussing being welcomed." Again, Bravo!
A personal comment on the MBNA controversy: To me, an important component of being a member of this dynamic world community is feeling that I am in fact a human being, not a number. Numbers don't create solutions, people do. Perhaps this concept was in part behind the negative groundswell around the MBNA solicitation. The alums I know consider themselves very personally connected to Dartmouth, and wish to believe that the Alma Mater views them as her sons and daughters. The MBNA solicitation, in my opinion, may have crossed the line by changing that belief into, "now we're just a number (i.e., name on a commercial mailing list) to Dartmouth as well." I hope not. It may be less about protecting personal information and more about the way that information is used and the inferred message that use coveys. Perhaps the next time, MBNA can get it right without making it seem that the Dartmouth / Alumni bond has been compromised. Stan, I am grateful that you are at Dartmouth doing the excellent job that you are. Having served nearly 10 years on the local school board, I know that there are times that you feel your efforts are not appreciated. Let me assure you that here is one alum who very much appreciates what you are doing.
In Memoriam
It is with a great deal of sadness that I report the passing of Gary Bryson, on January 29, from a brain tumor. Gary was an active member of the Class, both before graduation and after, and will be greatly missed.
Gary came to Dartmouth from R.A. Long High School in Longview, WA and starred as a pitcher on the freshman and varsity baseball teams for four years. A member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Green Key, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sphinx, Gary served as VP of the Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Society. His senior year he entered the Tuck School's 3-2 program, graduating with an MBA in 1967. He immediately started a successful career with Bell and Howell, leaving to join Time Inc. in the early 1980's and later USWest, to head that company's efforts to bundle cable television and telephone services. Among other post-graduation Dartmouth activities, Gary served on the Class Executive Committee, the 20th and 35th reunion committees, and as a Regional and Leadership Agent for the Dartmouth College Fund.
Gary retired in 1998 and settled with wife Bobbi in Edwards, CO. In addition to Bobbi, Gary is survived by his children Kelly (Dartmouth '95), Lisa, Eliza, and Alexa. Contributions in Gary's memory can be made to the Mountain Hospice, Vail Valley Medical Center, PO Box 40,000, Vail, CO 81658.
Alumni Magazine Subscription Controversy Redux
Jim Weiskopf recently received a note from one of our classmates who had not paid class dues and was not now receiving the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. He stated, "To tie the Magazine to class dues disenfranchises poorer members of the class. What other college takes away the Alumni Magazine from alumni? Shame on you/us!"
I personally have sympathy with the writer as it relates to the College’s position of only providing subscriptions to alumni/a whose classes pay for their subscriptions. This issue is again being studied by a committee of the Dartmouth Alumni Council and a status report should hopefully be available at the May 21 meeting. However, I disagree with the writer that shame is on Jim or the Class as a whole. Jim is only executing what the Class voted to do on several occasions, based on the belief that it is not fair that each of us should be shouldering the responsibility of almost $20 in subscription costs for classmates unwilling to pay their dues.
Dartmouth College Fund
The DCF is now in full swing. As of April 2, Bob Spence and his team have raised $158,482 from 210 of us, a 57% improvement from last year in dollars raised and well on our way to achieving our goal of $200,000. However, participation continues to be an issue, with 25 fewer donors this year compared to last. For those of you who have not yet given, I hope you'll read Bob's excellent summary of the importance of the Fund and help Bob to achieve his personal goal of 50% class participation:
Dear Classmates,
It's time once again to focus on the Dartmouth Alumni Fund. Yes, I know. I can see the light bulbs going out all over creation. In makes the Northeast blackout look like a 4th of July celebration. If this solicitation was just about money or peer position, I would have some sympathy. However, the DCF is not about money. Money is just a tool. It is a very useful tool, I agree, but nevertheless sterile in and of itself. No, the DCF is about the giving of unique opportunities; it is about providing a basis for human investment which potentially benefits all mankind; it is about each one of us looking in the mirror and finding that element of our individual Dartmouth experience which has influenced the person we have become. There are any number of good causes we individually support which meet our needs to add fulfillment to our lives. There is only on Class of 1966 at Dartmouth, however. We are uniquely Dartmouth, as Dartmouth itself remains a unique experience within our lives.
The DCF provides operating funds to the College. Of the College’s total operating budget, unrestricted gifts and bequests account for 9% of revenue. Faculty salaries and scholarships account for over a third of total expenses. Scholarships are 69% funded by endowments, the remains are funded by the DCF and other unrestricted funds. (Princeton is able to cover 100% through endowment, which is why it now gives grants rather than making student loans.) Faculty salaries have to remain competitive to attract the type of professor we would expect to be teaching at Dartmouth. Admittance remains need blind, annually increasing the need for scholarships. Endowment and investment income, which account for 29% of Dartmouth’s total revenue base, are 72% restricted as to use. The largest source of operating revenue to the College remains tuition, which accounts for 43% of the annual revenue base. Raising tuition appreciably and expecting 1990's type returns on endowment investment are not realistic expectations in today’s environment, hence the increased and continuing need for fund raising and alumni support.
Is the money we provide being well utilized? We have as many diverse opinions as we have members of the class. We are Dartmouth graduates, after all, so that reality should not come as much of a surprise. The discussions that ensue about various topics related to Dartmouth are not examples of disinterest. Rather, they indicate that we care. We have been given the gift of believing our lives and opinions have value and as such add value to our Dartmouth community and elsewhere. That gift was given to us by others, in part through those who supported Dartmouth through the past two and a quarter centuries.
Many of us generously support other aspects of the College. Please also support the DCF, as such adds to the participation recognition of our Class.
Over forty years have passed since we stood in line in Baker to matriculate. When our name was called we had a moment to individually converse with President Dickey, and express our hopes for our coming Dartmouth experience. We are making it possible for others to do the same in their Dartmouth of today. Please help.
Hope to see you in 'Frisco.