It’s hard to believe that in less than a year we will be celebrating our 45th reunion.
I hope that you will be marking your calendars for May 24 through 26, 2019, and planning to attend. We are all uncommon women and as such have something special to bring to our gathering. Despite the different paths our lives have taken, we still have so much in common. Come and share your experiences and learn about what other classmates have been doing as well.
One major change you will notice on campus is the new campus Community Center, sometimes referred to as Super Blanch, which opened this year. It provides a common dining location for everyone on campus—so no more eating meals in the dorms. It will be interesting to see how that all works.
Reunion Chair Gail LaRocca says it is never too early to think about our 45th. Would you like to help? She is looking for volunteers to assist in the planning and execution of the reunion weekend festivities. We had a great crew who signed up for Reunion 2015 planning as well as a number of people who pitched in with the setup and hospitality when they arrived. If you would like to be one of them in 2019, please send Gail an email at GailALaRocca@gmail.com. We already know as stated above that all meals will be in the new dining facility. Positives are that there will be a wide variety of food selections. There are also rooms that can be reserved for groups, which will allow us to have our own class dinner. The dorms can still be used for social activities.
Is there something that you would like to see added to the weekend to enhance the camaraderie? Jot it down and send it to Gail. Also, please post photos of your adventures and interests on our class website so that they can be used in reunion activities. (For help with that, contact our class website guru Laurie Averill at laverill@comcast.net.)
Do you know someone in our class who has made significant contributions to Mount Holyoke and should be recognized for their volunteer efforts? There is still time to submit recommendations for the Alumnae Medal of Honor, the Loyalty Award and the Innovator Award. (Check out the April Laurel Chain for more information.) You can also nominate someone for the Achievement Award, which recognizes achievements in areas other than contributions to MHC, and the Elizabeth Topham Kennan Award, which recognizes contributions in the field of education. You can even recommend a classmate to receive an honorary degree from the College. The deadline for recommendations is July 1 and the awards will be presented at our reunion next year.
Head Class Agents Debby Hall and Jane Zimmy report that 191 of us have made gifts to the Mount Holyoke fund this year, contributing $127,106 as of April 30. They are excited that 158 classmates are members of the Laurel Chain Society, representing the College’s most loyal donors. Their goals this year (ending June 30) are $155,000 and 50 percent participation. An additional 47 donors are needed to reach that target. Another way you can get involved is to volunteer to work with Jane and Debby on this effort through Reunion 2019. You can thank donors, post on social media, call classmates or write to them. Email Debby or Jane if you are interested and would like to join the group of volunteers at either janezimmy@gmail.com or woodshall@outlook.com.
Also at Reunion, we will be electing new class officers to serve through our 50th reunion. If you would like to nominate someone to serve, please contact our Class VP Mary Feeney at MFeeney@bowditch.com or nominating committee members Denise McLeod (at dmthomas524@gmail.com) or LaVida Dowdell (atlavida.dowdell@usa.net).
Groups of our classmates continue to come together for different activities. By the time you read this letter, Michelle Hurst will be winding down her run starring in Babette’s Feast in NYC. Several groups went to see her both in Portland, Maine, and in New York. Check out our class Facebook pages for photos. Another group celebrated Mary Lyon’s birthday at the Museum of the City of New York followed by lunch, while up in Boston a group got together for dinner to celebrate. And, as always, the V8s continue to get together for fun (and yes even singing). This spring we were in New Orleans. If you have ideas for a ‘mini’ and want to get the word out, our Facebook page is a great way to do that quickly. You do need to ask to join. Search for Mount Holyoke College Class of 1974 and put in a request to join.
Lane Rosenthal has a new business called Paris Off Script and has suggested we could do a mini in Paris this fall. Another opportunity to see classmates is Vespers which will be in NYC this year at St. Barts on December 7. LaVida says that she is willing to plan something for afterwards for those who attend and are interested.
And don’t forget that Lynn Mordan is always looking for news to put in our class notes in the Alumnae Quarterly. You can reach Lynn at lynmordan@aol.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all at Reunion. Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our class officers with any questions, suggestions or concerns. In addition to the officers listed above, you can contact Doris O’Keefe (our class secretary) at doris455@mac.com and Nancy Arcieri (our treasurer) atnancyarcieri@gmail.com. Make sure that the Alumnae Association has your current information in their database. It only takes a few minutes to log in, check it and make any updates.
MHC Featured Events