This is a copy of the email Elaine Coutanche and I sent to class members today:
Greetings to the Class of ’75 from your Co-Presidents
We hope that you and yours are safely sheltered as we all weather this COVID pandemic.
You have probably already heard that MHC Graduation and Reunion 2020 are cancelled. It is disappointing though understandable that we will not be able to hold our 45th reunion at Mount Holyoke. We have attended almost every reunion and will miss the quinquennial chance to reflect on our past and our futures together as a class, on campus.
Our Class Officers and 45th/50th Reunion Chairs have met via Zoom several times as this situation has developed and also have been in communication with the Alumnae Association. The College and Alumnae Association have received input from all of the reunion classes, including ours, regarding possible options. They will soon decide upon a replacement reunion format. The Alumnae Association has separately scheduled the Alumnae Meeting that normally occurs at Reunion for June 6th, via Zoom or another online platform. Class Histories will be shared and there will be voting on proposed Alumnae Association bylaws changes. We will share more details about the meeting and reunion format as they become available, by email, on the Class of 1975 website and on the class Facebook site.
Another reunion activity is fundraising. While we will not be on campus this year, we should continue, and even increase, our financial support to the College and current students during these challenging times. Sandy Fotiades, our Class Agent, reports the following:
Our 45th Reunion goal, set by the college, is 40% class participation.
By April 1st , 129 members (29%) of our class had participated. (Thank you!) We need 46 new donors to meet our class goals. Please consider making a gift of $45 in honor of our 45th. We recognize that these may be difficulty times for everyone, but if you are able to help, your gift will greatly be appreciated.
The College makes it easy to contribute at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/ , go to the “Give” tab. This allows you to donate to the Student Emergency Fund or The Mount Holyoke Fund. In either case your gift will count toward our class gift total.
We will be in touch again when we have more information about reunion replacement…
While you wait, please check out the growing number of photos through the years on our class website, https://new.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/1975/news-posts/ . We were so young!
Rhonda Berney ’75 berneymd@sonic.net
Elaine Coutanche Milnor ’75 elainemilnor@hotmail.com