Here is a link to the minutes taken by class scribe Eileen Epstein at our Class Meeting on June 6, 2020.  Many thanks, Eileen!

MHC 6-2020 Secretary’s Report

Members of our class enjoyed both the Alumnae Association and our Class of ’75 meetings June 6th.  Please see the 45th reunion page for details and links.

The class dues for the next five years are $50, payable to ‘MHC Class of ’75’.  They should be sent to Alice Maroni, 15 Franklin St, Arlington, VA 22314 or to Coral Grout at 464 Central St, Winchendon, MA 01475

Joanne Brown led a moving memorial for class of 75 2020 class meeting for class members who have died since our last reunion – Karen Wessel, Diana Dean Holly Young, Mindy McWilliams, Jennifer Harris, Mary Homeier Rawson, Christine Lunardini, Andrea Gisela Snell, Mary Withers, Susan K Connellywill, reproduced here.

God of compassion, we gather in recognition of lives                                                         that touched our own.                                                                                                 Memories have accompanied us in this time,                                                                        reminding us of so much received,                                                                                     and so much lost.                                                                                                                Each has journeyed this path of loss,                                                                         accepting comfort in varied ways.                                                                                    Our love for them will not be diminished,                                                                               The gifts they shared will always remain                                                                                Our hearts remember the days that were shared.                                                                Our hearts remember the love that was given.

God of our hope,                                                                                                                  we hold our stories with these friends                                                                             with gentle hands:                                                                                                      knowing their joys,                                                                                                           learning their loss, returning to them again and again                                                         to seek mending and meaning.                                                                                           We share these stories                                                                                                   with full hearts;                                                                                                           revealing their treasures,                                                                                              confessing their ache,                                                                                                   hopeful that this keeping of memory                                                                                will bring peace again.

Those who are dead have never gone away.                                                                 They are in the shadows darkening around,                                                                      they are in the shadows fading into day,                                                                             the dead are not under the ground.                                                                                They are in the trees that quiver,                                                                                     they are in the woods that weep.                                                                                     they are in the waters that sleep.                                                                                   They are in the crowds, they are in the homestead.                                                         The dead are never dead.

The following email has been sent to you and your classmates via the Alumnae Association website.  I have deleted the Zoom information in this post to avoid Zoombombing of the meeting.  Please contact me for it if you can’t find your email-Rhonda

Hi All,

This time of year is always busy, even when sheltering at home! 

Please save this Saturday, June, 6, 2020 for two Mount Holyoke events that we would have attended had reunion been held this year. 

At 12:00 noon EDT, on June 6^th, the Alumnae Association will have its 148^th Annual Meeting, via Zoom.  All alumnae are invited to attend.  An opportunity to connect with the Mount Holyoke community, attendees will hear from President Sonya Stephens and Alumnae Association President Maria Mossaides ’73, as well as the reading of some class histories and a presentation of Alumnae Association and Advancement awards.  To register, click here: https://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/148th-annual-meeting/ .  A Zoom link will be provided.

Then, after a short break, our Class of ’75 will also meet via Zoom starting at 2 pm EDT. 

Contact Rhonda for Zoom log in info.

Our Class Zoom agenda is:

2:00-2:30 EDT- Gather and greet each other

2:30-3:00- Acknowledgement of our own Class of ’75 Alumnae Award winners (there are four!)

3:00-4:00- Class of ’75 Meeting

memorial for classmates we have lost

voting results

treasury report

reading of our class history

fundraising report

introduction of the new class officers,

4:00- Passing the baton- moving toward our 50^th Reunion in 2025.

Also, you recently received an email regarding our class yearbook. Yearbook submissions are due to Judy Stein, judystein13@gmail.com by JUNE 30, 2020.

Elaine and I miss attending the Back To Class lectures by faculty at reunion, but are glad that the College is presenting a series of Virtual Back To Class talks via Zoom. For more information about the next one, on June 19^th, go to https://events.mtholyoke.edu/event/searching_for_dark_matter_in_the_darkest_galaxies.

For reference, we will also post this email to the class website and Facebook group. By the way, keep submitting class photos for the website to Rhonda, berneymd@sonic.net.

This is our last message to you as Co-Presidents. Thank you for the opportunity to serve our wonderful Class of ’75!

Rhonda Berney ‘75

Elaine Coutanche Milnor ‘75

Please save JUNE, 6, 2020 for two Mount Holyoke events that we would have attended if reunion had been held this year.  And yes, it is time for your Class of ’75 Yearbook submission!

At 12:00 noon EDT, the Alumnae Association will have its annual meeting, virtually.  Please go to https://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/148th-annual-meeting/ to register for access and to view the agenda.

Then, after a break, our Class of ’75 will meet via Zoom.  Log in information will be emailed and posted when we get it from the Alumnae Association. 

Our agenda is:                                                                                                       2:00-2:30 EDT- Gather and greet                                                                          2:30-3:00- Acknowledgement of our own Class of ’75 Alumnae Award winners (there are four!)                                                                                                                    3:00-4:00- Class of ’75 meeting, including results of the vote on new class officers, Bylaws revisions and dues for the next five years, treasury report, fundraising report and introduction of the new class officers, followed by a brief memorial for the classmates we have lost.                                                                                                                      4:00- Passing the baton- moving toward our 50^th Reunion in 2025.

Judy Stein ’75 is compiling our 45th Reunion class yearbook and is now ready for your submissions, at judystein13@gmail.com.  Thank you, Judy!  The due date for is JUNE 30, 2020

Please see the 45th Reunion page for news of our virtual Alumnae Association and Class of ’75 meetings on June 6, 2020.  Stay tuned for more details.

You will soon receive a ballot by mail to vote in new Class Officers, revise the Class Bylaws so that we can vote electronically in the future, and set the Class dues for the next five years.  The new Bylaws will be included in the mailing, but you may wonder what the changes are, so click here to see the Revised Bylaws with edit notes.  The changes may not be highlighted if you are viewing it on your phone, so here also are the 1980 Bylaws- Class of ’75 Bylaws,1980.

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 45^th 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 45^th/50^th 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 6^th, 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 45^th Reunion goal, set by the college, is 40% class participation. 

By April 1^st , 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 45^th.  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

In response to the Coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) pandemic, Mount Holyoke College has wisely but sadly cancelled the college graduation ceremony and Reunions I and II this May.  Our reunion committee and class officers are looking at other ways for us to reconnect as a class and kick off the path to our big 50th reunion.  If you have ideas or skills, feel free to contact Denise Terrazas or any class officer through the alumnae website. 

We will post more information on the 45th and 50th reunion pages as it is available.

Stay safe,

Rhonda Berney ’75

New information about reunion activities and costs have been posted to the 45th reunion page.  Classmates have also contributed many fun photos to the Archive ’75 page.  Check them out!

Our reunion committee and the college are following the Coronavirus situation but it is too early to know whether reunion will be affected in May.  As a physician, I know how hard it is to hope for the best but plan for the worst.  The recent decision by multiple airlines to offer fully refundable plane tickets is helpful in coping with the uncertainty, and I have personally registered for reunion.  I am hoping to see you there!

Rhonda

MHC ’75 Reunion approaches! Watch for our Class Reunion letter in February.  Reunion registration opens Februrary 24th.  Check out the 45th reunion page for the latest news about our reunion.  

Coral May Grout, class nominating committee chair,  is still accepting nominations for class officers for 2020-2025, to be voted upon at reunion. 

Our class will remember Mindy Lewis ’75 at our reunion.  She contributed so much to the college before her untimely passing in 2019.  We can also contribute to the Mindy Lewis ’75 Mount Holyoke Fund Scholarship.