Class Notes

May/June 2007

by Tony Lavely

On Saturday, February 17th, your Class Council met in New Haven for our Annual Meeting. As in recent years, we were hosted by Gus Speth at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Chaired by Class Secretary, Terry Holcombe, the turnout was excellent with sixteen classmates attending. The evening before, we were joined by about twenty other classmates for dinner at Mory's. During dinner, we were welcomed by the Yale Marching Band, whose current membership includes Steve Delman's son, Andrew. By the way, both Chris Getman and Terry Holcombe are on Mory's board, so make sure you reserve a table on your next visit to New Haven. Following dinner, many of us went on to watch either the Harvard-Yale men's hockey game (Yale won 5-1)) or the Dartmouth-Yale men's basketball game (Yale won 69-64).

The Class Council meeting was very productive and covered a wide range of upcoming class activities. Two new members were added to the Class Council: Waldo Johnston, as Chairman of the 45th reunion (more about that later), and Sam Francis, as Class Web Master. With Sam's expertise and with support from Association of Yale Alumni, we will be expanding and enhancing the Class Website in the future, as a way to make communications flow in a more informative and timely fashion. I met with the Mark Dollhopf, '77, the new Executive Director of AYA, and he is very supportive of this goal. While Chip Brennan, Class Treasurer, was unable to attend the Council meeting, he submitted a detailed financial report that showed a good and necessary surplus as we start planning for the 45th reunion in 2009. Regrettably, class dues come from just 38% of our class members. When you get your next notice, please consider paying the nominal dues. Will Elting, our Class AYA Representative, gave a report on the AYA Assembly held last November on "Service at Yale and Beyond." Will told us that "one of the highpoints of the assembly was the announcement of the planned addition of two new residential colleges to the campus." In the previous issue of Class Notes, the suggestion was made to plan a golf outing in Bermuda. The response has been very strong, and Tony Lee will chair this event, planned for the fall of 2008. Tony said: "It's not unrealistic that this could turn into a gathering of 30-50 classmates based on the initial response." Tony demonstrated his dedication by meeting with Ed Trippe in Bermuda as we were meeting in New Haven! The Bermuda event will not preempt our Annual Yale Golf Outing this spring, currently planned for May 18th. Contact Tony Lee or Bill Galvin if you're interested in the outing in New Haven. Based on the enthusiasm generated by the Chicago Mini-Reunion last year, the Council is planning a Class gathering in New York City in the fall of 2007. Ed Massey has agreed to chair this event, and you will be hearing from him soon. Ed also informed us that he has embarked on a new venture, Core Plus Properties, a real estate investment firm. A major focus of this Class Council meeting was the initiation of planning for our 45th Class Reunion, in early June 2009 (Yale has not scheduled the exact weekend yet). Waldo Johnston, is chairing this reunion and has already solicited an extensive number of program ideas. Waldo will be forming a 45th Reunion Planning Committee soon, so please contact him (waldoJohnston@comcast.net) if you would like to serve on this committee. We will also be adding a section on the 45th reunion to the Class Website, so check periodically for news.

As you may know from earlier columns, our Class has been supporting summer internships at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Co-chairing this effort are Frank Basler and Mike Price. With the leadership of Gus Speth at F&ES and the further commitment of Rick Kroon and Bob Buchanan, this is a timely and serious commitment for our Class. The internships are funded by our Class Dues. So, following the conclusion of our Class Council business, it was a very eager group of classmates who listened to the three interns whom we supported with fellowships last summer. Each gave a highly informative and engaging presentation on their research and findings. Eset Akcilad presented: "Congestion Pricing Scheme" in London and Stockholm with an evaluation of its feasibility in Istanbul; Bjorn Fredrickson presented: "Resettlement Policies in China" in the Nu River Valley; and Dominique Gomez presented: ""Consumption, Equity and Conception of Needs in Chile."

On this same theme, I am pleased to announce that on Thursday, May 3rd, Dean Speth will host the ground-breaking ceremony for the Kroon Building, made possible by the generosity of Rick Kroon. Appropriately, the Kroon Building will be become Yale's signature "green" structure. Also this spring, Gus Speth will deliver the prestigious DeVane Lectures on "Modern Capitalism and Environment: Pathways to Sustainability or End of the
Road?"

On October 26th, Nortin Hadler will deliver the esteemed Wayne O. Southwick Lecture at Calhoun College.

Sadly, I report the passing of three classmates: Bert Smith on January 7th in Oakwood, Ohio; Michael Sullivan on January 29th in Westerville, Ohio; and Thomas Johnson on February 19th in Billings, Montana. Their obituaries will be added to our Class Website, where you may add a statement of remembrance.