Class Presidents' Letter

In case you missed it, our class officers sent this email at the end of February 2023.

Dear Classmates from 1967, 1968, 1969:

We hope all of you are enjoying a good start to the new year. This letter is to provide you with some current details concerning our upcoming Cluster Reunion and to ask for your advice and assistance.

We have been meeting with each other and, recently, with Jill Robinson, our very helpful contact through the Alumni Office. She will be assisting with all aspects of our planning as we put things together for the big gathering. The website created for our three classes combined, https://www.obie676869.com/, will provide basic information about the reunion and new information will be added on a regular basis as we fill in our plans. If you have not already done so, please do register and join this website for the opportunity to connect with classmates prior to the fall reunion and to watch for updates on the schedule.

Our reunion, as you may already know, will be from Friday, September 29, through Sunday, October 1.

The three-day gathering will commence as people arrive on Friday. Campus events will be in full swing during the day with chances to attend classes, take tours of the Allen Art Museum, the campus, and likely other locations as well, and to view displays at the Terrell Library. A “Welcome Back” dinner gathering for all of the cluster reunion groups, with comments from President Ambar, will take place that evening and be followed by our own gatherings. Our group will have a designated “Home Room,” most likely in Wilder Hall. This facility will be available to us throughout the weekend.

Saturday will provide opportunities to have our own agenda with talks and panel and group discussions, followed by get-togethers staged around the Homecoming events. Here we also request your advice. For those who are inclined, there will be a tailgate lunch followed by a football game. There will be student activities and performances and, as with Friday night, we can use our designated base location for events like singing, dancing, and good old-fashioned conversations. A piano will be provided to enliven these activities.

Sunday morning will start with our traditional women’s and men’s breakfasts, with real food, not just coffee and doughnuts. We’ll continue with our cluster specific events, including presentations, a session to remember all of our classmates we have lost, and possible campus tours, among other events. The day will conclude with a farewell reception.

As you will note in the information accessed through our website, classes will be in session and thus, our accommodations will be off campus at several designated hotels. For your convenience, the hotels will have blocks of rooms and will provide the special rate for four nights from Thursday, September 28, through Sunday, October 1. Shuttle services will be provided on a regular basis to and from the college and at a number of stops on campus. Details on these arrangements will be provided during this spring and summer. Registration will open on about August 1.

We have built a reunion committee and they will be holding some Zoom meetings this spring to set up our formal sequence of events. We also plan to follow up on a wonderful series of open sessions that was staged by the classes of 1970, 1971, and 1972, prior to their gathering last year. See this website for some recap information on the list of topics and other aspects of that reunion: https://www.oberlin72reunion.com/class_index.cfm.

To launch our sequence, of perhaps three Zoom panels and discussions, we need your input. What topics would you like us to consider as part of the program? Please provide the names of individuals from our classes who would be good speakers to make short presentations at these Zoom sessions. Please email one or all of us with your ideas in the near future.

We are also hoping to have some of our classmates volunteer to provide assistance with arrangements for, and staging of, events during the three-day weekend. Please considerer putting your name in for these efforts and indicate what event(s) where you might like to help.

We are very much looking forward to hearing from you, having you join us for the Zoom talks, and then seeing many of you here in the fall. Thank You for making plans to participate in the fun and to give everyone the opportunity to converse and reminisce in person.

Best Wishes,
Lee C. Drickamer, Class of 1967 (Lee.Drickamer@nau.edu)
Paul Safyan, Class of 1968 (Paul.Safyan@outlook.com)
Gael Treesiwin, Class of 1969 (treesiwin@aol.com)
Matthew Rinaldi, Class of 1969 (rinaldi2@earthlink.net)