1947

The news continues to be sparse. We suspect our classmates of going into hibernation in the winter time. However, since this is written on Ground Hog Day, may all of you see your shadows and let us know what is doing with you and your families.

We have what appears to be a constant winner in Dick Hill, who is a representative of the A. T. Hatch Agency in Manchester. N. H. This is a branch of the National Life Insurance Company of Vermont. Dick has earned membership in the company's tenth Presidents' Club for outstanding client service and sales in the 1965 calendar year. His prize is the eligibility to attend the club's annual conference at the Deauville Hotel, Miami Beach, Fla., in March. Dick has won this award several times previously and our only thoughts are that he will come back nicely tanned in time to read this note while the rest of us are still digging out.

Still in the insurance and real estate world, Bob Ives of Danvers, Mass., who for the last four years has been elected each year as the town moderator, has decided it is time for a change. Of course, Bob gives up a great deal in this since the annual salary is $400. In an interview, Bob said he considers the moderator's position a powerful one and feels that it would be good for the town to try someone new even though he thoroughly enjoyed presiding at the town meetings and the fine associations he had with the town officials.

Bob Freelander, a member of the '47's President Club, and President of Come Play Products Company, Worcester, Mass., has been nominated as the Massachusetts candidate for national "Employer of the Year" for services to the disabled. The recommendation was made by the Massachusetts Commission on Employment of the Handicapped. The "Employer of the Year" award is sponsored by the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and the National Association of Manufacturers. Bob is a toy manufacturer with nationwide distribution facilities. Approximately 80% of the persons employed in his plant are seriously handicapped. His staff includes paraplegics, cerebral palsied, retardates and polio victims. The central Massachusetts manufacturer also founded the Worcester Occupational Training Center in 1960. This center currently has in training some 30 retardates.

A third area in which Bob is involved in rehabilitating the disabled is a community training program which he operates in conjunction with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Northampton. This undertaking is currently aiding some 15 to 30 seriously ill mental patients at the hospital. He has been cited for his work by several organizations including the National Rehabilitation Association, American Federation of the Physically Handicapped Disabled American Veterans, B'nai B'rith, Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation, Worcester Area Association for Retarded Children, and the Veterans Administration Hospital at Northampton. Bob holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. His business philosophy is based upon the proposition that handicapped persons can be used effectively in competitive industry, a theory developed while working on a doctoral thesis at Boston University. We are sure everyone agrees that Bob deserves a well earned plaudit from his classmates.

News is so short that even if you're unemployed, we're almost ready to run your resume in this space. Let us hear from you.

John and Janet Dahl '49 and their sonChris on a skiing outing at Aspen.

Secretary, Guard Hill Rd. Bedford Village, N. Y. 10507

Treasurer, 14 Fen Court, Madison, N. J.