1976

Having recently attended a panel discussion by our local Trustees, I am struck by the passion within our alumni. The issues change from Cambodian invasions to delayed rush, and yet, what remains constant at Dartmouth is passion.

The Valley News has made note of one of our classmates whose passion is for making beautiful furniture. Jim Becker recently was among ten craftspeople who took top prizes in the League of Arts and Craftsmen Foundation's 14th Annual Juried Exhibit. Jim was further honored by receiving the best-in-show award for his contemporary Windsor side chair crafted in cherry wood with ash spindles. I have heard that he has a fine furniture business in Lebanon, where he sells his beautiful handcrafted creations. Next time you are in the Upper Valley I suggest you all pay his shop a visit!

From Portland, Ore., comes news of James Draudt, whose passion for law contributed to his being named a member of the law firm of Weiss, Descamp and Botteri. James has practiced as an associate lawyer with the firm since being admitted to the Oregon Bar, after graduating from Northwestern Law School of Lewis and Clark College. Weiss, Descamp and Botteri is a 22-lawyer firm with expertise in business and tax law and general litigation.

A passion for health care! News of yet another promotion comes from Evanston Hospital, in Evanston, Ill., where Jeff Hillebrand has been promoted to senior vice president. According to the press release, Jeffs promotion was a part of an overall restructuring of Evanston Hospital Corporation's executive staff, in a move designed to strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive health care industry

We just had a lovely visit with Jenny Kemeny and her husband, Luc Beaubien, at their new home in Rowley, Mass. Both Jenny and Luc are self-employed, they have just rebuilt the entire first floor of their house, and with their passion for horses or their time spent in airports, it is beyond me how they managed to carry off such a gourmet meal! Jenny consults in the area of system dynamics modeling for businesses, in affiliation with Innovation Associates, of Framingham, Mass. Luc has recently formed his own venture-capital firm, called The Boston Agent.

Rick Hill and his wife Sue recently announced the birth of son number two, Timothy, who joins his big brother, Jamie. They live in Wellesley, and Rick's passion for banking has led to a new position at the Bank of Boston.

As many of you know by now, our devoted newsletter editor, Nancy Kepes Jeton and her husband, Peter, have gone to the far and beyond, down under, to Australia, where Peter will be on assignment for Bank of Boston. I want to thank her for all the work she has done and also thank Bill Scheillhammer who has offered to take over Nancy's duties with the newsletter. I spoke with Nancy just a few days before they left, and this faraway journey is well suited to the Jetons' passion for adventure.

On the theme of alumni and their passions, I found an interesting quote in "College on the Hill." "The emotional alumnus whose knowledge of his university is solely a sentimental harking back to his undergraduate days is an incomplete alumnus of minimum value to his alma mater at his best and a positive detriment at his worst." Ernest Martin Hopkins, 1924.

33 School Street, Needham, MA 02192

Class of 1975 15th Reunion-June 16-18, 1989