1961

Countdown to our 65 th birthday reunion weekend in Palm Springs, California, scheduled for April 22-25, 2004. Many classmates already committed and many more seriously contemplating attendance. Let's all try to make it.

The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine (DAM) recently won three gold medals and one silver medal (i.e. Folio awards) for editorial excellence and magazine design. This was an outstanding achievement for DAM, which leads into the next topic.

At the Dartmouth Alumni Council meeting held this past December, a great deal of time was spent on the DAM and its declining circulation. As you will recall, our class, like many others, reluctantly made the difficult decision this year to reduce the number of non-dues paying classmates receiving the magazine because of substantially increased DAM costs to the class. Obviously, this will widen the DAM circulation erosion, which represents the gap between actual paid circulation and the number of "mailable" alumni and/or living alumni. The eventual result could be the demise of DAM, which few would want to happen. It has become clear that the current financial model, wherein the class dues support subscriptions, no longer appears to be working successfully. The Alumni Council and the DAM editorial board have formed a task force that will analyze the current approach and possible alternative methods of alumni and/or other financing of the publication. The current thinking is that stable alumni participation is necessary to ensure the long-term financial stability of the magazine and underpins its editorial independence and quality.

In addition, the proposed amendment to the constitution and trustee nominating process failed in the Association of Alumni vote in December by a very small margin. The proposed amendment will be reexamined and perhaps modified for resubmission later in the current year.

Jim Roussel was recently named as the 2003 recipient of the New Orleans Bar Associations Distinguished Maritime Lawyer Award. Does this mean free cruises for all classmates? Jim graduated from Tulane Law School and is a partner at the firm of Phelps Dunbar.

Bob Hargraves has changed his e-mail address to bobhargraves@delphia.net.

Dick Sax writes that retirement did not sit well with him. After several years of retirement as a neurologist, Dick went back to work in the medical field and is now a medical director for a public agency that administers the Medicaid program in Orange County, California. In addition, he is also a ringside physician for the California State Athletic Commission, monitoring professional boxing in Southern California. Dick, get autographs but don't get in between the boxers while they are swinging.

Doug Zipes, in conjunction with NASPE Heart Rhythm Society (the leading society for professionals involved in cardiac pacing and electrophysiology, whatever that means) and Elsevier (the world-leading scientific and medical publisher) have partnered to publish the new Heart Rhythm Journal, beginning May 2004. Doug will serve as the founding editor-in-chief of the new journal, whose "goal will be to educate, advocate and perhaps, at times pontificate."

On a sad note, Peter Citron, who left Dartmouth during his junior year and did not graduate, passed away a few months ago. Our condolences to his family.

5 Red Ground Road, Old Westbury,NY 11568; victor_rich@rsmi.com