1974

Activity was light in the mailbag this cycle, but I do have some good news to pass on to you. Fortunately, the College news service provided two items. Janet Burrows James was elected chairman of the board of trustees for the Perkins School for the Blind at its most recent annual meeting in Watertown,Massachusetts.Janet is the first woman chair in the school's 175-year history. Janet had been a member of the Perkins visiting committee since 1993 and a member of the board of trustees since 1996. Following Dartmouth Janet earned an M.B.A. from Columbia. She is currently a partner of Rock Port Capital Partners, a Boston-based venture capital fund, where her husband, William E. James, is the founding partner. They live in Boston and Rockport.

Rick Gerardi, program director at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), received national recognition from the Energy Star campaign at its annual meeting in Chicago. Rick received the 2004 Mike Thompson Award, honoring efforts of visionary leaders within the Energy Star network for their dedication to the Energy Star program and their impact on the energy-efficient appliance market. Rick has more than 25 years of experience in the residential building trade industry and has been coordinating and overseeing residential energy efficiency programs for NYSERDA since 1998.

Doug Peabody answered my plea for news with an e-mail from Paris. He was there with his family visiting his sister-in-law and four nieces while picking up his oldest daughter, Alix. Alix is a freshman at the Sacred Heart School in New York City and was finishing a semester in Nantes at a lycee associated with the Sacred Heart Network of Schools. Doug reported that Alix loved the program, made many new friends and developed real fluency in French during her stay. What a way to start high school, and what a jump on foreign study! Doug is a trustee of the Sacred Heart School in New York, where he helped to complete a capital campaign to fund a major building renovation. Doug's two other daughters also attend Sacred Heart, while his son, Nicky, attends the Collegiate School.

Again, please send news! Let the rest of us know what is going on in your lives.

Retreat Farm, 1137 Manakin Road,Manakin Sabot, VA 23103; samplejr@msn.com