1975

is right around the corner. The bad news is that another year has come and gone, reminding us that time continues to fly by. On the campus, activity is at an all-time pace. With the late fall dedications of Kemeny Hall and Haldeman Center, Dartmouth capped a $154 million round of new construction that added new academic facilities, new housing for 500 students as well as new athletic facilities. And on the board for 2007-08 are the Class of 1953 Dining Commons, improvements at Tuck, a new life sciences building, a visual arts center, a new soccer facility and the long-awaited replacement for Thayer Dining Hall, just to name a few.

And now, news from the mailbag.

Dave Spicer sent in a note to share the news that he has joined Agros International, a nonprofit charitable organization whose core mission is to enable poor families in Central America and Mexico to escape the cycle of extreme poverty. A lawyer by training, Dave had previously pursued volunteer work on water projects and micro enterprise loans in Africa, Asia and Central America. These experiences were so profound that Dave decided to leave the law and pursue these activities on a full-time basis. Dave encourages anyone who is interested to go to Agros' Web site, www.agros.org, for more information. Best of luck, Dave.

Judy Geer was recently inducted into the Choate Rosemary Hall of Fame. As many of us know, Judy was the foundation for Dartmouth's women's rowing team. After attending Smith for a year she transferred to Dartmouth, became the team's first captain and, following graduation, made a dominating run at the national and international level. Judy won the national singles championship in 1979 and 1982 and joined the Olympic teams in 1980 and 1982. She returned to Dartmouth in 1977 as a coach and then in 1983 received her master's degree in engineering from the Thayer School. Judy then joined Concept 2, a rowing company, where she created Extervision software that displays motivational graphics and monitors performance. Along the way she married Dick Dreissigacker, Concept 2's founder, and they have three children and live in Vermont. What a great story.

And from Mary Anne Mendenhall '02, a law student in New York City who is closely involved with a post-Katrina national organization called the Student Hurricane Network that helps address many of the Katrina-related legal issues, comes this tidbit: "I recently learned that one of the sharpest, most tireless leaders in this effort is Pamela Metzger, a professor at Tulane Law School. Ms. Metzger is a force of nature and her work frequently catches the attention of the national press."

Finally, Ron Cima wrote to say that his daughter Caroline is a '10 (yup, that would be 2010, for us oldies). Ron proudly reports that she loves Dartmouth and played wingback for the women's rugby team this fall. Ron works in midtown New York City as a partner at Greenberg Traurig LP and Ron's wife, Rita, is in charge of global regulatory affairs at Standard & Poors.

Well that's all the news for now. Nancy sends her love. Don't be a stranger; send those cards and letters on.

Boardman Ave., Manchester,MA 01944; (617) 737-1100 x 302; jbildner@literaryventuresfund.org