1972

Hail, noble '72s, far and wide!

Basking in the glorious spring sunshine in Hanover, your humble scribe prepares for you what may be my last offering before passing the quill and inkwell to another deserving brother in June! It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving you these past five years. My, how the time has flown!

As I was preparing this missal I had an unexpected but very welcome visit from Charles Chehebar and his son Ben, prospective class of 2 on. Charles has spent the past 25 years practicing law in the Big Apple after a stint in graduate school in England. Ben hopes to pursue an active interest in engineering at Dartmouth and just received honorable mention in the Modem Marvels Invent Now Challenge. Great work, Ben!

Wayne Pirmann has been in touch with me to let me know his highly successful financial services group has moved to new digs in Auburn Hills, Michigan. He invites any classmates passing through to stop by for a tour of the new facilities (will you throw in a lunch, too, Wayne?)!

Around campus the tragedy of Virginia Tech has enhanced the senses of community awareness and caring that are among the hallmarks of our College. Reaction has been, for the most part, fairly tempered. One of the very special things about Dartmouth I see working here daily is how the community pulls together in times of crisis, whether internal (thankfully rare!) or external. From the newest first-year student to crusty old alums such as myself, folks look to each other for support and to try to make sense out of whatever has happened. Instead of scattering to the four winds, we gather in groups large and small offering each other comfort and support. As we already know from our life experiences, green enters the blood very early on and it never leaves. It's what draws us back to Hanover the rest of our lives.... Oh! Is this a segue into our reunion?

Since this column won't hit your mailboxes until just before or perhaps during our reunion I won't dwell on the considerable planning (and the fun we've had) that went into putting the whole thing together. For those who were able to attend, reading this will I am sure evoke fond memories of good times just had with old friends and new. On the chance you get this before June 11, there's still room to "drop in" and join us! Complete reunion reports will follow in this column and in the class newsletter.

I just wanted in parting to take a moment to thank our class for your support of the marine safety program I created at the College in 2004. The '72 safety boat went into the water for the 2007 season yesterday afternoon and will probably ply the river until Thanksgiving. Thanks to your generosity we've saved five lives so far and helped folks out in dozens of risky situations. Thank you for helping make this possible.

Yours forever in green.

P.O. Box 580, anover,NH 03755-0580; lauren.cummings@artmouth.eclu