Clubs

The class of 2017 is settling in and fall festivities are under way at Dartmouth. Just a few months ago clubs around the world were hosting summer gatherings and send-off events for their incoming freshmen and local undergraduates and alumni were sharing stories of their days at Dartmouth. The Dartmouth Club of Northeast Ohio had its sig nature annual Freshmen Send-off at the home of Jack Herrick ’60 and his wife, Mary. Herrick’s home has been the venue for this event for the past five years. More than 50 people attended this year, and president Mark Heller ’70 commented, “Attendance has increased and, although we’ve set a time frame on the event, invariably it goes way over with the new students, current students and recent graduates talking long into the evening. There is energy and excitement. It’s wonderful way to start our ‘school year.’”

The Dartmouth Club of Suburban New Jersey also held its annual club picnic for incoming freshmen during the summer. The event was organized by Jim Felter ’74, susan Felter ’76 and chad Felter ’07, and was held at Pleasant Valley Park. The Q&A session for parents of incoming freshmen was led by Pat Berry ’81, P’14. President David Dietze ’78 commented, “The picnic was a great social event and provided an opportunity for members and incoming freshmen and their families to meet other members of the Dartmouth community in the area.”

Staying along the East Coast, the Dartmouth Club of Eastern New York held its annual summer picnic at the Normanside Country Club in Delmar. The event was well attended as 31 alumni and guests enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and casual conversation filled the air. Three incoming freshmen and three local high school students from the club-sponsored Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth program attended the picnic. This was the first event organized by the club under its new leadership: Bill Corbett, P’10, president; Jerry Dollar ’74, P’14, vice president; Bob conway ’73, secretary; and sarah Metzgar Boggess ’86, treasurer. Conway commented, “The club’s summer picnic always brings together a broad cross-section of alumni, guests, their children and undergraduates that makes for lively conversations, some ‘when I was at Dartmouth’ stories and the sharing of wisdom between the generations.”

The Dartmouth Club of Tampa Bay celebrated this summer as well. President Dawn Maclaren ’89 reported that 22 alumni and guests attended the club’s send-off party and two of their four incoming freshmen joined the event. This club also had another exciting outing this summer as alumni and their families gathered at the Sail Pavilion at the Tampa Convention Center to enjoy the music of local duo Stumble Fox. This duo features guitarist susan ettinger Burkhart ’96, th’97. MacLaren also mentioned that the club will be launching a new website and has started to engage area alumni through its Facebook group, which already has 35 members.

Florida had a lot of Dartmouth pride this summer as the Dartmouth Club of Tampa Bay was not the only active alumni club in Florida. The Dartmouth Club of the Florida Keys was fortunate to have the Big Green Bus stay for a four-day visit during the July 4th holiday. The crew of 12 undergraduates “engaged in dialogue with community representatives about the general topic of sustainability” said club president sidney Goldman ’60. This club held a picnic to benefit the Visiting Nurse Association/Hospice of the Florida Keys to conclude the holiday celebration with the bus. Goldman commented, “We would like to think that this was the highlight of their 1,200-mile adventure and hope they return in years to come.”

209 Vernon St., Worcester, MA 01607; (508) 340-5336; cherie.comeau@alum.dartmouth.org