Editorial

Oh, You Wonderful People!

     Working with the Blair Alumni Association is one of the most rewarding parts in my life.  It's one of those things where you say something like, 'today I get to work on the Alumni News," not, "today I have to work on the Alumni News."  Believe it or not, it's something I really look forward to.

      I can honestly say that, in part, because of the nice comments so many of you take time to put on your renewal forms, telling us how much you enjoy the Alumni News.  I can also say that because of a comment made by a classmate of mine, Larry Levin, with whom I had dinner recently when I was in Las Vegas.  Larry said that he enjoys reading about all of the Blair grads in the Alumni Roll Call section of the newsletter, not just the graduates from our class.  "It's so interesting to see what everyone does and where they live and what they've accomplished," he said.

     Larry, you are so right.  Even more interesting – and heartwarming – are some of the suggestions we're getting on how to celebrate Blair's Diamond Jubilee (75 Year) Anniversary, and who you think were among the most outstanding Blair grads from each class.  We'll compile the suggestions and consider all of them as we start planning for this milestone event, but I thought you might be interested in some of the early responses we're getting.

     Among the suggestions for what kind of event to have to mark Blair's 75th Birthday were:

  • have something during the day so those older grads who don't drive at night can be able to participate
  • be sure to have something at both the old and new schools
  • have it somewhere that is conducive to a lot of mixing rather than classes all sitting by themselves
  • let each class have a booth where they can display memorabilia from their class and everyone can walk around and visit each year
     These are some great suggestions to get usstarted.  We also had some interesting and touching suggestions for the 'outstanding' grad noninees.  In addition to the well-known/famous Blair grads that were mentioned, here are a few nominees you might no have heard about before:
  • Bob Talbot ('45): fought for our country in the Navy in WWII and went down with his ship – I believe he is a hero
  • Malcolm (Mac) Beasley ('57): holds an endowed professorship at Stanford; is a member of the National Academy of Sciences; Dean of School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanfard
  • Bill Caswell ('65): by far the smartest member of our class.  He had a PhD in physics from Princeton and he died in the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11
     These are the kinds of people with whom all Blair grads have a common bond.  I'm lucky enough to get to read all of  your comments about all of these incredible people who shared that experience by old Sligo's winding waters.
     I hope I get the chance to do this for many years to come.