MINUTES OF CLASS MEETING -- NOVEMBER 20, 2021
PRINCETON CLASS OF 1969
Call to Order
A virtual meeting of the Class of 1969 was held on Zoom at 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 20, 2021. The meeting was called to order by President Chris Milton.
Attendees
Those in attendance included Don Adams, Axelrod, Benjamin, Bob Brown, Burgess, Chin, Dixon, Fager, Floyd, Claus Frank, Freyer, Gehret, Goodman, Hardy, Harman, Harris, Horton, Kiesel, Kitto, Loveman, Marc Miller, Mills, Milton, Larry Morris, Peterson, Rea, Rein, Ress, Richard, Rosenberg, Sheridan, Steele, Stoddard, and one unidentified classsmate.
Officers’ Reports
The Secretary’s report was given by Bob Axelrod and Mike Gehret. Bob remarked that the supply of news for the class notes has been good. He noted that the Class Notes do not appear until two months after he submits them to PAW, so notes can seem dated. Mike noted the deaths of two classmates since our last class meeting, John Sacret Young on June 3 and Gene Bayard on October 30, and asked for a moment of silence in their memory. Mike added that he is working with Jeff Kaplan to rationalize the way PAW memorials and outside obituaries appear on the class website and to insure that every deceased classmate has a memorial and/or outside obituary. Also, Mike is working with Jeff to make sure that our list of Class Associates (widows) matches the list kept by Alumni Records. Chris noted that there needs to be clarity in communications with Class Associates and said that he will ask Muffin Slonaker to reach out to new widows.
The Treasurer’s report was given by Chuck Freyer. We currently have $50K in our Reunions account, and another $88K in the Class’s general account. There are more than 100 dues payers, and another dues request is going out so that number will increase. The University has assumed the cost of producing the PAW and classes are no longer charged for the subscriptions, which saves us about $15K/year.
Other Reports
Chuck also gave the PICS report. In 2021 there were 188 PICS interns, with about 85% working remotely because of the pandemic. In 2022, the goal is to have 225 interns with most working on site, which will make the alumni partner role more important. There are more than 600 applicants for these positions. The new Class of 1969 Program Director is Emily Sharples, and she is doing a great job. PICS is strong financially, in part because the University is now picking up about $500K of PICS expenses. There was a well-attended PICS 25th Anniversary dinner in New York, and other regional dinners are planned. Bob Loveman described the creation of a PICS endowment by the Princeton Club of Chicago.
Chris reported on the renaming and repurposing of the Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund, which will now be known as the Class of 1969 Paul George Sittenfeld Scholarship Fund. In addition to supporting the children of classmates, the Fund will focus on first generation attendees and students from low income families. The Fund currently has assets of $417K and awards about $19K annually.
The Annual Giving report was given by Class Agent Andy Steele, who noted that it was too early in the year to report on numbers. An Annual Giving team has been recruited to make calls later in the campaign, and once again we will challenge ’68 in March to see who can add the most new donors in that month. The University is hoping that we can increase participation from last year’s 51% to the 53-55% range, and that we can increase the giving total over last year’s $250K.
Planned Giving Chair Mike Kiesel described the activity of the Office of Gift Planning and the 1746 Society. He cited the Annual Giving Legacy program in which 11 of our classmates have participated. Total planned gifts from our Class to date total $1,717,616.
President’s Report
Chris has been making quiet progress on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) front, and has identified a possible Chair for that effort. While he is not yet ready to name the chair, or to identify other DEI Committee members, he hopes to do so soon. Chris noted the charge of the DEI Committee, which is to reengage classmates from diverse backgrounds, and also to encourage advocacy and direct action where appropriate.
Alumni Day will take place on February 19. Chris encouraged attendance and said that there would most likely be a ’69 recaption at the conclusion of the day’s events. He reported on behalf of Clay McEldowney that our 53rd Reunion will take place May 19-22, and that we will be a satellite of ’67’s 55th Reunion.
The ’69 Canyonlands mini-reunion originally scheduled for 2020 has been rescheduled for October 9-16, 2022. The original Canyonlands trip was fully subscribed; if there are any cancellations they will be filled by classmates from the wait list. There will be a second Canyonlands cohort in 2023. There is also the possibility of a California wine country mini-reunion, but planning has been paused until the 2022 Canyonlands trip has been finalized.
Chris has a list of Covid 19 resources from Sam Fager, which will be distributed to the entire Class.
Jim Floyd called attention to Princeton in Africa, which is back up and running after a pause due to the pandemic. The program, which involves a number of classmates, has operated for more than 20 years. It has sent more than 700 year-long fellows to 36 African countries.
Adjournment
Chris led the singing of Old Nassau, after which he adjourned the meeting.
