Fellow Classmates: Late-summer greetings to you all. As I write this, it is a crisp, mild, August day in central New Jersey – picture perfect. Joan and I have had a very busy summer, but most of our visitors are gone, and we are looking forward to a couple of weeks of relaxation. Family and friends are great – indispensable – but quiet is good, too. We hope you have had some of both this season as well. Our 55th reunion year has been memorable. Following are many of the highlights, together with updates of ongoing and upcoming events, and a few reminders. Tribute to President Goheen In midsummer, a classmate approached the executive committee with the idea of proposing to the University administration the naming of a campus landmark more fitting than the existing walk in honor of President Goheen. This proposal got instant, enthusiastic approval from the committee and a letter was drafted from the class to that effect. As we worked on that letter, the idea was expanded. Initially the proposal was to name a building in a new dormitory complex for him, but then the idea of re-naming the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School) was floated. This met with enthusiastic support, and so we revised the primary recommendation. Further, after we agreed on that, we thought it would be wonderful if we could get other classes from the Goheen era to co-sponsor that proposal. The result was an August 5 letter (click here) with the proposal, co-sponsored by 11 other classes! Clearly, there is a lot of enthusiasm for this idea. We have yet to hear from the administration, but will keep you informed… and your support is important. If you know people who will be involved in the final decision and are in support of this idea, please contact them. Reunions The 55th reunion proved to be an unforgettable weekend. Highlights included evening entertainment byDJ Freddi Campbell (who has performed for us at nearly every major reunion since our 5th!) on Thursday, New York’s Around Town Band on Friday, and a Jimmy Buffet tribute performance by The Landsharks Bandon Saturday. The wine and cheese tasting Friday afternoon was spectacular, with many wine offerings that pleased the palate. Of course there were terrific alumni-faculty forums and the one and only P-rade, which just keeps on getting longer! But best of all, we had memorable times reuniting with our ’69 family. Classmate reports have been very positive, and the success of 4 Days of Peace and Music at ’69’s 55th reunion is clearly a credit to the 20 classmates who formed our reunion committee, capably led by Chairman Clay McEldowney and including Vice Chairmen Andy Brown and Jeff Marston, all who devoted many hours in up-front preparation. Jeff Kaplan kept us on track with ’69’s website updates and registration. Records show that we had 162 classmates, 142 adult guests, and 10 children - 314 total - over the weekend. Our attendance held true for our traditionally solid numbers, having more classmates at a 55th since ’62’s 164 in ’17 and more in total attendance since ’62’s 357. Much of the credit can be attributed to our long history of solid attendance at our majors going all the way back to our 5th, poignant communications, stringent budget and, we’d like to believe, having the best beer on campus. In conclusion our 55th reunion clearly demonstrated that We Haven’t Had That Spirit Here Since 1969 and that while we’re not getting any younger, we still have that ’69 spirit! There are many pictures available on the class web site. Here are a few: 
 
Awards and Elections As is customary, a number of classmates and friends were honored at reunions. The President’s awards are given by the president to classmates whose support of the class has been truly exemplary. Recipients this year were Clay McEldowney and Bob Axelrod. Clay has been active in so many ways for so many years that it is virtually impossible to list all his achievements. In particular, he has been reunion chair several times, including the 55th this year. He is deserving of the class’s great thanks and praise. There is no more enthusiastic and hard-working class member. Bob Axelrod was recognized for his long service as a dedicated advocate for PICS, as past annual giving agent, and as co-secretary of the class following the death of Paul Sittenfeld. The Society of the Claw award is an award bestowed on those that have shown particular devotion to and support of the class’s spirit, particularly through reunions. This year’s recipients were Dick Bott, Andy Brown, Bill Charrier, Chuck Freyer, Rick Kitto, Jeff Marston and Sandy Rea. I won’t go into all that these folks have done for our collective spirit, but most of you know that already. Thanks, guys! We also elected two new honorary members: the current chairman of the friends of PICS (and past president of the Alumni Council), Jennifer Daniels '93, and the Class of 1969 PICS Program Director Emily Sharples, for her undaunting dedication to the program and the class’s dedication to it. Under their aegis, the program has expanded and intensified, in accordance with its original vision formed by 69. Our bylaws also provide for election of class officers at our major reunions. I had the honor of being elected your class president. Chuck Freyer is staying on as treasurer, as are Bob Axelrod and Mike Gehret as co-secretaries.' Homecoming/Alumni Day Homecoming is scheduled for Saturday, November 2, when the Tigers will take on the Big Red of Cornell. Football gametime is 1 PM. The alumni council sponsors lunch before the game, and a dinner is planned for that evening with the class of 1965 at Springdale Country Club. More later, including the time and place for a class meeting. Alumni Day is scheduled for February 22, 2025 and our 56th reunion will be May 22-25. Save the dates! Class Treasury Thanks to the 280 Classmates who paid dues this year, representing over 41% of the 676 living and findable on the University system, the Class is in sound financial shape. Last year, there were 243 dues payers. So that 280 constitutes a 15% increase over FY 2023, which can be attributed to this being our 55th Reunion year. In addition to dues, Classmates contributed $15,100 to the Paul G Sittenfeld Scholarship Fund, which Betsy took as a major tribute to Paul, and $19,990 to our Class Legacy PICS. After all checks cleared, we ended up with over $60,000 in the bank heading into FY 2025. Dues notices will go out in the fall. Please pay your dues promptly to support the operations of the class between major events. They can be paid in a number of ways, including via our web site (princeton1969.org). PICS Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) is our Class' living legacy to Princeton. Chuck Freyer, Bob Axelrod, Bill Charrier, Rick Kitto and Bob Loveman represent the Class on the PICS Executive Committee and Board of Advisors. PICS continues to grow under the leadership of Jennifer Daniels '93, a former President of the Alumni Council. This summer there were 246 PICS interns working in 8-10 week community and government service positions with 200 non-profits all across the US and beyond. 180 Princeton alumni, including a number from the Class of 1969, served as their alumni mentors. Being an alumni mentor is a great way to connect with a current undergraduate, and all these interns are just amazing people. Unlike in the past, the University now provides much of the annual funding for the intern stipends of $700/week, so most gifts to the program can now be used to endow internships in the name of the donor or his or her Class, supporting future growth of the program. PICS is now the poster child for Princeton's commitment to Service, writ large, thanks to foresight of the Class of 1969 and the efforts of the '69ers who led the program for 25 years until it was transferred to the University at our 50th Reunion. If you know of a non-profit in the fields of medicine, the arts, the environment, education or anything else you can think of, or have a connection with a legislator or government agency that would be willing to host a Princeton student intern next summer, please reach out to the Class of 1969 PICS Program Director Emily Sharples (esharples@princeton.edu) or her colleague Rose Holton (rholton@princeton.edu). Annual Giving Annual Giving chair Andy Steele reports that we closed our 55th reunion Annual Giving campaign with 55.8% participation.....up about 8 points over last year. A little short of our 60% goal, but still very good!! Our contributions totaled $2,075,969... over our stretch goal of $2,069.000!! Thanks to all who participated! Overall, university Annual Giving raised $66.7 Million, of which $51.3 million was donated by alumni. Overall participation was 45%....so once again, the class of 69 brings up the average!! Thanks to all of our AG team of volunteers. Special shoutout to Andy Steele for his leadership of the overall effort, to Bob Raymar’s Special Gifts Team, and to Chuck Freyer, who led our Participation team. It took a village to accomplish these results....and we had a heck of a village team!! And, in the category of no good deed going unpunished, Bob Raymar has agreed to chair the annual giving effort through our 60th. Thanks so much, Bob! PU’69 Website – not only for Reunions! After our successful 55th Reunion, almost every classmate knows that our website (Princeton1969.org) is Reunions-Central for the Class of ’69, not only for major reunions, but for every reunion, every year. And that’s not all the website provides. Here are some of the many other things you can do on it: - Stay in touch using the 69 class directory, where you can search for classmates by name, geography, etc. While you are at it, update your own profile.
- Read about classmates with the news feed and “Catching Up With” articles.
- Learn about and sign up for class events.
- Review the extensive photo albums.
- Conveniently pay your class dues and make donations.
We invite you to visit our website often for the latest updates. If this is your first visit, click "first time sign up" button on the Home Page for directions. For more information, or if you have any problems, please email our intrepid webmaster, Jeff Kaplan, at Webmaster@Princeton1969.org for immediate help. Conclusion That’s it for now. In the words of Lester Holt, take care of yourselves … and each other. Peace, 
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