Reunions

50th Reunion Chairs write to the Class

In May, 2011, members of the Class of 1964 received the following email from the three Chairs for our 50th Reunion in the Spring of 2014. Our three Chairs are Pete Putzel, Waldo Johnston, and Christopher Getman.

Dear Classmate,

Earlier this year we wrote to announce that we have started to plan for our 50th reunion, which — believe it or not — is now less than three years away.

A few members of our class have never returned for a reunion. We urge every classmate to give it a try. We are convinced that you will be enlightened by the program that we are putting together; more importantly we think that you will enjoy reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. We are fortunate to have been at Yale during interesting times, and the subsequent fifty years have enriched us as well. We have much to share with each other, and we hope that you will be part of the celebration. Let us hear from you!

In order to plan for an event which will appeal to everyone in the class, we are seeking guidance from each of you and, in that spirit, we write now to seek your input and your help by asking you to consider volunteering and to complete the short survey enclosed.

We have identified a number of areas in which we need your assistance:

The Class Book. Larry Crutcher has agreed to head up the Book Committee, which will supervise our most ambitious project. We intend to produce a book which will meaningfully describe the half century that has ensued from our undergraduate years at Yale. Our class has produced an extraordinary, diverse group of men; we have lived through turbulent times since our graduation. Each of us has experienced those years in diverse ways. The Book will enable us to learn what each classmate has done, where he is now, and what he feels as he reflects on his life since graduation fifty years ago.
Attendance. Tony Lee has agreed to chair the Attendance Committee and is developing good ideas to enable us to meet our stated goal of 100% participation at the reunion. We have committed to insuring that financial constraints will deter no one from attending the reunion, and Tony is determined to make sure that every classmate is contacted and encouraged to attend the reunion. To do this he will need help. We have set attendance records for at least our last three reunions, and we are determined to see that trend continue.
Class Gift. Terry Holcombe, Len Baker, Henry McCance and Chris Getman will head up this committee. Ever since we graduated, we have consistently set records for our financial support of Yale. This has been our way to thank those who preceded us and to assure that this continues to be one of the leading educational institutions in the world. We eagerly invite volunteers to assist in this development effort.
Program. The three of us will jointly chair the Program Committee. We will seek the input of every member of the class; we welcome any ideas that you have to make the reunion a thought-provoking, significant experience for each person who attends. Please contact us with program suggestions.
Finance. Chip Brennan, our venerable Class Treasurer, will chair the Finance Committee. While our class is currently in strong financial shape, we must spend our funds wisely in order to produce the best reunion ever.
Widows/Partners. Vivian Donnelley will chair this committee. We enthusiastically encourage the widows and partners of deceased classmates to participate fully in the reunion, and we intend to make every one of them feel comfortable in doing so. While the reunion will inevitably be a bittersweet experience for each of them, we can also make it a fulfilling one. While partners are not as easy to identify as widows, with a collective effort we hope to include them too. We urge you to encourage widows and partners whom you know to participate and to assist us in reaching out to them.
Arts and Publishing. We seek volunteers for this committee, which will provide an opportunity for artists and writers in the Class to display their handiwork.
Souvenirs. The three of us will chair this committee, which will select clothing and other souvenirs as mementos of the reunion. We intend that these items will be useful, reasonably tasteful and will remind us long into the future of the time we spent together at the reunion. We welcome your suggestions and input.
Memorial Service. The Committee organizing this important event will be chaired by Wayne Batcheler and Steve Klingelhofer. For the past two reunions classmates and relatives have delivered brief eulogies in memory of classmates who died during the preceding five years. The Memorial Service has consistently been an important and meaningful part of our past reunions, and we plan a similar service as part of our forthcoming gathering. Please contact us (or Wayne or Steve) if you would like to speak on behalf of a classmate who has died since our forty-fifth reunion. (To learn who has previously been recognized, please go to the "In Memoriam" section of our class website).

As you can see, we have much work to do in many areas, and we write to ask each of you for your ideas and support. Please join any committee which interests you, and urge others to do so as well. We are planning a full committee meeting in New Haven at 10:00 A.M. on Friday, September 16th, to be followed that afternoon by golf (for those who would like to play), dinner at Mory's that evening and the Yale-Georgetown football game on Saturday. Please join a committee and join us on September 16th.

To assist us in planning for the reunion, please take our short survey, as soon as you can. Your input and participation are critical to our efforts going forward.

Thanks and warm regards.

Pete Putzel Waldo Johnston Christopher Getman