Hello classmates, I trust your holidays were joyful. Our class was represented well at the inauguration of our adopted classmate, President Sian Leah Beilock, in September. Present to cheer her on were Martha Hennessey, Jim and Martha Beattie, class president Naomi Kleinman, Jenny Kemeny, Steve Melikian, and M.K. Beach. Ann Fritz Hackett marched in the procession as a trustee emerita. As The Dartmouth reported, President Beilock “made an impassioned case for the necessity and vitality of higher education in general—and Dartmouth’s dual mission of fostering discovery and leadership in particular—at a time when ‘the complex problems facing the world today demand urgent, sophisticated solutions.’ ”

Dr. Brita S. Reed writes that she and Dan Lucey ’77 married in October 2022 in Norwich, Vermont. They met in 2021 as members of the Geisel School of Medicine’s reunion committee. At the wedding were classmates Carolyn Johnson Allenby asbest womanand John Lawrence as best man. Cindy Shannon and her husband, Jim Antal, officiated the service. Brita and Dan live in Atlanta, where she continues to work with patients with infertility.

Jeff Thayer wrote that he lives with his family at the southern end of Lake Winnipesaukee near Laconia, New Hampshire. After Dartmouth Jeff moved to Timmins, Ontario, near the Arctic watershed, where he worked for a mining company. Law school in Los Angeles followed, with work on white-collar defense and mergers of Las Vegas casinos. After going into private practice, he studied and spoke on fundamental rights covering the Bible, rabbinical writings, Greek, and Roman primary sources. Jeff wrote a number of self-published books now up at Lulu, Amazon, and other sites. A father of seven, he retired after five years at Walmart in construction and remodeling stores on the East Coast. He invested the last three years in research of primary sources for the writing of a historical novel spanning the period of 1700 to 1871 and a nonfiction analysis of “what is the law?”

A pitch from treasurer John Pancoast to contribute to class finances through the class dues appeal, as the fund we build up helps pay for our 50th. Also, as we re-build our participation—we hit 62 percent for our 30th—you should know that it is measured in what we give to the Dartmouth College Fund only, although gifts to other college areas, the so-called “Friends of” funds, do count in the class’s overall totals. You’ll hear about this regularly in our class newsletter and in this space as we build toward June 2026.

Kipp Barker reminds us that the class “Project Reconnect” initiative is underway to encourage more of our classmates to get involved and engaged with the College and among ourselves—especially leading up to our 50th reunion in June 2026. A number of classmates will reach out, primarily by phone, to classmates who we’ve lost touch with through the years to reestablish bonds. We’ll also leverage our newsletter, Class Notes columns, and email messages asking classmates to share memories and stories of people, places, and events from your undergraduate days. Please feel free to contact Kipp at kippbarker@yahoo.com or (425) 219-0971. And continue to send news to me at steve@stevebellcommunications.com and to Jim Burns for the newsletter. Ciao for now.

—Steve Bell, 15 Harbour Pointe, Buffalo, NY 14202; steve@stevebellcommunications.com