Daylight may be dwindling with the approach of fall, but John and I find our spirits expanding as we pen this column. That’s because we’re so proud to be members of Dartmouth’s “Partycipatory” class, a truly special group of men and women distinguished by extraordinary camaraderie and selfless generosity. In the wake of another successful Dartmouth College Fund (DCF) campaign that saw us eclipse the participation record by a non-reunion class and set the record for a 37-years-out class, our heartfelt gratitude goes out to everyone involved in supporting current students, faculty and the College to the tune of $1.1 million this past fiscal year. Thanks to the 641 contributors who chose to make Dartmouth part of their charitable giving; to the 72 agents who volunteered countless hours of their valuable time; to Kim Frydman and Meaghan Dunn in the DCF office; and to the two anonymous “1769 Challenge” benefactors who helped us realize a significant increase in 1769 Society membership. And give a rouse for Gina Barreca (author of Babes in Boyland and If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse?) and the “Boys of the Grant” (authors of The Confluence) for donating signed books to facilitate fundraising efforts and enrich our lives. All that richly deserved praise leaves only 200 words for news, so let’s get to it.

Bob Foster went on sabbatical this summer to refresh, enjoy and travel on. Here is an excerpt of his experience: “I took a much needed ‘working’ vacation through the Rockies and beyond in late June and early July; saw a bunch of old friends and made new ones. I drove to Vail, Colorado, my mountain home for two post-college seasons, to work as a referee at the 2016 Vail Lacrosse Shootout, perhaps the biggest, baddest annual lacrosse tournament in the land. Running and refereeing at 8,100 feet (I live in Manhattan Beach, California, at 54 feet above sea level) was a challenge, but a blast!”

An April press release from George Washington University asks, “How do you predict a pirate attack? Or a radical change in a global water flow?” Duh! You just ask an Arthur S. Flemming Award winner, someone who has “offered exceptional service to the federal government for three to 15 years” and this year included our very own Mitchell Zeller “for his work to protect the public through the regulation of tobacco products in the United States, setting policy and precedent that have national global implications.” Mitchell “built the first-ever nationwide enforcement program to reduce youth access to tobacco, worked to issue a historic regulation to bring all tobacco products under the FDA’s jurisdiction and led the FDA’s launch of nationwide youth tobacco prevention campaigns.”

Let’s finish on two more high notes, one for Scott Blackmun, chief executive of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the other for Abbey D’Agostino ’14, who became just the 18th recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin medal, “reserved for the most exceptional displays of sportsmanship, fair play and Olympic spirit.” Round of snaps!

—Stanley Weil, 15 Peck Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549; (917) 428-0852; stanno79@gmail.com; John Currier, 82 Carpenter St., Norwich, VT 05055; (802) 649-2577; john.h.currier@dartmouth.edu