Class Note 1981
This column is being written about one and a half miles and 10 days away from the horrific and inexplicable events at the Boston Marathon.
Father John Connolly, pastor at St. Brendan Parish in Dorchester, Massachusetts, led a prayer vigil on April 16 to remember Martin Richard, the 8-year-old killed that Monday.
“Good and gracious God, we come before you this evening with hearts full of sorrow and sadness, anger and confusion. We come before you as residents of a neighborhood who have been touched all too directly by the reality of violence and evil in our midst,” Father Connolly said. He closed the vigil with a blessing: “May Almighty God bless and console the Richard family, all of us, our city, our commonwealth and our country in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Following the blessing the crowd spontaneously began singing “God Bless America.” As difficult as it is to move on from that, we must while keeping Martin and the many other victims in our memories.
Other classmates lead in other ways. David Courtney was recently named general partner and chief operating officer of Crosslink Capital. Crosslink is a stage-independent venture capital and growth firm.
Rachel King was named as the first female chair of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a group representing more than 1,100 organizations. Rachel is the president and CEO of GlycoMimetics Inc.Others celebrated leadership at the recent Greenways Weekend, the community celebration of coeducation at Dartmouth. Classmates serving as speakers, panelists or moderators included Annette Gordon-Reed, Sharon Washington, Lisa Conte, Lynn Gaudet and Pamela Mason Wagner. Pamela is an Emmy Award winner and her most recent work is Makers: Women Who Make America. Laurel Richie, trustee and the president of the WNBA, delivered the keynote, where she declared, “Every day is an opportunity to show the world what is possible.” Had you gone, you would have also seen Julie Koeninger, Susan Spencer, Julie Matuschak, Sue Reed, Beth Shapiro and Ellen Brout.
Some lead in diplomacy. Chip Bettencourt just signed a lease for a flat in Paris, a few doors up from a bistro promoting beer pong. According to Chip, the French play beer pong with a glass of wine in their hand. Chip may be looking for a partner for the next game.
Others lead charmed lives. Jim “Okie” Randolph ran into Gordy and Bobby Davenport skiing atop Telluride, Colorado, recently, where hairlines were compared. Jim said the occasion felt like everyone had last met only three years ago, not 30. Mark Jeffrey reports from St. Louis, Missouri, where he does marketing and marketing development for Solutia. He and wife Jennie recently added a Vizsla puppy to the household while sons Chris and Scott are off at school.
Some lead in the arts. Fraser Smith’s work was recently featured at the Katonah Museum of Art’s “Beyond the Bed: The American Quilt Evolution.”
Time for you to lead—last chance to give to the College Fund, www.dartmouthcollegefund.org/give.
—Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com; Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com
