Class Note 1986
Issue
January-February 2025
What a busy year this has been! Many of our classmates have been embracing entry into a new decade with plenty of celebrations of 60, whether traveling to new locales or celebrating with family and friends.
I heard from David Beach, who said that turning 60 for him also included aging into the character actor he’s always been on the inside. His recent performances include Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. A bonus was that the production was directed by Addie Gorlin-Han ’11 and also starred Nate Fuller ’67. Quite the Dartmouth ensemble! During the summer David was in The Great American Mousical at the Legacy Theatre in Connecticut, directed by Julie Andrews, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Goodspeed Opera House. Lots of friends came to Connecticut to see his performances, including Laura Gillespie and Dawn Carey, who made the trek down from the Upper Valley. David is still living in New York City with husband Russell Granet and their daughter, Sadie, who is 16 and a sophomore at LaGuardia High School.
In other news, Dartmouth hockey alumna Wendy 9 Sanders was inducted into the Alaska State Hockey Association Hall of Fame in September 2024. According to her daughter, her acceptance speech was funny to watch because she can barely see over the podium—a short but mighty woman! She addressed the kids in the huge audience, saying, “This printed program makes it look like these great men, great hockey players and national coaches, skated directly to the top, right to Nationals, made it right onto Olympic teams. Let me assure you that they stumbled and fell, as I did. What made them great, and what will make you great, is learning to pivot fearlessly. You will get hurt. You will be cut from the team you love. You will fail a test, suffer broken hearts, move from your home, stumble and fall. But hockey has taught you to bounce up, breathe deep, and pivot fearlessly. Do that. Do it again and again. Learn to stand and pivot fearlessly toward your goal.”
Speaking of hockey, Bill Daly is the deputy commissioner of the National Hockey League, holding this post since 2005. Daly’s appointment came after serving for more than eight years as the league’s chief legal officer, during which time he played a major role in helping shape the National Hockey League’s identity on the global sports landscape. In his current role Bill is the chief consultant to the commissioner on practically every topic impacting the league. He is involved in negotiating and administering many aspects of the league’s operations. He and his wife, Gloria, live in New Jersey and have children Taylor, Brendan, and Liam.
On a sad note, classmate Ihab Labib Saad died on August 8, 2024, due to complications from advanced Type 2 diabetes.
Please continue to send me your news.
—Suzy Nachman Mercado, 55 Aspen Wood Lane, Fairfield, CT 06825; suzynmercado@gmail.com
I heard from David Beach, who said that turning 60 for him also included aging into the character actor he’s always been on the inside. His recent performances include Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. A bonus was that the production was directed by Addie Gorlin-Han ’11 and also starred Nate Fuller ’67. Quite the Dartmouth ensemble! During the summer David was in The Great American Mousical at the Legacy Theatre in Connecticut, directed by Julie Andrews, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Goodspeed Opera House. Lots of friends came to Connecticut to see his performances, including Laura Gillespie and Dawn Carey, who made the trek down from the Upper Valley. David is still living in New York City with husband Russell Granet and their daughter, Sadie, who is 16 and a sophomore at LaGuardia High School.
In other news, Dartmouth hockey alumna Wendy 9 Sanders was inducted into the Alaska State Hockey Association Hall of Fame in September 2024. According to her daughter, her acceptance speech was funny to watch because she can barely see over the podium—a short but mighty woman! She addressed the kids in the huge audience, saying, “This printed program makes it look like these great men, great hockey players and national coaches, skated directly to the top, right to Nationals, made it right onto Olympic teams. Let me assure you that they stumbled and fell, as I did. What made them great, and what will make you great, is learning to pivot fearlessly. You will get hurt. You will be cut from the team you love. You will fail a test, suffer broken hearts, move from your home, stumble and fall. But hockey has taught you to bounce up, breathe deep, and pivot fearlessly. Do that. Do it again and again. Learn to stand and pivot fearlessly toward your goal.”
Speaking of hockey, Bill Daly is the deputy commissioner of the National Hockey League, holding this post since 2005. Daly’s appointment came after serving for more than eight years as the league’s chief legal officer, during which time he played a major role in helping shape the National Hockey League’s identity on the global sports landscape. In his current role Bill is the chief consultant to the commissioner on practically every topic impacting the league. He is involved in negotiating and administering many aspects of the league’s operations. He and his wife, Gloria, live in New Jersey and have children Taylor, Brendan, and Liam.
On a sad note, classmate Ihab Labib Saad died on August 8, 2024, due to complications from advanced Type 2 diabetes.
Please continue to send me your news.
—Suzy Nachman Mercado, 55 Aspen Wood Lane, Fairfield, CT 06825; suzynmercado@gmail.com