Hello, ’87s! Laurie Lopes shared news from a Hanover visit: “I had the privilege of attending my first Class Officers Weekend in September. It was also my birthday weekend, one of many spent in Hanover—all the major ones: 18, 21, 30 and now 47. Boy, does time fly. Tracey Salmon-Smith, our current president, Allison Bleyler McDonald, our 25th reunion chair, Liz Spear Deakin, our mini-reunion chair, and I represented the class. We had a cozy table to ourselves up front. When the awards portion of the program began we were confident that H. Randall Morgan and his merry band of class officers who reigned for a six-year period were shoo-ins to receive a prize. Our confidence was high. The first class to be acknowledged was ’88, and at that point our hopes began to diminish. Several younger classes were honored, and the class of 2007 was recognized for the highest attendance in a reunion year. We were pretty disappointed at this point and maybe even a little bitter. I stepped out of the room for just a moment to take a birthday call and to my surprise, returned to see Tracey, Allison and Liz walking up to the podium giggling and in shock. It took me a second to register the fact that our class had won the big one—the 2012 Class of the Year 25 Years Out and Younger Award. We could not contain our laughter and our pride. It never dawned on us that they would save the best for last. I realize that I had little or nothing to do with the award we had just received, but I could not help but feel proud for all the previous class officers who poured their hearts and souls into making the last six years memorable for our class. And I could not imagine a better birthday than the one I spent in Hanover this year.”


Well done, ’87s! To quote from the award, “Members of the class of 1987 executive committee are to be congratulated individually and as a whole for their work for Dartmouth and for their class during the past 12 months. You worked effortlessly and seamlessly together to help strengthen your ties to the each other and to Dartmouth. You worked together to achieve a 25th reunion that not only brought your classmates together for a great party, but served to strengthen your class and its ties to the College for the years to come.”


Jessica Slosberg Benjamin writes about Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS). The class of ’87 is one of the sponsoring classes for DPCS. We give stipends to undergraduates to work in nonprofit community service organizations for off-term internships and provide an alumni mentor. The program is funded through the class dues check offs and individual donations (learn more at www.dartmouth. edu/~dpcs). DPCS now has a postgraduate component called the DPCS fellows program that assists interns for the year following their Dartmouth graduation. The fellows program is entering its fourth year, has organizations in New York City and Washington, D.C., and we are hoping to expand to Boston and San Francisco in the not-too-distant future. It’s incredibly exciting to be supporting these young and talented people who want to give back.


Bravo to Liz Spear Deakin, who organized our “87th Night of the Year” mini-reunions earlier this spring in cities across the country. Find photos and news from these gatherings in upcoming columns and newsletters and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/dartmouth87.


—Lisa Pabich Damon, 2124 Ashwood Ave., Nashville, TN 37212; lisa.damon.87@alum.dartmouth.org; Allison Bleyler McDonald, 43 Hop Brook Road, Amherst MA 01002; allisonmcd@gmail.com