Class Note 1986. I am writing this having just returned from a fun-filled, action-packed 40th reunion of the great class of ’86. We broke 40th reunion attendance records with more than 500 total attendees and more than 350 ’86 classmates! A huge congratulations goes out to reunion chair Laura Lindner Sankey and her committee for doing such a fabulous job. Having been to all our reunions since graduation, I can honestly say that they keep getting better. It is always so interesting to learn what our peers have accomplished and what they have in store for the future. It’s wonderful to celebrate the passage of time and the remarkable journeys each of us has taken since college. Who is still working, who has shifted to a new career, and who has retired? How many of us have become grandparents? Whether it’s reuniting with old friends or making new acquaintances, reunion never disappoints. I hope we can continue breaking records in five years at our 45th reunion!
At reunion the vote was held for our new slate of officers who will be leading our class for the next five years. The officers elected are Gary Greene as president, Liz Babb as vice president of communications, Laura Lindner Sankey as vice president of class activities, Kevin Sankey as treasurer, and me (Suzy Nachman Mercado) as secretary. Many thanks for volunteering for our class! If you’d like to work with them, please reach out to one of them about joining the executive committee. Congratulations to our new class officers!
In non-reunion news, Ann Muenzer Beams ’77 filled us in on the good works of Anne Mahoney Hayes. Anne is the executive director of Gather Community Food Center, a low-barrier food and meal provider that offers a new approach to addressing hunger and food instability. Its recently opened free “store” looks like Whole Foods and guests can shop for what they want. There are plenty of fresh food options and shoppers meet people on site, in Fresh Food busses, and pop-up markets. The center also provides culinary career training for people with barriers to employment. Based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, there is nothing like it in the United States, though the model can be found in Canada. It serves 3,200 people a month and averages 60 volunteers a day from 120 cities and towns throughout the Seacoast Region north of Boston and into Maine. The center receives little to no funding from the state of New Hampshire and partners with corporations, individuals, and grants as well as other nonprofits for various initiatives.
As you can see, I will be continuing to write these Class Notes as your secretary. Many of you have promised to email me news about your lives. These notes are much more interesting when you send me information. We would all like to see some new names represented in this column during the next five years—make sure yours is one of them!
—Suzy Nachman Mercado, 55 Aspen Wood Lane, Fairfield, CT 06825; suzynmercado@gmail.com