Class Note 1966
Giving back—a phrase we seem to hear more and more these days. It’s a phrase that certainly applies to many members of the class of 1966. Here are just two of the latest examples, with classmates coming at good causes from different angles.
George “Skip” Battle devoted his career to helping organizations get established, grow and thrive. For 27 years he served in various management roles at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), where he became worldwide managing partner of market development and a member of the firm’s executive committee.
Retirement from day-to-day consulting meant Berkeley, California-based Skip was able to tackle a variety of new challenges—senior fellow at the Aspen Institute for 20 years, board member at Expedia, LinkedIn, Netflix, Open Table and Workday, among others, and a three-year stint as CEO of Ask.com.
The Battle family has been giving back for years. Now they have made a major gift to support the construction of a new lodge at Mount Moosilauke. Skip will match donations up to $5 million, generating more than half the $17 million projected for the project.
“The first decision [to donate] wasn’t about Moosilauke, it was about Dartmouth,” said Skip, father of two Big Green grads, Daniel ’01 and Emily ’05. “I think Dartmouth was the reason for any of the success that I’ve had in life because of the academics and the friendships that I made. It starts out of a sense of gratitude for the College and then it moves onto Moosilauke. I hope my gift will ensure the continuity of a tradition that can’t be matched by any other institution.”
The gift is just the latest that the Battle family has made to Dartmouth. Previous gifts include support of a new rugby field and creation of the Battle Family Fund for Ethics Across the Curriculum.
Neil Castaldo, who lives in Hanover, has been a leading attorney in New Hampshire for more than 40 years, focusing on healthcare and medical law. Recently he served as chief counsel and adviser to the president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center before returning to work at the Concord, New Hampshire, law firm Orr & Reno, which he first joined in 1970.
But don’t look for Neil at Orr & Reno on Wednesday afternoons. Instead you can find him on Lebanon Street in Hanover from noon to 2 p.m. shining shoes at $3 each, with all proceeds going to the Haven, a homeless shelter in White River Junction, Vermont.
“I started doing this as something nice for people without any expectation of something in return,” said Castaldo. Shining shoes for charity is a hobby, he says, that has opened his eyes to class distinctions, the joy of altruism and the dignity in all work.
Share your giving-back story with us.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy and fulfilling 2016 to all—and we hope to see you at our 50th reunion in June.
—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (914) 860-4945; lgeiger@aol.com
