Class Note 1991

Homecoming 2017 was a veritable “who’s who” of ’91s! The weather was warm, the bonfire was epic and the spirit of Dartmouth in the air was overwhelming. Dozens of ’91s made it back “home,” and I was able to connect with many of them. I saw Angela Brown Stafford in various locations including the alumni tent, organizing events and working hard for the alumni relations office in her role as an assistant director for class activities. Michele DeStefano came up from Florida, having recently survived Hurricane Irma, to show her high schoolers around. Son Jasper and daughter Reading were there, and we caught up at the “Navigating College Admissions” presentation offered by the office of admissions.

The alumni parade on Friday evening was well attended. Geoff Bronner carried our class flag, and classmate and Geoff’s wife, Kristy Patterson Bronner, marched as well. Sara Burbine Potter was there with her husband, Kurt, and Sara enjoyed catching up with Dartmouth Marching Band alums over the weekend. Also in the class parade were Rich Alleyne and daughter Ananya, Kim Godman Genzer, who lives in Norwich, Vermont, Mike Stafford, New Hampshire resident Tom Hong and his children, and Alan Chun who came up from Slingerlands, New York, with his family. Near the Green I realized I was walking alongside my freshman pal Jeff Hamel, who was marching with his high school daughter. Jeff went to Columbia Law School and practices law in New York. He lives in Larchmont, New York, and enjoys fishing on Long Island Sound with his family. He also posted this sad hashtag on Facebook during Homecoming Weekend: #iwantmychickensammy. RIP EBAs.

As the marchers got closer to the bonfire, more ’91s gathered. Keith Dunleavy came to Hanover from Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife, Katherine, and three of his four children, Emma, Hannah and Noah. John Pepper drove across the bridge from Norwich, Vermont, for the event and his brood was seen hanging out with Pat Crocker and his family, who traveled all the way from the West Coast town of Hillsborough, California. I also saw John Wright and Megan Brimijoin Vaules and her family, including their son, who is in the class of ’20.

The bonfire was lit and the ’21s ran their laps. During the bonfire two young women in ’21 shirts came running over (when they saw my husband’s ’92 shirt) and said, “Our parents were ’91s! Did you know Bill Chisholm, Kim Ford Chisholm and Pete Levangie?” Of course I did! We chatted for a while with the Chisolm and Levangie ’21s, and I ended up seeing Pete and his wife, Enid, at a reception a few minutes later. Such fun!

Game day was drizzly, but Dartmouth beat Yale. The “Yuck Fale” signs were fun to see. Before the game I caught up with Tad Truex and Sam Scollard ’92. The two engineers live in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and were ready to cheer on the Big Green! Emily Nielsen Jones, Heather Lane Spehr and Julie Kalish all posted on Facebook that they were at Homecoming too.

In other news Jennifer Barrett was honored with the Zoetis Award for Research Excellence. Jennifer is a professor of equine surgery at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech and a faculty member at the Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia. The award is a national honor that seeks to foster innovative research, and Jennifer’s research focuses on regenerative medicine and its applications for the equine athlete. Way to go, Jennifer!

Enjoy the winter and post on our class Facebook page if you are heading to Winter Carnival!

—Deb Karazin Owens, 166 Colonial Drive, Fairfield, CT, 06824; djowens@optonline.net