Letters from the Vice President
Dear Classmates:
As always, I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our 12th Reunion. I never tire of listening to stories and finding out the latest news from everyone during the weekend. I probably caught up with most of our classmates at the outstanding concert put on by Blues Traveler at the 20th Reunion (YouTube has some video from the show: www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3l6QXFQ_iA). For those who couldn’t make it to Old Nassau for Reunions Weekend, you can sample some of the sights and sounds recorded by fellow Tigers and posted on the web:
- Princeton: http://alumni.princeton.edu/main/goinback/reunions/
- YouTube: www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Princeton+Reunions+2007
Although Reunions are always a high point on the calendar, a number of our classmates made a point of getting together during the course of the year. Events in Washington, New York and Princeton reconnected ’95 Tigers. Princeton Professor Clancy Rowley ’95 and several of our classmates from the greater Princeton Metroplex (yes, I just coined a new geographic designation: P’ton Metroplex = Metro NYC + Metro Philly) gathered in October for a Class of ’95 Tailgate and to cheer our (at the time) undefeated Tiger football team to victory against Harvard. After the Tigers beat the Yale Bulldogs and captured the first “Big Three” title since our senior year, several ‘95ers attended the resulting bonfire to celebrate with the Black & Orange faithful.
Away from Old Nassau, Tony Spanakos ’95 brought the Tigers together in Gotham. Here in Washington, DC, a few of us gathered informally at Levante’s in Dupont Circle for drinks, tapas and good conversation. I hope to make it a regular “come as you are” event every month. If you wish to organize an event or activity (volunteering, happy hour, sporting or cultural event, etc.) bringing classmates together in your hometown, let me know. We can publicize the event (on the class website and via email) and possibly cover some of the costs.
Nine of our classmates have volunteered to help kick-start class activities in six cities around the country: Los Angeles (Michelle Ehrlich ‘95), San Francisco (Joe To ‘95), Chicago (Geoffrey Crawley ‘95 & Tim Freeth ‘95), Houston (Emily Tovar Whittenberg ‘95), Washington, DC (Jane Thorpe ’95 & Natanya Holland Allan ‘95) and New York City (Tony Spanakos ’95 & Katherine Issel ‘95). The regional vice presidents help organize and coordinate class get-togethers. If you wish to play a role in class activities, become a regional vice president or initiate a particular event, feel free to contact me directly (vicepresident@princeton95.org). We are always seeking fresh ideas and new contributors.
Lastly, as many of you have noticed, we have upgraded the Class of 1995 website. In addition to allowing us to update the information available on the site more easily and frequently, I suspect that you will find some of the new functions helpful in keeping up to date with the Class and staying in contact with classmates near you. After you have created a USERNAME and PASSWORD I recommend that you investigate the “Who is Near Me?” class directory. Unlike the Tigernet Alumni Directory which limits searches to particular states, cities, or zip codes, you can locate ‘95ers within a radius from as little as 5 miles up to 300+ miles away from any point in the United States. In addition to looking up classmates in the Metro DC area, I use it to track down classmates near cities I plan to visit for work. It is a nice tool to link up with Tigers I haven’t seen in a while.
Alexis (Theofilactidis) Singleton ’95 has graciously offered to take the lead in redesigning our site (I have very little ability in this department and do not wish to punish the whole Class with my ineptitude!). Already Alexis has fleshed out our initially bare bones site; more is on the way. Over the coming months we plan to add new functions and items to the website; it is meant to be a dynamic forum. We welcome any suggestions for making www.princeton95.org a more helpful resource for the Class of 1995.
Thanks to all of you for being so active with the Class. I look forward to seeing many of you at Reunions next year and hope to see the rest of you at Class events around the country in the coming months.
All the best,
Jim Colman
’95 Class Vice President
Dear Classmates:
It was great to see a number of you at our 11th Reunion this year. It seems as though there is never enough time to catch up with everyone over the course of the weekend.
Knowing how difficult it can be to link up at Reunions, a number of us made plans to gather in our home towns during this past year. Events in DC, New York City, Princeton and the Bay Area proved to be great opportunities to reconnect. Classmate and Princeton professor Clancy Rowley ’95 kindly offered to coordinate matters for the Class of ’95 Yale Tailgate at Princeton Stadium in November. New York City ‘95er Tony Spanakos organized a well-attended happy hour in March with the assistance of Katherine Issel ‘95. Maggie Corrigan Wooll ’95 did a wonderful job keeping our class plugged into a big Tiger gathering in the San Francisco area. She worked with Joe To ’95 in getting the word out about an all-classes mini-Reunion in June with the Princeton Club of Northern California. Back here in DC, a group of Tigers from the mid-90s met for hors d’oeuvres, drinks and conversation at the Childe Harold in Dupont Circle. Jane Thorpe ’95 and Natanya Holland Allan ’95 assisted me in making those plans. In the coming year, we would love to support a wide variety of class get-togethers in many more cities and towns.
Given how infrequently many of us are able to make it to campus for Reunions weekends, a small-but-dedicated network of regional vice presidents has volunteered to organize class events in different parts of the country. If you have an interest in bringing ‘95ers together for social occasions, we would be happy to help publicize it and the class may be able to help defray some costs. Although traditional happy hour gatherings remain popular, other options might include tours of art museums, guest speakers, a community volunteering project, attending sporting events or organizing teams for local competitions (World Adult Kickball Association anyone?). Given the wide interests of our classmates, I expect that more than a few of you will have some great ideas.
We expect the redesign of the class website to be a boon for publicizing class functions. I would like the site to become a central point for our classmates to learn more about class news and activities. If you have any recommendations for making www.princeton95.org a more useful source of information, please let me know.
We currently have nine regional vice presidents in six different cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Washington and New York City. If you are interested in developing a particular event or wish to play a role in class activities, feel free to contact me directly (vicepresident@princeton95.org). We welcome new ideas and new contributors.
Regards,
Jim Colman
’95 Class Vice President
