Gong Xi Fa Cai! Celebrating the Year of the Dragon and our 50th Reunion!
Saturday begins a new lunar year–the Year of the Dragon. Having spent 27 years in Asia, I experienced firsthand many new year celebrations and they were fun, filled with a spirit of renewal and hope for the new year ahead. Most of us in the Class of ’74 are dragons* and we proudly claim the distinction of being the MOST auspicious of the zodiac animals. A dragon year is also auspicious so it is fitting that our big 50th Reunion is this year. Of course Cornell has always honored dragons on Dragon Day!
President Frank Rhodes at Dragon Day 1993.
We hope you have been receiving the various emails and postcards keeping you up-to-date about our Reunion plans. Visit the 50th Reunion page on our class website for the latest information or reach out to our Reunion Chairs or me. Please complete your page in our Class Memory Book I hope you are planning to join us in June. Registration will open in April.
If you haven’t seen President Pollack’s recent letter about upcoming talks, lectures and task forces addressing campus-wide issues that surfaced this past fall, you can read it here. In the spirit of the new year, let’s hope that Cornell and all Cornellians will continue to work together, talk to and respect each other and safely uphold the founding values of the University we all love.
We are proud that our Class of 1974 Scholar Summer Parker-Hall recently helped CU Women’s Basketball get Coach Dayna Smith her 100th Ivy win against Dartmouth. Read about the game and Summer here.
On another proud but sad note, classmate Jim Schoonmaker shared this screenshot from the Grammys honoring his friend and WVBR colleague and classmate Kendall Minter. Jim was able to watch the stream of his funeral in December. Jim and WVBR will be live broadcasting from our class headquarters on Friday during Reunion and playing our songs; we will have a toast to Kendall.
Gong Xi Fa Cai! Wishing you all a very healthy and prosperous new year full of renewal and hope!
* Year of the Dragon 1952 was January 27, 1952-February 13, 1953. Those born before are Rabbits and after are Snakes. All have wonderful qualities.
