December, 1998 Another mixture of joys and sorrows. Bernie Goloboy and David Lowenstein, our Alumni Fund Co-Head Agents, report the results of the Alumni Fund Campaign for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998 were outstanding! A total of $18.3 million was received in cash, with our class reaching a cash total of nearly $165,000. Our participation rate reached 57.3%. Congratulations to the Class Agents for a job well done! In early August, Ned Gillette was killed while trekking and camping in Pakistan. His wife, Suzi Patterson, was injured during the incident but is recovering. Ned was a notable adventurer, mountaineer, skier, sailor, photographer, journalist, and author. At Dartmouth, he was captain of the ski team. A world-class skier, Ned was a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic nordic team. He traveled the world as a journalist and adventurer, always pushing the limits. His adventures included sailing and rowing an aluminum boat over 600 miles through the Drake Passage from South America to Antarctica, climbing Alaska's Mount McKinley in a single day, treking around Mount Everest, and leading expeditions in all seven continents. In 1993, Ned and Suzi rode camels 6,000 miles on the old Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean Sea. An excerpt from Ned's quotations in the Little Brown book on The Meaning of Life sums up his dreams and perspectives. "To me, life is fullest when I try new things. I love that giddy feeling when I bite off more than I can chew, then chew it successfully. That means facing, then dispelling, the fear of the unknown. I want to maximize my potential, and in so doing, inspire others to see through their dreams. If life is to have meaning, it's essential to carve out your own niche, to become special. Special things happen to special people. Expeditions are not all pure pleasure. Climbing, skiing, and ocean voyages to remote corners of the world are often so gnarly and so scary that you wish you'd never left home. But eventually the sun shines again. You must be an optimist. People are adventurous in direct proportion to their shortness of memory." Thanks Ned for sharing your dreams, experiences, and imagination; we will not forget you or Suzi! The class accepts your challenge to try new things and pursue our dreams! - Dave Mangelsdorff (3410 Turtle Village Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78230- 3918). Send e-mail to or visit (virtually) at http://www.txdirect.net/users/dmangels.