Executive - ly

You may remember that Chris Flagg and JK are both on the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association now - so you'll be happy to know that your class continues to have a voice in the engagement efforts for alumni.

Chris and JK only vote as a block and only talk just to each other during meetings.  Then they retire to the Deerfield Inn for refreshments!

The recent meetings coincided with the dedication of the new athletic facility (think "renovations" totaling $68 MM).  It's a "game-changer" for many sports and with the recent Morsman Pavilion added over 6 of the tennis courts, there are really no weather related excuses for not practicing anymore...enjoy some pictures of the event. (And here's a link to 100 more pics of the facility/opening)

The new Class of 1993 Rink is built into the hillside with the new field house above it...

The rowing facility looks like the National Team training center - two rowing tanks and a roomful of ERGs next door.  There's a Weymouth on the wall of honor!

There's a golf simulator room, puck shooting room, two yoga studios etc. etc.

Chase Coleman '93 and family enjoyed the first skate on the ice.  Chase was instrumental in the funding for the rink...

Former grounds crew and rink manager Jim Antone was on hand to admire the new Jim Antone Skate Room - donated by five former DA hockey players...

Robe Hale '84 was given the great honor of a renamed facility - the "New Gym" is now the Hale Family Gymnasium - Rob spoke eloquently about the faculty members who shaped his talents and why he and his wife are so passionate about supporting financial aid at DA.

And of course, the ageless and still employed at DA Norm Therien of socks and jocks fame, was on hand to enjoy the festivities!

Reality Check - Patton interviewed by AARP

More great publicity for Ben, but a fact of life that we are all welcome to become members of AARP too!

https://www.aarp.org/home-family/voices/veterans/info-2018/ben-patton-interview.html?intcmp=AE-HF-FFR-VC-VET-R1C1

Caring About Veterans Runs in the Family

Q&A with filmmaker Ben Patton, grandson of George Patton Jr., on how he helps vets deal with PTSD

by Andrew Carroll, AARP Bulletin, November 2018 | Comments: 0

BRYAN DERBALLA

Your grandfather George Patton Jr. is one of the most famous generals in American history. Your father was a major general who served with distinction in Korea and Vietnam. That’s a unique way to grow up.

My father used to say, “We’re not better than anyone or worse than anyone. We’re just different.” We definitely were made to feel different insofar as we had a responsibility to act a certain way, behave appropriately and have a service-oriented mind-set.

You didn’t join the military. Was there pressure for you to do so?

I think I felt pressure from history. I had a very strong, but somewhat challenging, relationship with my father. I grew up thinking that that’s what he most wanted — for me to go into the military. I think deep down what he wanted me to do was to find my own path and to lead an authentic life.

What inspired you to become a documentary filmmaker and teacher?

I got interested in film. I wanted to find a way, beyond just going to veterans’ events and representing my family, to apply those talents and skills to the service of veterans and military families. That led me to seek an opportunity to teach film to veterans — to use film as a therapeutic approach for veterans transitioning home from a combat theater, often with post-traumatic stress.

And that led to the work of helping those veterans capture their experiences on film?

Yes. Initially, I was focused on combat veterans who just weren’t able to communicate with their family in the same way as when they had left. There were things they experienced that they simply couldn’t articulate in normal conversation. We began to see that the medium of film could be a wonderful conduit for a veteran to express something without even having to use words.

Your grandfather won lots of glory but was criticized for slapping two soldiers suffering from what was then called combat fatigue. It’s ironic you work with veterans with PTSD.

I’m not an apologist for my grandfather. I would say that generation of the military really just didn’t understand this phenomenon. I don’t excuse him because the actions that he was responsible for, particularly in the summer of 1943 in Sicily, were inexcusable. He had a warrior aura about him where sometimes going into military hospitals had its consequences, setting back his career. But I’m inspired by the fact that both he and my dad were very well-known for caring for their soldiers. What I’m doing is shifting the way we understand what “care” means and broadening it. Fortunately, we have learned a great deal more about these mental health challenges over subsequent generations.

BRYAN DERBALLA

How many films has the Patton Veterans Project produced in the past few years?

I’d say between 300 and 400 films at this point. We’ve worked with close to 1,200 veterans. My mission is to reduce the distance between a veteran and everyone he or she interacts with, be that a battle buddy, boss,  neighbor, spouse, son or daughter, or parent. If we can see veterans be closer and more communicative with those around them, then I think everyone will be better off.

Why did you think that filmmaking would resonate with service members today?

Younger veterans are part of the YouTube generation who understand the medium of video better than past generations. We are all carrying around a video camera in our pocket that, with a little bit of software, can be used to edit video. Because we are so familiar with this technology, we can slip into a creative process almost instantaneously. It’s a very easy and quick way for someone to create a narrative. 

And that’s what makes your work different from other PTSD projects?

There are wonderful writing programs and theater programs, but there is something about being able to create narrative in this way. Many of the clinicians we work with have said this medium allows the veteran to switch sides. They can observe themselves in a video but also be a participant in it. We can really begin to help them get support they need and actually enable them to take control over their lives.

Learn more about the Patton Veterans Project at pattonveteransproject.org.

Our Comcast Newsmaker - Ben Patton

Congrats to Ben on the great interview with Comcast! 

https://comcastnewsmakers.com/Videos/2018/10/30/A-New-Approach-to-Treating-PTSD?autoPlay

Welcome Heather!

Dear friends, on October 30 at 9:21 pm, little Heather Ellison Clark was born at the  Taiwan National Hospital in Hsinchu, Taiwan. She arrived a couple weeks earlier than expected, under some rushed circumstances, but it  is with tremendous joy and gratitude that I can say both Mother and Daughter are doing well. They should both be ready to check out of the hospital tomorrow November 4. I am truly blessed. 

Best wishes to everyone,

Nelse, Vivian & little Heather

--

John G Knight
413.522.2555 mobile
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johngknight

Gratitude

Our contact in the DA Development Office has noticed some newer and some larger donors to the Annual Fund from our class this fall and Doug Schmidt and I wanted to say thank you.  We've come a long way together, with trials and tribulations shared or held close, but when asked, we're the kind of class that will step up, for Deerfield and each other.

Here's some stats for the last 6 years.  Congratulations on hitting 50% in 2018!!!
(Sorry for the blurry screen grabs)

Class of 1983

2018 Stats:

Donors- 63 of 126 solicitable - exactly 50% (highest participation since 2011!)

Dollars-$52,317 for the Annual Fund (plus $32,035 capital = $84,852 total from your classmates last year)

Of our 63 donors: 51 gave online, 11 gave via mail and 1 gave cash in person!

We like our challenge contests too: 23 gave in March challenge and 26 gave in the June challenge.  (Some gave in both! Thanks!!)

Here's how we compare to the decade of the 80's over the past 3 years:

Finally,  Thanks to the specific donors who made our epic charge to 50% possible.  WORTHY!!! *

ARMSTRONG WHITNEY B

AVERILL CHRISTOPHER M

BADENHAUSEN JAMES M

BEAUBIEN MARK C

BRESNAHAN KEVIN A M.D.

BROWN JOHN L

BROWN SPENCER L

CHASE FREDERICK C

CLARK NELSE H

CRUIKSHANK DOUGLAS A

CZUJ MARK E

DAVEY CHRISTOPHER R

EHMANN JOHN C

EHRHART TIMOTHY G

ELEFTHERIO PETER J

ELLIMAN WILLIAM B

FLAGG CHRISTOPHER S

GAGNE CHARLES R

GEARY PETER C

GOTTSCHO JONATHAN A

GREENBERG JOSHUA D

GREGORY BRUCE W

GUYER LEIGH J

HARDIGG ARTHUR P

HARRIS CHRISTOPHER J

HINDMAN DONALD D

JACKSON HARDIE S

KERR ALEXANDER K

KNIGHT JOHN G

LAFLAMME MARK T

LELAND JEFFREY B

LEMIEUX HENRY F JR.

LOTSPEICH CHRISTOPHER C MPPM, MES

LYNCH CHRISTOPHER J

MADDEN DAVID C

MAGEE PAUL D

MAYS DOUGLAS A

MCGILL R. ROBERT JR.

NOTTAGE D. SEAN

NOURSE NATHAN S

PATTON BENJAMIN W

PETERSON ERIC F

PIERSOL WILLIAM B III

PRYCE SCOTT F

REHBERGER FREDERICK F IV

ROBINSON JAMES F

SCHIFF ANDREW N M.D.

SCHMIDT J. DOUGLAS

SINGEWALD DEAN R II

SMITH DAVID A

SORY JOHN B

SPADAFORA JEFFREY S

STEWARD BRIAN C

STEWART ANDREW M

SULLIVAN VAN K

TOWNSEND PETER R

TRITSCHLER CHARLES G

WARECK JAMES L

WEINBERG ADAM S

WESTER C. WILLIAM II

WEYMOUTH PHILIP B III

WOOD DEXTER E JR.

WRIGHT ERIC E

*Non-donor classmates are just as worthy my friends.  Just a bit of bragging.  But lets keep it up!!!

Battle at Baltusrol...

SPORTS UPDATE: Team New England fell to proud Team New York in a battle that was 75% class of '83.

Spence Brown and partner Ben Patton edged Peter Townsend and Stuart Strong '84 in a recent tilt.  Brown quipped that he and Ben "Beat them like a rented mule", so I'm sure the score was very close...

Parenting...Redux

Chris Flagg and Sean Nottage reconnected during Family Fall Weekend at DA.  Sean was visiting a niece I believe - as he makes the most of every excuse to get to the Valley...

Looks like they met up at our 35th reunion unofficial headquarters...The Deerfield Inn!

Nice work fellas.

Much Ado...

Sean Nottage is on the stage again in the Bahamas!!! Here's his trailer for Much Ado About Nothing!

Lemonade. Stand.

Dear '83 Classmates:

I had the chance to return to campus and speak last week, a nostalgic return to the place we called home for formative years in adolescence. While in many respects the focus in recent years has been on the ways in which the school and certain individuals didn’t conjure up their best while I and others were students, the truth is you didn’t receive my best, either. Far from it, actually. Perhaps you’ll better understand why after hearing the talk I gave to current students. 

So, though out of touch with so many of you for so many years, concurrent with a long estrangement from our alma mater, I’d like to let you know that I’d be glad to rejoin the ranks of our class and to get to know you as the men you have become and are today. And to have you know me as the man I have become. Few things would please me more. I hope this finds you all well. 

Best,

Whit

whit.sheppard@comcast.net

(*Link below is a video recording of Whit Sheppard's talk to the Deerfield Community at School Meeting on Wednesday, September 26th. Total run time is about 30 minutes.)

https://vimeo.com/292777205/1b73fdce1d

Beaubien remembers

Notwithstanding the fact that yesterday was Mark's birthday (video evidence of him at a Zach Brown concert is on his facebook page...), I caught up with him this summer to give him his Thank You Gift for volunteering for the 35th Reunion...He was thrilled to receive a handmade custom vase made by our classmate James Robinson of Athens Block LLC.

To celebrate we sauntered over to a local watering hole in Northampton and invited the owner to join us.  Under 30 minutes later our man Eric was in the house!

Supporting each other isn't hard and it's usually welcome!

Congratulations Ben and Blair!

The blog is back and has some catching up to do.  But first a timely shot of Ben Patton, his son Tiger and his newly minted wife Blair Miller! 

Way to go Ben and Congratulations!  Hopefully we'll all be able to meet her at the 40th reunion in 2023!

Six left for 50%

We're close gentlemen. 6 more gifts to DA, that each get a trustee's $1,000 added, to hit 50% participation. You've got 24 hours. Please give a dollar at www.deerfield.edu/grand. 

Thx!

--

John G Knight
413.522.2555 mobile
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johngknight

Ten Donors equals 50% participation

If you are going to make a gift to Deerfield's annual fund this year, you only have until Saturday. 

The Class of 1983 is only ten donors from 50% participation, the magic benchmark. 

And if you give $10 (or any amount, literally) a grand ($1,000) will by added to it by a trustee. 

Win Win Win but only if you act!

Www.deerfield.edu/grand

--

John G Knight
413.522.2555 mobile
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johngknight

DA Grand Challenge and 83!

DA83,

Still recovering from reunions here at the blog, so apologies for the lack of reunion content. Will pick it up soon. 

In the meantime, our class only needs 12 donors to reach 50% participation this year, which would be amazing. 

I expect you know that a trustee will give DA $1,000 if someone who hasn't given yet this year does so. So you should give 10 bucks right now at 

http://deerfield.edu/grand if you are in that category. 

The same trustee will give DA an additional million dollars if DA gets 1,000 donors more by June by 30. THAT'S A LOT OF GREEN. 

Please join the fun with a gift at 

http://deerfield.edu/grand

--

John G Knight
413.522.2555 mobile
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johngknight

35th photo

We saw a number of others at dinner but here's the Saturday 1 pm photo.

Current and Former Faculty at Reunion

Maybe you aren't hankering to chill with JK or Schmidt next weekend.  No biggeee - and don't let THAT keep you from attending our 35th.  Maybe this list of faculty attendees and the chance for catching up with someone who mattered to your development will persuade you...

Robert Binswanger ’48 P’78 ’80’84 G’17 Former Faculty
Jose Briones ’82, Faculty
Peter Brush, Former Faculty
Susan Carlson, Former Faculty
Peter Clark ’58 Former Faculty
Tina Cohen P’95 ’01, Former Faculty and Bruce Cohen
Charles Demers, Former Faculty and Kay Demers
Christa Donnellan ’93, Former Faculty
Anna Gonzalez ’12, Faculty
Lew Haight Former Faculty
Bob Hammond P’93 ’94, Former Faculty and Vicky Hammond P’93 ’94
Lydia Hemphill Faculty and Mark Silipo Former Faculty
Robertson Howe P’20, Faculty and Amanda Howe P’20
Callie Hughes Faculty and Scott Gray
Larry Jerome ’73, Former Faculty
Sean Keller ’86 P’20 and Sue Keller P’20, Hunter Keller and Avery Keller
Patricia Kelly Faculty
David Knight ’58 P’87 Former Faculty
Kristin Loftus Faculty
Elizabeth McNamara Former Faculty
Becca Melvoin Faculty
Shantel Moses ’93 Former Faculty and Kevin Ng, and Cheyenne Watson
David Payne Faculty, and Beverly Payne and Brian Payne
Julia Rivellino-Lyons P’21 Faculty and Joseph Lyons P’21, Faculty
Michael Sheridan ’58 P’93 ’00 ’05 Former Faculty and Kathy Robertson P’93 ’00 ’05
James Smith P’80,’82,’86,’91 G’13 Former Faculty and Carole Smith P’80,’82,’86,’91 G’13
John Stobierski ’78 P’12 ’14 ’14 Faculty and Pamela Stobierski P’12 ’14 ’14
Cranford Stoudemire ’68 Former Faculty and Dorilin Stoudemire
John Taylor P’13 ’16, Faculty and Mercedes Taylor P’13 ’16, Faculty
Gabe Temesvari P’92, Former Faculty and Agnes Temesvari P’92
David Thiel ’91, Faculty and Vita Thiel
Heidi Valk P’19 ’21, Faculty and Conrad Pitcher P’19 ’21, Faculty
Sue Watson Faculty and Sam Watson
Kim Wright, Faculty and Harrison Wright
Roland Young P’88, Former Faculty and Martha Young P’88

Urgent Reunion Items

Two big things this week.

ONLINE REUNION YEARBOOK entries will not be accepted after Thursday, May 24th at midnight.  With 45 entries (and counting) the yearbook promises to be engaging, enlightening and entertaining.  The more the merrier so please consider adding a few words about yourself.  Pictures welcome too!  Emails about yearbooks are coming from Nelse Clark and Meno Reunion Books...

REUNION PRICING increases after May 24 as well.  So even if you are planning a "gameday decision" it might be worth your while to register now!!

register now for your 35th - June 8-10, 2018!

Fresh 35th "Registered" list!

Remember prices go up May 24 - so register now for your 35th - June 8-10, 2018!  We know there are lots of you holding out - just do it!

1983
Eduardo Blohm ’83 P’13
Kevin Bresnahan ’83 and Maura Bresnahan
John Brown ’83
Spencer Brown ’83
Nelse Clark ’83
Doug Cruikshank ’83
Adam Feiges ’83
Christopher Flagg ’83 P’18 P’20 and Heidi Flagg P’18 P’20
Christopher Harris ’83
Don Hindman ’83
Robert Keirstead ’83
John Knight ’83 Former Faculty
Craig Pattee ’83
Ben Patton ’83 and Blair Miller
J. Douglas Schmidt ’83
Brian Steward ’83
Peter Townsend ’83 and Christina Townsend
Jim Wareck ’83
Adam Weinberg ’83
P.B. Weymouth ’83 P’18 ’20 and Elizabeth Weymouth P’18 ’20
David Ziccardi ’83

Still the Dean and Dave Show!

Great FB post by Dean Singewald with photos of David Morley's recent visit.

Catch up with more old friends at our 35th reunion!  Pricing increases after May 24 so ACT NOW if you haven't registered yet.

Reunion Attendees As of 5/11: (but at least 6 more are in the pipeline we're told)

1983
Kevin Bresnahan ’83 and Maura Bresnahan
John Brown ’83
Spencer Brown ’83
Doug Cruikshank ’83
Adam Feiges ’83
Christopher Flagg ’83 P’18 P’20 and Heidi Flagg P’18 P’20, Emmeline Flagg ’18, Elliott Flagg ’20
Christopher Harris ’83
Don Hindman ’83
Robert Keirstead ’83
John Knight ’83 Former Faculty
Craig Pattee ’83
Ben Patton ’83 and Blair Miller
J. Douglas Schmidt ’83
Brian Steward ’83
Peter Townsend ’83 and Christina Townsend
Adam Weinberg ’83
P.B. Weymouth ’83 P’18 ’20 and Elizabeth Weymouth P’18 ’20
David Ziccardi ’83

Past Faculty:
Susan Carlson, Former Faculty
Peter Clark ’58 Former Faculty
Larry Jerome ’73, Former Faculty
David Knight ’58 P’87 Former Faculty
John Knight ’83 Former Faculty
Shantel Moses ’93 Former Faculty and Kevin Ng, and Cheyenne Watson
Michael Sheridan ’58 P’93 ’00 ’05 Former Faculty and Kathy Robertson P’93 ’00 ’05
James Smith P’80,’82,’86,’91 G’13 Former Faculty and Carole Smith P’80,’82,’86,’91 G’13