Dear Deerfield Alumni

By PB Weymouth III '83

First, I would like to applaud the nearly 2000 loyal alumni/ae who responded to the print and electronic survey for Imagine Deerfield. For those of you who have not spent time in the world of direct marketing, an almost 30 percent response rate is spectacular and really shows the fervor that we have for the school. The alumni results have been tabulated and those results will be incorporated into the overall strategic plan accordingly. Thank you again for your participation.

I want to spend some time on another subject--alumni events. One of the missions of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association is to work with the Deerfield alumni relations team, led by Mimi Morsman, on dreaming up new ways for alumni to get together both on and off campus. People are moving, interests change, and what happens one year won't necessarily happen the next.

There are some constants, and they include adding more college visits and creating career forums in major metropolitan cities. We have also learned that alumni athletic events are popular. This past fall when Deerfield invited alumni from the 1957 Deerfield vs. Andover football teams back for a 50th celebration, the response was overwhelming, and alumni from both schools had a blast. (See From The Upper Level) One upcoming event that is a highlight of the summer is Look to the Hills, the summer institute for adults.

We are also working on a highly anticipated Deerfield Arts Weekend to celebrate the achievements of alumni/ae and current students in the visual arts, music, dance and theatre. Some of Deerfield's noted artists will have their work displayed throughout the campus, and there will be a number of live performances, including representative decades of the Mellow-D's and Rhapso-D's, singing their hearts out. And we are watching carefully as to what Margarita Curtis does with Heritage Day so that we can either continue with our national community service days or shape them to echo what is being done on campus. Looking far ahead, we will have a wonderful celebration of 25 years of coeducation in 2014-2015.

We have learned that family events are popular. Family skating, the circus, or skiing are catching on, and we think there is more potential. We want to hear from you. Would you like a weekend for the '60s in southern California? Would you like to go to Paris for a long weekend and mix it up with our alumni/ae who live abroad? Or would you like to see a decade of classes go to a city, take all its marvels in, and have a mini-reunion? Have we got these ideas right? What do you like best? What do you wish was happening that isn't? We want to hear from you!

Mimi, Cyrus, Donna and Margaret dedicate an enormous amount of time to make events come off successfully, and they are always thinking ahead; your input is vital. The Office of Alumni Relations, the Executive Committee and I would like your feedback. Please send any comments to Mimi at lmorsman@deerfield.edu.

Many thanks,

PB Weymouth III '83
President of the Executive Committee
of the Deerfield Alumni Association