By Mimi Morsman P'89

Back in 1969 when the Alumni Association began, under the guidance of Alumni Secretary Robert Barrymore Crow, an Executive Committee was formed to serve as the governing body of the association and to perform a vital, positive, and meaningful role on behalf of Deerfield Academy and its alumni. The Executive Committee is charged: "To lead and represent the most informed, enthusiastic, involved and supportive alumni/ae body in the world."

Led by President Peter M. Schulte '75, this committee chooses the recipient of the Heritage Award, given annually to that alumnus whose professional and personal achievements represent a special contribution to the betterment of society. In short, someone whose life exemplifies the academy's motto "Be Worthy of Your Heritage." Other projects include the creation and ongoing development of Pathways, an annual program where current seniors listen to alumni talk about the "pathway" that he or she took to their present career. Pathways II will take place January 20, 2002, when 23 alumni will meet with members of the Class of 2002.

The Executive Committee also helps with Volunteers' Weekend, a fall event that brings volunteers from the Annual Support Steering Committee, the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association, Regional Club Chairs, Reunion Chairs, Senior Parents and the Deerfield Parents Committee to campus to receive heartfelt thanks from everyone in the Alumni and Development Office for their great work on behalf of Deerfield.

Other initiatives include the introduction of seniors to the Alumni Association the night before commencement at the Senior/Parent Dinner Dance, and the ongoing development of the alumni website, an effort that the Executive Committee began pushing back in 1995! It is now up and running under the guidance of Sandy Yager P'05. If you do not have your username and password, be sure to contact Sandy at yagers@deerfield.edu.

In addition to this newsletter, we are beginning a series of dinners between alumni and Executive Committee members. We will be writing more about this so stay tuned!

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Bink Garrison '66, immediate past president of the Executive Committee, for his purposefulness, and now to Peter Schulte '75, who is so ably continuing the quest of bringing alumni and the school closer together.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The 23 elected members to the Executive Committee are:

As published in the January 2002 issue of Deerfield Today, a newsletter for alumni of Deerfield Academy