Still ’69: Save the Dates for Our 58th Reunion & 80th Birthday Party

ByDerry Allen and Bill Newman

SAVE THE DATES FOR “STILL ’69”
58TH REUNION & 80TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

September 15-17, 2027, in New Haven

STILL ’69:

We are approaching 58 years out of college, and we are all turning or about to turn 80 years old.

We have witnessed and participated in astonishing world changes. We have traveled in a thousand different directions.

We are Still curious, Still engaged, Still becoming, Still connected to each other, STILL ’69!

It’s official: Save September 15-17, 2027
(Wednesday afternoon through Friday lunch).
We are going back to New Haven.

Dear Classmates,

At our age, why wait for our 60th reunion to celebrate who we are and our continuing connections to each other? We are STILL ’69!

Our 58th Reunion and 80th Birthday Party will not simply be another “standard” reunion. It will have a different format and will be at a different time of year. We will plan our own event during a week when Yale is in full swing and at a time of year when New Haven usually has beautiful weather. We will sample some of the city as well as the university. We will plan some Yale learning and Yale tours, and we will plan plenty of time to celebrate the joy of connecting with each other through unscripted conversations about what matters to us and about how we are STILL ’69.

Save the dates: September 15-17, 2027 (Wednesday afternoon through Friday lunch). If you want, plan to extend your stay over the weekend to pursue your own interests with friends.

Here are some details that we have at this point.

A month ago, we sent out a poll to the class. The feedback was really positive.

  • 121 classmates responded, 88 of whom said they were “highly likely” or “likely” to attend such a gathering on September 15-17, 2027.
  • There was a similarly strong showing for the next week, but there was a slight preference for September 15-17. This, combined calendar advice from the Yale Alumni Association, caused us to settle on September 15-17.
  • Because Yale will be in session, we can’t stay in the colleges, and classroom space is very tight. On the strength of the poll results, we are working with the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale to secure a room block and some meeting space at favorable rates. We have told the hotel that some classmates may want to extend their stay over the weekend.
  • A good number of classmates responded in the poll that they can help with planning and performing the necessary tasks to ensure success. We would like to invite at least a few spouses/significant others to participate in the planning. We will be in touch this fall.

Whether you responded to the poll or not, you and everyone else in the class are invited to the event.

What’s next?

What exactly will this celebration include?

That’s the fun part that we’re beginning to work on now.

We have the basic architecture, and an enthusiastic group of classmates has volunteered to help shape the program. If you have changed your mind since the poll and you want to help, please contact us at the email address below. Over the coming months we’ll be asking what would make these two days well worth the trip – not simply another reunion.

There will be plenty more to come about the program, accommodations and registration. For now, there’s only one thing to do:

Save the dates: September 15–17, 2027, (Wednesday afternoon through Friday lunch).

Maybe pencil in the weekend, too. And start talking to the classmates you’d especially like to see there.

We are Still curious, Still engaged, Still becoming, Still connected to each other, STILL ’69!

Derry Allen and Bill Newman,
Event Co-Chairs
(email for questions, suggestions and volunteering: reunion@yale1969.org)

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