Friday, November 21, 2014

Fall Term Report Card - 2014

To the Great Class of 1969:

News of the Academy

School let out today for the Thanksgiving recess.

The Memorial Building, which was built in 1952 to honor Deerfield boys who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWII, was re-christened this fall following a generous gift as the "Hess Center". The building has been greatly expanded, and the space where we regularly gathered has been transformed. Nonetheless, the prospect of renaming an iconic communal space had left some uncomfortable and, to the credit of the donor, the building's original name has been restored so that what began the term as the Memorial Building ended the term more or less as it began but with the Hess Center for the Arts now housed there.

Following a story in The Boston Herald describing Deerfield as "a posh private school grappling with a new-age pot problem", the dogs (literally) got called in and, after sniffing around, one student was expelled and six placed on varying degrees of probation. This is described in greater detail in The Scroll if you're interested in a more thorough account.

After a promising start, Varsity football proceeded to lose six games in a row, including the last two by the identical score of 45-0. As has been the case the past few years, the Choate game was streamed live. Unfortunately, the Class of 2015 will be the third class in a row to graduate without once having had the satisfaction of beating Choate in football. It is difficult to see this rivalry being restored anytime soon unless the schools come to a common understanding on admissions policies.

News of the Class

As you all know, the news of the past few months has been dominated by the passing of two classmates as well as Mr. Merriam. In response to several inquiries, I had a chance to compare notes with the Alumni Office and confirm that we have 16 classmates who are known to have passed away. You can see that list at our class website. There is even a longer list of classmates that appear to have fallen off the grid which I have sent to the school for any assistance which they may be able to provide.

A gang of four local classmates joined me at our usual hangout in early November for our annual dinner. Tom O'Gara informed us that "75 was the new 55" which was easy enough for him to say since he looked like he was at least twenty years younger. Rusty Young took an enforced sabbatical from the Marathon this year at the event organizers' request after having cycled the past seven years as a pacer for the elite wheelchair racers. Rusty remains busy promoting concerts, and this week hosted Dave Mason's Traffic Jam in Florida where he spends a lot of his time these days. John Kjorlien will graduate with his youngest in 2015, giving new meaning to the term PG. I am happy to report that Steve Bisbee is healthy again after a mishap on his bike in August which resulted in a punctured lung and an emergency trip to St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital.

In other news, Steve Esthimer still has some of the teenager left in him. After 36 years at St. Mary's School, a four year secondary school in Raleigh, Steve wrote that he will be graduating with the class of 2015 and taking a gap year before deciding what to do next. What Steve failed to tell me is that he has held every faculty leadership position and won, at least once, every teaching award given by the school.

Best wishes to all for a Happy Thanksgiving.

DWS

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Randy Ridings March 16, 1951 - May 14, 2014

Randy entered Deerfield as a sophomore from Binghamton, NY and played varsity soccer as a Senior. 

Please see an obituary notice from the Yale website for the Class of '74 which his wife Mercedes posted:

I have attached my husband’s obituary; memorials should be made out to the Randolph Ridings Memorial Fund. He fought a long hard battle with colon cancer for over 5 years. After being married over 30+ years and two wonderful sons we are needless to say quite devastated. Thank you for your condolences!

To all my beloved friends and family it has been a great ride and I so appreciate all the love I’ve been given please know that it has been returned. Words cannot express how much your love has meant to me. To my beloved children, Spencer and Derek and my cherished wife, Mercy, who have meant so much to me. You are the light of my life! You will always be the heart of everything I am. I love you all so much!

Please join us on Saturday, May 31st 2014 for an 11:00 a.m. service followed by a gathering at St. Martin’s by-the Lake Episcopal Church, 2801 Westwood Road, Minnetonka Beach, Minnesota 55391.


In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Randolph Ridings Memorial Fund at US Bank, 3305 Plymouth Boulevard, Plymouth, MN 55447.

Lou Crow


Louis Walter Crow
Lou Crow was a four-year boy from Illinois who, like many of us, returned to his roots after graduating. He was an athlete, if not a scholar, and a popular classmate who you could not miss on campus, i.e. a "BMOC". To my regret, I lost track of one of the most colorful personalities in the Class when we dispersed in 1969. I've added a page in his honor at Albany Road Redux for anyone who would like to share recollections about "The Gawk". I found the obituary below after reading of his passing in the most recent issue of Deefield Magazine. The Alumni Office kindly supplied the photo from The Pocumtuck at my request.

Louis Crow, 61, of Northbrook, formerly Evanston, passed away June 22, 2012. Son of the late Rollin and Elizabeth Crow; brother of David (Marilyn) Crow; uncle of three nieces and six great-nieces and nephews. His kind nature and sense of humor will always be remembered. Memorial Service Thursday, June 28 at 1:30 p.m. at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Rd. (just south of Lake Ave. on west side), Glenview. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Evanston Animal Shelter, 2310 Oakton St., Evanston, IL, 60202.

Sunday, September 07, 2014

A Celebration of the Life of Robert L. Merriam

To the Great Class of 1969:

Defying a heat index of over 100 yesterday, family, friends, former colleagues and students congregated in The Brick Church to remember Mr. Merriam. I had planned to summarize the service until I discovered a video posted by Ed Flickinger '65 this morning. While the camera is a bit shaky at times, I think you will prefer hearing the recollections of Rev. Peter B. Ives '61, Headmaster Emeritus Eric Widmer '57 and his wife Meera and a poem written by Mr. Merriam which his eight grandchildren read. The video does not include the singing of The Deerfield Evensong at the conclusion of the service which, in my judgment, may well have been the most moving part of the ceremony judging by some of the faces I saw.

Following the service there was a reception in the Caswell Library (f/k/a the Browsing Library) in the Main School Building. Among those faculty members from our era in attendance were Mr. and Mrs. Morsman, Mr. Brush, Mr. Hammond, Mr. Young and Coach Smith. I was joined by Neil JacobsSteve BisbeeDave Suitor, Michael Buerger and, of course, Frank Henry. Before heading off in different directions, several of us drove past Eaglebrook to Laurel Hill Cemetery where Mr. Merriam had been laid to rest in July, not far from the Boyden family plot and many other masters from that period.

School is back in full swing as of last Friday when classes began.

Best wishes to all.

DWS



Thursday, August 07, 2014

Baccalaureate Address 2014: Neil Jacobs '69

Deerfield guests and friends, Dr. Curtis, Members of the Faculty, Class of 2015 and, in particular, to the Great Class of 2014, thank you for inviting me to speak today. It was an unexpected honor-one that I shall not forget.

I also want to acknowledge the members of my family who are here – My Mother, who first dropped me off at Deerfield 48 years ago. Thank you Mom for making my bed before you left for home that day. My wife, who 45 years ago, attended the first Deerfield prom, unfortunately, not with me, but as the date of another boy. It is a long story, but everything worked out. Thank you Debby for letting me spend this wonderful school year at Deerfield. Finally, I’d like to recognize my three sons none of whom attended Deerfield. What could you have possibly been thinking? Shame on you.

Great Class of 2014, you cannot possibly look at me today and envision who or what I was at age 18. Yet I sat in your place–perhaps even your pew 45 years ago. As you will experience, the past often repeats itself. And so with the benefit of 45 years of life after Deerfield, I would like to speak about my past in order to illuminate some Deerfield lessons that I believe you will find important in your future.

I returned to Deerfield this year to repay a debt–a special debt that could not be repaid in any currency other than teaching. Looking back, no institution has had more impact on the trajectory of my life than Deerfield. Mr. Boyden’s band of senior faculty recognized that they were at Deerfield not just to teach subjects, but also to teach habits, and the small disciplines that would later become a student’s character. This still happens today. There are faculty here, who have laid the foundation for the person you will become. You can identify whom these faculty are for you–they are the teachers you cannot bear to disappoint.

The teacher I could not disappoint was Mr. Sullivan whose portrait hangs in the lobby outside the dining hall. I suspect few, if any of you, have noticed it there. Mr. Sullivan’s 43 year Deerfield career is summarized under his portrait in a single word. Above his dates of service, it simply says “Master.”

In my day, schoolboys took a special delight in rumors, a student characteristic, I have noted, not changed by co-education. Some boys claimed Mr. Sullivan had been a professional fighter. Others said he had laid track for the railroad before being saved by Mr. Boyden, the saint of second chances. None of us knew Mr. Sullivan’s real story, and we did not dare ask.

Mr. Sullivan did not seek the approval of students. He did not want to be our friend. He liked to keep us off balance. Yet, we suspected he was devoted to us.

I had no idea why he took an interest in a short, undistinguished sophomore new boy, who was completely unfamiliar with boarding school and had a hard time fitting in. Now, I realize he had a calling and a gift. His gift was that he could read boys. He knew when someone needed help. His calling was to give it.

This year at Deerfield, I have observed faculty who, like Mr. Sullivan, made their highest priority care and concern for students. These teachers’ thoughts, their voices, their lessons are part of you. Now leaving this place, having immeasurably benefited from the care and kindness of these teachers, remember that you too must repay your debt.

During the 15 minutes between the end of lunch and the first afternoon class, most boys checked their mailboxes. Mr. Sullivan, enjoying a cigarette and coffee sitting nearby in the school store, caught me cutting the mailroom line. He gruffly summoned me to his table. “Jacobs, come here and have a seat.” I sat. We did not speak. He finished his coffee. I watched the time before class and the opportunity to get my mail disappear. Then he dismissed me, telling me he had enjoyed our visit and inviting me to join him the next day at the same time. The following day I returned. I sat. He finished his coffee, and, once again, I was denied the opportunity to get my mail. He kept inviting me back…again and again.

Mr. Sullivan never said anything about cutting the line, but I immediately took his point. Corners were not to be cut. Character began with small things. Small expectations had to be met because later in life, small expectations would grow into larger ones. Learning to do what was required taught us who and what we were. We were expected to develop an inclination to do the right thing–an inclination that would manifest itself later in life when we were really being tested.

Each of you has been regularly exposed to these same lessons. Mr. Boyden’s genius was to understand the importance of ritual and habit in developing character. Mr. Boyden recognized the qualities of a school necessary to develop virtue in its graduates.

This was and is the importance of the intricate minuet of sit down meals–a dance of manners, respect, cooperation, sharing, patience and gratitude. This was and is the importance of attending school meeting, thereby reaffirming your duty to participate in your community, not because school meeting is necessarily entertaining or even what you may consider the best use of your time, but, rather because often it is neither. Instead, attendance is a duty, an obligation to something greater than yourself. Obligations to the community, this one and the ones to come, must be performed because without the community, you do not exist.

These rituals and traditions and many others build brick by brick the internal edifice that becomes your character. If you are like me, you are largely unaware that this building of character has been taking place. Later in life when the stakes are high–you will make good choices if you remember the lessons of Deerfield. Honesty, respect, concern for others are meant to shine in the Deerfield night sky. Use these stars to navigate.

Mr. Sullivan taught Algebra II on the second floor of the main school building in a class room which faced the hills. More than math, he taught us the effect of time on place by exhorting us to watch the hills in the fall become engulfed by flames red, orange and yellow, burn out in winter only to be reborn in the spring.

My aptitude for math was not high. Near the end of the spring term, Mr. Sullivan asked me to stay after class. Seated at his desk, he looked up, “Jacobs”, he said,” I have a proposition for you. I will give you a grade of 85 if you promise never to embarrass me by taking another math course again. “Life is short.” He said, “Do what you enjoy.” I did not hesitate. I agreed and never took a math course again.

Mr. Sullivan often repeated that observation: life is short. Do what you enjoy. He spoke in a similar vein at my first class meeting. He told the assembled sophomore class to enjoy all that Deerfield had to offer because one of us would be dead by the time the class graduated from college. He proved to be right in this prediction.

Take this lesson to heart as soon as you can. Appreciating the shortness of life is liberating. This appreciation will free you from living your life to please others. Time is your most valuable commodity. Don’t let others take it from you. Please yourself. Take some risks. You have been given the opportunity to be special. Take advantage of that opportunity.

I never had the courage or the words to thank Mr. Sullivan. His manner did not invite intimacy. As a poor substitute, at the end of my senior year, I donated a book of poetry to the library bearing a tribute to Mr. Sullivan in my best fourth year Latin. This thin volume of poetry remains on the library shelves today. Under library rules, to stay on the shelves, a book must be taken out at least once each decade. I have made arrangements with some of the people in this room to see that this happens long after I am gone.

All of you have your own “Mr. Sullivans”–faculty, coaches, administrators, dorm residents, co- curricular leaders, who have known you and cared for you and taught you.  

Mr. Sullivan was gone before I had the maturity or ability to tell him what he had meant to me. Don’t make the same mistake. While you can, thank those within this church and outside its walls who have taken the time to get to know you and care for you. Remember that you were loved at this school.

I have now paid my debt, go forth and pay yours.

Great class of 2014, I salute you. 


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Robert L. Merriam '43

Mr. Merriam c. 1965
CONWAY - Robert L. Merriam, 90, of Conway died Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at home.

Born in Greenfield, June 4, 1924, he was the son of Louis Thayer and Alice (Abercrombie) Merriam. Bob raised his family and spent his career in Franklin County, where he influenced the education and lives of thousands of young people since 1948.

He graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1943 and immediately entered the U.S. Navy's V-12 program. He interrupted studies at Dartmouth College to serve on the USS Boston, and his ship was anchored nearby at the surrender in August 1945. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Lieutenant, j.g.

He returned to graduate from Dartmouth in 1948, where he was the only four-year, three letter athlete in the college's history, excelling in soccer, hockey and lacrosse. He returned to Deerfield Academy, dedicated to the services of Frank L. Boyden and the school as an educator, coach and administrator for 22 years.

Through the years, he was a dormitory master, member of the English Department, Registrar, Dean of Students, fund-raiser, and coached hockey, soccer and lacrosse. In 1970, he became Headmaster of Stoneleigh Burnham School and led the school through a period of transition, leaving it with an increased enrollment, an improved financial position and a strong foundation in the arts. The latter part of his career was at Greenfield Community College serving as Assistant to the President and Director of Development, retiring in 1988.

He started a Rare, Used, and Old Book business in 1969 and engaged in business with customers worldwide. He is a published author and one of his poems can be found inscribed on a plaque at the north entrance to Old Deerfield, Mass. He is also a locally known primitive painter and his paintings of Franklin County town commons can be found hanging in many area homes.

He leaves his devoted wife of 57 years, Mary Nims McDonald, who was a stalwart supporter and partner throughout his boarding school career and a tireless caretaker in his later years. He leaves four children, Robert of Vermont, Melinda O'Brien of Branford, Conn., Susan Bobe and her husband Viorel of Leyden and Abigail Merriam and her husband Mark Kidder of Montague: eight grandchildren, Mindy Merriam-Alexander, Eshalla Merriam, Casey, Betsey and Charlie O'Brien and Christine, Alyssa and Jennifer Bobe; and one great-granddaughter, Avielle Alexander.

An internment service will be held on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at 11 a.m. at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Eaglebrook Hill, Deerfield, Mass. A Memorial Service and reception will be held at a later date in August. 

Published in The Recorder on July 26, 2014. Photo courtesy of Deerfield Academy.

Monday, June 09, 2014

45th Reunion - June 2014

To the Great Class of 1969:

A reduced contingent ventured to Deerfield for our final reunion as merely a "Great" class. John Lacey, as unofficial Participation Chair, collected excuses from many classmates, the most common of which was that they would be sure to attend the 50th. At that time we will reconvene as a "Grand" class which may seem to some as too early to be considering shuffle board, hip replacement and lower taxes in Florida. I somehow expect those who feel that way to hold off for the 60th.

The weather improved over the course of the weekend in contrast to five years ago. There were too many conflicting panels to attend so I will report to you some salient facts from the State of the School presentation. Of particular interest was the following:
  • Total applications: 1951 (an easy number for most of us to remember)
  • Acceptances: 15%
  • Yield: 61.5%
  • International Students: 15%
  • Financial Aid Students: 32%
  • Most popular colleges: Cornell (11), Yale (10) and Brown (9)
  • Total colleges: 82
Deerfield's predicament, which it is currently working through, is that it is a middle-sized school with a small school feel and a large school curriculum. On the athletic field, the school's performance may be summarized as follows: Deerfield loses more often than not when relatively more people are watching and wins more often than not when relatively few are watching. I take away from this that, although Deerfield may be emphasizing the right sports to get its students into the most selective colleges, losing in the sports which matter when people are watching is a subtlety I had overlooked and a problem when it comes to school spirit.

Nine of us plus four spouses went off the grid on Saturday morning instead of attending the second scheduled panel and took a guided tour of the north end of Main Street. At the end of the tour, Christian Liipfert took me aside and said, "You're going to have a hard time topping this for the 50th". That's probably right, but the credit is all due to Ed Grosvenor who received the President's Award from Historic Deerfield in 2012 and who generously arranged this for us. As you know from previous posts, Ed is owner and editor-in-chief of American Heritage Magazine.

Following our tour and lunch under the Great Tent, we hustled off to the steps of the Library, not to pay any overdue fines, but to be photographed. The venue was different this year because the Memorial Building has been cordoned off for construction. One trustee I spoke with over the weekend who had toured the building a few weeks earlier told me (not surprisingly) that the renovation will be fantastic. I can believe it, based on corroborating accounts, but I still would have liked to have seen it firsthand. School meetings this year have been held in the West Gymnasium next to McAlister while the Memorial Building is under construction. The building is on schedule to re-open for the Fall term.

Following lunch and the all important photo shoot, I attended two panel discussions in the Koch Center. The second of these panels was hosted by the Great Class of 1969 and featured Neil Jacobs and Frank Henry who spoke about teaching at Deerfield 45 years later. Neil, who had been on sabbatical from his law practice, is returning to Boston, and Frank is preparing for his 33rd year teaching after rejoining the Deerfield faculty in 1982.

Rawles, Ewing and Clough
As you know by now, our three classmates pictured on the left succeeded in hacking into the Deerfield Athletic Department's computer system over the weekend and sent out a notice that their wresting singlets (which they appear to have obtained from the athletic store room using disguised identities) had been retired. We are grateful that they remain as we knew them and look forward to whatever new schemes they may have planned for the 50th.

Best wishes to all.

DWS 

Sunday, June 01, 2014

Spring Term Report Card - 2014

To the Great Class of 1969:

Neil Jacobs '69
The Academy celebrated the accomplishments of the Class of 2014 at Commencement last Sunday and sent the sleep deprived undergraduates home five days later for a needed rest. You will be interested to know that one of our own (pictured to the left) was chosen by this year's graduating class to be the Baccalaureate Speaker. The Scroll wrote of him, "During his time at Deerfield - where he has twice filled in for Philosophy and Religion teachers on sabbatical - Deerfield alumnus Neil Jacobs '69, senior counsel at Wilmer Hale in Boston, has made an indelible mark on students in his ethics and philosophy classes. He has been widely praised for his ethical presence and warm heart on campus". Those returning to campus for the 45th Reunion next weekend will be able to hear Neil and Frank Henry talk about teaching at Deerfield today.

News of the Academy

Looking back at prior posts, I can appreciate that most of you are tired of hearing each spring what an exemplary season Boys Lacrosse just had, yet the same is true this year. Deerfield Boys Lacrosse once again dominated the Lower Level this spring, losing only to Taft, 8-7. The team ranked sixth nationally and second only to Darien in New England. I had mistakenly thought we had gotten all the best that Fairfield county had to offer but there appears to be some additional work to be done.

On the sports front, Deerfield has had to be selective in which areas it wants to excel athletically. The result of this would seem to be that it has chosen sports which tend to play to Deerfield's advantage with the most selective colleges. As a result of the decision not to double the size of the Academy when co-education was re-introduced, Deerfield has had to pick its spots which may be why, for the second year in a row, this year's graduating class never experienced a win over Choate in Varsity football. This might not seem so extraordinary but for the fact that the last time this happened at either school prior to 2013 was in the 1940's.

Several years ago I mentioned that the Academy now feels compelled to instruct students about what constitutes acceptable conduct. This is evidenced by a 100+ page rule book (when none such existed when we were there) and a system that assigns "Accountability Points" (or "AP's") for skipping classes or required meals, etc. A student who accumulates more than a certain number of AP's during a term goes on restriction and, beyond a certain point, is suspended. In response to a student proposal earlier this year, the school decided to do an empirical experiment and find out whether not actually awarding AP's made students any more or less accountable. Behaviors were tracked daily without sanctions and, after just two weeks, the experiment was terminated because - lo and behold - students were accumulating AP's at a faster rate than ever!

Missing from my usual Spring Term Report Card this year is news about where the graduating class is heading. Unfortunately, The Scroll no longer posts those results online, and so I will have to see if I can find a hard copy next weekend. I hope to provide that information in my summary of the 45th Reunion.

News of the Class

While I expect there will be some last minute walk-ons, my best guess is that we will be lucky to have twenty returning classmates next weekend, down from 30 five years ago. Despite a commendable recruiting effort by John Lacey, a number of classmates appear to have decided that they would prefer to hold out for the 50th, an actuarial bet that will prove safe for 92.7% of males our age according to the government tables. Rob Almy will miss this year's reunion because he literally has a prior "engagement" which is to be wed on Nantucket on Saturday. I understand that when he learned that his wedding plans would conflict with the Reunion, his plea for a change of venue to the Brick Church was denied by family members.

In other news not involving attendees, King Carter continues his spirited opposition to wind farms in Maine. King, a founder of the Maine Green Party and two time candidate for Governor, has come to the paradoxical realization that, in his words, "just because something is renewable doesn't make it de facto clean and green". Christopher Beach, who will be traveling in Botswana and South Africa, recently posted next season's artistic schedule for the La Jolla Music Society which he has headed since 2005 and received favorable reviews for the diversity of the program.

Best wishes to all.

DWS


Sunday, March 09, 2014

Winter Term Report Card - 2014

To the Great Class of 1969:

It was a winter to forget (or one to live in infamy). The Academy let out for Spring Break none too soon on Friday with an Alberta clipper expected on Monday.

News of the Academy

The Academy's website has been thoroughly overhauled this year which has made summarizing events more challenging. Articles in The Scroll featured stories on the use of prescription drugs to gain a competitive edge academically and the widespread use of SAT tutors to create an unlevel playing field, both topical this term with college applications top of mind for the Class of 2014.

Squash has become the dominant winter sport on campus ever since the new squash facility was built. Once again, the Girls Varsity team was undefeated in on-on-one match ups with peer schools. The Girls finished second in the national championships for the second time in the last three years. The Boys did similarly well, finishing undefeated in head to head competitions. This year's team finished fifth in the national championships and second in the New England's.

Imagine Deerfield, the title of the current capital campaign, continues to move forward with $174 million committed, up $7 million during the winter term. The official goal of the campaign is $200 million, although more is better. The renovation of the Memorial Building, the most important bricks and mortar element of the current campaign, is scheduled to be completed in August, too late for us to fully appreciate it at the Reunion.

News of the Class

Hank Louis, one of only two members of the Class still paying tuition at Deerfield, was noted in an article in The New York Times in connection with a house which eight of his students built largely out of recycled materials for a Native American living on the Navajo reservation in Utah. The project was a joint venture between Hank's nonprofit firm DesignBuildBLUFF and the University of Colorado.

Hank Wetzel was back in Houston last fall for the annual Livestock Show and Rodeo Wine Auction. Although Hank was unable to repeat his success from a year ago when his 2008 CYRUS Cabernet broke all records, the 2009 vintage has its advocates, judging from the local press. I'm hoping Hank may have saved a few bottles for our table on Saturday night under the tent if it hasn't already sold out.

Rick Swig, the managing partner of Not Another Winery, sold the Harvest Inn in the Napa Valley in January. Rick still owns the Napa Winery Inn which he bought two years ago.

Rusty Young has been active on the Florida circuit again this winter where he promoted concerts for Fab Faux and Early Elton, two tribute bands, in February. The Fab Faux concert was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first US release.

John Mills has hung out his law shingle in New York. He recently co-authored a brief filed with the Supreme Court in re Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank addressing the issue of whether an algorithm is patent-eligible. The case is expected to be heard this spring.

Reunion

If the online records are to be believed, my wife and I are the only ones to have signed up for the 45th Reunion which runs this year from June 6-8. By way of comparison, there were 30th of us in 2009, and we are hoping to match that this year. Lacey is our unofficial head of participation again. For the budget minded among you, the early bird savings of $50 per head expires on March 18. There's no downside to signing up now because you can get a full refund if plans change as long as you cancel by May 13. In addition to the official program, I expect that we will have a break-out session on Saturday afternoon as we did in 2009 and that Frank and Neil will talk with us about teaching at Deerfield today.

I look forward to seeing you in June.

Best wishes to all.

DWS