Class Officers Weekend 2015
IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

Dartmouth College
Recognizes with Deep Appreciation
the Extraordinary Achievements of the

CLASS OF 1979
2015 Class of the Year
Reunion Class of the Year

'79 Fever was the theme for your reunion banquet and it could have been the mantra for the year. Wow, you did so much more than just Stayin' Alive!

Dartmouth Class of 1979, the Class Officers Executive Committee is pleased to recognize you as the 2015 Reunion Class of the Year.

Your activity report sums it up nicely: "The core vitality of our class comes from relentlessly striving together to do things never done before, to innovate new strategies and tactics that forge even stronger classmate engagement with both class and College, to support Dartmouth financially through the broadest of classmate participation, and to celebrate our enviable bonds of ever growing friendships, mutual support and trust, and deepest caring." And strive you did.

Your 35th reunion set new records for both the returning number of classmates and total number of attendees. Your reunion team created a sense of fun that permeated the entire weekend only to be capped off at the Saturday Night '79 Fever Banquet with the grand entrance of President Hanlon, Gail Gentes, and the white-suited '79 reunion chairs, accompanied by the Bee Gees. That was something to behold!

Class communication was strategic and generated energy, momentum, and enthusiasm for the class and the reunion via regular emails, Facebook posts, and your award-winning newsletter and recently launched iModules website. Personal outreach from the class steward and reunion participation team, and through numerous mini-reunions made connections between classmates real and strong. This was evident in the numerous hugs and poignant moments of the weekend.

You give to each other through your fellowship, and you give back to your alma mater in many ways as well. You have trademarked the phrase "Partycipatory" and bolstered the effort to popularize it by offering a trifecta pin to those who gave to dues, DCF, and the class project. Dues participation at 47% made for a strong class treasury, and a $4.4 million reunion gift to the college with 67% of the class participating, as well as an ever growing number of Bartlett Tower Society members and generous class project donations, added up to a very generous class.

Your reunion programming was spectacular, with every detail just right, from food to class panels to favors and fun runs. One classmate summed it up well in the post-reunion survey: "[The reunion] was excellent on so many levels and in so many ways. Ultimately, the common theme was a weekend of meaningful conversations between friends and between strangers becoming friends." "Strangers becoming friends" will become the Class of 1979's own mantra for the coming years.

Dartmouth's Class Officers Executive Committee salutes the 1979 reunion team, the class's executive committee, and each of the '79 classmates who came back to Hanover--even if just virtually--for making 2015 a great year of connecting with the College and with each other.