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June 2003
Dear Members of the Class of ’68:
I missed the class agent meeting in Moorhead this year and really feel like I am not prepared to write this letter. Year after year the Alumni Office staff put in so much work to gather information and present all the interesting things that are going on now and in the future at Concordia, and I look forward to receiving this information every year. It’s always such a good session and a chance to get ideas from other class agents. At least I can say I came back rested and refreshed from a week in Colorado with the grandkids.
As I mentioned in last year’s letter, this is our 35th anniversary year. It’s a good opportunity for all of us to get together again as a class and catch up on everything happening with friends and with Concordia. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to visit the campus lately, Homecoming is a good reason to come back.
ANNUAL FUND
I want to fill you in on the Annual/Alumni Class Challenge Fund and our class contribution to that fund. For your information statistics are put together in three areas: total number of gifts, total dollar amount and percentage of givers per class. We had 135 people give out of a possible 394, so that put us in 6th place for the sixties decade. (Oh my, that’s a long way back.) As a group we contributed $46,362.98 with 34.2% participating. I am so impressed because our participation increased again this year – up another 4 _ percentage points. That’s terrific!! Thank you on behalf of Concordia for being concerned about our Alma Mater and its ability to compete for grant money and top-notch students.
C-400 Project 16 was successfully completed April 30, 2003. Beginning May 1, 2003, C-400 is an annual gift of $400 or more, given during the fiscal year (May 1 – April 30) instead of pledges over a period of years. A letter and brochure with a full explanation of the changes will be mailed to you later this summer. If you have questions, please call the Annual Giving Office at 299-3454 or 800-699-9020.
The mission of Concordia is more important than ever with the turmoil and uncertainties bombarding us on a daily basis. One of the best gifts you can give to Concordia is to influence a student to enroll here. As we look ahead to next year’s class challenge remember that you can give online at www.concordiacollege.edu or pay by credit card by calling 1-800-699-9020. I urge you to consider this as you read this letter.
CLASS NOTES
It is with sadness that I report the death of two of our classmates:
Frederick Shebila of Lushoto, Tanzania, died on December 25, 2002, in Moshi, and he was buried in his home village of Vuga Bagai on December 29th. Please remember his wife Mary in your prayers.
Mary Jo Benson (Simenson) died on February 28, 2003 after a courageous battle with cancer. Mary Jo received a BA in education from Concordia and began her teaching career at the American School in the Malagasy Republic. After returning to Minnesota to teach, she received her MA in special education from St. Thomas College. She loved teaching children with special needs and was effective in implementing programs to meet those needs.
I hope to see all of you at the 2003 Homecoming events that begin on Tuesday, September 30th with the coronation and end on Sunday, October 5th with the homecoming concert. Our alumni reunion breakfast will be held on Saturday, so come prepared with your pictures of grandkids, fascinating life stories and plans and dreams for our next thirty-five years. Once again I have enjoyed presenting the alumni news to you, and I would love to hear from you. If you have any suggestions you want to make regarding this newsletter or to give me tips on how to increase our class participation, please e-mail me at mkemmer@nilleslaw.com. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for homecoming week.
Sincerely,
Marcia D. Kemmer
7203 Sunnyside Street
Fargo, ND 58104
701-237-5544
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