Summer 2004

 

 

Dear Classmates of 1979-the 25 th Anniversary Class!

 

Greetings to you in this summer season. I'm writing this letter as it is once again pouring rain outside. Once this rainy period ends, I'm hoping that true summertime fun can begin. "The sooner, the better," I say.

Big News Around Campus 

The biggest news on campus these days is the appointment of a new college president. Dr. Pamela Jolicoeur was named president-elect of the college on May 3 rd . Yes, a woman president. She's the first woman to be elected president in the seven Midwest Lutheran colleges. As Ernie Mancini told us, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Cord would be the first to have a woman president; we were the first to accept women into the college-from the very day the doors opened. Our sister schools were started for men only, mainly to prepare men to become pastors. So here we are, at the forefront again.

 

There's more information on her included in the Cobber X-tra along with this letter. And, there was an article about her in the recent Concordia magazine. Undoubtedly, we'll all have a chance to see and hear her at Homecoming this fall. She's smaller than Ernie (which is saying something) but Ernie claims that her presence can fill up a room more than most people are able to. We're lucky and grateful to have her at the helm.

 

Homecoming

 

As I wrote to you in the Spring, our big ol' 25 th reunion is right around the corner. After that letter came out, I received e-mails from a few of you with ideas, news notes and general excitement. Separately, you should have received information on how to order Garrison Keillor tickets, which will take the place of the traditional Homecoming Show. I've seen him a couple of times before, and he's as much fun to watch as he is to listen to. I hope that you all are able to take in the show on the Saturday evening of Homecoming.

 

Don't forget to sign up for our 25 th anniversary breakfast. This is the College's formal way to entertain us, and they provide space, students, faculty or staff guests, and food so that we can concentrate on FUN. Since this is a benchmark year for us, after breakfast we'll all gather for an "official" 25 th anniversary photo. Lots of times, it's taken on the steps of Old Main. Let's fill up that picture with '79ers! (We can later compare that picture with our freshman orientation book, where we're all in our beanies. NOT!)

Here's one important piece of information that I've put into place for you to know about. I took a leap of faith and booked a reception site for us on Saturday evening at the Courtyard by Marriott in Moorhead. What's different is that I'm thinking about ordering a buffet supper, or at least "heavy" appetizers in addition to our traditional liquid reception. Since Garrison Keillor is finished at 7:00, it seems to me that folks will be looking for somewhere to eat and gather. I thought we might as well do it together. PLEASE: Let me know via e-mail ( cobbers79@yahoo.com ), snail mail or phone what your preferences are. Do you want a full buffet supper? Or are hors d'oeuvres good enough? I've got time to finalize the plans, so I'm open to suggestions. I don't know how much this will cost yet, but we always seem to cover the costs with free-will offerings or suggested donations. Depending on what we order to eat, that should work here, too.

 

This buffet/reception is more or less scheduled from 7:00 to about midnight (or whenever the last stragglers want to go to bed!) If you haven't come to this before, it's a great informal way to reconnect with folks that you saw at breakfast (or missed at breakfast). You can come and go as you wish. I'll bring along my most current copy of the name and address list, as well as the trophies that we've collected for annual giving in the past several years.

 

Hotel:     Courtyard by Marriott

1080 28 th Ave So, Moorhead (This is where the old Holiday Inn used to be, on the northeast corner of I-94 and 8 th Street.)

Phone:     218/284-1000 or 800/321-2211

I tried to book a block of rooms for us at the same hotel, good for Friday and/or Saturday evenings, but they already have blocks saved up. You can take a chance and try to book a room yourselves there. Otherwise, there are several hotels close by, at the intersection of I-94 and 8 th Street, and it's still easy to drive from anywhere in the F-M area to anywhere else. From what I'm hearing, booking a spot for yourself sooner rather than later may be the order of the day.

 

There are still quite a few other pieces to the Homecoming puzzle that I don't know yet. Luckily for us, Concordia leaves room on its web site for reunion classes to post notes to each other. So, as we get closer to the time, please check on the web site ( www.cord.edu ) under theAlumni section, find our class, and see what's up. As registrations come in, they will also post who has signed up to come. Check back to see if your friends are coming, and then you can make some plans!

 

Also, another reminder about our dedicated e-mail address. It's cobbers79@yahoo.com . If you have information you want to share or plans that you want posted on the Alumni web site, questions or suggestions, just shoot me an e-mail.

One event I've heard about already: A May Seminar reunion on the Saturday afternoon of Homecoming is being planned for the group that went to France in 1977. According to JulieBowe Dickinson, most of the group that went that year is from our class, so they're arranging something so that pictures, notes and reminiscing can be shared with the group. Sounds like fun! Julie or others in the group are contacting the travelers to finalize the arrangements.

Class Giving

I'm not yelling. I'm not preaching. I'm not complaining. I'm not cajoling. Why not, you ask?

WE WON! For the fiscal year ended on April 30 th , in the competition among other classes from the 1970's, we won BOTH for the number of alumni giving (164 out of 496, for 33% participation) AND the dollars of giving ($38,387.80). Fabulous job, everyone!

 

What put us over the top? I'm wondering if it was the "new" way that C-400 giving is defined. It seems to make it easier to be a C-400 investor, rather than having the $1000 membership always looming out there, unattainable for many. Or was your personal economy that much better this year?

Whatever. The College and the students there are so grateful for our sustaining gifts. In these days of sky-high tuition, keeping college affordable while ensuring highest quality of education is an expensive goal. Let's keep on doing our part-this year, next year, and every year after.

And to those of you who didn't give last year, let's get on board. It's more fun to celebrate when we all have participated. I'm always looking for high numbers of givers, not high dollars. The number of alums participating in annual contributions is an indicator used by many grant makers and magazine "best of" raters. Let's keep Cord's name out there. We can only do that with lots of participation-yours included.

News from and about Each Other

 

A marriage! These have been lacking the past several years. But Roy Bredholt, Jr. found his true love in Faith Burch. They were married last December, and make their home in Shorewood, MN. Paula (Magner) Nystrom married Scott Nystrom on April 4 this year. They live in Coon Rapids, MN.

 

A new job. Nancy (Olson) Hanson graduated in May 2003 from Pacific Lutheran Seminary with a Masters in Divinity degree. She accepted a call to Bethlehem Lutheran in Holt, MN and Nazareth Lutheran Church in Newfolden, MN. She started there this May.

 

Sadly two deaths to report. Gregory Hatfield, who attended Cord with our class, passed away last November. He lived in Fargo.

Carolee (Ellingson) Hunter also died last July. She lived in Park River, ND.

And Finally.

 

The years surely are flying by. We're getting older, heavier, grayer. BUT our enthusiasm and passion for our school, for our faith, for our friends and for our families should only grow stronger through the years. May those blessings continue to shower themselves on you.

 

See you in October!

Dawn (Schoepke) Hill

2000 Kelly Drive

Golden Valley, MN 55427

(763) 593-5783