Minutes (notes) from Class of 1964 Business Meeting
September 13, 2019
Key Decisions:
1. Double the amount in the class of 1964 scholarship fund, to $60,000, within 3
years.
2. Hold a “mini reunion” in 2022, three years from now, when many of us will be 80
years old. The event will likely be a luncheon, probably in the Portland area.
Details will be worked on.
3. Keep the sum of $1,000 in the class fund for mailings, etc.
4. Ask class members the best ways or means to communicate with them, such as
e-mail, hard copy “snail mail,” geographic contacts, or personal contacts from
another class member.
Other Decisions:
1. Re-elected Peter Bourque as President, Jerry Ellis as Vice President, Deb Burr
Richardson as Treasurer, Ginny Bellinger Ollis as Class Correspondent and
L. Dewey Chase as Class Agent, and Executive Committee members Richard
Kaplan, Nancy Barnes Hill, and Roger Ireland.
2. Elected Amos Orcutt as Co-Class Agent; elected Molly Fay Forbush to the
Executive Committee to replace the late Mary Goucher Macomber, and Mary
Holmes Davis as secretary to the board of class officers.
Fundraising:
3. The discussion on raising money for the class scholarship fund led to conversation
about fundraising ideas. We can do an annual mailing and encourage more giving.
Dee Gardner, from the UMaine Foundation, said we can suggest/encourage members
to sign up or pledge an amount for each month, using a credit card much as many of us
do to support things like public radio and television and other charities. This was a new
idea for many of us, and one we found appealing. Amos Orcutt said that, from his
experience, April and December mailings are the most effective. This e-mail could also
ask for e-mail addresses. The sentiment seemed favorable to do such a mailing.
(Note: we could also mention this in our class notes column in the Maine Alumni
magazine.)
Scholarship Fund:
Dee Gardner of the Foundation and Ashley Twombly of the Alumni Association told us
that costs for a year at UMaine, including tuition, books, and housing on campus, totals
$22,000. This is far more than what we paid, even adjusting for increased salaries. Our
current scholarship fund stands at slightly over $29,000. The fund is held and managed
by the UMaine Foundation. Therefore, after discussion, Amos Orcutt moved and it was
decided to set the goal to increase the fund to $60,000 within three years. We also
decided that preference for recipients be descendants of class of 1964 members until
the year 2039, then recipients could be any UMaine student.
Dee Gardner of the Foundation and Ashley Twombly of the Alumni Association said
many of the older classes dropped the title “class of__.” Instead, they roll into the
Senior Alumni and blend their scholarship fund with the Senior Alumni Fund used for
non-traditional students. We would still be credited as the class of 1964 in our giving.
No formal vote was taken on this idea.
Means of Communication:
Our Foundation and Alumni Association members told us that we graduated 1,364
members, of whom 866 are active, 383 known deceased, and 115 “lost”—no known
address for these. Only 230 classmates have given to the “school of our hearts always”
since graduation. This led to a thoughtful discussion on how to communicate with class
members. The cheapest way is through e-mail, but we do not have e-mail addresses
for everyone and not everyone uses e-mail. We decided that our next mailing will be by
traditional means—US Postal Service, but we will ask for e-mails and also ask how folks
want to communicate. Some may suggest a way to reach out by geographic areas or
by personal contact. It was noted that before our next gathering we ask for contacts for
people in the area in which we live so we can make those personal contacts.
Miscellaneous:
It was announced that class member Jerry Ellis, a UMaine track star, had been
recovering from a serious bike accident but was going to come to Maine the same
weekend of our reunion to be inducted in the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame. Our
congratulations to his amazing accomplishments during our college years.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Holmes Davis
Secretary, Class of 1964