June 16, 2023 Hello, Friends,   What a busy few weeks these past few have been! We ended May with a very successful Reunion weekend and our traditional end-of-the-year activities started up shortly afterward. Now that I can catch my breath, I’m happy to share our latest news with all of you.

School year comes to a close Last week we concluded the school year and enjoyed celebrating with Final Assembly, Last Chapel, Early Childhood and Kindergarten graduation, Lower and Middle School Moving Up ceremonies, Faculty and Senior Class dinner, and Senior Tea. Congratulations to all of our students for their hard work this year and thank you to our wonderful teachers and families for their continued support of and dedication to our students and our school! Special thanks also go to Alumni Association President Joe Fitzgerald '74 and Alumnae Council President Samantha Miorin '10 for the special gifts provided to the Class of 2023 at the cookout.

Commencement ceremonies mark new beginnings Commencement ceremonies for The Albany Academy and Albany Academy for Girls Classes of 2023 marked the end of their time with us as students. We wish all of the graduates the very best in the future and hope they will remain connected to The Albany Academies throughout their lives. We are proud of you!   The AAG commencement was held on Monday, June 12 and the AA ceremony took place on Tuesday, June 13. Class of 1994 alumna Elon Johnson, who is senior creative executive and head of development for Tyler Perry Studios, and Class of 1987 alumnus Dr. Peter Kim, who spent much of his career as a general and trauma surgeon at Jacobi Hospital, shared their career and life experiences as keynote speakers at the ceremonies and inspired graduates and guests alike. Thank you, Elon and Peter, for your visit back to campus and for sharing your words of wisdom!

Professional Development Days held for faculty members On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, we held our annual Professional Development Days for our faculty. Our Board of Trustees joined the professional staff for a light breakfast and conversation on Wednesday morning.

Golf Outing coming on Monday Our Annual Golf Outing is just days away, and we look forward to seeing many of you on the course at the Colonie Golf and Country Club on Monday, June 19. This fun-filled day of golf will give you a chance to meet some of our scholar-athletes and will feature raffles, dinner, and a round of golf – no experience needed! Registration is now closed but to purchase tickets to our dinner, buy raffle tickets, or make a donation to our athletic program please click here https://golfouting2023.givesmart.com

The Academies Fund End-of-Year Incentives We are grateful to everyone who has made a gift to The Academies Fund. These donations provide opportunities for all our current students, just as they have always enabled academic, athletic, and artistic achievements. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, and we are not at the finish line yet, so we’re offering two donation incentives to help us reach our goals: The Young Alum Challenge – any alumnus or alumna in the classes of 2012 – 2023 who donates $30 or more between today and June 30 will have their name entered in a drawing for a $99 Spotify Premium Gift Card, which covers a one-year subscription to the streaming platform. A night in New York City – anyone who makes a gift of $250 or more between today and June 30 will have their name entered in a drawing for a one-night stay in an NYC Marriott hotel and a gift card. Every gift at every level helps to bolster our students and faculty. Please lend your support at boostmyschool.com/academies-strong or call 518-429-2391 for further assistance.

Class notes

Please note: We made a change recently and plan to include Class Notes as a regular part of our Happenings newsletter. Our intent is to get these news items to you more quickly than we are able to if we include them in the A2 magazine. We hope this will help you learn about what your classmates are up to in a more timely manner. Also, seeing Class Notes more regularly might inspire our alumni/ae to send their news items to our office more frequently so we can share them with you. To that end, if you would like to submit a class note for publication please send it to pallutin@albanyacademies.org.

1958: From Henry Schmerler: At 6:00 pm on Friday night, May 19th, ten members of The Albany Academy class of 1958 and their guests gathered at the Albany Country Club to begin the celebration of Reunion '65. John Crary did a superb job in securing a classic dining room, overlooking the golf course, and decorated it with a timeless Albany Academy emblem. He planned a gourmet dinner with excellent hors d'oeuvres and fine wines. Thank you, John - a great start to a fantastic weekend. In attendance were John and Grace Crary, Bill Cross, Phil Erlich, Peter, and Karen Kermani, Stew Myers, our peerless former headmaster, Doug North with Ellen Cole, Fred and Valerie Rodgers, Rob Taylor and Sheila Rousseau, Dave and Alice Titus and me, Henry Schmerler.   The highlight of the evening was the unexpected entrance of Fred and Valerie Rodgers. Storms had delayed them in Charlotte, North Carolina, and they were not expected to arrive in time for the dinner. They were rerouted to Connecticut and drove to the Albany Country Club. Great hustle, Fred and Valerie. Your effort and enthusiasm were greatly appreciated.   The ticket to the dinner was a completed Academy Trivia Quiz. The winners were (of course) Doug North and Fred Rodgers. I believe Fred was studying on the way to Albany. Doug and Fred each won a fine bottle of Belle Glos wine. After dinner, I provided a synopsis of the state of our class: 10 dinner attendees and 18 members (that I know of have passed) and the health reasons that prevented some of our members from attending.   Bill Dearstyne could not attend, but he sent the charming Tockey in his place. Bill promised that he would definitely make Reunion '70. With that thought in mind, I asked each of our graduates, at the table, if they would be with us for that event. Not surprisingly their answers were a unanimous yes!   Saturday evening, we had dinner at Stew's amazing house! The weather was such that we had cocktails and dinner inside. Stew's dining room table sat all 19 of us - with room to spare. It was the largest table I have ever eaten at. Stew was at one end, and I was at the other end and I had to dial long distance to speak with him.   Most of the people who were at the Albany Country Club were at this dinner. Only John and Grace Crary and Dave and Alice Titus and Ellen Cole were not there. However, we were favored by the presence of six members of the class of 1958 of Albany Academy for Girls. Tockey served as our almost professional photographer, and was joined by Susan Wolk, Nancy McEwan, Midge Trivers, Joan Rosenstock, and Faith Fogarty They added a touch of class to our soiree as did Sheila Legaly who joined Bill Cross.   Stew provided us with his usual fantastic dinner - one fit for the most particular connoisseur. Stewart Myers - you really know how to throw a party. Thank you for the outstanding food, wine, and camaraderie. The evening was magical - the feeling that pervaded the air was of warmth, friendship, and happiness at being with such great old friends. I will never forget that evening.   Bill Cross, with a devilish smile, led us in singing Happy Birthday to Peter Kermani. We were all surprised that it was only his 83rd. After dinner, the names of our departed classmates were read with much sadness. We closed the planned evening festivities by singing our Alma Mater and our Fight Song. At this point, we broke into an impromptu songfest and sang our old favorites. What a magnificent night!   But, the weekend wasn't over - not by a long shot. Doug North and Ellen Cole outdid themselves with a superlative barbeque on Sunday afternoon at their rolling estate in Berlin. We ate outdoors on the beautiful new patio that they had recently completed - and the sun finally obliged. Ribs, chicken, cornbread, potato salad, coleslaw, cookies, cakes, and fruited lemonade were on the menu for Rob and Sheila, Fred and Valerie, Stew, Phil, Bill and Sheila, and me.   For those of you who couldn't make the reunion due to physical issues, or who decided not to attend, you missed an unbelievable weekend. We hope you will be well enough, or motivated enough, to join us for Reunion '70.

1960: Jeff Hubbard retired from the practice of medicine (forensic and pediatric pathology) in 2022, at the age of 80. He reports that there are still several cases, mainly homicides, awaiting trial, so he will be dropping into courthouses well into 2024. He says that his wife, Martha, is also retired, but still a productive handweaver and seamstress. From Jeff: “My retirement is busy enough, principally with careful observation of animals, birds, and ocean-going ships from our Hudson River-side home; some historical work; and of course SCUBA diving in climes warmer than New York. The only classmate with whom I'm in contact is my friend since Miss Anderson's 5th grade, Arnold Friedman (and Florence Dunn Friedman AAG c. '64). But in the small world department, my good friend and colleague, Samantha Miorin AAG '10, is president of AAG Alumnae Council.”

2021: Last week Roberto Barron '21 (former prefect of Henry House) spent a moment with the statue of Joseph Henry outside the Smithsonian Castle on the mall in Washington DC.

We hope you’re following us on Facebook and seeing photos of all the activities taking place here. If you’d like to come for a visit sometime, just let me know.

I hope you enjoy the summer!

Ann Wendth Chief Advancement Officer

albanyacademies.org

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