All posts by jpilgrim

A Trip to Asia

Leave a comment

From October 31 to November 12, three representatives from Williston Northampton School—Head of School Robert W. Hill III, Director of Alumni Relations Jeff Pilgrim, and Assistant Head of School for International Recruitment and Legacy Development Ann Pickrell—traveled to Asia to meet with parents, prospective students, and alumni. During their trip they visited Thailand, China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. The following is Mr. Pilgrim’s account of his visit, condensed and edited for space.

Friday, October 31

2014 Jeff Pilgrim Asia Trip 1So the trip really started off with a bang! Flights were cancelled and then delayed “due to mechanical issues”. The flight was uneventful, although a little bumpy at the end. At the hotel, we get off the elevator only to discover that our rooms are as far away as possible at the other end of the hotel. Perfect!

Continue reading →

Posted in: Alumni Events

Williston Tandem Social Recap

Leave a comment

photo[2]This is always such a nice event in that local alumni and current parents get to mingle. There were a good number of new parents here; Jen Fulcher, the director of the Middle School and current Williston parent, was also in attendance so they were all able to chat and socialize.

Alumni ranged in age from Bill Harmon ’57 to Brittany ’07. As always, there was a solid core from the late 70’s and early 80’s. Brittany Weiss, our new assistant director of alumni relations, manned the registration table and welcomed everyone in while Karin and I were the designated bartenders for the evening. I got very good at opening beers!

Continue reading →

Posted in: Alumni Events

Alumni Garden Party Recap

Leave a comment

Marla WoldThe Alumni Garden Party on August 20 was another fun event in Denver. It was held on the front porch of Peter Marczyk ’84 and Barbara MacFarlane’s prairie-style home. Peter bought the house about 16 years ago and spent two years working with Rob Squire to gut the entire building. He rewired it and redid the plumbing, and installed an amazing kitchen. The home is located within a 15-minute walk of Peter’s second store (his first store is downtown). Their kitchen is to die for: Three different sinks, a double oven, eight burners plus a griddle and a salamander (for broiling), huge fridge, an icemaker and a massive island. I just hope my wife doesn’t see the pictures or I might have another renovation project on hand!

The whole concept of their stores is similar to that of the biodynamic wineries of California. They try to invest in local produce as much as possible (although he imports from all over the world), that way they can trace their food such as beef from conception to the final product. Wine people talk about how the taste and quality is influenced by factors like soil, amount of sunshine, amount of water; Peter feels that the same can be said for food. He states that if you place one of their steaks alongside a mass-produced company steak, the difference is stunning. Peter has gained a huge reputation in the Denver area and around the country as a food expert.

Continue reading →

Posted in: Alumni Events, Alumni News

Denver Pub Night Recap

Leave a comment

Coors FieldThe Denver Pub Night was held on Tuesday, August 10, 2014 at the Falling Rock Tap House in Denver, Colorado.

I honestly had no idea what the Falling Rock Tap House was going to be like. I had simply typed in “best craft beer bar in Denver.” The bar is located one block from Coors Field and had a really nice outdoor patio area. We were able to secure two tables right by the patio entrance so that Sharon and I were able to snag people as they came in.

Falling Rock1Falling Rock had a massive beer list with a lot of local beverages. I loved the Moose Drool Brown Ale and the Big Ben Brown! We had a really good turnout with all but two people showing up. The first to arrive was Carin Hutchinson ’75 who attended Williston for her last two years. Carin was originally from Germany. She was living in the Southwest, but decided she needed a change of scenery so she moved to Denver and loves it here.

She was fun to talk to, as were David Anderson ’72 and Stephen Alsdorf ’72. Both were very enthusiastic about their experiences at Williston. Dave owns a photography/design business here in Denver.

I showed everyone a preview of the EverTrue app and David and Stephen said they would love to use it to organize another Williston gathering later this fall. They loved that you could see who was living nearby.

Continue reading →

Posted in: Alumni News

New York City Social Recap

Leave a comment

DSCN6772We held the New York City Social at Ardesia Wine and Beer Bar. This small establishment is located in the Hell’s Kitchen part of New York on the West Side and was recommended by a young alum. Overall, we had 32 people in attendance. A couple of alumni volunteered to help me find a spot for the next reception.  I told them I would love to do one this summer in a venue with outdoor seating.

Those in attendance covered a range of years—from 1956 up to 2010—and lingered even after the official end of the event. Will Fogg and Julie North popped in for a few moments right at the beginning, but had to leave soon after for another engagement.

I connected Marlene Krauss P’17 with Samantha Teece ’07, who was one of my soccer captains, and they chatted about Western United, the team that Olivia (Marlene’s daughter) will be playing for this spring. There are three other current Williston players on the team (including my advisee, Jasmin Movassaghi ’16). Foster DeJesus ’56 came with Arthur Coleman ’71. They spent a lot of time chatting with Liz Shaler Dos Santos ’84, who is the daughter of Al Shaler.  Foster was one of the famed DeJesus swimmers of Williston lore (along with his brother, Prentiss ’57).

Continue reading →

Posted in: Alumni News