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
So 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!
The NSFG 90th Celebration, held on October 18-19, was a big success, with 34 alumnae, seven guests and four former faculty in attendance (plus 6-8 staff). Carole Fickert told me later, “Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed Saturday. It was wonderful to see people after, dare I say it, 60 years. It is also nice that you remember Northampton in the manner you did.”
The alumnae ranged from the Class of 1954 up to the Class of 1974. People had flown in from as far away as California. They had name tags with their senior photos from the yearbook, which were a big hit as it allowed people to recognize others. Ellis Baker loved that we not only gave him a blue ID in honor of Williston Academy but that we gave him a different Williston wineglass (the ladies all got stemless NSFG wineglasses). Joe Mesics pulled me aside on the way to the memorial service to say, “Boy, you guys really do things right here! Everything from the sit-down meal at lunch to the glasses and the alma mater by the singing group was just first class! I can’t believe more women didn’t want to come back for this!”
Ellie Rothman delivered a great welcoming speech, touching on the importance of education and single-sex education as well as her experience at NSFG and Williston Northampton. Maisy Glick ’15 spoke up to say she didn’t see any disparity between the boys and girls and that she felt girls held just as many leadership roles as boys on campus.
We held the event at The Whiskey Republic, which is owned by a member of the Dropkick Murphys. I bet during the summer this place is hopping! Located just off Rte 95, it’s on the water with yacht berths out in front. Our waitress was very friendly, helpful and attentive, especially when I said it would all be on one check instead of separate ones! It was a small gathering as there are only 184 alumni (according to EverTrue) in the state of Rhode Island, but they were all appreciative since they can’t get up to the Boston events easily.
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!
The 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.
So 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!
![photo[2]](http://willistonblogs.com/alumni/files/2014/09/photo2.jpg)
