We hope you are all staying safe & social distancing.
As you know, we had a mixed response to the idea of holding a class Zoom call. A few guys were willing to give it a try so on November 6, we proceeded with the experiment.
Miles Lauzon offered Zoom tutorials to the uninitiated prior to the call and Doug Deeth provided the Zoom hosting facilities - our thanks to you both!!
There were 12 participants spanning, as Miles Lauzon described it, “...from coast to coast to coast”. Lanny Harris & Brian Blackwell from the west coast, Kelly Wilson & John McLarty in Nova Scotia and Fred Alexander on the north coast (of Lake Superior) - that’s the closest we could get to the Arctic Ocean. There are some definite advantages to Zoom meetings.
Each of the guys gave a quick update on what they were up to. It was especially nice to reconnect with Kelly Wilson, who we haven’t been in touch with since graduation. Kelly is currently a municipal councillor in his community of Mahone Bay (so much for retirement).
After a number of years, it was a real pleasure to see and talk to John McLarty. He just finished grape harvesting at his winery. Anyone interested in trying some fine Nova Scotia wine should put in an order on his website (https://plantersridge.ca/).
And, with all the medical issues that Lanny Harris has been through it was good to once again see his smiling face.
The whole motley crew included (from the top left): Vic Shantora, Tom Little, Doug Deeth, Paul Webert, Miles Lauzon, John McLarty, Brian Blackwell, Lanny Harris, Dave Harris, Fred Alexander, Glenn Weston and Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor provided an update on the class scholarship fund - it has now reached $31,765.52 and continues to climb - only $8,235 from reaching endowment status! Bob has additional information to share on contributions and tax planning which we will forward in a separate email.
In addition, Bob Taylor has received word from the University that a new scholarship recipient has been selected. We are trying to arrange to have our newest recipient join us for the next Zoom meeting. We will also forward this information to you shortly.
Everything worked very smoothly during the call and we were able to move to ‘breakout rooms’ to chat in smaller groups. The feedback from the Zoom call guys has been very positive with the suggestion of having quarterly Zoom meetings until we put COVID-19 behind us.
To that end, we are proposing Wednesday February 24, Noon - 1pm EST for the next Zoom call. Please let us know if you are interested in participating and if this date/time works for you. Miles will continue to offer Zoom tutorials for anyone needing them.
For most of us, this year is going to be a very different Christmas celebration. We need to make the best of it and enjoy the festive season as much as possible. There’s a rumour about putting a little extra Rum into the Eggnog to help!
From our families to yours: Best wishes for a Safe and Merry (as possible) Christmas.
Keep well.
Tom and Vic