Milne Alumni March Newsletter
March 15, 2008

by Judy Koblintz Madnick, '61

Dear Milne Alumni and Supporters,

I hope this newsletter finds you all well.

In this issue:

* 2008 Dr. Theodore H. Fossieck Scholarship - time sensitive!
* New Class Contact
* Alumni News & Reunions
* Sample Reunion Questionnaire
* The Magic of the Internet and Milne Connections
* Sad News

2008 DR. THEODORE H. FOSSIECK SCHOLARSHIP

If you, as a Milne School alumnus or alumna, have a direct descendent attending or planning to attend the University at Albany (UAlbany) for the 2008–2009 school year as an undergraduate, please have the incoming or current UAlbany student complete the application that can be found at the link below:

Dr. Theodore H. Fossieck Scholarship Application

All applications and supporting materials are due by April 9, 2008. Only complete applications received on or before the deadline will be reviewed. All applications must be completed online (see link above) and applicants must document their relationship to a Milne School graduate or faculty member.

If you have any questions, please call Janice Cook at 1-518-442-3233.

Dr. Theodore H. Fossieck, principal of the Milne School from 1948 to 1972, established an annual scholarship to the University at Albany for a student who is a descendent of a Milne School graduate or faculty member. Applicants must fill out an application and submit documentation that they are direct descendents of a Milne School graduate or a Milne School faculty member. Both incoming and present undergraduate students are welcome to apply.

Dr. Fossieck chose to fund the scholarship in honor of the teachers and students who formed the heart of the University’s experimental school, which was in operation from 1852 to 1977 (and named in honor of University President John Milne in 1929). Their results were impressive. "Those students exhibited a rare degree of adaptability — often working with as many as 40 student teachers and supervisors, plus dozens of observers, during a school year," said Fossieck.

For the 2007–2008 acadmic year, three UAlbany undergraduate students received a Dr. Theodore H. Fossieck scholarship: Evan Felitte, whose grandfather graduated from Milne; Allison Anton, whose parents both graduated from Milne, Class of 1975; and Nicole Branchini, whose mother was a graduate of Milne.

NEW CLASS CONTACT

Welcome to Ari (Norman) Gerber, who has offered to be the Class Contact for the Class of '74. Ari moved to Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel, in 1999, with his wife and two daughters. He works in Jerusalem at NDS, a hi-tech subsidiary of News Corp. Ari serves as chairman of the board at a local synagogue. He also founded an AACI chapter, the Beit Shemesh Business Network and is active in various religious and
educational activities.

ALUMNI NEWS & REUNIONS

Bob Abernathy, '48, had a "Mini-60th" Milne reunion in Albany on February 18th with Ben Mendel, Clayton Besch, Gordon Kilby. and Jeanne Fausel Randles. He said, "It was great!! We talked and talked!"

John Murphy, '54, is "happy to report that a 1954 and 1955 reunion will be held in Albany during June 2009." Click here to contact John for further information.

Sheila McGarity, '59, has announced that "the Milne Class of '59 is in the process of planning a fabulous 50-year reunion to be celebrated on the weekend of May 1, 2009. We have determined that New Bern, NC, has met the guidelines that were a result of a survey with respect to activities and cost.

"We are ready 'to party' at a great location with all the activities requested by our classmates. There are, in fact, so many interesting things to do that we think a weekend won’t be long enough to 'see it all.' The hotel has agreed to extend the group discount rate to a few days before and after the scheduled reunion.

"Our Saturday night, dinner will be a fine-dining experience with dancing or just listening to the music of the '50s. Lots of great memories to revisit and even more memories to make."

Contact Sheila for further information.

SAMPLE REUNION QUESTIONNAIRE

Martha Lowder Kimball, '64, has graciously agreed to share a questionnaire that her class used for their 40th reunion. Click here to open it in Word format, which you can edit as you wish to make it appropriate for your class year. If you are interested in seeing how the results were presented to members of the Class of '64, click here. (This is really "fun" reading even if you are from another generation!)

THE MAGIC OF THE INTERNET AND MILNE CONNECTIONS

When I learned that our new Class Contact, Ari Gerber, lives in Israel, I sent him an email explaining that we have an Israeli relative with whom we had lost contact. He wasn't responding to our emails, and we were becoming concerned. Ari tried calling the telephone number we had, but the number had been disconnected. So he posted a message on an Internet list relating to our relative's home town – and in less than 24 hours, we had our relative's new email address! Since then we have also spoken to this cousin via Skype. Thanks, Ari!

SAD NEWS

The following Milne family members passed away between mid-February and mid-March. Please note that I rely upon the Albany Times Union and input from other alumni for this information, so if you become aware of someone who has passed away, please let me know. If a name is underlined, it represents a link to the obituary. The Times Union links are available free for 365 days after the initial posting. Other newspapers may have different timetables.

Dr. Alexander R. Surrey, father of Janet Surrey, '62, passed away on February 17, 2008 - Times Union.

William Joseph Fitzgerald, husband of Linda Garibaldi Fitzgerald, '64, passed away on February 8, 2008 - Times Union.

Thanks to all of you for your interest in Milne Alumni activities.

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