Milne Alumni April Newsletter
April 15, 2008

by Judy Koblintz Madnick, '61

Milne Alumni homepage: www.albany.edu/~milne/

Dear Milne Alumni and Supporters,

In this issue:

* Class-Reunion Plans
* Alumni News
* "Hall of Fame": Tara VanDerveer, '71
* Sad News
* Email-Link Reminder

CLASS-REUNION PLANS

The Class of '58 is planning a 50th-year reunion in Albany to be held Friday to Sunday, July 25-27, 2008. Contact former class president Bob "Brud" Snyder for further information.

According to Carol Fila Carpenter, Class Contact, the Class of '68 is tentatively planning a 40th reunion for Columbus Day weekend 2008.

ALUMNI NEWS

My husband and I are happy to report that we have a new grandson, Josiah William, born April 11th and weighing in at 9 pounds 12 ounces!! After two daughters and one granddaughter, this will be quite a change for us.

"HALL OF FAME": TARA VanDERVEER

Mary Welch has suggested that we institute a "Hall of Fame" program through which we can recognize Milne alumni who have received special honors or have excelled in their chosen fields. If there is a Milne alumnus or alumna you believe deserves Hall of Fame recognition, please send me an email that includes pertinent information so that I am able to "copy and paste" your submission. I am willing to provide minor editing as needed. Please limit submissions to approximately 300 words plus website links, which will not only expand upon a Hall of Fame member's background but will also ensure that we don't mishandle copyrighted material.

In addition, I will soon be setting up a new "Hall of Fame" webpage so that everyone who visits the Milne Alumni website will have an opportunity to learn about the accomplishments of many Milne alumni.

Our first "Hall of Fame" honoree (recommended by Jack Freele, '71) is Tara VanDerveer, a member of the Milne Class of '71. According to Jack, "Tara . . . has been the Head Coach of the Women's Basketball program for the Stanford Cardinal since 1985. Setting aside her many substantial accomplishments, including Olympic Gold in 1996 in Atlanta, her current Stanford team is in the NCAA Women's Final Four." According to the April 8th Albany Times Union, Tara was the Milne boys' basketball team mascot in seventh grade . . . but preferred to watch the game.

Tara is described as "one of basketball’s most accomplished coaches" at www.womenssportsfoundation.com and "one of the United States’ finest coaching talents" at washingtonpost.com. In addition, http://gostanford.com states that she is "regarded in the profession as one of the most well-respected and dynamic coaches in the country." (Note: Each of these links contains further information about Tara's professional background.) Tara has been inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Indiana University Hall of Fame, the Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame, and the Greater Buffalo Hall of Fame.

Congratulations, Tara, for earning such high recognition.

Coincidentally, on April 8th I received an email from Doug Sherman, WRGB Sports Director, asking for information about Milne to include in an 11 o'clock sports segment about Tara that related to the national championship game (which, unfortunately, Stanford lost to Tennessee). Since I was in Albany at that time (awaiting the birth of our grandson), I was able to view the sports report. It was wonderful to hear Milne mentioned on TV!

If you know of a Milne attendee or graduate whom you believe deserves special recognition, please let me know.

SAD NEWS

The following Milne alumni, attendees, or family members passed away between mid-March and mid-April. 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.

Ms. Dorothy I. BLABEY, Milne Class of 1928, passed away on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

Ms. Dorothy Lemira BLESSING, Milne Class of 1949, passed away on March 27, 2008 - Times Union.

Mr. Stephen F. GASOROWSKI, Milne Class of 1968, passed away on Friday, April 12, 2008 - Times Union.

EMAIL-LINK REMINDER

If you would like your name in the Milne Alumni website directories made into an email link, please let me know. The Class of '58 is way ahead of all the other classes in this project!

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

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