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Dates     General Description     Accommodations 
    
Costs      Spouse/Partner Outreach

 

2019 Mini-Reunion: “Pass the Baton Dinner,” Sept. 20-22, 2019

 

Williams Mini-Reunion, Sept. 2018

Williams ’70 50th Reunion June 11-14, 2020      Pre-Reunion Special Events Reconnecting with Classmates Help Wanted! Reunion, Events, Website If you’ve decided to attend Reunion:

 

June 11-14, 2020, is the weekend after Commencement (student graduation) weekend.  All of the ‘5 and ’10 Reunion classes also will attend. However, in 2020 we, Class of ’70, lead the Reunion march, and are first in the hearts of Williams alumni, faculty, staff and friends!  (This is to ensure that the march proceeds at a slow and steady pace….)

Hotels

Description:  The 50th Reunion is a multi-day celebration for classmates, spouses and partners. The reunion includes faculty lectures, classmate-led seminars, festive meals, special entertainment, and the traditional alumni parade led by the 50th class.  In addition to formal events, half the fun at the Reunion involves informal visits, good conversation, and exploration of Williams and its surroundings.

There will also be bike riding, hikes, and excursions to local cultural venues of interest. We intend to make our reunion meaningful, enjoyable, and inclusive in addition to providing a variety of events that address the interests of all participants.

Events, Meals:  We’ll enjoy events and meals in campus venues both historic and new. 

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Hotels

Housing Accommodations:  We’ll be headquartered in the Center for Development Economics (CDE) at the corner of Main and South Streets (former St. Anthony Hall). The CDE is a magnificent facility that presently is undergoing a multi-year renovation.  (Don’t worry:  It’ll be completed before 2020.)

Dorms, Hotels: Classmates who are interested in staying on-campus in a dorm room will have that option.  We’ll also secure room blocks in nearby hotels so you can make your plans early.

Updated Hotel/Dorm Information: Preliminary, June, 2019

Halley Moriyama reported in June, 2019:

“I received information last week on when people can book accommodations for our 50^th Reunion, June 11-14, 2020.   

Hotels Under Construction. The situation is a bit fluid because two of the hotels, the new Williams Inn (at the bottom of Spring Street) and the new Marriott Residence Inn (on Route 2 near Cumberland Farms in Williamstown) are currently under construction. 

The new Williams Inn is supposed to be completed and open for business by August 2019 while the Residence Inn is expected to be open by the end of 2019.   When the new Inn is open, the old Inn will be closed (and probably demolished).  In light of the above, the following is the preliminary schedule:

Room Blocks at Hotels. The 50^th Reunion Program will obtain a room block for our class at the new Williams Inn, the Orchards, and the new Residence Inn.  You will be able to make reservations at the Orchards around late June or early July 2019; at the new Williams Inn in August 2019; and at the new Residence Inn sometime towards the end of 2019, though we will get an update on this in June or July 2019.

We do not have pricing yet for local hotels, including the new Williams Inn, the Orchards, and the new Residence Inn.  Typically, the prices do go up for reunion plus hotels/motels often set a minimum stay.

Other Local Motels.   You will be able to make reservations at other local motels (e.g., 1896 House) beginning in June 2019.  The 50^th Reunion Program will not have room blocks for us at these other motels, but anyone who typically books reservations a year in advance can certainly make a reservation at these other locations.

Dorms: If you want to stay in the dorms, including those associated with our reunion  headquarters (CDE, the former St. Anthony Hall), you will have to wait till around March 2020 when the mailing goes out for reunion registration.

The 50^th Reunion Program will send out information about who to call and phone numbers for the new Williams Inn and the New Residence Inn when they set up the room blocks. 

I will keep everyone apprised as new information is available to me.  Feel free to share this information with others, or contact me at [email protected]

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Costs

Cost and Other Information: The College substantially subsidizes the total cost of the event.   Additional information on costs and other items will be available and added to this web site as we get closer to the event, so please check back to this page periodically.  We will also send email blasts with details, and simultaneously update this page.

• Reunion Costs:  You Won’t Pay for My Drinks!
  

Reunion costs will include:

• Registration fees covering accommodations, meals, and special events (e.g., Saturday night dance with 60’s Rock Band);
• Separate hotel costs if you plan to make separate accommodations. (See “Accommodations” below);
• Transportation costs to and from Williamstown.  (You’ll make your own arrangements re transportation)

Based on your feedback and concerns, and thanks to the generosity of several classmates, all alcoholic beverages at our 50^th reunion will be privately funded. 

In other words, none of the reunion fees paid by you to cover our reunion costs will go towards alcohol.  

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Spouse

• New Spouse and Partner Outreach Committee Formed;  December 2018 Survey Planned
  

We also have established a Spouse and Partner Outreach Committee involving Kathy McCurdy ([email protected]) and Helen Moriyama ([email protected]).  

The purpose of this committee is to welcome and include spouses and partners in our reunion.  To that end, we will be surveying spouses and partners in early December about activities and events that would be of particular interest to this important group.  As always, we want our reunion to be inclusive and family friendly. 

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Baton

Fall Mini Reunion & Pass the Baton Dinner, Sept. 20-22, 2019

The annual Fall Mini Reunion and Weekend and “Pass the Baton” Dinner will be held this year from Friday to Sunday, September 20-22, 2019 in Williamstown.

The weekend begins Friday evening with the multi class dinner when we will be joined by members of the classes of ’69,’71,’72, and ’73. Concluding a host of activities and athletic events during the day on Saturday. that evening the Class of ’70 will convene with the Class of ’69 and President Mandel for the customary “Pass the Baton” dinner, continuing a tradition which began with the Classes of 1917 and 1918.

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details2

50th Reunion Organization: Here is a contact list of all those involved in the Reunion organization.  Frequent contacts are:

50th Reunion Chair:  Halley Moriyama – [email protected]

Attending Reunion – Planning and Commitment List – Don Berens – [email protected].  If you plan to attend the 50th reunion, please let Don Berens know as he is keeping a tally for planning purposes. 

Reunion Web Site WebMaster – Ray Kimball – [email protected]

Please contact anyone on the contact list if you have any questions concerning the reunion or any reunion-related event.  Also, if you would like to help in planning and organizing the reunion, please contact the appropriate committee chair, or 

Reunion planning began right after our 45^th Reunion.  There will be many events taking place as a run up to our 50^th Reunion, including the Presidential Forum in 2018 and the Williams in Oxford trip in 2019.   As details unfold, they will be announced on the Upcoming Events page and also in the Reunion Details page. If you have any questions about the reunion or wish to help in the reunion planning, please contact Halley Moriyama, 50^th Reunion Chair at [email protected].

Learn below about the details of our 50^th reunion,  and see our News and Events page for planned events running up to the reunion.   

Help Wanted:  We also are looking for assistance with our big, interactive web site, and with reunion activities and events.  See our”’70 Help Wanted” Post, where you can respond or post a “Help Wanted” ad of your own, or contact [email protected] or [email protected] for details.

Let Us Know You’ll Be Attending 50th Reunion.  If you’ve already decided to attend the 50th reunion, please let Don Berens know ([email protected]) as he is keeping a tally for planning purposes.  Of course, formal registration will occur closer to the event when the College and Lou Buck send out the Reunion registration form(s), details TBA probably in 2019.

Reunion Suggestions?  Requests?  Contact [email protected] or see this website’s Forum Section where you can make suggestions and communicate with the various planning committees.

Why Attend?  Well, We Did a Survey

Why do alumni attend 50^th reunions?  The Class of ’67 took post-reunion survey of attendees immediately following their reunion of 130 classmates plus about 170 spouses, “significant others,” and friends.  

There seem to be two primary reasons to attend the 50th reunion:

1. Reconnect with classmates you know;
2. Reconnect with classmates you don’t know well but might like to see again.

There are other reasons, too –

1. reconnecting with the College,
2. visiting Williamstown, Mass., Vermont, New Hampshire, and/or Boston with your spouse or significant other on a nice June weekend in the Berkshires. 

Reconnecting with classmates you know and want to see are the two most important reasons alumni come to reunions.

In response, our Class has created a special “Reconnect By…” section, making it easier to find and interact with your classmates again.

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