MEETING OF THE MINDS BULLETIN

February, 2012

Hello friends....we send you greetings and hope that 2012 is going well for you so far.  Here are few items we want to share with you.

• DEBRIEFING WITH THE  SAA

In November, Kay, Gay and I met with Carolyn Manning and Leslie Winick of the SAA to report on the M.O.M. event. With great enthusiasm, we told our story, with an emphasis on what made it work and what made it unique:

• The spirit of '59 was embodied in the original concept, creative planning, our strong volunteer bench, and the enthusiastic response.  Past reunions and other class gatherings have fostered a sense of class identity which is alive and well after fifty plus years.  

• It was an "intellectual feast" with a simple, flexible and uncrowded schedule. In fact,  as an "un-reunion", M.O.M. attracted many classmates who had not attended class reunions in the past.

• The program design was ideal: the idyllic summertime campus, the dSchool which unleashed our creative juices, and our incomparable A-list speakers. Other program elements that worked so very well: Open Space discussions, Jeffersonian Dinner conversation, the Power Point presentation, Lagunita dorm life, breaking bread together morning, noon and night! 

•  The personal touch in our messages and responses to requests made everyone feel welcome on arrival and ready to hit the ground running. The initial email survey was indispensable, giving us valuable ideas for the program, schedule and logistics, as well as confirming that we had enough interest to make it a GO.

• The group's size and informal agenda facilitated  spontaneity, full participation and candid interactions with our speakers and among ourselves. We shared the stories of our lives in an atmosphere of support and trust. 

• Building community: for our three and a half days together, we built a true community. Lifelong friends shared a new experience; new friendships were forged between classmates who had never met before! 

• Impact: Participants reported on major changes in their lives as a result of M.O.M. Many reported wanting to be more intentional and committed going forward. The impact is best exemplified in this quote from a classmate: "These three days have made me want to re-invent myself."

Carolyn and Leslie were very positive in their response, though we think somewhat surprised, not that we had pulled it off but that we had created something entirely new in the world of alumni activities. We came away from the meeting understanding that the most critical success factor was that M.O.M. was ALL OURS...from beginning to end, built upon what we know about each other, our interests,  passions and style.  And of course, now we know a lot more! 

• NEXT STEPS?

Many of you have asked when is  the next one? We've realized we can't do it every year because of the enormous effort required.  We agreed, however, that we want to infuse every future class of '59 event with the spirit of M.O.M.: the warm welcome, full participation, learning, listening, and always creating the space and the time for our great conversations. 

We promised the SAA we would provide a summary of the concept, planning and execution, potentially as a model for other classes who might want to do something similar, as well as a good record for ourselves. This "M.O.M.-in-a-Box"  summary is a work in progress!

• DONATIONS TO SPEAKERS' PROJECTS

At the final accounting of our M.O.M. funds, we had a surplus, thanks to the greater than expected turnout. We decided the best use of the surplus was to donate to the projects that each of our faculty speakers told us about. Your planning team felt that you would all support this decision because of your enthusiastic response to their projects. These donations will be on their way soon, and we can provide details when they are complete. 

• CLICK HERE….

Sent along by Emory Lee...

It's all about the space at Stanford's design school

As a spectator on the second floor of the d.school building, you might observe students standing at a project table or sitting on foam cubes or an assembly of executives paired up at cocktail tables doing some cutting and pasting.

• CLASS NOTES & OTHER MAGAZINE ARTICLES

In the January/February issue of Stanford Magazine, check out Margi's column for a great report on Meeting of the Minds. This is the first one she was able to write after the fact so it includes some of the unexpected things that actually happened! Magazine timelines being what they are, her earlier columns had to be written before the event and published after the event. It takes a creative writer to deal with this! 

Also, FYI, take a look at page 29 for a piece on the Longevity Center and page 43 for a book review of "The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb". 

• IN CLOSING....recently I heard Tom Brokaw call ours "the luckiest generation". Our parents left us their "greatest" legacy in the world of opportunity we have enjoyed.  I like his term a lot better than being called the "silent" generation. In any case, it's wonderful knowing that you are all out there making a joyful noise.

Keep in touch! 

Gail Stypula, on behalf of THE QUAD - Kay Grace, Gay Hoagland, and Howard Elkus.