Greetings! I am honored to be serving as Sub-Dean for the next couple of years, and look forward to working with Ron and the Board to provide meaningful and helpful experiences and events to help us grow in our work and strengthen our connections with one another.

This summer has been, for me, one of reunions of various sorts. My wife’s family (on her mother’s side) held a family reunion – their first official one – over the July 4th weekend, in Maryland. Out of 117 living relatives spanning five generations, well over 60 were able to gather for a great time of catching up, meeting new branches of the family, and, of course, eating!

Another reunion, to be sure, was at the AGO National Convention in the Twin Cities. Those gatherings always feel a bit like a family reunion – a chance to re-connect with friends and colleagues, some of whom you only see every couple of years. And, within that larger reunion were wonderful sub-reunions with many who have either Eastman or Rochester connections…

In the past several weeks, I have succumbed to joining Facebook online, which, in its own way, serves as a reunion point, where the networking is almost viral! At the same time, it serves as an incredibly powerful way to connect people from many different facets and time periods of your life.

Which all brings me to my final point, to encourage each of you to attend our chapter “reunion” at our first meeting and opening service on Sunday, September 14 at 3:00pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford. Grateful thanks to James Douthit and the people of Pittsford Pres. for hosting us and for organizing the event. As with all reunions, you can look forward to seeing old friends, perhaps meeting some new colleagues, and sharing a common experience which strengthens our connections with one another…see you there!

Peter DuBois