This past year was a milestone year –
we presented the 20th Annual Award in June, and Ann Giddings turned 100 in April!!
The 20th
Tom Giddings Memorial Scholarship was presented to Michael Burton of Taconic High on Saturday, June 26, at our annual reunion
dinner at the Top of the Crowne Plaza. Michael continues the tradition of all-around
excellence, leadership and unselfish service and we are honored to have him as a member of the Giddings Family of Winners. One of his many charitable projects was a one-man total restoration of the baseball
field at South Junior High – the same field where Tom and many of us played endless daily pick-up baseball games during
the summers many years ago.
The first of what
will be many dinners at the Crowne Plaza was a resounding success: the view was
spectacular, the food good and the service attentive. We had 53 attendees and
have reserved the last Saturday in June in perpetuity at this splendid location
-- mark your calendar now. Former winner Sean Conaghan, now Chairman of the Selection
Committee, did a great job as MC and Dave Giddings provided warm recollections and conveyed gratitude on behalf of the family
on this 20th Dinner.
We have now
completed the major initiative of transferring the management of the Giddings Award to the former winners: effective January 1, 2011, Anne Rajotte is V-P, Dan Niedzwiecki is Treasurer, and Tess Holland is Secretary. In June, Anne will step up to the Presidency.
They’ve promised not to make their geezer predecessors look too bad.
Under the astute management
of Dave Walsh, our investments have more than fully recovered and stand at $135 thousand as of November 30. In the June meeting, the Board approved maintaining the award at least at $8,500 for 2011 with a review
in February to evaluate a probable raise to $9,000.
We hope you have a healthy and enjoyable
holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you at the dinner next year. Thank
you for your support.
Best Holiday Wishes,
Jack O’Gara
John Wall
