The President’s Report by Marilyn Lynaugh Strafer, ‘80

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I'm sure by now most have you have heard the news of the 96th Annual Luncheon either
by letter, email, Facebook announcement or word of mouth.
This has been a very trying time for your Board and Luncheon committee. Although we are
very sad not to return to The Church of St. Francis Xavier and The Manhattan Penthouse,
we are grateful to be able to salvage our beloved reunion at such short notice in
the world of event planning. Using all her professional contacts, the event manager at
the Penthouse, Monika Nemeth Talisse went above and beyond in assisting us in finding a
suitable location at The Gallery Room at The Downtown Dream Hotel.
Although we need to make some sacrifices and the Alumnae Association will incur
additional costs due to hotel union labor rules, we have decided not to raise the price of
$150 per person as we previously announced. Going forward, we will have to see how this
year's event plays out financially, but we are confident that we will have a great turnout and
reunite in camaraderie at our new location. The Board was so moved with the Class of 1975 's
Nightingale Ceremony for their deceased classmates at last year's Mass that we have
decided to incorporate it again this year. We are calling for any alums who are Nightingale
Charter members to assist with the ceremony and any grads with a full white uniform, cap
and cape to participate. Please contact us at svhalum@gmail.com if you would like to join in
the ceremony. I have a separate article with more luncheon and hotel information in this newsletter as well as the response card for this year's attendees. Our website has also been
updated with this information. This year we can accommodate more attendees so non-alumni
may be included. So, reach out to your friends, classmates and former co-workers and organize your groups to attend this inaugural 'Dream' lunch.
In other news ...

• The Board has voted to donate $2500 to Sr. Kevin's favorite charity Nurses House in honor of her birthday in April.           

• I was contacted by a paralegal from California about the passing a while ago of Elaine Julia Modiest,'57. Elaine has generously bequeathed the Alumnae Association $1000. We are very appreciative of this gesture and are grateful to her family for this gift.           

• We have two budding authors in our mist who deserve our attention and patronage. Thomas F. Rzeznik, Ph.D. has recently published a book of interest to our membership titled "A Monument of Charity: St. Vincent's Hospital and Catholic Health Care in New York City". Dr. Rzeznik gave a small presentation to board members in April, and we have extended him an invitation to present at an upcoming general alumni meeting in 2027

• We have also heard from alum Jackie Bellacosa Kello, BSN, MFA, '68 that she has written a book about her journey as an artist as it relates to her nursing experience. I have included information about "Haven Art 2001 - 2013: A Studio Born from 9 I 11" that Jackie supplied in this edition. We are hoping to share more info from Jackie in 2027.