The first student I met at Proctor was an inquisitive, good-natured kid from Houston, Texas who--like me--was just moving into Gannett House. Twenty-eight years have passed. Last night, that same young man--John O'Connor '79--and his wife Sarah hosted a hugely successful reception at a local golf club. The purpose of the gathering was not to celebrate Steve Wilkins, but Proctor's extraordinary advancement during the decade of Steve's leadership. As he introduced Steve, John (now an Honorary Trustee, having served as Board Chair from 1998-2001) reminded us of Proctor's mission to serve students who benefit from structured support....a mission that made this the right school for John.

The notion that we're celebrating the school's success is Steve's. His comments were followed by a spate of emotional, spontaneous testimonials from attendees.

A few years ago, as we celebrated Proctor's 150th year, we discovered the magic of bringing student performance on the road. Last night, the chorus belted out three inspirational tunes that had guests singing along.

During his welcoming and closing comments, our host--now an economics professor at New England College--reminded us of the number of minutes until the start of the Red Sox game 7 clash with the Yankees.

I'm not certain what the girls of Farm House are celebrating, but they're doing it in uniform camoflage pajamas. I found four in a maple tree: