The Penn Stater Magazine

Plenty of Blue and White in Daytona

March 23, 2011 at 9:58 am Tina Hay Leave a comment

Daytona Beach in March—not a bad gig.

Once or twice a year I have a chance to travel to one of the Alumni Association’s 150-some chapters and give members a presentation about The Penn Stater. I talk about what goes into the making of the magazine, share some of our editorial philosophies, show a lot of pictures, maybe talk about some memorable bloopers. Depending on where we are in the production cycle, I sometimes offer a sneak preview of what’s in the next issue as well.

The Lysingers—Jane ’53 and Bill ’54—at the Halifax River Yacht Club just before the banquet.

Last weekend I got to visit the Daytona-Palm Coast Chapter (yes, I know, it’s rough having to go to Florida in March) and be the keynote speaker at the banquet marking their 10th anniversary. What a great place to visit, and what a great group. The chapter was founded in 2001 thanks in large part to the efforts of Joan Adams Fenton ’64, ’65g, ’83g and Jane Grubb Lysinger ’53, each of whom had recently moved to the area and were looking to connect with other Penn Staters. The group quickly took off, and today they hold football-watching parties, do community-service projects, have an annual Derby Days event, and sponsor a scholarship for one Penn State student each year.

Jo Chesworth ’60 of Boalsburg happened to be in Florida at the time of the banquet, and reconnected with Joan Fenton ’64, ’65g, ’83g.

A good-sized crowd—about 85 people—turned out for the banquet at the not-too-shabby Halifax River Yacht Club, and I think about 80 of them had questions for me during the Q&A portion of my presentation. They just wouldn’t stop asking questions about the magazine: questions about the class notes and obits sections, about my editor’s column, about whether there were any stories I regretted doing. (And, no, I’m not going to answer that last one here; you’ll have to come hear me speak sometime to get that out of me!)

It’s always interesting to me to visit chapters in different parts of the country and run into people I know—or people I sort of know, anyway. I met Renie Calkin ’79, a golf pro who I remember as an eastern regional golf champion as an undergrad (she was Renie Kelleher then). I reconnected with Laura Ramp ’94, who once served on Alumni Council—and who did a great job playing piano throughout the evening. And I later found out that the mother-in-law of Jay Paterno ’91 was in the audience.

Laura Ramp ’94 played piano for the event.

And who else should walk in the door but Jo Rider Chesworth ’60, who was associate editor of The Penn Stater for many years? Jo and her husband, Tom ’60, ’69g, ’74g, still live in Boalsburg; they just happened to be in Florida visiting friends and decided to come to the banquet.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I appreciated the efforts of Mary Ann Rapp Bunn ’84, who put the banquet together and who has been corresponding with me about the details since last May, and also Rob Walls ’88, who does a great job as chapter president.

I also didn’t mind the 75-degree Florida weather one bit.

Tina Hay, editor

Entry filed under: Alumni Association, Alumni Association chapters, Penn State alumni, The Penn Stater magazine. Tags: Daytona Beach, Halifax River Yacht Club, Jane Grubb Lysinger, Jay Paterno, Joan Adams Fenton, Laura Ramp, Mary Ann Rapp Bunn, Penn State Daytona-Palm Coast Chapter, Renie Calkin, Renie Kelleher, Rob Walls.