Sunday, December 10, 2006

December Newsletter

I wanted to share a few thoughts with you during these end of year holidays. It’s been a pleasure to step into Dr. Heinrich Medicus’ shoes. A big thank you to him for all his help and encouragements.

After and outing in June on the Champlain Canal, we celebrated the“First of August” with a picnic at the home of Paul Tobler. After listening to the address of the Swiss President of the Confederation, Moritz Leuenberger, Heinrich Medicus serenaded us with his impressive Swiss Alphorn. The weather was beautiful, the company delightful and the bratwurst delicious.

On November 4th, we toured the “Alexandre Calame and The Swiss Landscape” exhibition at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Ma. This exhibition was the first in the United States to explore the Swiss landscape tradition. We were honored to have our new Swiss Deputy Consul Daniel Heaner and his charming wife Lola, in attendance. After the brunch at the William’s Inn, Deputy Consul Haener gave us an overview of his previous assignment in London and talked about the position of Switzerland amid the recent economic and political developments in the world.

An article about these events and our Society, with photos, will be published in the February 2007 issue of the Swiss Review.

Our Board discussed the membership fee structure and decided that the new fees for 2007 will be as follows: Individual $ 8 and Family $ 15. If you already paid your fees for next year these will apply the following year. We are aware that price increases are unwelcome but this is still a modest increase and certainly a reasonable cost to be part of our activities.

Don’t forget to encourage anyone in Upstate New York and the Hudson Valley area interested in joining our Society or participating in our events, to contact me at or call (518)456-8530. For other news updates of our Society you can visit the website .

I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year ! See you in 2007.


Marie-Louise McHugh, President