By Anne Reilly Ziaja ’78

Greetings!  As graduates of Holy Cross we can all attest to the fact that our alma mater enjoys communicating with us, and this relationship is fostered strongly through the United States Post Office. We are regularly receiving information and invitations to attend reunions and other activities on Mount Saint James or in our local areas. As an alumnus you receive quarterly the Holy Cross Magazine which I find to be an excellent resource on so many levels. We are kept informed about life on campus through articles chronicling the happenings of students, faculty and administrators. We are able to read about the milestones reached by classmates and other alumni.

Thanks to technology we are able to connect by the Internet and click on www.holycross.edu/departments/alumnidev/alumni/. Having done this the other day I know how easy it is to connect with the Cross and have a calendar of regional club events at my fingertips. The Web site offers great information and soon will be new and improved.

As General Alumni Association president, I am treated to a bimonthly special missive from Pat McCarthy's office. The manila envelope tends to take over my entire mailbox as it is chock-full of special invitations and notices to all sorts of wonderful events. I spilled the contents on my dining room table. Just some of the invitations are noted here . The Holy Cross Club of Worcester sponsored a Boston Pops Holiday Concert with Keith Lockhart . The "Battle in the Bronx" with the Holy Cross Crusaders vs. the Fordham Rams where the alumni from the Holy Cross Clubs of Long Island, Fairfield County and New York City were invited to cheer on Crusader football . The Holy Cross Club of Greater Boston respectfully invited members to attend the annual Memorial Mass celebrated by Rev. Bruce Morrill, S.J., '81 on a Sunday evening in November. The Holy Cross Alumni Club of Washington D.C., announced a day of volunteerism for fellow alumni to be performed at Mary House in Northeast D.C. Co-founders Bill '73 and Sharon Murphy started Mary House in 1978 and, it now provides housing and other services for 30 families at a time. Operating on volunteerism and private donations, the House has a 98 percent success rate with moving families to new levels of confidence, self-esteem and safer and more affordable housing. Crusaders were invited to use rakes, paint brushes, shovels and strong hands to pitch in enthusiastically and prepare the organization for winter. Many invitations from various clubs featured members of the Holy Cross faculty and administration as featured speakers. Rev. Anthony Kuzniewski, S.J., was scheduled to be the special guest at the Holy Cross Clubs of Western New York, Central New York and Rochester, on successive nights.

I wish that I could attend each and every regional club event. Especially wonderful would be the opportunity to meet and greet fellow Crusaders. But, alas, it is totally impractical for this hockey mom from Dracut, Mass., to travel around the country as much as I would love to do so.

There is one regional club weekend that I was privileged to attend this fall. A purple and white rendition of the Golden Gate Bridge adorned a flier proclaiming Crusader football in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Holy Cross Crusaders were meeting the Gaels of St. Mary's College on the gridiron Saturday afternoon, Sept. 30. The Holy Cross Club of Northern California packaged a wonderful series of events to celebrate the weekend. Thursday evening a reception was held in MacArthur Park. Friday evening the beautiful home of Joe Mullen '57 was the setting for a West Coast President's Council reception. An amazingly gracious host, Joe's breathtaking Moraga, Calif., backyard proved an idyllic setting for a congenial gathering of some Holy Cross alumni. The pièce de la résistance for Friday night was the lecture at St. Mary's College of California which was sponsored by its John Henning Institute. Our own Chris Matthews '67 of Hardball and syndicated columnist fame delighted the crowd with his remarks and musings. It was an extremely entertaining and enlightening evening with a reception and book signing following the talk. Saturday was another California masterpiece with perfect weather and scenery. The Holy Cross Club of Northern California hosted over 250 alumni, family and friends at a tailgate marked by those infamous royal purple balloons and beautiful purple and white floral arrangements, courtesy of Joe Mullen. There was great food, conversation and camaraderie. I was thrilled to be welcomed to the "left coast" by a classmate of mine, Steve Corrigan '78 and his bride, Buff. It was great to hear about California life and to see the strong affection for Holy Cross shared by the large group. Some alumni traveled more than four hours to come to the game!

Club President Chris Piron '86 should be congratulated for his leadership of the Northern California Club. I enjoyed meeting his wife, Heidi, and beautiful baby daughter, Olivia, who was bedecked in a wonderful Holy Cross outfit complete with denim hat!  The Pirons are to be thanked for fostering the connection of our West Coast alumni with the Cross. We are truly a national and international community of alumni.

On a personal note, I would life to thank my godfather, B.J. Cassin '55, and his gracious wife, Bebe, for enabling my Dad (Joe Reilly '55) and me to attend this spectacular alumni event. B.J. is a trustee at St. Mary's as well as a college roommate of my Dad's. Although he has ties to both institutions, he did sit in the Holy Cross stands for the game. Bebe is always a lady and so much fun to know!

The General Alumni Association is proud to be the umbrella organization for the Regional Clubs. The clubs are the gems on our crown!  All of the committee chairmen for this year's General Alumni Association have worked diligently in their home regional clubs. I urge you to check out your own club. You'll be pleased that you did!