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A Letter from the Executive Director | Fall 2013

November 19, 2013

Dear Cal Alumni and Friends,

The fall semester at Berkeley is in full swing. The campus is energized by the presence of our dynamic students, thousands of alumni returning for home football games, and a new plaza taking stage in front of Alumni House. Recently, the Cal Alumni Association (CAA) hosted the Cal vs. Ohio State Young Alumni Tailgate for more than 400 attendees, welcomed 764 CAA Alumni Scholars to campus, and celebrated the 5th anniversary of The Equity Scholarship.

Thanks to you, CAA continues to enhance the legacy of our incomparable alma mater. As your alumni association, we represent the diverse perspectives of our entire alumni community. In this issue, you can read about the programs and services that keep you connected to fellow alumni and the University. You’ll learn how alumni like Robert Aronoff ’73 and Yolanda Hong ’02 support CAA, peruse The CAA Fund Society honor roll, and enjoy photos from our recent alumni and donor events. It is also a pleasure to inform you of the selections for the 2014 Alumni Awards.

I also want to take this opportunity to provide you with an update regarding the Tuolumne County Rim Fire, which impacted CAA’s Lair of the Golden Bear. The fire forced the premature closure of the Lair and Pinecrest Chalet in August. Although the fire did not get closer than four miles to our Pinecrest properties, the Lair and Chalet sustained a significant financial loss due to a premature closure. We are thankful to our campers and friends for supporting the Fire Impact Campaign. We are also grateful to the firefighters who worked tirelessly to protect the area.

As 2013 comes to close, I’d like to thank you for helping CAA fulfill its mission of informing and engaging alumni, and inspiring greater support for the University of California, Berkeley. You make our work possible and rewarding. Thanks to your involvement, we continue to ensure UC Berkeley remains the world’s number one public university.

Fiat Lux, and Go Bears!

Jefferson C.M. Coombs Signature

Jefferson C.M. Coombs  ’89
Executive Director