Don’t forget – Cap Bash II is November 12th – Homecoming and the Princeton vs. Yale football game.  Stop by Cap to take a live tour of the club and to eat, drink, and enjoy the new Cap with old friends!

Stop by Cap this fall to take a look at our new club and to find your friends in our walkway.

Don’t forget, November 12th is Cap Bash II – we’ll be celebrating the “official” opening of the “new” Cap and Gown Club!

This past May, Rachel Blum didn’t “really know yet” what she wanted to pursure post-graduation.  She decided to take herself on a summer tour, road-tripping from Jacksonville, Florida to California to Vancouver to New England, then back home to Jacksonville.

She’s been visiting friends, family, national landmarks, and many Princeton alumni.  She’s been contacting alumni along her route requesting a place to stay for the night- throughout her trip, which is about halfway through, she estimates she’ll stay with nearly two dozen alumni.

She’s enjoying her time touring the country and making new friends with old alumni.

For the full story, see the article online at Princeton Alumni Weekly Blog.

You made it happen!

Thank you to all of you who donated to the Cap Campaign.  The “new” Cap is a huge success.  The campaign has brought generations of Cap members and friends together – and back to Cap – and the club is stronger in countless ways.  Over 500 Cap members were back at the club for Reunions.

A special thanks to Dennis Keller ’63, Katie Hall ’80, and Bill Brewster ’53 who provided the “HomeStretch Challenge” that raised our participating from 40% to 47% in just the last 3 months of the campaign.

There have been so many moments to be thankful for in this great undertaking.  We launched the campaign during one of the most challenging times in our economic history, so we were taking a rise.  Fortunately, we were able to get the lowest possible bids on the project, making the project more affordable.

We discovered, after setting the goal, that we had to replace the entire heating system for the club.  After evaluation the alternatives, we decided to convert the entire club to geothermal heating and cooling.  We used Cap’s reserves to fund this, but we have a plan to rebuild that, and we’ve made an investment so Cap will be a more sustainable building for the long term.

At the outset of the campaign, we received encouraging words of support from President Tilghman on our launch of the campaign.  Over the past 3+ years, Cap has worked more closely than ever with the University.  As a result of the report from the Task Force on the Eating Clubs, the University has a new appreciation for the role of the clubs in Princeton live, and the clubs are working more cooperatively with the University to implement policies that support a positive social environment for all students.

If you walk down Prospect Street today, you see a renaissance happening all along the Street.  Ivy completed a major expansion; Cap followed shortly after.  Tiger Inn is currently under construction, as is the former Cannon Club which will be reopening as DEC (Dial-Elm-Cannon).

We owe a very special thanks to Dennis Normile, our club Steward for over 30 years, who shepherded the project from ground zero and made sure the plans met the needs of the students, endured the extended disruption and construction, and was incredibly creative in making the club activities as fun, if not even more fun, than ever.  He even kept his sense of humor!

Thank you also to our undergraduate members, especially our club officers, who were enthusiastic and good sports through the entire project – and who supported the campaign with 54% participation.  That says it all.

We’re still working on the final touches over the summer – a renovation of the sunporch, new furnishings, our commemorations for the campaign, and the installation of the Connect-to-Cap Walkway.

We hope you’ll plan a trip to Cap this fall to see the beautiful results.  Our Grand Celebration will be Saturday, November 12th, the weekend of the Princeton-Yale football game.

"Oh my gosh!!!"

Over 500 Cap alumni were back for Reunions and to celebrate the “new” Cap after the P-rade.  Cap members were amazed at the new dining room and back terrace.  The place was packed.  As members turned the corner into the new dining room and the new tap room, the refrain was, “Oh my gosh!!!!”

The expansion and renovations are nearly completed and our Cap Campaign is closing this week.  The Connect-to-Cap Walkway will be installed this summer in anticipation of our celebrations this fall (stay tuned for details)!

If you still want to make a donation to the campaign – ACT NOW – and sign up for your personal paver at http://tinyurl.com/cappledge

Cap officers are "top chefs" at the new BBQ grill

Board Chair Tom Fleming '69 and Dennis Keller '63

The view of the new "Class of 73 Dining Room" from "Oh my gosh" corner...

Cap President Rachel Blum '11 enjoying the final days of senior year!

Jane Fleming Fransson '00, Briana Bennett '05, Tip Fleming, Tom Fleming '69

Enjoying the new Powers-Hall 1979-1980 TapRoom

Here is a photo from the new sundeck: (back row) Jean Smith ’77, Lallie Lloyd, Molly Darrell Reed ’75, Suzy Stupin ’75, Nonnie Frelinghuysen ’76, Debbie Smith ’75, Lisa Schmucki ’74, Andrea de Cholnoky ’78, Meg Whitman ’77, Sally Sears ’75, Meg Osius ’77; (seated) Kim Wilson ’84, Joan (Pinkie) Connelly ’76

We all agreed we need to host more events for Cap women!

It was an fun evening of cocktails, dinner, dessert, and of course, dancing to the jukebox- enjoyed by the undergrads, campaign volunteers, board members, and Cap friends.

Our guests of honor for the night were Dennis Keller ’63, for supporting the challenge to the undergrads, and, David Blair ’67 for sweetening the deal with this party.

This was a great way to thank the undergrads and get everyone really excited for parties to come!

They were all amazed by the transformation the club has made in just a few short months.  Alumni enjoyed the new taproom and dinning room and were very pleased with the outdoor terrace and upper deck.

Even The Daily Princetonian took notice of our expansion and featured Cap in an article in last Friday’s issue.  Read the article and take a look at the view of Cap from Roper Lane in the Daily Princetonian online.

View photos from the Cap Board Meeting and Alumni Day.

President: Derek Grego
Vice President: John Moellers
Treasurer: Ivan Charbonneau
Bicker Chair: Derek Hynes
Social Chair: Alex McIlraith
House Manager: Spencer Jones
Intramurals Chair: Ines Sheppard