By Dominic Moross ’90
As both fall and midterms loom, a combination of heavy coats, wooly hats, backpacks and laptops start appearing in all corners of our club. Despite the increased activity, the Club never feels crowded due to our comparatively small membership. We consistently have between 140 and 150 members which sets us apart from the other clubs and ensures Ivy’s intimate ambiance.
The semester has started on a strong footing, led by a first-class group of officers who well represent Ivy’s international diversification, hailing from Ireland, Egypt, Senegal and the US. September started with a fun cookout, followed by a busy and buzzing weekend of Lawnparties. Under the strong leadership of David Babikian ’20 and bicker chair, Shehab Thabet ’20, we had a successful fall bicker through which we accepted 8 new members.
Chef Jean departed over the summer and has been replaced by a superb team led by Nestor Pacheco and Cynthia Cruz, who, respectively, have been with us now for 20 and 10 years, and supported by Alex Baltazar and Jim Edwards. Thanks to the open-minded perspective of Betty and the help of Harriette Brainard (a former local restaurateur) we listened to constructive member feedback and now offer a number of different vegetarian, and gluten-free options. We have received rave reviews about the varied range of higher quality meals. Our kitchen team’s professionalism and culinary skills were well displayed at our October Parents Dinner, which once again exceeded our expectations, with over 200 attendees and parents from all over the world.
While I have focused on activities at the Club, our network expands well beyond Prospect St. I was pleased to unexpectedly bump into Ivy Governor Len Coleman ’71 and Charlie Barr ’71 at the Kentucky Derby in May. Our encounter echoed the tenor of Ivy’s dining hall as we watched the horses race, broke bread and debated the world’s problems!
As we head into the festive season, I wish you all a wonderful holiday and hope to see as many of you at our 140th Anniversary Dinner on December 5th at New York’s Racquet & Tennis Club.
All the best,
Dominic