Dear Member of CAMWS,Last summer I went to Delphi, seat of the most famous oracle of the Ancient World. I tried to imagine what the Pythia would say if, on this 100th birthday of our organization, I asked her about the future of CAMWS. Famous for her ambiguous and obscure pronouncements, she might have responded to my query as follows:
The future depends on the past,And the past depends on the future.I pondered this response for a while, and interpreted the oracle as follows: we have come a long way since our beginnings to become the largest regional classical organization in North America, one that embraces a diverse membership of K-12 teachers, faculty from small colleges to research universities, and graduate students who constitute the future of our profession. Looking forward, we must strengthen and renew our commitment to disseminating knowledge of the ancient world into the future. In other words, to ensure the future of our past, we cannot rest on our (Delphic) laurels.
In the fall of 2002, we launched our Centennial Fund in order to accomplish those goals, and we appealed to each of you to contribute to the future of CAMWS. We were grateful for your gifts, but I must mention that only 6% of our membership contributed. Foundations and corporations are rightly impressed by the number of members who participate in fund raising. A 50% participation rate really gets their interest.
In keeping with the themes of this year of celebration, I ask you to think back and make a donation in honor of the teacher who made a difference and opened your eyes to the excitement of studying the classical world and handing on the torch – an appropriate metaphor for this Olympic year. We will publish the names of your mentors on an Honor Roll to be included on the CAMWS web site.
Classicists are not, I know, for the most part rich. But your support, at whatever level, will allow us to continue and expand our program of scholarships and awards that have enhanced the lives of students and teachers alike. Your contribution will ensure that CAMWS will be around 100 years from now.
Sincerely yours,
Jenny Strauss ClayPresident
