Although Bea MacLeod was not present for the creation of TASP (or TASS, which followed several decades later), she caused it to prosper in many ways, by finessing administrative details with Cornell and other university partners, taking month-long interviewing trips to reach students in heartland America, and doggedly supporting the recruitment of minority students.
To kick off the Memorial, a small group of very generous donors made three year matching pledges to help encourage other donors to give to the campaign as well. One very generous anonymous donor pledged $15,000 per year for the next three years! This donor specified that their gift would have to be matched by younger associates, and TA has already worked through its first round of appeals. About 100 of TA’s very youngest associates (those who participated within the past five years) have already given to the Memorial.
To help provide a bit more background regarding Bea’s relationship with TA, here are a few Associates’ reflections:
“Bea knew how to walk the fine line between providing leadership directly to the members of Telluride House and to her bosses, the members of Telluride Association, on the one hand, and recognizing the sovereignty of the Association, even in the hands of some at times profoundly immature ‘trustees.’ She fully embraced the value of the education in democratic leadership that L.L.’s programs provided. Her tolerance for putting up with frequently childish behavior, while maintaining her adult poise, good humor, and quiet but firm sense of directing, had the quality of a theater director taking a raw, untutored cast and whipping them into a good production without their recognizing they were being directed.”
–Christopher N. Breiseth, CB58 TA59 SPF69“It hardly needs to be said that Bea was a grandmother to generations of Telluriders—the only grandmother many of us ever knew. With her snowy hair and kindly, creased face, she certainly looked the part. But of course, all of us who knew Bea came to know the steely intelligence beneath that snowy hair, the wit that was as quick as the sympathy. As a result, she was sought out both for romantic consolation and for political counsel—often in the same conversation. Looking back, I marvel at how well she managed it. Bea made us all better-behaved and more considerate, simply by the value we placed on her good opinion.”
–Pepper Trail, CB72 TA73“A woman of strong opinions, Bea also had an abiding sense of personal humility; she never trumpeted her own accomplishments or unduly asserted her prerogatives… She had a talent for friendship and was profoundly loyal to the people and causes that touched her life. In the end, she did something even more than share her values: She left us the example of a well-lived life—a life to honor and emulate.”
–Stephen Fix, CB74 TA7
For more information about the Bea MacLeod Memorial, or to make a donation, please contact Amina Omari, Executive Director (amina.omari@tellurideassociation.org).
Online gifts can be made easily and securely at tellurideassociation.org/support-us. Alternatively, checks made payable to “Telluride Association” can be mailed to:
Telluride Association
217 West Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850