Colombia 46 Did It Again!

Richard Saunders

Last September, Colombia 46 (1966–68) held its 44th year reunion in beautiful Denver. Group 46 (Rural Community Development) trained at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and in CEU CA, Bogotá, Colombia. Fourteen of the original volunteers, other Colombia RPCV’s, and some of the staff members from that period, plus spouses, attended. Our base hotel for the gathering was the Monaco in downtown Denver.

On Saturday the group held a roundtable discussion with a picnic at Cheesman Park. The discussion centered on how the Peace Corps had changed each of our lives, leading to numerous stories about sites we served in. The group held dinners at the Rio Grande and Buckhorn Exchange restaurants. On Sunday, 10 of the attendees carpooled to Estes Park, part of Rocky Mountain National Park, with lunch at Niwot.

Attendees were Mari Kae and Terry Applegate (who also served in the Solomon Islands), Tony Bartilotti, Joe Benitez, Susan Cole; former PC regional director and former Ambassador to Peru Edwin Corr and his wife Susanne; Ed Eng, Jill Hofmann, Joe and Kathleen Holmes, Denise Martin, Shirley and Bill McGrath, Richard and Iya Merrill, Susan Racine, Richard Sanders (who serves in Peace Corps Crisis Corps) and his wife Debbie, Barbara Seldin, Patricia and Peter Simonelli, Dr. Douglas and Joan Stewart, Dr. Harris and Diana Taylor, Gerald and Marthi Ungar, Errol and Louanna Zuch.

The group plans on having their next reunion in Cartagena, Colombia, in 2013.