Thanks to the BAM for noting the new meeting table in the Maddock Alumni Center crafted by renowned cabinet maker and Brown parent Tim Philbrick ("All in the Family," Elms, January/February). The table is seeing good use for reunion planning meetings and other gatherings of dedicated Brown alumni volunteers.

It's interesting to note that Philbrick's work replaced a huge oak meeting table that was sold to the Newport Historical Society. The old oak table originally sat in the dining room of a Newport mansion, but was sold off in the 1970s and eventually made its way to Maddock.

The Brown Alumni Association's house committee, under the wise leadership of its chairman, Ray Rhinehart '62, seized the opportunity to sell the old table back to its original home and then commission a more appropriately configured conference table, created exclusively for Brown and generations of hard-working alumni.

Todd Andrews '83
Providence
The writer is Brown's vice president for alumni relations.