Joe Mesics ’53 knows something about going the distance. Since he took up cycling in 1982, he has made trips from Portland, Maine, to Orlando, Fla., Minneapolis to New Orleans, Los Angeles to Boston and from his home in Lebanon, Pa., to Andover for his 45th Reunion. Altogether, Joe has biked more than 50,000 miles, enough to circle the earth twice.
     Joe credits his wife, Sandi, with playing a critical role. “Sandi’s the one who makes it possible by giving me her full support during training and when I’d go off on these crazy treks. Like so many other things, I would never have been able to do it without her. Otherwise, it’s a simple matter of using the right technique and equipment to maximize the efficiency of the ride,” Joe says.
     Joe and Sandi were also looking for efficiency when considering Joe’s 50th Reunion gift. An attorney who served as Andover’s secretary of the academy in the 1980s while Sandi did PA admissions work and ran a tight ship as hostess at Moses Stuart House, Joe knew about the benefits of Andover life income gifts.
      “Sandi and I chose to convert low-paying securities into a guaranteed annual payout of 6 percent. Better yet, we got
a charitable income tax deduction for the gift, all the while avoiding the capital gains taxes on the securities,” Joe notes. “Finally, we know that our annuity will ultimately provide solid support to a remarkable institution.”