Yale alums ready for 2000

Formed by a group of friends from Yale and Notre Dame in 1979 and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1984, the Millennium Society "aims to celebrate the achievements of this millennium while paving the way for the coming one," Assistant Executive Director Abbot Bailey, said.

Beginning in 1996, The Millennium Society will sponsor annual New Year's Eve countdown balls leading up to the millennium. This year's bash will occur at the National Press Club in Washington DC, and possible sites for '97 and '98 include New York, London, and Moscow.

The World Millennium Ball on New Year's Eve 1999 will feature celebrations in each of the 24 time zones anchored at the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, Bailey said.

The group also sponsors The Millennium Scholars Program, a scholarship fund for matriculating college freshmen from around the world "who have demonstrated a commitment to peace." The Millennium Society hopes to collect $100 million to establish a permanent endowment.

--Dan Zimmerman