CLASS OF 1977 | 2022 | FALL ISSUE
Reunion 2022:
The value of reunions was made clear to me in that on Zoom calls or on social media, it is not possible to hug someone or connect in the same manner as when speaking face-to-face. Our 45th Reunion did not disappoint. As Mark Ellison summed up perfectly to me regarding the weekend: we were “overserved, overfed, and overjoyed” during the multiday event.
A few of us arrived Thursday before the festivities kicked in. Vanessa Burgess was one of my first greeters along with Iddy Olson and Jerry Stouck. While the campus was quiet, downtown Middletown was not; Iddy and I had a fine dinner joined by Iddy’s husband Tom Manning, who charmed most of the attendees throughout the weekend. The campus is undergoing many construction projects, while still hosting several exhibits and seminars including Sue Guiney’s much ballyhooed seminar on social enterprises: Founders and Funders.
Friday saw more arrivals: Cindee Howard and Jane Goldenring were in fine form. At check-in we ran into Felice Burstein, John Roxby, Arnie Alpert, Arlene Lappen, and Betsy Hecker and husband Jay. Making our way to the President’s Reception, we bumped into J. Mark Beamis, Jeff Shames, Mike Coffey, and Don Lowery. The Friday night kickoff cocktail took place at the Wesleyan Film Center where many folks joined in. In addition to those previously mentioned, we had a chance to catch up with: Sarah Kendall, Rich Swanson, Bob Glasspiegel, Hal Garneau and Dan Waters, Sue Guiney and her husband Don, Sue Berger, Kate Seeger, Jim LaLiberty, Lisa Brummel and husband Joel, Bonnie Katz, and Dave Thomas. My apologies go out to those significant others/spouses whose names I didn’t manage to retain, even though I attempted to return back to my room each day to record who I saw. After cocktails, several of us continued to dinner at the Usdan Center.
The traditional class parade and award ceremony Saturday added more class alums: Mike Balf, who had to have traveled the farthest for the event from Israel, Tom Roberts, Andy Darpino, Ted Stevens, Dave Levit, Don Ryan, George Capone, and Buddy Taft. Ron Bloom received a Distinguished Alumni Award, Susan Clark Webster received an Outstanding Service Award immediately after the parade. Lunch brought in several other classmates, some making brief cameo appearances: Doug Green, John Houston, and Alex Kotlowitz connected with some of us and seen across a crowded tent by others. At our major event, the class dinner at Usdan complete with outdoor balcony, I was able to at minimum visit with, if not hug, Louise Hazebrouck and husband Steve Rome ’78, Amy Breslow, Dan Ruberman, Dorothy Crenshaw, Jane Eisner (on crutches along with husband Mark Berger ’76), Mark Slitt, Andy Adesman, Sharon Adler, Jonathan Bailey, Jonathan Kligler, Paul Mason (with his lovely daughter Olivia), Paul Malnati, Steve McNutt, artist Will Sillin, and John Gaebe. Mike Balf started things off with a rousing welcome to all in attendance. At our dinner, Don Lowery, Sue Guiney, Jane Klemmer (in absentia), and Jerry Stouck received Wesleyan University Service awards.
If there are folks that I did not acknowledge as being present, please let me know so that I can mention you in the next issue. It is certainly true that social isolation for the two previous years made being together with folks who played a pivotal role in our lives 45 years earlier that much more special. I remember visiting colleges 50 years earlier and thinking about what my hopes for a college experience would include. Wesleyan stood out as a place where meeting and getting to know exceptional people would happen. With that said, forward to today: My expectations far exceeded what my 17-year-old self ever imagined.