Over two hundred alumni brought the Gunnery campus to life at Alumni Weekend 2010. Shared stories, nostalgia, and recreation filled the three-day event which included reunion dinners, a baseball game, an alumni parade, classes, tours, an alumni row, presentations, and a clambake. The school also welcomed Wykeham Rise alumnae from the classes of 1963-1989 (Wykeham closed in 1989) to share in the annual festivities.
Without a doubt, the class of 1960 made their presence known in festive solidarity. In matching red shirts, 29 out of 51 living classmates heartily participated in the day’s events. They also presented the school with the largest reunion class gift in the school’s history, totaling $32,400 (at press time, gifts are still coming in). “It was a huge success,” said Jeffrey G. Marsted ’60. “My junior year roommate whom I hadn’t seen in 50 years was there.”
George Krimsky ’60 didn’t expect to get this kind of a turnout for his class. “I thought maybe we could get fifteen if we were lucky. Jeff and I collaborated on getting emails out. The 50th is a do or die reunion. If people miss that one, there are no more big ones.”
“I was flabbergasted,” said George of 1960’s turnout. “They (classmates) haven’t seen me or the school in years. We have aged pretty well. Everyone was almost instantly recognizable even though he didn’t have a hair on his head. That was a pleasant surprise. Time is a great equalizer. When you sit down at a table after 50 years and share war stories, it is a great equalizer.”
Head of School, Susan G. Graham, Alumni Association President, David N. Hoadley ’51 and Gunnery Council President, Jonathan Bennett ‘83 welcomed the record number of alums back to campus at the Alumni Association Meeting. “It gives me great pleasure,” said David, “to welcome alumni, their families, guests, faculty and friends to Alumni Weekend and especially the graduates from the classes ending with ‘0s and ‘5s to celebrate another landmark reunion. Graduates came from all corners of the country and world including Durham, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bangor, Maine and as far away as Bucharest. No matter where we are in the world, I feel that Gunnery alumni have an inner compass that always leads them home.”
At the Alumni Association Meeting, former classmates were celebrated, honored, or remembered. Eight alums were inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame and Arts and Letters Hall of Fame. Laura Eanes Martin ’90, a class agent, alum, former faculty member, and former faculty brat, was honored with the Alumnus of the Year Award.
Alumni had the option of playing in the annual alumni baseball game or attending alumni and student presentations. Omar Slowe ’97 showed his fellow alums the power of the professional networking site, LinkedIn. He is a member of the Special Situations Capital Markets team at Redi Markets, a boutique, leveraged-finance firm in midtown New York and uses the site as an effective networking tool. Earlier in the day, Gunn Scholar Jason Boileau ’10 gave a walking tour of the Ehrick Rossiter houses in the area including an interior visit of Rockgate which was a focus in his yearlong research. Faculty members gave demonstration classes in physics, pottery wheel, and creative writing.
“The school has gotten bigger,” said Jeff. “but hasn’t lost the personal feeling that you get when you walk around campus. It is bigger, but it doesn’t feel bigger.”