Reunion Wrapup
Monday November 20, 2006 Category: Events/Reunion Permanent Link
Dear ‘96 Classmates:
It was so great to see you and all of your friends and family at our 10th Reunion! An almost record breaking 549 adults and 36 children joined us in Ithaca in June to celebrate the ten years since we graduated. Here is a recap of the weekend:
West Campus changed a lot since we were undergrads. Several of the U-Halls have already been torn down to make way for Alice Cook and Carl Becker Houses, part of the new residential college system. Classmates stayed in Class of ‘18 and Class of’26 Halls. I’m sure many of you have fond memories of freshman year in a U-Hall. We were fortunate to have our Class Headquarters in Noyes Center, which is soon to be demolished to make way for a new community center facility. We had a lounge area, pool tables, a popcorn machine and a big screen TV for classmates to enjoy throughout the weekend.
Classmates arrived bright and early Thursday morning, and were greeted with wet and chilly weather that unfortunately persisted throughout the weekend. But we made the most of it! Thursday evening, we kicked off Reunion with a Nostalgic Movie Night. Classmates watched Forrest Gump, Dumb and Dumber, and other blockbuster movies from our time on the Hill. Later that night, we went to Stella’s for Bar Night. The bartenders made a mean cosmo, and it was great to see the crowd there enjoying their first night back in Ithaca.
On Friday, classmates enjoyed a variety of lectures, athletic events and tours sponsored by the University, Susan Murphy, the Vice President of Student and Academic Services, gave us an update on the major changes on campus over the past ten years, including all the new facilities, technology, and services available to students. Friday night, we enjoyed a barbecue under our headquarters tent, and then headed to the Arts Quad for music, drinks and Hot Truck.
Fortunately, the rain stopped on Saturday afternoon and the sun came out for families to enjoy Fun in the Sun on the Arts Quad. There were clowns, moon walks, a train ride, cotton candy and ice cream, and lots of great activities for children to enjoy. Unfortunately, the rain left a muddy mess on the North Campus fields, so we had to move our Saturday reception and dinner indoors into Noyes. But despite this setback, classmates reported having a great time.
On Sunday morning, we had brunch in Noyes and said our goodbyes. Our exhausted group of spectacular clerks packed up headquarters and we all headed home!
Thank you to all of the classmates who helped to make Reunion successful. A special thank you to Erica Gantner and Barefoot Wine for donating all the wine and Barefoot Bubbly that classmates enjoyed throughout the weekend.
In addition, we’d like to thank everyone who helped make our Reunion Campaign efforts such a great success! More than 35 classmates volunteered their time to help spread the word about our campaign. We raised $186,165 from 563 classmates, including 15 Tower Club members, 17 Quadrangle Club members, 28 Charter Society members, and 94 Ivy Society members.
Big thanks to everyone who participated in our campaign. These gifts support countless areas of Cornell and your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Attached is a list of all classmates who supported the class this year, either by attending Reunion, paying class dues or making a gift to Cornell. Your continued support ofthe class and Cornell is greatly appreciated.
If you weren’t able to make it for our 10th, we hope to see you at our 15th Reunion. Over the next five years, we hope to see you all at a class or club event. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. We always publish a class column in the Cornell Alumni Magazine with updates on your classmates. Thanks again, and see you in five years!
Katrina James Lhney Lewis-Steiner
Class of 1996 Reunion Co-Chairs, 10th Reunion
