Reunions offer alumni a chance to reconnect

FINGER LAKES--While graduation often means a new beginning for area high school seniors, it also means the end of a significant era in their lives. Yet, as students graduate and go their separate ways, many often remember where they came from and become nostalgic of their high school days. While the methods vary from school to school, there are often ways area alumni can find to reunite with those whom they shared their high school experiences.
Dundee is one of the area schools that has an active alumni association putting on an annual reunion before the new class graduates. Albert Kopec, Dundee class of 1958, described the Dundee Central School Alumni Association as "a very informal association." He said he began his involvement in the group in 1999, as there was interest in starting a website and he was involved with computers. Kopec mentioned while the association has tried to expand their reach digitally, the most consistent way to reach its members has been through the mail.
"At one point we were sending out more than 1,000 invitations," Kopec said. "That was costing us a significant amount of money."
Kopec added they have since cut down on the amount of invitations sent out to around 150 and get the same general result. He mentioned it is very rare that he ever gets interest from people online, adding he shut down the alumni association's website at the beginning of the year. Kopec stated while he received a lot of input from alumni initially, there was virtually no activity on the site in the last three to four years.
"I think it has to do with an age thing," Kopec said.
Kopec said the most they can draw is around 50 people, adding that also included spouses of alumni. He said this year they had 17 people pre-register for the event, adding they had to cancel the event around five years ago due to low participation.
He mentioned the most interest he gets is from those who graduated in the 1950s and early 1960s. Kopec said when he first got involved, there was a lot of interest from those who graduated in the 1930s and 1940s, but as time progresses, there is less interest from more recent classes. For this year's luncheon being held Wednesday, June 24, Kopec said Clarence Sebring, class of 1939, will be representing the earliest class, while one member from the class of 1970 will be representing the latest class.
Kopec said it may take some time before more recent graduates get involved, adding they may be more interested in a reunion after 40 years when they become more nostalgic.
While there is no organized alumni association for graduates of the Penn Yan Central School District, members of each class often have a few individuals who take charge of organizing reunions. While some classes come together every five or 10 years depending on interest or preference, the Penn Yan class of 1959 organizes yearly get-togethers to go along with their big reunions.
Bill Schrouder said they start planning their event a few months in advance and contact the members of their class by mail, phone and email. They post details on their class website and keep their classmates up to date on events.
"With anything like that it takes a little time, but I think what you need most is two or three -- and no more than two or three -- people who are committed to make it happen," Schrouder said. "We started years and years and years ago having get-togethers in the summer. We have been getting together the last Saturday in July for years."
Schrouder added their 50th reunion was huge because it was a milestone event that drew people from all over, but their yearly events usually attract more of the local crowd. He said the hardest parts of organizing the events involved getting everyone's address, but added it gets a little easier every year since it tends to be the same people involved in the process. Schrouder stated his grammar school class also holds reunion events. He mentioned things tend to go smoother planning the event without a large committee, adding just a few dedicated people are usually enough to make it happen.
While there is no alumni association, Schrouder mentioned he would not mind if there was an organized group for all graduates, adding some events can often overlap with those of other classes from the school. He said it worked out for this year that his class will be able to meet up with some members of the class of 1960 during their reunion event, as they have events booked at the same place.

The Watkins Glen Alumni Association will be holding their 90th annual reunion banquet this Saturday, June 27. Association President Peggy Scott said the yearly event usually draws between 200 and 250 people, adding the gathering was always more of an informal process in the years leading up to 2006, when the alumni formed an official association.
"The primary goal was to keep this alumni banquet going," Scott said. "We wanted to make sure it would continue. In addition to that, since it has been a formalized association, we have recognized distinguished alumni and have provided three scholarships to graduating seniors. We will do this again this year, with scholarship totals being $5,000 for the three of them."
Scott said one of the ways to get the members of the current year's graduating class to attend is to make it a requirement they attend the banquet to receive the scholarship. She mentioned it also helps involvement in the reunion by making a milestone class host the event, adding it is still open for all alumni to attend.
"Every class is different," Scott said. "We try to focus on those five year increment classes, so the ones who are celebrating the big 50 years or the 25 year classes host it. We always get people who come every year regardless of what year they graduated in."
Scott stated the class of 1965 is hosting this year for their 50th anniversary, and are even bringing in their foreign exchange student from out of the country to the event. She mentioned a class usually becomes regularly involved once they host their 25th reunion milestone, although she added the scholarship winners from the class of 2014 last year will be helping out this year as well. Scott said the oldest classes registered so far are from the early 1940s, although she mentioned there is usually a member from the class of 1938 she is hoping will attend again.
The organization now tends to contact its membership through email, while also posting information on their website. Scott said in the years leading up to the association's official founding in 2006, the annual banquet was more a word-of-mouth process for bringing in attendees.
"They always said they had [an association] before, but there weren't membership dues and it wasn't a legal kind of thing," Scott said.