I hope everyone is home safe and sound from Vegas, and that your livers are recovering. I know time and treasure are limited and valuable, so it means a great deal that each of you (and your spouses) made the effort. Echoing what James said at dinner, things don’t end here.
In our 20s we don’t care much about high school. In our 30s we hit our stride professionally and personally, and we realize we knew nothing in our 20s. Our brain has finished baking. We come to understand ourselves. Maybe we decide about children, and in doing so roughly outline the rest of our lives. By 40 it’s about teenage kids (if you went that way), or enjoying all your free time and extra money (if you went a different way).
However, in our 50s, 60s, and 70s — I’ve noticed — humans begin to look back at the places and institutions that made them. Finally, we seem to realize it took a village to get us wherever we got. Later in life we (hopefully) have discretionary time and money, for maybe the first time. Leesville, however, has no 50, 60, or 70 year old graduates. There’s just us.
I feel strongly it’s our job to create the infrastructure and rhythms of an alumni association now, so when our classmates are ready they have something in place to join.
What that exactly means is up for discussion. Funding an endowment? Meeting remotely (not Raleigh) every 3 or 5 years? Meeting locally (in Raleigh) every year in Fall at a game? Whatever it means, we are the ones who will figure it out. It’s up to us.
And it’s exciting. We have the chance to create a community where none has existed. So let’s keep up the discussion. Encourage alumni to join and use Slack. I’d like to start an every other month casual remote gathering online for those interested and available. Encourage people to come to the next local or remote gathering. Spread the word to your orbit. It will be slow going at first, but I think will pick up speed as we age.
Reach out and let’s discuss this next chapter.