We held the event at The Whiskey Republic, which is owned by a member of the Dropkick Murphys. I bet during the summer this place is hopping! Located just off Rte 95, it’s on the water with yacht berths out in front. Our waitress was very friendly, helpful and attentive, especially when I said it would all be on one check instead of separate ones! It was a small gathering as there are only 184 alumni (according to EverTrue) in the state of Rhode Island, but they were all appreciative since they can’t get up to the Boston events easily.
The first to arrive was my brother, Greg ’86. Greg is the CFO of Murdock Webbing, which produces high strength webbing for seat belts and parachutes. They have a factory in Providence and another down in North Carolina.
Jon McGowan ‘03 had just returned from his honeymoon to Jamaica on Tuesday (it was fun to watch him constantly fiddle with his wedding band). Jon is a great guy! Outgoing and personable. He is a sales distributor for wine and beer. His wife is an office manager for a pediatric dental office. Warren Barnett ‘03 was a groomsman in the wedding. Jon did a PG year at Williston, playing football and baseball. He had a group of close friends, including Warren and Ted Wagner. He says that he and Warren will be coming back for the football game on Homecoming (and they came back last year for the basketball game at the Hall of Fame).
Dan Awde ’78 and his wife, Jean Allard, hadn’t been back to Williston in ten years. He and Jean are in commercial real estate, although Jean does more placement of individuals with Alzheimer’s into homes and secures them services. Dan is outgoing but Jean is the life of the party! With each person that came in, she asked, “So tell me your Williston story!” She proclaimed herself an honorary Williston alum at the end of the event. They will try to make it up to the Cambridge event.
Bill Burkhardt ’65 was our oldest alum present. Bill owns a curtain company. Bill has been a faithful returnee for Reunions (back for his 40th and 45th and planning on coming to his 50th). He had me chuckling when I was talking about EverTrue and having the alums download it. He leans over and says, “Um, I have a flip phone!” Oops, sorry! Bill also kept one eye on the TV as he is a big Detroit Tigers fan (sorry, Bill, but the O’s smoked them in Game 1!). I told him that several of his classmates were coming to the event in Cambridge so he may drive up to attend. I also encouraged him to come to one of the Wildcat functions down in Mystic.
Doug Stark ’90 is currently the Director of the Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. He spoke about coming to campus a few years ago to speak with Peter Gunn’s US History class about the art of footnoting and creating bibliographies after writing a book. Prior to Newport, he worked at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Originally from Holyoke, he was a day student and had two brothers (James ’92 and Nick ’97).
Jade Brennan ’94 was our final attendee. Jade was one of my advisees and I coached her in basketball. Jade moved out of private practice and into the US State Attorney’s Office recently, a move she loves. Jade was back for Reunion Weekend this past year and had a great time. She loved the homebrewing session with Matt Spearing and really wants to taste the beer they brewed. Matt told me recently that he has it all bottled and waiting for them if they come back this year.
Everyone who was there seemed to have a good time.