REUNION WEEKEND Photos by Annie Card
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hey watched Groton teams compete and learned about the STEM program. They took a behindthe-scenes campus tour and went birdwatching. They discussed the search for a new head of School and sang with the choir. Mostly, though, Groton alumni who attended Reunion Weekend 2012 had one primary goal—to reconnect with old friends and former teachers and to absorb once again the magic of the Circle. About 500 people—alumni from form years ending in 2 and 7 and their families—gathered on campus May 18-20. The veterans among the reuners were nine members of the Form of 1947 and their spouses. Twenty-eight graduates attended from the Form of 1962, a special 50-year celebration. Among the events featuring the Form of ’62 were a screening of George Butler’s award-winning documentary, Roving Mars, and a panel discussion on the varied global experiences of Ken Audroue, who was a foreign service officer; Jim Balano, who traveled the world with the maritime industry; Cal Burrows, who teaches and is involved with the ministry in Israel; David Thorne, the U.S. ambassador
44 | Quarterly Fall 2012
to Italy; and Eiji Tonouchi, who lives in Japan and vividly described the tsunami’s aftermath. A highlight of the weekend was the inaugural induction ceremony for Groton’s new Athletic Hall of Fame (see page 59). Generally, the Distinguished Grotonian Award is presented during Reunion Weekend. The recipient, renowned anthropologist Ward Goodenough ’37 (see page 31), was acknowledged during reunion, but received his award on Prize Day, when Ward was celebrating the graduation of his grandson, Will Goodenough ’12. Per tradition, the Cui Servire Est Regnare Award was presented during Reunion Weekend—to Alyce Jones Lee ’77, former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Alyce now focuses her energy on populations in need: she is a founding trustee and vice chair of the Board of Trustees of Boston Medical Center, the largest “safety net” hospital in New England, and director and founding trustee of Friends of the Sick and Poor, which is improving health, education, and the quality of drinking water in two Ugandan villages.