REUNIONS &VISITS ISB Alumni

By: Harold ALBERT

With the COVID-19 pandemic now at least somewhat in the past, ISB Alumni can now get back to the business of reunions both large and small, and offering campus visits to their alma mater.

One of the important elements of an alumni group associated with a school is the organization of reunions. At ISB it’s not clear what type of reunions may have been organized prior to the 1980s, but the ISB Network Alumni Association was created specifically because a group of alumni from the 70s wanted to have a reunion. From the

Network’s start in 1983, the group, primarily based in the United States, has evolved into a large organization that annually contributes to ISB a scholarship and community service fund while also organizing a large ISB reunion every two years.

The most recent reunion took place in July of 2021 in Tucson, Arizona, and was a great success, even with the specter of COVID casting its shadow over the festivities. Coming up in the summer of 2023 the Network is hosting its next reunion scheduled to be held in Daytona Beach, Florida in early August of 2023. For more information you can visit https://isbnetwork.com/.

International School Bangkok also organizes reunions for its alumni, but the focus has been on organizing large reunions for important milestones, like the 50th Anniversary reunion that took place in January of 2002 organized by the one and only Freda Williams. While a one night celebration for the 65th anniversary took place in 2017, and while we are hoping we can still do something for the 70th anniversary that was passed last school year, the next major event will be organized for ISB’s 75th anniversary, which will most likely take place during the 2026-27 school year.

The ISB Network and the ISB school-planned reunions are not the only events that take place, not by a longshot. Individual groups and classes both in Thailand and overseas have frequently taken the lead in planning very successful reunions, somewhat smaller in scope, perhaps, but equally as important to the alumni in attendance. For example, in August of 2018 a group from the mid-1990s organized a very successful dinner for alumni in New York City. Similarly, in July of 2019 a group of Japanese alumni organized a great, one-day celebration in Tokyo with nearly 100 ISB alumni in attendance.

A model of a type of reunion that can be organized in Bangkok is the 2018 10-year reunion planned by the ISB Class of 2008. Organized well in advance by a small group of dedicated alums, the reunion included one event on-campus and another the next night at a venue in town. The on-campus portion of the event included an assembly, a tour of the campus, a community service activity, shopping at the ISB Booster Store, and dinner at a nearby restaurant. The reunion attracted over 70 graduates from the Class of ’08 including many former students who traveled in to Thailand from overseas. It was followed by the 10-year celebration of the Class of 2009 the following year. While most classes will not plan this type of reunion very often, it is perfect for milestones like 10, 15, 20 or 25year celebrations. It was a shame that COVID intervened, as the classes of 2000 and 2010 had made plans to celebrate their 20th and 10th anniversaries. Currently in the planning stages are a 20-year reunion for the Class of 2003 scheduled for December of 2023 (contact: Vanessa Stoessel), and a 10-year reunion for the Class of 2014 in early 2024 (contact Yasuaki Jitsuyama via the FB group “Class of 2014 Reunion”).

Some classes have, in fact, organized multiple reunions over the years. ISB alumni from the late 1980s have held two Bangkok-based events, while grads from the early 1990’s have done the same. In fact, the 1990s group, led by Olivier (Ziggy) Bonard, Sabina Vogt, and Laxmi Sachdev have an event on tap for August 5-8, 2023 scheduled to take place at the Anantara Resort in Hua Hin. For more information you can contact Ziggy via Facebook or Linkedin.

For those looking further into the near future, a group of former ISB students led by Lloyd Coleman (class of 1973) and Maile McCoskrie Busby (1967) are organizing a large group reunion starting in the United States and making its way to Bangkok and ISB in January of 2024. The tour which includes a wide variety of events and venues has a maximum number of 250 places. This should prove to be an amazing event, for more information, contact Lloyd Coleman at TheBangkokReunion2@gmail.com.

With the COVID-19 pandemic pretty much in the rear view mirror, it became possible for alumni to once again visit the ISB campus. It takes a bit of planning ahead (an appointment is necessary), but over the past few months or so a number of ISB alumni have taken advantage of this opportunity.

for your thirty years of dedication to ISB, to our students and to our community. Your guidance, wisdom and suport will be missed. Congatulations!

...and yes, you hold the record for most submissions to Touchstone Magazine!