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Reuniting, Reminiscing, and Renewing Connections Across Fifty Years
Episode 17117th August 2026 • Looking Forward Our Way • Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson
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Imagine reconnecting with classmates after 50 years—rekindling memories, building new traditions, and leaving a legacy for future generations. That’s exactly what the Otterbein University Class of 1976 achieved, and in this episode, you’ll hear their step-by-step journey.

Unlock the secrets to a successful college reunion with firsthand stories from Otterbein’s 50th class committee leaders.

Hosts Carol Ventresca (Otterbein Class of 1976) and Brett Johnson sit down with reunion co-chairs Lizette Peter and Chuck Erickson to explore the behind-the-scenes work of organizing Otterbein University’s 50th Golden Reunion.

Discover honest insights about rallying classmates from all over the country, building energy in the group, managing logistics, choosing a meaningful class gift, and adapting traditions for today’s alumni and students.

Key Takeaways:

  • How to engage and motivate classmates who haven’t connected in decades
  • Effective strategies for planning successful events across multiple time zones
  • The importance of focusing on fun and camaraderie to drive attendance and involvement
  • Tips for choosing a legacy class gift that truly benefits current and future students
  • Reflections on how college and community dynamics have changed over 50 years—and what remains timeless

If you like this episode, please let us know. We appreciate the feed back, and your support of offset costs of producing the podcast!

What is the focus of the "Class of 1976" episode of Looking Forward Our Way?

The episode centers on the Otterbein University Class of 1976 as they prepare for their 50th reunion, featuring stories and experiences from committee co-chairs and discussions about the reunion planning process, campus changes, and the impact of alumni involvement. 00:16

What makes the Otterbein Class of 1976 reunion special?

The reunion emphasizes fun, reconnection with classmates, and the introduction of a meaningful class gift to support current students through the READY program, aiming to make a lasting impact on graduating seniors. 05:21 18:39

What advice do the co-chairs have for future reunion organizers?

They recommend including everyone, focusing on personal outreach, keeping the event affordable and fun, and maintaining beloved traditions like the Schneider’s donut run. 36:09 36:55

We would love to hear from you.

Give us your feedback, or suggest a topic, by leaving us a voice message.

Email us at [email protected].

Find us on Bluesky and Facebook.

Please review our podcast on Google!

And of course, everything can be found on our website, Looking Forward Our Way.

Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios. A production of Circle 270 Media® Podcast Consultants.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Copyright 2026 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson

Mentioned in this episode:

Listener Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the experts interviewed on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast hosts or any affiliated organizations. The information provided in these interviews is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with qualified professionals for specific advice or information related to their individual circumstances. The podcast host and producers do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information provided by the experts interviewed. Listener discretion is advised.

Transcripts

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We are Looking Forward Our Way. Hi, this is Brett. Baby boomers

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are making milestones yearly. There is something magical about the number

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50. A 50th anniversary. Whether it's high school or college

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graduations or wedding anniversaries, those milestones are celebrated. Today

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we're going to explore the magic of 50 with members of the Otterbein University

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class of 1976 preparing for their own 50th

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reunion. Let's welcome this year's co chairs of the Otterbein Golden

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Reunion Committee, Lizette Peter, calling in from Austin,

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Texas. And Chuck Erickson, a retired lawyer, again

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residing in central Ohio. Thanks to both of you for joining

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us. You're welcome. Well, you're welcome. It's

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good to see both of you. And,

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you know, I'm always disclosing something to our audience.

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Needless to say, and it kills me to

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say I'm disclosing that I'm part of this milestone

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committee from Otterbein. This,

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I think at our first zoom meeting, we said we can't possibly

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be this old or something. You know, 50. 50 seems crazy,

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but so. But over the past few months, I've been

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describing our journey to Brett. He

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suggested so this is his fault that we document

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the work that we're doing and share our story as it's really

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special to so many people across the country who are also

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celebrating these milestones. But before we

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delve into the celebration, we first want to learn more

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about each of you. So, Chuck, why don't you begin the conversation

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telling us about your background, and then Lisette can tell us about her

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career journey. Well, I won't go back past

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50 years, so let's just start with. After

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graduating from Otterbein, I headed south to

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University of Arkansas for grad school. And

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except for marrying my Otterbein

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sweetheart, I had very little contact with

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Ohio. After I finished schooling,

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I started work with an international oil and gas company in

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Tulsa, Oklahoma. And after a year, they

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decided to transfer me to Houston, where I kind

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of rode the up and down cycle of the oil and gas industry for the

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next 30 years. And eventually, when it got

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time for the swan song, my

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wife decided that maybe it was time to come back to

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Ohio. So we ended up settling in a small college

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town called Westerville. And

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slowly but surely, I got involved a little bit in some

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Otterbein activities. They gotcha. They got you. They have your number.

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Lisette, tell us about your journey. I did a five year

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plan at Otterbein. I went back another year for the Equivalent of a home

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economics degree. I taught

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at a business college for a year, which was

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formative because I realized teaching was not my gift.

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And I started a master's program at Ohio State

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Textiles and Clothing with a spin towards history

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of textiles and fashion.

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And I was in retailing, and

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that's just a miserable career path.

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And so I had an opportunity to interview with a

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telecommunications company experiencing

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exponential growth, gte.

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And they were trying to diversify management ranks.

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So I flew down for an interview in Dallas.

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I got the offer, I took it. And There you go,

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1981. And I was with that company

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almost 20 years. Very cool. And it was

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very interesting. A shout out

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to Ohio State's textile program. They have an incredible, incredible

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costume collection which people don't realize. So that had to

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be a lot of fun, even if retail. Yeah, I had.

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I. I did the camp counselor route and realized

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quickly I could not be a teacher. Oh, yeah,

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12 year old girls. It was miserable. Yeah, no,

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it was. It's just not my gift. Yeah, no, not mine either.

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Well, although the Otterbein staff and philanthropy and alumni

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engagement are quite coordinating the overall program, your committee is deriving

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the essence of the reunion, including individual events, how

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to honor classmates, defining the class gift project, and get

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togethers. How do you sync together a diverse group of classmates that have

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not necessarily been together for 50 years, live across the

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country for time zones and still make mutual

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decisions. I'll throw this at Lisette. What techniques have you found to work

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well with this diverse group?

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Well, I think you have to focus on what matters.

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Randy Adams is responsible for program development and

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his. I completely embrace his

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desire for it to be fun. So the screen I use

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is. Is it fun? If it's fun, let's do it.

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Because then everything else falls into place and we

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can sell attending the reunion

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to people who may not have been back for 30 years on

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a walk down memory lane filled with fun.

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Lisette, I've been really amazed because the six

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of us on the committee, again, going from New York

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to California, you

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and Luann were close from sorority, but the rest of

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us, really, we didn't cross paths. Yeah, we haven't. We haven't

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crossed paths in 50 years. Right. Other than if we run into

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somebody at a homecoming. But it's. It's all.

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There really was no bump in the road. No, it.

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It's. It's been kind of

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seamless, even though it's been so many years.

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And it's. It's been actually

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quite fun and quite. I didn't I never expected it

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to be so easy or so fun. I mean, it's a lot.

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It's a lot of work. It's. It. This committee works for

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almost a year. I mean, we. They were kind of talking to us last

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year and we really got together December. We had our first

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Zoom meeting in December. And it's

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really a lot of time and effort, using our

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resources, ideas, talking to the Otterbein

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folks constantly. Chuck, you and Lisette are

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co chairs. What drove you to take on the leadership role

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and the effort that it takes to celebrating yourself

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and your classmates? Well, it wasn't

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something I was thinking about two years ago. I think

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the impetus was that I was invited to the class

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of 75 major get together at their

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reunion last year. And I realized how fun it was

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to see all these people I hadn't seen a long time and caught

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up, and I said that was a lot of fun. And

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then one of the committee members from the class of 75, our

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buddy Carl, suggested that I join

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a Zoom call to do a post mortem for the Class of

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75's reunion. I realized I was the only

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member of the class of 76 on that call.

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So all of a sudden there were calls the would you consider

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chairing? And I wasn't quite sure whether I wanted

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to do that. And then our friend Carl said, well,

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perhaps you and Lisette could do it. And

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Lisette and I didn't run in the same circles at Otterbein, but we

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called and had a conversation and thought, why not?

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So that's. That's how I ended up. Voluntold or

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volunteering? Yes, Voluntold. Have you

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pinpointed somebody for 77? I have been

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thinking of some people. I. I hope they will answer the

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invitation to come to our. We probably don't want to put their name or

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their. Say their name on the podcast so they don't get any

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advanced. Advanced degree. Wait a minute. I thought

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somebody had already volunteered to chair

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for 77. Oh, really? Well, so Mary Beth

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indicated on one of our

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monthly calls, good for them. I know

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nothing more than that. Well, you know, that's okay. We could. They can sit in

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on our final. Get our final zoom.

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Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, Lizette, there are several committee members

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in this venture, both the main committee and. And lots of assistance

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moving the tasks along. What's driving them? I mean, how do you continue

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to build the energy, encourage the group, and create a successful event over

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such a long time period? Over a year, maybe. Well over a year,

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maybe. I'M working with some. One

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gal, Jan Conley, Mayville

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friend from undergrad from the days and

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she's in Westerville. And she's been

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so helpful planning local

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details and reaching out to people. Same with Deb

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Caso. People just like the idea of

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gathering together and having the

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opportunity to reminisce.

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I think what drives people too is that the

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response is. Is positive generally. And

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we're seeing more and more people saying, yeah, I'll consider coming. So it's.

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It's getting larger and larger. More people are

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being contacted and. And so it's. It seems like we're going

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to have a. Maybe a bigger group. Bigger group. Bigger group each month.

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Well, you know, one thing that they. They do with the registration, they post

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who's coming. And I think that does bring people in. Oh yeah,

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Randy's coming. So we want to. Our one

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Tony Award winner in our class. Everybody wants

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to see him. So I do think that that helps. But, you

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know, it seems like we're seeing

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a loyalty to the school that maybe we

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didn't realize was there and a loyalty to each other.

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That may be one motivation as to why committees like ours put

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are willing to put all this time and effort. I mean, I

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think most of us are retired. Well, not. No, half of us are

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retired on the committee. It's not. Several are still working full

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time. So it's not like. I think that's you, isn't it? No, no.

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Randy's the one who's working full time. I think

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Elaine's still working too. Yeah, Elaine works.

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Definitely those two. I'm busy. I'm not working, I'm

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busy. There's a difference. But

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Chuck, was there something about the Otterbein experience

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that stands out for you? Or is it what's most memorable

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that underscores your willingness to be involved in this?

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I suppose you can look back at different segments

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of your life and kind of compartmentalize those certain

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time spans that were influential in

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your life that you can really look back on. And my

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years at Otterbein were one of those errors. You know, here we

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are essentially away from you and Taylor Swift have an

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era. Oh, yeah, how about that? I'll go on tour.

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But Otterbein was really formative in that it really

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allowed me to figure out who I am, what

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I want to do. And I did that with a group of friends.

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And I think back to those experiences. And to the friends,

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not so much Otterbein itself. I mean, they provided the foundation

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for that, but it was the experience with the Friends. And

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at this point in my life, I'm trying to

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reminisce and recollect or make memories.

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And so it's the friendships that we experienced together and all

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the fun we had, and those are what is

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driving me to get back together with. With my friends

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that I hadn't seen in some. In 50 years. One

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of the things that, for the

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members of our audience who are from central Ohio, realize

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that what Westerville looks like today is nothing

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like what Westerville looked like in the 70s. There was

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literally nothing north of County Line Road but

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cornfield. And now I live

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about 12 or 14 miles north of County Line Road,

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and another 20 miles north of me is nonstop

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housing. So it's just a very different

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community. Which means that when we were in Westerville at

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Otterbein, the community around us was really

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small. So the people on campus were much

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more. Had a bigger role in our world

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than what they probably have today. Yeah, we didn't have cars. Right.

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You didn't have social media. So our whole life was on that campus.

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And most. Most students lived on campus, right? Yeah. So

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you really created quite a little community

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there and some very close friends. It kind of was

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a cocoon. But I always give Otterbein

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a lot of credit, and they still do this. To have a lot of

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programs, academically based programs, for students

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to work out off campus, to be

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learning off campus. And I think that made a difference. It made a huge

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difference for me. Or I think I could have gotten a little bored

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because it was such a small entity. Right? Yeah. Oh, yeah,

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sure. Well, Lizette, I've heard there are many moving parts to your

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reunion. We've actually kind of talked about that here too, already. What have you

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found to be essential in making all those pieces fall together? And really, more

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specifically, have you found it easy to appease everyone's wishes? I mean,

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everybody comes to this committee, I'm sure, with ideas, thoughts of, well,

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that's going to work. That'd be great. No, I don't want to do it that

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way. Or has it been fairly easy?

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Has everybody been kind of on board? I think

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everyone's been on board. And, you know, we've

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been out of college 50 years. Surely we should

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know by now we don't get everything we want.

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I do, but, you know,

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when you work with a group of people, you kind of

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defer to. It's gotta really matter if I'm. If I'm gonna

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disagree. It's gotta really matter. Are you gonna die? Are

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you gonna die on that hill just go along with it. Yeah, yeah. For

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me, personally. Well. And as you mentioned earlier, I mean,

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Randy kind of hit the theme, we're going to have fun.

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And how do you

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discourage having fun? By wanting your way.

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But we really. I don't know that we

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have a lot of decisions to make.

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No. And one of the way that we kind of did structure that,

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we were very fortunate to get people on the committee

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that had a certain skill set. We talk about Randy and

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his theater production. So he was in charge of

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programming, and we let him kind of run with that, and he

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kind of formed it and then came back and asked what kind of tweaks.

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You were very helpful in getting our class gift

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formulated. And you just kind of narrowed down choices and

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said, what do you think about these? So the committee wasn't

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doing everything on every topic. And so it was kind of easy to

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let those in charge of those certain areas

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refine it or define it and let the committee kind of refine it.

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I think that's what made it easy. I think, too.

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When we were talking about the class gift, Chuck and I had

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a lot of conversations and started out with a long list

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of. Of ideas. But as you said, we refined it

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down so the committee didn't have so

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many different issues to deal with. So it was much more pointed.

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Have you found that with the folks you're working with in the areas that you're

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kind of covering? Lisette?

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I think so. I want to speak to the class gift.

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You're right. A wide

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range of possibilities were presented.

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I'm very proud of the committee having

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honed in on a gift

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that so specifically benefits

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graduating students. Kudos

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to both you, Carol, and Chuck for

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getting something that's such a direct

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contribution. Well, I'm excited.

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And as of today, which is we're doing

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this taping in June, our class has already

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pledged $50,000 to our endowment.

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Our goal is 76,000 to go with our class of

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1976, but hopefully we'll get more.

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But when we were having those discussions, one of

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the. We had, like, there was a program that we talked about

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endowing a fund, but it was really an alumni program as opposed

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to a student program. And I was really proud. One of our classmates said,

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no, we really need to give back to the students. So

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I think we all were really on the

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same page. May have taken bits and pieces to get

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it together, but we hit the same page, right? Yeah.

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Okay. Yeah. Well, I. I'm

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pleased for what we're doing. It's going to

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be a great program. And kudos to Otterbein for

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creating this program called the Ready Program, which is a

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four year career exploration program. So

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to actually have something that the students after

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walk, instead of walking out with just student debt, they're going to walk out

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with being prime job candidates

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and likely having a job. So that, that was important.

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So. Because that is again, a resource we didn't have. Otterbein was a small

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campus and we didn't have a career services unit

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when we graduated, so. Well, but it was a

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different day too, Carol. Absolutely. Absolutely.

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You know what's been. This

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is probably tangential to your. Your series of questions,

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but it's been interesting to me to be

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on campus and participate in these activities

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and realize that the campus of

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the 70s

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doesn't exist the way we experienced it.

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You know, it's 50% students living

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off campus. Yeah. It's. It's a very different

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environment, preparing for a very different

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work experience. And

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it brought me up short. And I've raised three kids and put them all, gotten

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them all through college. And I'm like, gee, I don't know why I didn't realize

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what my kids were going through the way I think I do now looking at

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Otterbein 70s versus today. So

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I would agree with you. I wouldn't be that age for loving her

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money right now. It's much harder for

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these young folks today. Oh, well, I think they're just stepping

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into an environment. I would not. It

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would be a big learning curve for me to function in it. I think I

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could. But technically it would be a big learning curve, as

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you both know. So we've sort of

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talked through this notion of how the committee is on the same page.

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Chuck. Committee members are talking to classmates,

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encouraging people to come, talking about the events that we're going to have

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and the class gift and everything. What do you feel

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is most important that we achieve

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in making this event a success? You know, in your

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conversations with classmates, are they making suggestions on

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what's important to them as they visit campus? Or has anyone

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alluded to, you know, a particular thing they really like?

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A bonfire. Do they want a bonfire? Do they want to wear their

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beanies? What exactly? Well, I think

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one of the themes or suggestions

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that we've already tossed around was that

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success is having a good turnout and that it was

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fun. Yeah. Underlying fun and not so

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structured where you have a lot of people talking at you.

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It's just that the chance, time and space to

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reconnect. And I think the committee

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has tried to Be

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creative with that. Some good suggestions on how we can

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have forums to just have

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opportunities to visit. And

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in the realm of fun, we came up with the concept of

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making sure we have a donut run to Schneider's built into our

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program. So when I told a couple people that,

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they said, I'm in, I'm coming. We're able

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to bring the traditions up 50 years and still

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do that. There were many donut runs to Schneider's at 5 in the morning.

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So you're planning a 5am run. Oh, gotcha. No, they're taking

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care of us late at night. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.

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Bless their hearts. Yes. So

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it's been interesting to talk to classmates and hear their

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tales. One of the fun things about our meetings, Chuck

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comes up with a question that we have to we talk about before

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we start each zoom meeting. Okay. And so what was this?

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Past one was last one. If I was going to look for you in

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the library, what level would I find you on

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and what time of the day? Good question. Oh my gosh,

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that's great. Yeah. So we, we had. We have a good time even

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starting our meeting. Yeah. Yeah. Lizette Otterbein's

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not only receiving funding through your class gift, but also

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going to gain goodwill through it with alumni, hopefully leading to a greater future

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funding. Do you think donations are the most important advantage

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for the school and current students, or are there other factors that make

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an alumni reunion vital to a college campus?

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Well, I would lean into the camaraderie

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in some fun act re establish during the fun

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activities because it brings back

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memories. And then with the memories, you think, well,

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maybe maybe down the road or maybe as I

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look at what to do with this estate or these

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assets. But

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my priority is

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creating

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activities that allow people to

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reconvene. I'm really proud

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of our class legacy gift. But if people

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return and they're unable to contribute, all the

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more welcome. You know, the other thing that really

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the class gift kind of gives us entree to

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is that ready program is

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really looking for connections between alumni and students

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to help students in their career goals.

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So even though it's not part of our alumni weekend and our

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programming, they have a ready day two

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days before our reunion starts.

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And if alumni can come back a few days early, they'll have an

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opportunity to meet and talk to students across

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campus and help in, you know,

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what are the kinds of things you need to think about in your career today?

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How do you. Who does what? You know, so and

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so's a doctor. So and so's a Broadway producer. There are

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people out there that are alumni. Even though Otterbein was a small school,

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alumni that can really help. So that is kind of an added

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bonus for our gift. I think that that

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that's part of what Carl's hoping to

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talk to you about as well, Carol. Right, Right. Yeah. The class of

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75 is looking for some additional

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opportunities to support students, so hopefully we

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can make that work for them, too. That's a benefit. Absolutely. What comes

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about from these reunions? Well, yes, absolutely. And, you know, the other thing,

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too, in terms of our fundraising for the class gift.

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In the 70s, alumni relations and

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fundraising or development, whatever they call it, was very

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different, particularly on a small campus than it is today.

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I mean, alumni relations goes gangbusters

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after a new alum trying to keep people connected. Well,

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we walked away from Otterbein's campus and, you know,

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unless there was a particular reason or you went back for homecoming, nobody talked to

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you. The assumption was you didn't have any money, so they weren't going

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to bring you back. But it's a different ballgame.

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So us being able to bring our

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classmates back is opening doors for

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Otterbein to talk to people that they may not

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have heard from in 50 years. So that's huge.

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So both of you have kind of been engaged with Otterbein

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over the past years. And either sorority or fraternity events.

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How do you see your future connection to Otterbein and

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the students? You know, is this 50th reunion going to change that future

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relationship? Either of you? Well,

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I would say that before relocating back to

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Westerville after retirement,

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I was in Texas and working and

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wearing your cowboy hat. No. No hat.

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No cows. No hat. And raising kids. I'm not

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a gun. Sorry.

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And so we didn't come. There wasn't the

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opportunity to come back to Otterbein for

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homecomings or any other events. So I

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was kind of off the grid with regard to

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Otterbein. Got a little more involved when

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my daughter decided to go to Otterbein. So there

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was a couple trips there and reconnect with some friends

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and. But then went back and live my life in

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Texas. When I came back and ended up

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in Westerville, someone reached out to

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me from the alumni office and asked if I'd serve on the alumni council,

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which I did. Had a lot of fun there and got

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involved in some activities there. And then. So then

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a couple years later, there's the reunion committee.

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So I had a little reluctance, but

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it wasn't that bad. So. So all Those fraternity

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brothers were not on your radar screen. No. And if I thought

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about it, when we left,

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there were no cell phones. There was no social media for

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until the 90s. And so we

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just drifted apart. Except for one who just happened

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to have a daughter my daughter's age. And we met at

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the offer

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what you get when the kids first come to school. There's orientation.

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There you go. That's the word. And we met and had a good

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conversation and then swap phone numbers then. So

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kept in touch with him, but really

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didn't get too much involved with

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Otterbein until I got back. So as a result of the

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reunion, I've been contacted a couple times from

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different groups to see if I could help out in one thing or the

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other. And it. It's. It's not very painful.

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It's a lot of fun usually. So I think I'll continue

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to be available when. When they call.

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Well, it's always fun when somebody's actually listening to you, which they didn't do when

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we were students. So, Lisette, how much have you been doing

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since over the last 50 years with the sorority or any other

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groups I

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like. Chuck was rather off grid. Were it not for

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Marsha Harding neater, I probably never would have

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returned. And she was miss Otterbein? Oh,

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she was. We were in the same sorority, and she was just. She

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was just an avid Otter

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vinyl. And let's

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see, I came back to two or three homecomings,

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once with our. Our oldest

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child as an infant. And then Marcia called.

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It was going to be the hundredth anniversary of the

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founding of our sorority, and

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I wasn't going to come. And she's like, lizette, you have to come.

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Marcia. Why would I come? Lizette, this is a big deal. You have

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to. I mean, she badgered me and

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I returned. And

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I'm thankful for that. And

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so when Stephanie wrote and asked

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if I'd help with the reunion, I heard, marcia,

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Lizette, you really need to do this. So here I

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am on this committee, slowly re.

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Engaging with them. A college that I have wonderful

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memories of, but I've done nothing. Which is

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why I find it almost amusing that I'm helping with this reunion, because

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half the time I don't remember. I can't place faces with

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names. And I'm like, so. I feel

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like I'm cold calling. But I'm good at that. I can. I talk to people

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really easily. It works. It works. You know, I.

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The one thing that since I've

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always been in central Ohio, that

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I've Kept a lot of connections. And Dean Van Sant, bless

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her heart, would find you. If you lived in central

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Ohio and she needed help on something, she would find you. But she was an

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incredible mentor. But I think it is

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very different when you don't live close. But I

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have to say, one time I was looking at some statistics on

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Otterbein And I think 70% of

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alumni Otterbein alumni lived in Ohio.

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So there really is a huge gathering of

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people, not only Ohio, but central Ohio. Yeah, I mean, they're

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20 miles away. Right, Right. Yep. Absolutely.

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Isn't that interesting? It really is. There

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were some. I had some suggestions that they didn't listen

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to that were for alumni programming. But I'm

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like, you've got everybody here. I mean, Buckeye Nation for

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Ohio State is huge, but it also goes across the world.

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So they can have a very small percentage and still have a lot of people

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here in Ohio. But to think that a small school like Otterbein

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has so many people still in the state, I thought was really

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interesting. So. Yeah. Well, what do you both hope the

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Audubon community is going to understand about the class of

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1976 after this reunion? How do you think the campus will view

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your class 50 years from now? I'll start with Lisette.

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Oh, 50 years from now. I hope one year

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later they think it's got to be as much fun as this class of

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76 reunion weekend was. That's one

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50 years out. I hope that we'll have. That

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the class gift will have made a difference in

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graduating seniors lives and that it

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becomes a template for future

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career preparation

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as the world continues to evolve. Right. That was

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one I think too. One of the

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underlying ideas that the committee had when we

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chose the READY program as the gift was that

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my belief is you give money to a thing that you know the

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money is going to be spent on. And so this was a very

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specific project and it

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could be called anything. But a career

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enhancement for students is going to always be needed.

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And so, yeah, hopefully our legacy is that we were pivotal

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to that. That need. Well, and also

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that we, we can

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step up and support our alma mater. I think the,

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the broad brush that's been painted on the

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classes of the 70s was we were kind of the checked out generation.

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We don't have big numbers of. Of our

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classes supporting the annual fund or things like

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that. And so I'd like to think that maybe we could

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change our perception of being checked out and that we did

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step up and like Lisette said, make an impact on

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students and future students with our class gift. Good.

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That's wonderful. So for our listeners,

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I hope you kind of enjoyed this episode

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and it gives you motivation to be involved in any of

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your communities, in any events that may be

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coming around for you that whether it's an anniversary

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celebration for your school or organization or a family

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get together, that you know that social interacting can bring great

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joy and fun in your life too. We always ask

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our guests for their last words of advice.

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So my question to both of you is, you know, what would you advise the

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next class, the graduates of 77 or any

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future 50 year reunion group on

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creating a successful reunion and what's

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most important about that reunion? And how does a reunion

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enhance the lives of the current students and the

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school itself, but also for the classmates?

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I would say follow your heart. If you're thinking

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of gathering with people

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who you've shared wonderful experiences are with,

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follow your heart and

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try and include everybody.

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That's what I would say. Very, very good,

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very good advice. Thank you. I would suggest

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that you try to reach out as much as possible possible

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as far as personal contact with people on the

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list, even if it's cold calling, inviting them to

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come. Keep it inexpensive.

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Yes. Don't let money be a hurdle,

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make it fun and perhaps

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keep Schneider's in the donut run in your

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program. And what does a

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reunion do it, I think as far as the alumni just

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reconnect and rekindles friendships and lots of

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great memories and hopefully for the students, it's an avenue

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to provide additional support and services for them. Wonderful.

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Thank you so much, both of you. Yeah. Many thanks to our guest co

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chairs of the Otterbein 1976 Gold Reunion Committee,

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Lizette Peter and Chuck Erickson for joining us today.

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