Culver Mini (-Mini?) Reunion
February 29 – March 1, 2024
Co-organizers: John Davis & Craig Duchossois
It may be a stretch to call this gathering a Mini Reunion (it was less than 20 hours in duration and only included 6 classmates plus one wife). But since I am Webmaster and was there, I am proclaiming it to be one. —JMD
The context: The gathering was spurred by the desire to see how some of our Student Enrichment Funds were being spent. Specifically, our Fund sponsored the campus visit by Dr. Frank Luntz on March 1st. (See this webpage for the details of the event.) Attendees included Bill Cleavenger, John Davis, Craig Duchossois, Doug and Edie Neumann, and Tom Westbrook.
Craig (his ever-gracious self) provided accommodations for the Neumanns and Davis while Alan Loehr (the now Director of Stewardship) set Tom up in one of the Academies’ lodgings. As a local, Bill provided his own accommodations. (An update on Bill: Having stepped away from being Coroner for Marshall County, he is now the President of the Culver Town Council!)
The Davis Description of Events
I arrived on campus about noon on Thursday (February 29th), taking the afternoon to wander around the facilities at a more leisurely pace than is typically available during our quinquennial on-campus Reunions. The rebuild of Main Barrack is coming along well.
I also took the opportunity to visit with Alan Loehr, Anne Kelley (the relatively-new Director of Alumni Engagement), and Amber Payne (Anne’s office manager and lead for creating our class newsletters).
The Mini “formally” started with us gathering that evening for dinner at Papa’s Restaurant (across from the old root beer stand at the bend in Lake Shore Drive). With “locals” Bill and Craig in our party, we were well taken care of.
Here is the only picture that was taken of all 5 classmates (with Frank Luntz). HOWEVER, I am totally chagrined that I never got a picture of the 5 of us with Edie also in the picture. (So, so sorry, Edie!)
Doug Neumann, John Davis, Dr. Frank Luntz, Craig Duchossois, Bill Cleavenger, and Tom Westbrook
The next morning (Friday, March 1st) we attended a breakfast for Dr. Luntz in the Schrage Leadership Center (by the lake; behind Eppley, on land previously occupied by the old motel). Next, we joined the audience in the Alumni Lounge of the Legion Memorial Building (the Library in our day) to listen to Dr. Luntz conduct a focus session with 16 students. That was followed by heading over to Eppley for the All-School event where Dr. Luntz was “interviewed” by 2 students (Aislin Schaefer-Murray, CGA ’24, and Eamon Seeley, CMA ’24.). Well, “interviewed by” is how it started, but that didn’t last long. Frank broke from the “script” and went into the audience with microphone in hand, filling the remaining time with some very lively exchanges.
Immediately following the All-School event, we closed out our Mini-Mini with lunch at the ever-popular Café Max in downtown Culver. Some of us had a typical lunch … but some had a second breakfast (i.e., “sinful French toast” or a stack of pancakes).
A fun coincidence: Aislin (the CGA student who was the co-leader of the All-School event with Dr. Luntz) was lunching there as well … along with her mother … and her grandmother … AND her great-grandmother! We had a delightful conversation with them all.
Following lunch, every one (except me) headed off to other commitments. I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around campus, highlighted by giving myself self-guided tours of the two newest barracks: Roberts and Lauridsen. Definitely a major step up from our days on campus. Can’t wait to see the inside of the new Main Barrack.
In the aftermath, we all felt it was definitely worth our time and energy* to make the effort to be there for the event, let alone having the opportunity to spend time with classmates — and Edie.
* More for the Neumanns than the rest of us, but that’s a story for another time
Bottom line: It may have been short and small, but it was a GREAT Mini (-Mini) Reunion.
P.S. Strong rumors are that as of April 1, 2024, Craig will be playing A LOT MORE golf.
