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By Carrie Pasternak ’08
Returning to Lafayette for Reunion is always a happy experience for alumni and this year’s gathering should prove to be no different. Class Reunion Co-Chair Lester W. Wurfel ’73 says he got involved in organizing his class’ reunion because he “wanted a good party,” and this year’s program, like years past, is expected be an outstanding celebration of friendship and academia.
Co-Chair Joel L. Nemec says he enjoys returning to campus and catching up with old friends. “I’ve stayed in contact with a bunch of my good friends from Lafayette, but it’s always great to see some you haven’t seen in a while and find out how their lives are going,” he says.
Wurfel and Nemec were members of Phi Delta Theta fraternity during their years at Lafayette. Wurfel says he’s still very close to many of his fraternity brothers and that several of them get together with their families to go skiing every year. Some of his fondest memories of past reunions include getting together with his fraternity brothers.
While contacting all alumni from a class year to inform them about Reunion seems like a somewhat overwhelming task, Wurfel and Nemec seem to have things well underway. Wurfel gave each of his committee members a number of alumni to contact and he usually assigns people to contact friends or acquaintances from their undergraduate years. He finds that the best people to contact alumni are fellow members of the social living group to which they belonged.
To classmates undecided on whether to return to campus for Reunion, Wurfel says, “I would just remind them what a good time they probably had up at school and that there are people coming back that they know. I think the biggest fear people have coming to a reunion is thinking they won’t know a single person. So when they get a phone call from someone they know saying, ‘I’m coming back [for Reunion],’ they want to come back too.”
Nemec adds that Reunion isn’t solely about former Lafayette students getting together.
“The wives have known each other for many years too, so it’s just great getting back [to campus] and seeing what’s changed,” he says.
Nemec notes that he also has many fond memories of Lehigh-Lafayette games, Lafayette golfing events, and other mini-reunions with friends. In addition, Nemec says he has wonderful memories of visiting his daughter, Courtney Nemec ’02, during her years at Lafayette.