If You Missed It: A Recap of the Reunion Weekend…[A special thanks to Steve Krohn '67 and Dale Granchalek '69, alums and former Stout student photographers (They were assigned to cover this event 40 years ago and completed that obligation.) who supplied the pictures for this posting]
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The 40th Stout Reunion on October 12 and 13 turned out to be a great alumni event! While renewing old friendships (and making a few new ones!) and reacquainting ourselves with the Stout campus was the main thrust of the weekend, there were a lot of interesting and enjoyable activities aiding the process. Alumni from across the country attended.
The weekend kicked off Friday afternoon with registration (including booklets with information from all classmates who responded to the questionnaire) and a delicious Tea produced and served by current students in the Hospitality major. The evening brought one of the most popular events of the weekend: The wine and food pairing dinner. Stout Hospitality professor Peter D’Souza guided participants through a wine tasting of five different wines paired with a plateful of assorted tidbits chosen to enhance each other’s flavors.
The 40th Stout Reunion on October 12 and 13 turned out to be a great alumni event! While renewing old friendships (and making a few new ones!) and reacquainting ourselves with the Stout campus was the main thrust of the weekend, there were a lot of interesting and enjoyable activities aiding the process. Alumni from across the country attended.
The weekend kicked off Friday afternoon with registration (including booklets with information from all classmates who responded to the questionnaire) and a delicious Tea produced and served by current students in the Hospitality major. The evening brought one of the most popular events of the weekend: The wine and food pairing dinner. Stout Hospitality professor Peter D’Souza guided participants through a wine tasting of five different wines paired with a plateful of assorted tidbits chosen to enhance each other’s flavors.
The tasting was followed by a buffet meal prepared by Jenni Elliot from locally grown and natural foods, including grass-fed beef, free-range chickens, trout canapés, etc., (plus Legacy chocolates), where we put our new-found knowledge to work, matching our portions with the same 5 wines. By the evening’s end, we could all “see, swirl, smell, sip, slurp, swish, swallow, and savor” with the best of them.
The following morning, about a dozen hardy souls braved the 50 degree weather to walk the Red Cedar Trail. A considerably larger group attended the breakfast, which included a brief chat with Chancellor Sorenson and some “I remember” moments. From there, the golfers headed to the Menomonie Golf and Country Club, while the majority joined deans and professors for either tours of the Packaging and Plastics
The following morning, about a dozen hardy souls braved the 50 degree weather to walk the Red Cedar Trail. A considerably larger group attended the breakfast, which included a brief chat with Chancellor Sorenson and some “I remember” moments. From there, the golfers headed to the Menomonie Golf and Country Club, while the majority joined deans and professors for either tours of the Packaging and Plastics
areas or the Textiles and Food Technology majors. The presentations these included were not only interesting, but eye-opening. The labs in the Home Economics building (some newly remodeled) are a fabulous improvement over the facilities our classes used in Harvey Hall and the testing equipment and opportunities for research are considerably more extensive for current students. The plastics and packaging facilities and information in the Applied Arts Building were also impressive enough that many alumni who attended want their next career to be in packaging! Stout’s current students have wonderful opportunities in class offerings and research…and the online aspect of many classes (it’s a lap-top campus!) would definitely allow senior auditors to participate from many sites.
The afternoon bus tours of the city showcased the vast changes Menomonie has experienced in the past 40 years. Some alumni also chose to tour the campus and town more extensively on their own, while others experienced the opening of the newly renovated and enlarged Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater downtown. Completing the offerings was the visit to the newly installed Sixties exhibit "The 60's... A time of Change" Reunion Exhibit at the Russell J. Rassbach History Museum in Wakanda Park. The display reflects on life at Stout during our 5 classes’ tenure from 1962 to 1970, and includes pictures, reviews, headlines, garments and other memorabilia. (It will be available at the museum for the next 3 years.)
The culmination of the reunion was the Saturday evening banquet.
The afternoon bus tours of the city showcased the vast changes Menomonie has experienced in the past 40 years. Some alumni also chose to tour the campus and town more extensively on their own, while others experienced the opening of the newly renovated and enlarged Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater downtown. Completing the offerings was the visit to the newly installed Sixties exhibit "The 60's... A time of Change" Reunion Exhibit at the Russell J. Rassbach History Museum in Wakanda Park. The display reflects on life at Stout during our 5 classes’ tenure from 1962 to 1970, and includes pictures, reviews, headlines, garments and other memorabilia. (It will be available at the museum for the next 3 years.)
The culmination of the reunion was the Saturday evening banquet.
The Alumni Office had the space decorated with a balloon arch, lattice, banked flowers, and balloons to create a festive, welcoming atmosphere as we arrived, and the food staff produced an excellent “surf and turf” dinner. The hands-on nature of many Stout graduates was illustrated by the alumni arts and crafts display. (Classmates showcased their talents with beautiful hand-woven garments, quilts, machine free-stitched pictures, photographs, paper collages, knitting, wood-working projects, a musical score, an extensive collection of antique tools, and even candy Easter eggs.)
Shannon Seck, a student worker in the Alumni office, had prepared a power point presentation of “Then…and Now” moments which brought back many memories and much laughter. John Wesolek was named the winner of the James Huff Stout Award
during the evening’s brief program. While a disk jockey played songs from the sixties, alumni continued to visit and remember throughout the evening, exchanging email addresses and cementing old friendships anew.
A final thanks goes to Sue Pittman, Terese Wentworth, and Shannon Seck from the Alumni office and to the committee for all their hard work and efforts to make the weekend a rousing success.
Scholarship Update:
Our five classes (a combined 2800 alumni) currently haven’t reached the $15,000 goal to create an endowed scholarship which could be awarded each year in perpetuity. While the option to award 7 individual scholarships and exhaust the fund remains, we hope classmates will continue to contribute to bring the final total to the goal level. If each class member simply contributed $10 each, we’d almost double the amount needed to endow the scholarship. So, if you haven’t made a donation yet, please consider a gift now and designate it for the 40th Reunion Scholarship fund.
Bob and Nora Fuller
40th Reunion Bloggers
A final thanks goes to Sue Pittman, Terese Wentworth, and Shannon Seck from the Alumni office and to the committee for all their hard work and efforts to make the weekend a rousing success.
Scholarship Update:
Our five classes (a combined 2800 alumni) currently haven’t reached the $15,000 goal to create an endowed scholarship which could be awarded each year in perpetuity. While the option to award 7 individual scholarships and exhaust the fund remains, we hope classmates will continue to contribute to bring the final total to the goal level. If each class member simply contributed $10 each, we’d almost double the amount needed to endow the scholarship. So, if you haven’t made a donation yet, please consider a gift now and designate it for the 40th Reunion Scholarship fund.
Bob and Nora Fuller
40th Reunion Bloggers
UW-Stout Photo
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