Who was the originator of these Wildcat Reunions?
Behind every new successful enterprise, business or function a creative idea must be hatched that….hopefully….will be grasped by the masses and in a manner that will yield long-term success for all involved parties.
In some cases hatching an idea may be the easy part, implementing the idea requires individual drive, persistence, desire, human capital, cultivation of all involved parties and a sense of humor, but not necessarily monetary capital, rather innovative thinking must replace large doses of money to make a deal work….in this case it may easily be summed up in one word GUTS!
As with any new startup the application of an idea or concept must be linked to a visionary. The visionary behind the three Old School Wildcat Reunions is Glenda (Pope) Brown, Class of 1966!
Glenda is originally from Beaumont, Texas; she entered the Del Rio School system in the 8th grade and went on to make a career as a teacher. In 2002 Glenda settled in San Angelo.
Most of us had no idea of whom, what and when, so let us tell you how the origination of the Wildcat Reunion all came about:
Back in the late 1990’s while living in Massachusetts, she attended a Reunion in Del Rio, sponsored by the former Del Rio Wildcat Association, other past Reunions were generally linked to one class year, are two or three class years combined.
Glenda and her friend, Rose Marie (Vielma) Eash, Class of 1967 were visiting about the fact that we are all getting older and attendance at their class reunions was growing smaller, possibly because it only included one or two classes together. Thank Heavens Glenda had this concern!
They talked about a Reunion for all Wildcats!
Around the year of 2000 Glenda began to seriously toy with the idea, and decided to seek avenues for constructive input from Wildcat Alumni. She struck upon and registered on Classmates. She posted a simple notice, which generated a few responses - not as many as she had hoped for, but at least it was a start. Regardless of the meager responses, Glenda’s drive and instinct started pushing harder to achieve success.
Two people stepped forward to assist in this venture, Peggy (Sherry) Newberry and Robert Montgomery, both with the Class of 1966. But how can it be an All-Class Wildcat Reunion, with all of the originators being from one Class Year? Where is the Class Year diversity? These were passing thoughts for Glenda and the core originator group.
Discussions were ongoing for months between the group as to how they would get the word out…they had no Alumni list! They generated a mailing list through their own contacts, which contacted others!
The first Wildcat Reunion was held in September 2001, right after 9-11. Because of the sad event of 9-11 they expected people to drop out, but few did. There was a surprising 178 people in attendance for this first Reunion! The Friday night social was held poolside at the Ramada Inn. The dinner was held at Wright’s Steak House, and they even hired a D. J.! Additionally a few door prizes were given, and at the last minute, Glenda pulled a $100 from late registrations and awarded the first $100 door prize!
The first Reunion was undoubtedly a success, but Glenda states: “What is funny is that it came off as well as it did, especially considering the combined lack of experience of the first Committee and our lack of proximity to Del Rio!” Well all we can add is that Risk is the Price of Motion, and y’alls motion has paid off handsomely, as was evident with the most recent Reunion!
After the successful completion of the first Wildcat Reunion Glenda thought: “Whew!”, probably a little too mild of a comment, but you get the idea. Glenda says “It never occurred to me there would be a “next” Wildcat Reunion, but soon realized everyone else did!” Fortunately, at the first Reunion, Gloria (Gonzalez) Sotelo, Class of 1965 approached Glenda and offered to help with the “next one”.
Glenda may of briefly thought: “Next One?!”. Ah, but the attributes of a motivated micromanager leader very seldom rests, so as time progressed the thought of a second “Old School Reunion” begin to conjure up visions of grandeur! Glenda began feeling out Peggy and Gloria about tackling the quest again, and then Robert Brockwell, Class of 1954 came on board! Glenda says, “I soon realized that there is strength in diversity and numbers, especially spread among Class Years!” Also coming on board to help with the 2nd Wildcat Reunion were Margaret (Weatherman) Clem, Class of 1965 and Denis Stewart, Class of 1968.
This diverse ever-expanding group added buoyancy, plus the added caveat of expanding the mailing list from new Committee Members!
The 2nd Wildcat Reunion occurred in 2005, with 365 attendees, which was more than double the number of people attending in 2001! In fact the Ramada Ball Room was over capacity!
As is obvious an evolutionary trend was set from the first Reunion, to the second Reunion and more recently the 3rd – there was a demand, need and hunger from Alumni for this type of function! Thus, Glenda recruited some carry over Committee members, of Margaret, Gloria and Robert, and added M’Liss (Hamilton) White, Class of 1959 and Brad Bradley, Class of 1966. Unfortunately, a stalwart Committee Member, and a friend of Glenda’s, Peggy were not longer with us.
For this year’s 3rd Wildcat Reunion a bold step was taken to accommodate the anticipated number of attendees, with the renting of one side of Civic Center…..hmmm according to our leader, Glenda, we may have to rent both sides for the next Reunion!
Glenda pointed out that none of the Reunions would have been a success without the support and attendance of Alumni!!!!
"I know I have 2
beers in my hand,
but after all of
this I going to
add 4 more!"
