The season is always right for a trip home to Emory. The University’s campuses in Atlanta and Oxford are always open to alumni, but our two big celebrations are when the community really shines. We just completed one—Emory Weekend 2006—and the next one is right around the corner.

Our 2006 Homecoming celebration will be held October 27 through 29 and features not only our annual spirit parade, soccer double-header, and band concert, but also several class reunions.

This year’s reunions focus on the undergraduate Classes of 1976, 1981, and 1991, and for School of Law classes ending in one and six. If you are a member of one of these classes and would like to help plan your get-together, please contact my friend and co-worker Gloria Grevas at gloria.grevas@emory.edu.

If you’re not a member of these classes, please don’t feel left out. Homecoming is for all alumni! Reconnect with your student organizations at a Greek reunion brunch or at the Tavern on the Green, a student and alumni networking event. Join us for a 5K run through Lullwater Park, a campus tour, or a faculty lecture. Fall is one of the most beautiful times of year to be on campus, and with late October being the middle of the semester, Emory already will be abuzz with activity. Our campus is changing by the day, and there is always something new to experience. We would love to see you here in the fall!

As for our signature event of the spring, I hope you have already had a chance to read the review of Emory Weekend 2006 elsewhere in Emory Magazine.

With so many exciting events over the five-day celebration, it’s difficult to sufficiently describe the atmosphere here—those of you who attended will understand what I am talking about. I thought I could give you a snapshot of just a couple of activities.

The new Emory Alumni Presidents Club can best be described as “advanced alumni leadership.” Those volunteers who lead our many alumni organizations, both with the Association of Emory Alumni (AEA) and in the schools, have already shown their great dedication to Emory. But when their terms of leadership end, their windows of engagement have historically closed. We want to reopen them, and that’s the goal of the Presidents Club.

Any former alumni organization president is welcome to join. The club gives them a chance not only to network with each other and recharge their ties to Emory, but it also ensures those ties remain vibrant. Our first meeting, which helped kick off Emory Weekend 2006, was a rousing success, and we look forward to the second this fall. If you have any questions about the Presidents Club, please contact Stacey Gall at sgall@emory.edu.

Another unforgettable Emory Weekend 2006 event was the Legacy Reception, a collaboration between the Emory Annual Fund and the AEA. It was one of the most emotional and heartwarming events of the entire weekend. A general description of the reception—a breakfast where alumni presented family members graduating with the Class of 2006 with a medal—barely scratches the surface of the remarkable atmosphere.

There were few dry eyes among the graduates, their family members, and even observers as the Class of 2006, those carrying on their family legacy at Emory, were presented with their medals. It’s a tradition that surely will have a long life here.

And cultivating that sort of togetherness—the love of family, the love of community, and the love of one’s alma mater, be it on Emory’s campus or in your hometown as part of our regional programs—is what the AEA is all about.

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