August 18, 2014 at 4:50 p.m.
All Alumni Party brings Hodags of all ages together
All Alumni Party brings Hodags of all ages together
"It's a way to meet and greet fellow Hodags and to get contact information for everyone so we can keep in touch and share our love of the Hodag around the country," said Julie Bronson, HSF secretary. "We did Hodags Take Madtown (in Madison) and we're thinking about planning one for Milwaukee, but we thought we'd also better have one here in town."
The goal of the event is multifaceted, Bronson said. One aspect is to share information about the foundation and help Rhinelander alums keep in touch, but it's also an opportunity for people to have fun and share stories about their time as a student.
"Hodags are everywhere. Our goal is to get contact information and see and talk to people and try to keep in touch with everyone and keep them informed about what the Hodags are doing," Bronson said.
"We're trying to get all alumni from all over the country and the world involved with the Hodag Schools Foundation," organizer Mike Makris added. "When we set the first one up in Madison, people asked why we weren't doing one here because there still are a lot of people here. So we decided to do this and try to get information about the foundation out there, but we also just want people to have fun, to come and share stories and see old friends and things like that."
Plenty of fun was had Saturday. Hodags of all ages came together to remember their school days and debate about which class was the best.
"It was awesome (to see everyone)," said Bernadette Stoehr, class of 1985. "It's nice to see how everybody's doing and to be able to socialize with everyone."
Many of the Hodags came from the Friends of the RHS Class of 1980 annual scholarship golf outing. The timing of the two events couldn't have been more perfect, they said.
"My brother-in-law runs the golf outing, so we were out there, and it's just so nice that this could kind of piggy-back that," said Sue Wadzinski, class of 1978. "It's amazing to see everyone. Hodags really are everywhere and it's always nice when we are all able to come together like this. You can wear a Hodag sweatshirt or hat and people know it all over the United States. It really makes you proud."
Planning is under way for another Hodag party in Madison and a get together in Milwaukee is also possible, but Bronson said HSF will not forget about the Hodag city itself. She said the group hopes to make the All Alumni Party an annual event.
"We're going to see how this goes and come back and talk about it, but it sure would be great if we could make this a yearly thing," she said.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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