Class of 1974:

June 24, 2024 will mark 5 decades from the date of our graduation from United States, Merchant Marine Academy. That was the date we embarked on our new lives, new careers and unknown future. Now, after 50 years, is a chance to reacquaint ourselves, renew old friendships, remember friends, and colleagues who have passed on, and share our common experiences. 

While we all have different memories of our time at KP, the focus of the reunion is on each other and the camaraderie we shared through the unique academic experiment that only our class shared.  Many of you have attended prior reunions, but not all of you have come. This may be one of the final chances we have to get together as a group. This is not a fundraising event for the Academy, or the alumni Association, but more of a family reunion for the Class of 1974.

Saturday, September 7, 2024 will be the homecoming football game at the Academy and will also be the date set aside for our 50th reunion. The Mariner Estate (https://www.marinerestate.com), an off-campus property donated to the alumni Association, has been made available to us for our reunion (see the link). We have also been able to block off rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn in Westbury, New York (https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/jfkwegi-hilton-garden-inn-westbury/ ) from Thursday, September 5 through Sunday, September 8 for those traveling in from out of town.

Tom Jacobs and I are working on putting together a memorable event for all who come. We are planning an informal get together at the hotel on Friday evening, September 6. This will be light hors d’oeuvres, and open bar on Saturday, we will have an area set aside to gather for lunch and beverages prior to the class marching on to the football field prior to the game. Our reunion event will take place later that evening at the Mariner Estate.

The alumni Association will be coordinating other events, commencing Thursday evening, September 5, and finishing with a brunch on Sunday morning. These events are open to all, although some require separate reservations.

 

What we will need is for those who plan to attend to get their notice into us at the emails provided or on the class website as soon as you can. We will look to control costs to around $200-$250 per person for the reunion event at the Mariner Estate plus the tailgate party before the game. We hope to have these plans finalized by early spring in order to allow you to get your checks into us for the necessary deposits, etc. that we will need to make to make this happen. We also ask any of you, who are willing or able, to donate additional funds to help defray the total cost.

Again, we ask that you contact us and let us know your intentions at your earliest opportunity. We also ask that you contact any of our classmates that you are in touch with and encourage them to attend. Also, feel free to reach out to Tom or I with any questions and track any changes through the class Homecoming website (below).

We hope to make this a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable event for everyone.

Fraternally,

Tom Jacobs – email: pilot131@aol.com

                        Cell/Text : 206-595-8092  

 John Joerger – email: john.joergersr@gmail.com

                         Cell/text: 540-219-5424

Homecoming website: https://www.kp74hc.com/