1990 “First in Grey": Creating a Norwich Legacy through Reunion Giving, Giving Day, and Estate Planning

The Class of 1990 continues its 40-year journey to build a Norwich legacy that will last for the next 200 years. As our unofficial class motto, we have strived to ensure each classmate develops a “meaningful, real, and lasting relationship with Norwich”.

Over the decades, our class leadership has worked to develop a strategy to foster a sense of purpose and volunteerism among the class and simply participate in the Norwich experience. “First in Grey” has classmates supporting and leading the NUAA, leading the Board of Fellows, serving on the Patridge Society Board of Directors and Trustees, as well as leading CGCS, supporting club and golf events for fallen heroes, and other Norwich educational opportunities across the globe. 1990’s legacy of service starts with showing up and often times leading.

But as a wise man once said: “Vision without resources is hallucination.”

As a member of the Partridge Society Board of Directors, I am keenly aware that keeping Patridge’s vision alive for another two centuries costs money — it costs the treasure component of the catch phrase: “time, talent, and treasure."

“First in Grey” has led the way in Giving Day and class reunion giving since 1990. As a team, we develop a two year strategic campaign plan each reunion cycle to ensure we have the widest class participation and provide NU a larger than average class gift for that particular reunion cycle. 

It is and will never be about the size of the gift. It has and always will be about “showing up” and being a part of something meaningful. Whether it is that five year pledge when the “5s” and “0s” get the nod, or our annual Giving Day drive to coordinate ninety classmates to simply give a one-time donation of $19.90, the Class of ’90 will be there in force. 

The final aspect of “First in Grey’s” legacy planning as we hit the later years of raising kids, volunteering in our communities, and the work-week grind is to consider a deferred gift as part of individual estate planning. 

Shannon and I have been members of the Norwich 1819 Circle for decades. The idea of leaving a legacy for the betterment of the University is something that fits in well with the values we have and the legacy we are trying to leave to our kids in Texas. 

Deferred gifts do not have to be large. One of our classmates loves to say that a rising tide raises all boats and that is exactly how our class looks at all aspects of our giving strategy.

Since leaving a military and defense industry career behind to help our kids chase their dream of building their own legacies on our horse ranch, we have thought a lot about the future. We have a saying at Triumph Horses: "Leave the ranch better than you found it."

I would like to think we have not only applied that vision to our efforts to build our brand when it comes to raising horses and training the next generation of rodeo professionals, but fostering that same sense of legacy-building among the entire class and others across the Norwich community.

We know first hand it takes time, talent, and treasure to leave the ranch better than you found it. We don’t always need all three, but “First in Grey” has built a legacy of classmates entering into a meaningful, real, and lasting relationship with Norwich that will benefit students for the next two hundred years.