Thomas Drever (BSA’39) and Harold Chapman (BSA’43, LLD’17)

Continuing a legacy: Agros reunite for 84th consecutive reunion

One of the University of Saskatchewan’s longest standing alumni groups, the Saskatchewan Agricultural Graduate Association (SAGA), held its 84th consecutive reunion this past January. The reunion saw more than 400 alumni come together at TCU Place in Saskatoon, including two 101-year-old alumni.

By Taryn Riemer

Ewald Lammerding (AGRIC’88), one of the event’s organizers, said he’s pleased with this year’s successful turnout.

“We were very happy. Over the last 10 years we're probably averaging 325-330 [attendees], but the last three years we've tacked upwards, which helps us and makes it much more fun for everyone,” said Lammerding.

This year, the reunion also saw two 101-year-olds attend. Thomas Drever (BSA’39) graduated from the College of Agriculture in 1939, and according to Lammerding he is the first 80-year grad they’ve ever had at the event. Harold Chapman (BSA’43, LLD’17) graduated in 1943, and also attended the reunion.

Lammerding said the planning committee was excited to have both graduates present for the evening. Along with Drever and Chapman, they also had a group from the class of 1949 who were able to make it to the reunion and celebrate their 70th year since graduating.

Along with the banquet that’s held on the Saturday night, for the last few years SAGA has arranged tours of campus buildings, like the Rayner Dairy Research and Teaching Facility and the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, on the Friday night prior to the banquet.

This year they were also able to offer a tour of the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE), which was an exciting addition as faculty and students of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources are conducting research at the new state-of-the-art facility that opened just this year.

Although their numbers aren’t near the 1,000 people attending like they had in the past, Lammerding said their reunions have continued to do well over the years because AgBio grads see it not only as a time and place to reconnect, but make new connections as well.

“It's an amazing networking chance. You get chatting with other classes and people say I know this guy over there and then next thing you know they're combining businesses and expanding businesses,” said Lammerding.

Reunions are a chance to renew old friendships, develop community networks and discover changes that have taken place at USask. If you’re interested in hosting your own reunion, check out the new reunions page to get started.