Class of 1983 Zoom

Over the past two months members of Suffield’s Class of 1983 have gotten together weekly each Thursday night at 8pm for a collective meeting on Zoom. Initiated by classmates Caroline (Pettigrew) Anderson and John Boozang, the goal is to spend time reconnecting during this time of quarantine. Regular attendees include Todd Wilson, Whitney Taylor, Art Shettle, Judy Campbell, Mike Sabellico, Steve Clark, Fred Powers, Judy Killam, Steve Ball, Dave McCauslin, Dave Nye, and Suffield faculty members Dave Godin and Brett Vianney in addition to former faculty members Bill and Jodi DeSalvo. Many others pop in from week to week and all report it has been a wonderful time socializing with lifelong friends.

“At our last Reunion we all agreed not to wait another five years to reconnect,” commented Caroline Anderson. “When this pandemic started in mid-March and we were all home I remembered what we had said and thought about Zoom. So, I reached out to our classmates to see if they’d be interested. Everyone I contacted quickly responded with an enthusiastic YES! After setting up the initial Zoom, John Boozang and Mike Sabellico took over sending weekly invites. Each week the group expanded with more classmates and even former teachers and coaches. It has been so much fun reminiscing about the old days at Suffield, looking at photos in the yearbook or that people have emailed, and laughing at our current situations. It really has been something to look forward to.”

“We have had such a wonderful time in our Zoom meetings reconnecting, laughing, sharing photos, and talking about stories from so many years ago,” noted Judy Killam. “It’s also been so great having teachers and coaches join us. It’s been something to look forward to each week during this quarantine.”

John Boozang added, “At one point we had more than 20 people join in on one of our Thursday night gatherings. As Caroline noted it’s been heartwarming and fun to reconnect, reminisce, and laugh with old(ish) friends. An unexpected benefit of this pandemic has been its impact on priorities and time. It seems to have given us all an opportunity to reflect and consider what is and who are important in our lives. The Zooms have served to remind us all, I think, of how formative and sweet our Suffield days were and how much we cared about each other and still do—classmates and faculty alike!”