Mother Nature may have been at her worst, but she did nothing to dampen the spirits of the 186 Johnson & Wales alumni athletes who turned out for the department’s first reunion.

Former members of the JWU hockey, baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, softball, sailing, wrestling and cross country teams came to Homecoming-Family Weekend in October 2009, many of them expecting to play in alumni games. Rain and wind forced cancellation of the baseball, softball and soccer games, but that didn’t stop other alumni events from taking place.

The hockey alumni played to an 8–8 draw at the Rhode Island Sports Center in North Smithfield. Women’s volleyball alums battled at the Harborside Recreation Center. And, through the inclement weather, sailing alumni competed in the first-ever Tom Carmody Memorial Regatta on the waters of Narragansett Bay. Carmody, the university’s third director of athletics and longtime admissions officer, was an avid sailor among his many athletic interests before his passing in November 2007.

Following competitive events, it was off to the Waterplace Restaurant in downtown Providence for an evening of hors d’oeuvres, memories and merriment. Dozens of former student-athletes renewed acquaintance and dusted off the old stories of errant throws, championship games and the teammates who made their experience at JWU better through intercollegiate athletics.

There were former student-athletes from the very first JWU teams of the mid-90s, like ex-hockey standout Randy Suckney ’96, Wildcat Athletic Hall of Famers Tory and Scott Jacob ’99, women’s volleyball standout and current assistant coach, Kim Cyr Little ’02, and new alumni like sailor and former Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president, Elizabeth “Betsy” Loomis ’07. But the event turned out to be one of the best alumni reunions in recent years and it won’t be the last.

In fact, the reunion has spawned what may be an annual affair, with plans for a fall 2010 replay that could include events for former players from all 16 intercollegiate teams.