Two historic events converged on the Wabash campus this year: the Class Agent Forum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Class Agent system, and the Thomson Memorial Seat—better known today as the Senior Bench—turned 100 years old.
In September, Class Agents from seven decades returned in force to be honored for serving as the principal link between the College and its alumni.
J.B. Bachman ’61 earned the prestigious Warren Wright Shearer Award for his exemplary work communicating with the "Many Milers" of the Class of 1961. The Myron G. Phillips Award was presented to the Class Agents for the Class of 1966—Stan Walker, Cal Black, and Squier Neal. The R. Robert Mitchum Award for outstanding performance by young Class Agents went to Jacob Pactor ’04 and his co-Class Agent Mark Shreve.
Myron Phillips ’27 established the Class Agent system at Wabash in 1955; by Homecoming of his first year on the job he had recruited 60 men to serve the College.
"Despite some shortcomings, the system of class agents is strong and vigorous," proclaimed Class Agent Jon Pactor ’71, "achieving the original goals set by Phillips of increasing alumni giving and maintaining a bond with all alumni."
The Thomson Memorial Bench was dedicated in June of 1905, a gift from Col. Chester G. Thomson. It was named in honor of six members of the Thomson family who helped shape the College in its early years, including College co-founder and trustee Rev. James Thomson; math professor and trustee Rev. John S. Thomson; Latin professor Samuel S. Thomson; trustee and treasurer Alexander Thomson; chemistry professor Henry R. Thomson; and librarian Everett Thomson.
Photos: Greg Miller ’82, Roger Billings ’59, and Bill Reinke ’52 (middle photo) strike of pose from a 1916 photograph (top) to mark the 100th anniversary of the Thomson Bench. In the next photo, they are joined by fellow Class Agents Jon Pactor ’71, Thomas Billings ’63, Peter Pactor ’65, and Greg Birk ’77.