Wharton Graduate Emeritus Society
WHARTON GRADUATE EMERITUS SOCIETY
Tom Hadlock WG’66
WGES Chair
McClain Gordon WG’73
WGES Spotlight
Golden Opportunities
After losing touch with his classmates, an emeritus alumnus rediscovers the magic of his fellow Whartonites and their impact on the world
Early on in my first year at Wharton, I had a conversation with my roommate, Barrie Lepley WG73, about what he did in the military between Yale and our MBA program. Barrie had been interviewed by Hyman Rickover, the father of the U.S. nuclear submarine program, to be accepted into the Navy nuclear engineer program. Later, he designed fleet-defense software. I can’t say for sure if it was at this moment or during one of my many similarly impressive conversations with classmates, but I recall thinking that I’d never again find myself surrounded by such a concentration of brainpower and talent. That turned out to be true — almost.
As an outgoing person, I made a lot of friends in my two years on campus. Determined to keep in touch with my colleagues after graduation, I wrote and distributed an annual newsletter with updates and stories from 50 classmates. But as pressures of my career as a founder and leader in the trucking industry took precedence, the newsletter faded away. I visited with Wharton friends in Chicago and New York when there on business, yet that became less of a priority over time. I had little or no contact with classmates or Wharton for decades, with a few exceptions. Dean Tom Gerrity came to Memphis around 1990 and hosted a large luncheon that I attended. Later on, an Australian wag from my class, Kevin Crombie WG73, sent me an invitation to a large America’s Cup party in Perth that specified “BYOY” — that is, “Bring your own yacht.” Sadly, I couldn’t take time off from work and didn’t have a yacht.
WGES Spotlight
McClain Gordon WG’73
Golden Opportunities
After losing touch with his classmates, an emeritus alumnus rediscovers the magic of his fellow Whartonites and their impact on the world
Early on in my first year at Wharton, I had a conversation with my roommate, Barrie Lepley WG73, about what he did in the military between Yale and our MBA program. Barrie had been interviewed by Hyman Rickover, the father of the U.S. nuclear submarine program, to be accepted into the Navy nuclear engineer program. Later, he designed fleet-defense software. I can’t say for sure if it was at this moment or during one of my many similarly impressive conversations with classmates, but I recall thinking that I’d never again find myself surrounded by such a concentration of brainpower and talent. That turned out to be true — almost.
As an outgoing person, I made a lot of friends in my two years on campus. Determined to keep in touch with my colleagues after graduation, I wrote and distributed an annual newsletter with updates and stories from 50 classmates. But as pressures of my career as a founder and leader in the trucking industry took precedence, the newsletter faded away. I visited with Wharton friends in Chicago and New York when there on business, yet that became less of a priority over time. I had little or no contact with classmates or Wharton for decades, with a few exceptions. Dean Tom Gerrity came to Memphis around 1990 and hosted a large luncheon that I attended. Later on, an Australian wag from my class, Kevin Crombie WG73, sent me an invitation to a large America’s Cup party in Perth that specified “BYOY” — that is, “Bring your own yacht.” Sadly, I couldn’t take time off from work and didn’t have a yacht.
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The Crandall Challenge
This citation is in recognition of the large number of members who draw upon their Wharton Graduate acquired knowledge, talents, and experience to make a significant contribution to the improvement of community and national socio-economic quality of life through continuous and significant volunteer endeavors.
The Crandall Challenge
This citation is in recognition of the large number of members who draw upon their Wharton Graduate acquired knowledge, talents, and experience to make a significant contribution to the improvement of community and national socio-economic quality of life through continuous and significant volunteer endeavors.
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The Wharton Graduate Emeritus Society has group pages on both LinkedIn and Facebook. The purpose of these groups is to bring you current information about the School, and its students, faculty and curriculum as well as to bring you information on what the world is saying about Wharton, and other information of interest to WGES members.
If you are a member of LinkedIn or Facebook you can search for “Wharton Graduate Emeritus Society” and ask to become a member of one of these groups. You could also email Rick Perkins at raperk1@gmail.com and he will invite you to become a member of one of the groups.
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