HWS News
23 March 2020 A Reunion Giving Challenge from Anderton '65
When James F. Anderton IV ’65 attended his 50th Reunion in 2015, he was proud of the fundraising efforts of his classmates — but he also saw opportunity. What if each 50th Reunion class was challenged to exceed their fundraising goals and the goals of other 50th Reunion classes? In the spirit of friendly competition, The Anderton 50th Reunion Cup was established.
The cup is awarded to classes celebrating their 50th Reunion that meet or exceed three of the four fundraising results of the two previous 50th Reunion Classes: class giving percentage in the 50th Reunion year, total Annual Fund contributions in the 50th Reunion year, total contributions since the 45th Reunion and number of Wheeler Society members.
“The education I received at HWS was transformative,” says Anderton, who served on the Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000. “The breadth and depth of my HWS education has provided me incalculable benefits in my personal and professional life. This is a way to give back to the Colleges, to support them as they so richly supported me.”
The award isn’t merely an accolade — it’s a literal cup, a two-handled sterling silver trophy whose design was created in 1890 by Meriden Britannia, once the largest silverware company in the world. Each class year that earns the cup has their class year engraved on a plate on the trophy. The cup is on display in The Office of Advancement.
While the first classes to earn the cup were the Classes of 1968 at their 50th Reunion in 2018, the Classes of 1964, 1965 and 1966 also have their class years engraved on the cup for having met the 50th Reunion challenge. This year, the Classes of 1970 are well underway to answering the challenge.
Anderton, founder and executive chairman of property management and real estate investment and development company Krimson, is a longtime supporter of HWS. For his service, in 1997 he received the Hobart Medal of Excellence, the Hobart Alumni Association’s highest honor and, in 2015, the Lifetime Service Award, presented to alumni who have made exceptional contributions to Hobart College throughout their lives.
Due to the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Colleges have canceled Reunion 2020. For information about the Colleges’ response to coronavirus, click here.