Submitted by the Reunion Committee

The brothers of Gamma Eta Chapter at Bradley University finally convened their 50-plus year anniversary reunion this past August. The reunion had been three years in the planning because of the constraints of the pandemic.

Led by Brothers Abby L. Hans, 1969 and Robert (Bobby) H. Sachs, 1971, the two-day event was attended by 53 brothers and 34 guests.

An evening get-together cocktail party was the first at the Royal Melbourne Country Club in Long Grove, Illinois. The following day, Twin Orchard Country Club, also in Long Grove, Illinois, hosted a group of golfers and card players.

The reunion’s main event was an elegant cocktail hour and dinner complete with several speeches, a musical video montage of photos from brothers’ years at Bradley in the 1960s and ’70s, as well as a photo presentation by Brother Jeffrey B. Bogart, 1969, of the enormous campus changes at Bradley to date.

A heartfelt memorial tribute was read by Brother Howard W. Atlas, 1970, to remember and honor those Gamma Eta Brothers who have passed away.

The Fraternity Song was sung by all of the brothers during the evening recalling a myriad of memories from their years at Bradley.

A special reunion website, zbtgammaetachapterreunion.com, was also created so the brothers in attendance would be able to re-live the moment. There were many other brothers who wanted to attend, but were unable to be there due to personal reasons. Those brothers who were unable to attend will still be able to share the memories of the reunion through the website.

While there is not a Gamma Eta Chapter of ZBT presently at Bradley University, the fraternal spirit is still strong among the alumni brothers. The planning committee would encourage brothers at schools that previously had a ZBT chapter, but their chapter is no longer on campus, to consider organizing a reunion. We found it was well worth the effort.

Many brothers commented that all of the hard work put in by Brothers Hans, Sachs and their committee proved to be a couple of days that will not be forgotten. In fact, many of the brothers have already made plans to get together in their respective hometowns to continue the bonds that make them proud ZBTs.

Reunion attendees said:

“What you guys did was to ‘set the table’ for all of us to continue to keep the Gamma Eta spirit alive for the future. We must carry the torch and continue to glance (not stare) at our wonderful times at Bradley.” — Gene Schwartz, 1971

“Seeing our brothers today, along with the visuals and memories from the past, closed the gap of 50 years.” — Bruce Sherman, 1971

• Share this article