October 2011 Archives

I began working with RMBL a little more than 3 years ago. In that time I must say that I am most impressed by RMBL’s sense of community as I have heard so many heartfelt stories about what RMBL has meant in the lives of the people that have lived in Gothic, not only to their careers, but to their families. Bobbi Peckarsky put it best, “I raised two kids here, and our lives and our family- a huge part of who our family is, is the RMBL. Both of my kids, this is inside of them, and it was a family experience we would have never had, had we stayed home and they’d been running off with their friends. Every weekend, we’d just turn in a circle and decide where to go hiking or backpacking. Our family is as close as we are because of the RMBL. I say that really sincerely, and I would never have known my children nor would they have known me as well as a person, if we had not spent our summers here. So, I’m totally grateful for having raised them here. It’s awesome.”

Family tradition began with RMBL’s founding; John Johnson and Vera Adams Johnson were like parents to the students that lived in Gothic and that continued with the next generation when Chris and Dorothy Johnson ran RMBL. RMBL’s sense of family and long history is what has inspired us to begin RMBL’s first alumni program! We estimate that somewhere on the order of 9,000 people have passed through RMBL since its founding in 1928. Each one touched, in one way or another, by their experiences in Gothic. Right now we are trying to find many of them whom we have lost touch with over the years. We are still developing our alumni program, but some of our ideas include connecting with alumni on Facebook, offering alumni career networking on LinkedIn, including an alumni news insert with our biannual newsletter, hosting regional alumni potlucks, and hosting an annual alumni reunion in Gothic. We have already set the date for the first RMBL Alumni Reunion Weekend- mark your calendars for August 17-19, 2012.

If you are interested in getting involved with our new alumni program please contact our Alumni Outreach Coordinator, Laurel Runcie, laurel At rmbl DOT org. Please take a moment to fill out an alumni update form as well HERE. We’d love your help to find lost alumni and build the program!