April 2025
It has been an amazing month of travel to connect with Black Bears everywhere! Soon after our return from our annual Black Bear Road Trip to Florida (which I shared about last month), we shipped off to Boston for the Hockey East Championships. What a weekend it was for Black Bear alumni and fans! Literally hundreds of UMaine alumni and fans converged on The Greatest Bar near TD Garden before the semi-final game on Thursday, March 20, and again on Friday, March 21, before the championship game. As you know, both were Maine victories, and the Black Bear faithful celebrated our first Hockey East championship in 21 years! We are so grateful to the Screamin’ Black Bears pep band, the Naked Five, Bananas T. Bear, and everyone who turned out to make it a special weekend for us all.
The following weekend was a road trip to Allentown, PA, for the opening round of the NCAA hockey tournament. A huge shout out to our Alumni Association staff for finding a great location in Allentown for alumni and fans to gather on very short notice! Over 150 UMaine alumni and fans gathered at Miller’s Ale House in Allentown, and again, we were grateful for visits from the pep band, Bananas, and the Naked Five. It was a great mix of familiar faces and new friends. One familiar face was Lori Bryn Schlenker ’91, whom I first met last year at an event near her home in Kansas! Coincidentally, Lori had planned a visit to her parents in Allentown before the NCAA tournament announcement, and was able to join us with her dad for our pregame event and at the game!
For the third weekend in a row, we hit the road, this time for South Carolina for the annual “Lobster Maine-ia” gathering of the UMaine Alumni of the Lowcountry! We were so pleased to be in the company of over 40 alumni and guests there for food, reminiscing, and updates from Orono. Scott Ouellette ’89 and his wife Jennifer Dill Ouellette ’89 lead the charge on this event each year, with tremendous support from Barbara Schiner ’61H and so many other dedicated alums there who all chip in to bring along appetizers and desserts, and volunteer their time to make it a great event each year. Pictured here with me are Bion Foster ’68, ’70G, his wife Dorain Foster ’68H, and Bill Charland ’98.
Go Blue!
Tom Peaco ’88
President & CEO