Bringing Alumni Together from Around the World | The Grove Society Alumni Celebration

Lakefield College School is known for its tight knit community of students, staff, and alumni who establish friendships and connections that extend beyond formative learning years at the school. Our community is one that could be described as strong, diverse, and supportive; when an opportunity to acknowledge and honour members of The Grove arises, our community comes together.

On Thursday night, alumni and staff representing eight decades gathered (virtually) for an evening in celebration of five extraordinary women – Marilynn Booth P’98, Kate Ramsay P'06, GP'14 '16, Gretchen Ross P'79 '80, GP'17, Nancy Smith P'87 '90 '96, and Vera Wilcox P’03 – who have had a profound impact on the The Grove community. These women of Lakefield were awarded the prestigious title of “Honourary Alumna”. 

The evening opened with a welcoming message from Head of School, Anne-Marie Kee who shared some anecdotes from Lakefield throughout the years and contextualized the immense contributions of our Honourary Alumnae within LCS history. A school that started as a learning institution for young boys has evolved throughout the years, with the help of incredible individuals like our honourary alumnae, to become a school with a diverse student body, comprised of pupils from around the world. Ms. Kee also highlighted some of the recent developments at LCS, including new scholarships and bursaries designed to create more opportunities for students to attend Lakefield.

Throughout the night, each Honouary Alumna was introduced by a member of our school community who spoke to her dedication and commitment to The Grove. We enjoyed hearing from Bill Morris '70 P'99 '02 '05, Jock Fleming '74 P'03 06, David Hadden P'97 '00, Sarah McMahon P '12, and Cam Boland '10 as they addressed the incredible achievements of each alumna. From prioritizing mental health before it was commonly recognized as a priority (Marilynn P’98) to archiving Lakefield’s history (Kate P’06, GP’14 ’16) to serving as a trustee for 24 years (Gretchen P'79 '80, GP'17) to developing key strategic plans (Nancy  P'87 '90 '96) to making LCS students feel welcome and safe for 18 years (Vera P’03), our alumnae have helped mould our community into the caring, inclusive environment that it is today. 

After a wonderful evening celebrating our Honourary Alumnae and sipping on “Terrapin Fizz”, the evening closed with a raffle for Lakefield products, including Grove honey and maple syrup and Lakefield attire. Thank you to all of our alumni and staff for attending this wonderful event. We look forward to the next Alumni Celebration in 2022!