Clubs for All Seasons
Florida and Cape Cod alumni clubs offer programs geared especially for retirees and vacationers.
By Katie Koch (CAS’09, COM’09)
The BU Alumni Club of Southwest Florida closed out its full season of events last year with a day at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
Mention retirement hotspots, and two areas immediately come to mind: Florida and Cape Cod. For BU alumni, however, these regions are home to more than just resort communities and carefree seniors — they can claim some of the most active BU alumni clubs in the country.
Because the alumni clubs in both areas tend to draw older members, BU clubs in Florida and the Cape say they are in a good position to offer more than pub-night-and-networking alumni club fare. “We’re certainly catering to different interests than the clubs in New York or Boston or L.A.,” says Jerry Sutelman (CAS’67), the current president of the Alumni Club of Cape Cod. “Many of our members are retired or close to retired, and many of them have known each other for years. Recent graduates just don’t move here.”
It’s this special distinction that makes clubs in both areas so active, according to Jennifer Palmer, the Cape Cod club manager in BU’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Although alumni presence is small — 3,600 alums live on the Cape, while about 10,000 are spread throughout Florida — the clubs offer events year-round.
“Their events are more cultural and educational, which might appeal to an older demographic,” Palmer says. She mentioned the Cape Cod club’s regular lecture series, its Christmas luncheon, and its yearly trips to see the Cape Cod Symphony as highlights.
Sutelman says he sees similarities between the Cape and popular Florida cities like Naples, where seasonal “snow birds” are settling in permanently and joining local alumni clubs. “We call them ‘wash-ashores’ here at the Cape,” Sutelman says. “Some of these people may have had seasonal homes at one time, but many of them are moving in permanently.”
One is Florida resident George Lingenfelter (DGE’52, COM’54), who hopped between clubs in Tampa, Naples, and Cape Cod before recently moving to a suburb of Tampa. According to him, these clubs can appeal to vacationers and settled retirees alike. “In the summer, people come to vacation, and they don’t want to do anything serious. They want to have fun, and we tried to cater to that,” says Lingenfelter, former a president of the Cape Cod club.
Yet these clubs aren’t all fun and games — for many members, keeping up with the University comes first. Lingenfelter said he sees a hunger for information among older alumni, many of whom are looking to give back to BU by volunteering their time or making donations. “People want to hear what the university is doing, what the plans are, and how, realistically, they can help,” he says.
Clubs from both regions are actively seeking new board members of any age. Of course, there is a slight bias toward older alums. “We would never have a dinner at night, because people don’t want to drive after dark,” Lingenfelter said. “You’ll notice we have a lot of events on Saturday afternoons.”
For more information on alumni club membership and upcoming events in Florida or Cape Cod, e-mail alumclub@bu.edu or call 800-800-3466.