Jonathan Fitch, Class of 1974

The Thurston Bowl is awarded for distinguished service as class secretary. It was established by the family and friends of Ted Thurston, Class of 1912, who, in his 65 years as secretary, missed only one deadline simply because he forgot to mail his completed notes to the magazine.

All class secretaries play a crucial role in developing and maintaining a sense of community among the far flung members of their classes. They devote countless hours to gathering and writing Class Notes, ensuring that classmates—no matter how much their lives have changed since they left the Purple Valley—continue to connect with each other and to Williams.

That connection is deeply engrained in the ethos of this year’s Thurston Bowl recipient, who described the Williams tradition as “singular,” and credits it with allowing classmates to, in his words, “stay connected and affirm how much the College means to us.”

He has been called a great storyteller and is someone who communicates to his classmates with modesty and humor. His emails soliciting class notes often include tidbits from his own life, or remind his classmates about current national and political news they might want to write about. In January of 2009 he asked, ‘Were you among the millions who swarmed D.C.? Has the change in the administration affected your career? Your hopes for the future?’ And in June of 2016, he told his classmates that ‘If you want to endorse any of the presidential candidates, you can do it here.’ He wanted them to feel “neither modest nor shy” because, as he said, “your classmates eat this stuff up.”

One of his classmates describes the feat of soliciting, collecting, and composing Class Notes—which he did on time, every time, for 22 years—this way: “With all [of his professional and familial] responsibilities, somehow he finds the time to be way ahead of the curve in asking us (and then reminding us) to send class notes, and always to write an interesting and informative column.”

For his skill in keeping his Williams classmates connected, the Society of Alumni is proud to honor, from the Class of 1974: Jonathan Fitch.