In October 1945, Volume 1, No. 1 of The Alumnews was printed and the editor raised the idea that Georgetown Prep needed an alumni organization. It had been 22 years since the first class had graduated from the Garrett Park campus in 1923, and the school had nearly a thousand names in the alumni files.
The president of Georgetown Prep, Rev. William F. Maloney, S.J., promised that the publication would be devoted entirely to the affairs of Prep and “her Alumni” and he hoped it would enhance the “bonds of mutual devotion and loyalty.” Dues were $2 per year and the publication contained newsy letters from alumni and notes about classmates in each of the graduated years. The publication came out twice a year, during the fall and spring.
By June 1947, the Alumni Association of Georgetown Preparatory School had been established. Prep held its first General Alumni Reunion as a three-day event over the weekend of June 13-15. A total of 65 “Old Grads” gathered on the first Friday night for a Stag Smoker evening. There was some general reminiscing and, of course, the appropriate refreshments, which continued until the last table was persuaded to cash in around 1:30am.
Rain came down on the festivities for much of the day on Saturday, however several of the diehards played football and soccer in mud up to their knees. Some others shot a round of golf on the newly renovated golf course. Nearly 100 alumni turned out for the day. The day ended with a banquet of fine food and some speakers of the day.
The first speaker was the Most Reverend Thomas A. Emmet, S.J., Bishop of Jamaica. Bishop Emmet, the Rector of Georgetown Prep from 1923-1929, shared some stories of those first years at the school. The Bishop shared with the alumni that a gymnasium was an absolute and immediate need of the Prep. The school had a significant financial need to make that dream a reality and shared that need with the alumni. The Reverend William F. Maloney, S.J., spoke next and expressed his hope that “this, our first alumni reunion, might be the seed from which will develop a permanent, unified, and active Alumni Association”.
Following the speakers, the alumni created the first Executive Committee. The Committee’s mission was to carry on the business of the association for the first year. This committee was created with 12 members chosen to represent as wide a class-coverage as possible. Three officers – president Howard T. Boyd ’28, treasurer Conrad H. Reid '23, and secretary Joseph V. Connor, a faculty member – were elected for the same term.
These 15 men and Rev. Bernard F. Kirby, S.J., moderator of the association, empowered with hopes of the Reunion Alumni, sparked by the needs of the school, created one of our great traditions – The Georgetown Prep Alumni Association.