Reunion classes raised a record amount for Georgia Tech in honor of their milestone marks.

The classes of 1954, 1964 and 1979 — boosted by a whopping $9,473,839 from the Class of 1979 — raised a record total of $16,694,814 for Georgia Tech in honor of the classes' 50th, 40th and 25th reunion celebrations at Homecoming 2004.

Garry Betty, ChE 79, was chairman of the Class of 1979 25th reunion fund committee, which raised a 25th reunion-record total of more than $9.4 million. Of that total $125,000 is slated for the Class of 1979 Need-based Scholarship.

"I am very proud of our fund-raising committee. We had 100 percent participation from everyone on the committee," Betty said. "The Class of 1979 was very fortunate to raise such a large sum of money as a few alums were in a position to make a large gift to the school. We have created a milestone that future classes can now try and exceed."

"We're delighted," said Johnny Hunsinger, IE 54, MS IE 55, chairman of the Class of 1954 50th Reunion Fund Committee, of the collection of $2,468,748. Of that total, $250,000 will be used to establish The Class of 1954 Need-based Scholarship.

"We worked hard on it. We stretched a lot to select a goal of $1,954,000, but wonderful things happened and we exceeded it. A lot of people got into the swing of it and realized our 50th reunion is an important epic for us. We are glad to be alive and to be at our reunion, so we might as well give. All of us stretched and did a little bit more."

Hunsinger said he and his classmates are impressed by the leadership shown by President Wayne Clough and the wide range of research being pursued at Tech.

"We have some very sincere people who really appreciate Tech and a lot of people were willing to stretch a little to show that appreciation. They were all willing to do something that pushed the envelope and we really are grateful for the effort the class gave," Hunsinger said. "Wayne Clough is so far ahead of most presidents leading engineering colleges around the country and the things he is doing are going to be carrying us into the future. It is wonderful to know Georgia Tech is out there in the front and it is very exciting to have a presence in helping with that."

The 40th reunion class of 1964 raised $4,752,227, double its goal, including an endowment of $67,000 for the Class of 1964 President's Scholarship.