Hail to the Chief’s wife: Although Mary ann (Wambach) Pillman of Lake Forest graduated from Maine South High School, she will be traveling 700 miles to attend her 30th class reunion over the July 4th weekend.
And she thinks that’s “great,” even though she has to go through a security check to attend.
Instead of holding their reunion in Park Ridge or another suburb near O’Hare as they have done every five years in the past, classmates of Hillary Rodham Clinton have taken up their friend’s invitation to hold the 30th reunion in Washington.
“We used to kid about it when we were with Hillary, because Hillary and Bill always attended the class reunions,” said Pillman, who campaigned, along with several classmates, for the Clintons during the presidential race.
What started out as kidding will become reality when about 200 classmates attend a White House briefing on June 30 and about 500 classmates and their families tour the White House on July 3.
Reunion parties will be held throughout the weekend, culminating in a gala ball at Mellon Auditorium. The reunion has attracted about double the usual 250 attendees from a class of about 1,250.
“I’ve been getting calls from all over, from people I haven’t talked to in 15 years. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us and our families,” Pillman said.
Their illustrious classmate is also looking forward to the weekend, according to reunion organizer Eileen (Alonso) Stratton of Oak Brook, who is co-chairing the event with Ardie (Weyrauch) Warnimont of Elk Grove Village. “She’s really excited about it,” Stratton said.
“These people are her base,” said Neel Lattimore, deputy press secretary for the first lady, “and she’s very much looking forward to seeing them.”