Jim Reinis has always been an organizer energized by bringing people together. As a Case Western Reserve undergraduate, he recruited students to campus and served on student government. After Reinis moved to Southern California in the late 1970s, he launched the CWRU Los Angeles alumni chapter and was the founding president.
He also created an annual event for alumni to picnic together and attend concerts performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Diana Ross, the late Tony Bennett and others at the Hollywood BowI.
"When I started this event I joked that I'd host [it] for 25 years," said Reinis, who is an expert in scheduling and operations having spent his career managing supply chains for various manufacturing companies.
That picnic and concert event has now been held for 30 years. with other alumni leading it for the last five.
"I did all of this craziness with the support of my family." Reinis said. "And in the process or those 25 years, I met some terrific people. It was just wonderful."
This piece, written by Steve Neumann, originally appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Think Magazine