Jim and I were blown away by the number of happy, enthusiastic Iowa State alumni (and their friends) who turned out for the ISUAA Club of Chicago’s “Cyclone Summertime Happy Hour” held last Friday (Aug. 10) on the patio of the Millennium Park Grill during our VISIONS Across America tour of the upper Midwest. It was a beautiful night to be in downtown Chicago, and the Cyclones just kept coming. I think all told we must have had upwards of 50 people show up between 5 o’clock and the time we left, and everyone seemed to have a great time.
I have to give a special shout-out to club leaders Scott DeKoster (’02 advertising) and Leslie Blake DeKoster (’03 industrial engineering) for helping to plan and promote the event. Scott arrived at the Millennium Park Grill TWO HOURS prior to the start of the event just to save enough space for the Chicago Cyclones to gather in the popular, no-reservations-accepted outdoor bar area (I eventually showed up with some stand-up Cys and cardinal & gold pom-poms, which seemed to help define the gathering space.) Soon Iowa Staters began arriving in droves, in grad years ranging from 1956 to 2012.
Even the band, The Walk-ins, got into the Cyclone spirit. Lead singer Joe Matise wore an Iowa State nametag and a Homecoming sticker and even joined us for a few group photos.
Here’s Jim Fancher (’56 electrical engineering) and his wife, Carol, enjoying the festivities.
Chris (’01 management information systems) and Kristen Collins (above) have one of those “mixed” marriages: Kristen didn’t attend Iowa State; she married into it. But you’d never know. She was one of the most enthusiastic Cyclones in the group.
We even had a couple from West Des Moines join our group. Kyle Nielsen (’07 journalism) and Allison Roby (’09) had just arrived in Chicago on vacation and saw the cardinal & gold, so they thought they’d stop by.
Thanks, Chicago. We had a fantastic time!
On the road 
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