Welcome, Hardwick Academy & Hazen Union Alumni

Counters-Free

---

2026 HARDWICK ACADEMY/HAZEN UNION ALUMNI REUNION

Hardwick Academy and Hazen Union alumni arrived from all over the country and the world  this June 17th thru June 19th to take part in three events sponsored by the H.A.H.U. Alumni Association. 

It took months for the Association to prepare for the activities this past weekend, but what they  did not plan on was Mother Nature bringing unrelenting moisture to the three outdoor events. It  was a weekend that ran on a continuous cycle of drizzle, rain, followed by some promising  clearing only to develop into another downpour.

The summer solstice weekend began on Thursday afternoon at Hill Farmstead Brewery in  Greensboro Bend. The Association held a social gathering at one of the nation’s great  breweries spearheaded by Hazen alumnus Shaun Hill.  

Unfortunately, heavy rain hit leading up to the afternoon social limiting attendance to a couple  dozen people. But the Hazen Union Class of 1981 arrived with a strong group and John Gray  from the Hardwick Academy Class of 1956 also arrived from Arizona with his partner. 

On Friday, the Association drew a record number of golfers to Mountain View Country Club in  Greensboro for the annual Master’s Memorial Golf Tournament. It was the first time in the  history of the event, which began in 2017, that more than 100 golfers played. The record total  on Friday was 120 participants. A total of 25 hole sponsors also supported the tournament. 

It was cloudy and cool when 14 of the 30 foursomes first teed off in the 12:30 grouping for the  nine-hole scramble. Rain was minimal throughout that first round and in the end, two groups  tied for the lead at five-under par 30 

The first group at 30 was the defending champions, the foursome of Arron Molleur, Nate  Brown, Ted Benoit and Brian Niemi. They came out of the gates strong, birdying their first three  holes after starting on the ninth hole. They would add two more birdies on holes five and seven  to complete their round of 30. 

Joining them at five-under par was another past champion, the foursome of Rick Wheeler, Mike  Clark, Dale Rowell and Xavier Hill filling in for John Sperry. They started slower, birdying holes  two and five, but finished stronger as they completed their round by birdying seven, eight and  nine consecutively. 

In the case of a tie, it was decided to use a card count to determine a winner. Using that  method, the defending champs were leading after the first round because they birdied the first  hole whereas the other group parred. 

The second round of 16 foursomes then teed off in the 3:30 grouping. They endured a mix of  weather, some drizzle to start their round, sunshine bursting out halfway through the round and  then a heavy downpour over the final three holes that completely drenched every golfer. 

The excessive moisture did not slow down the eventual 2026 Masters Memorial champions,  another group that has been a past champion. The very last to complete play, the foursome of  Joe Mulligan, Neal Mulligan, Patrick Mulligan and Griffin Holland overwhelmed the field with a  fantastic round of seven-under par 28 to capture the 2026 Masters title. 

They began their day on hole seven and birdied the first three holes. They would go on to par  the first hole, but came back with birdies on two and three, and after parring four, finished with  birdies on five and six to claim the coveted Masters green jackets.  

There were four closest to the hole winners. In the first round, Arron Molleur won closest on the  third hole and Jefferson Tolman won on hole five. Later in the afternoon, Landon Thompson 

won closest on three and Jane Woodruff won on hole five. Every single foursome that played  Friday won a prize thanks to generous donations from businesses throughout the region. 

The highlight of the weekend arrived on Saturday morning with the Association hosting the  Hardwick Academy/Hazen Union Alumni Reunion at Mike and Sally Brochu’s Pavilion on West  Hill in Hardwick. The biggest challenge of the day was safely parking everyone in a field that  was slowly turning to mud after all the moisture it received. 

Although rain, followed by a brief clearing, would cycle throughout the day, the reunion drew a  hearty crowd. It is estimated that around 130 alumni attended Saturday. There were a lot of  registered alumni who did not come out, but there were also quite a few alumni who arrived  unexpected.  

After a catered meal from the Village Restaurant, alumni president Mike Clark took to the mic to  get things started. The alumni were first entertained by Hazen students Chloe Cloutier and  Lewis Lapierre singing the Hazen Union alma mater, followed by Clark and Dan LeCours (H.U.  ’71) singing the Academy’s alma mater. 

The Association, in conjunction with the Hardwick Academy Class of 1955, awarded a pair of  Hazen seniors with three $1,000 prizes this spring. The two seniors were Anderson Williams  and Sadie Gann. Williams was on hand to accept his award and spoke to the alumni. Gann,  who couldn’t make it to the reunion, won both the Spirit and Service awards. The Spirit awards  this year were handed out in honor of Beverly Pape and Lorraine Hill. 

The Service Award in 2026 was presented in honor of Art Chase and Wendall Ainsworth as  members of Art Chase’s family were on hand to thank the Association and speak on behalf of  Chase. He worked 37.5 years at Hazen. The Association also thanked Mike and Sally Brochu  for hosting the reunion and recognized Beverly Shepard, who passed recently and was a  steady presence at most reunions. 

The highlight of the afternoon was honoring Penny Libercent from the Hazen Union Class of  1976, celebrating her class’ 50th reunion. Libercent is arguably the most accomplished athlete  to ever graduate from Hazen. 

The Association’s Lorrie Brochu Curtis introduced Libercent and her two former coaches, Jan  Howard and Jean Hackett. Hackett spoke on behalf of Libercent and delivered a long oral  history of Libercent’s many accomplishments.  

As a pitcher on the Hazen softball team, Libercent led Hazen to back-to-back state titles in  1974 and 1975. She was the school’s first 1,000 point scorer in basketball and she led the  Lady Wildcats to back-to-back state basketball championships in her junior and senior years.  Libercent was also invited to try out for the 1976 women’s Olympic Basketball squad and  nearly made the team.  

In 1974 and 1975, Libercent’s softball pitching record was 29-1. In her four years of playing  varsity basketball, Hazen teams went 55-10. During the 1975-76 school year, the Hazen  softball and basketball teams had a 36 game win streak. Hazen was undefeated in softball at  17-0, and went 19-0 in basketball to win their second state title. 

Then began the progression of honoring the five year classes. First up was Joyce Slayton  Mitchell of the H.A. Class of 1951, celebrating her 75th reunion. She won the “Oldest Attending  Alumni” award. 

There were four members of the H.A. Class of 1956 present, including John Gray, Gary and  Reg Anair and Evelyn Chabot Preston, and they were celebrating their 70th reunion. Gray won  the “Furthest Traveled” prize after arriving from Tucson, Arizona. The Association mentioned 12  other alumni who traveled over 1,000 miles to make the reunion and handed them prizes.  Debra Shepard traveled from Victoria, Australia, a distance of over 10,000 miles. 

The H.A. Class of 1961’s Scudder Parker was on hand to speak for his class and the H.A.  Class of 1966 had around 10 people as Dave Brown spoke for them.  

Next up was the first graduating class from Hazen, the Class of 1971 as Kevin Hussey spoke  for them. Celebrating its 50th class reunion was the Class of 1976 as Libercent spoke. The  Hazen Union Class of 1981 also had a big turnout of around 10 people as Nancy Shepard and  Terri Schoolcraft both spoke to the crowd. 

There were representatives from other Hazen classes, but a few of them had left prior to  speaking. The Association also gave out many donated door prizes, and for the second year in  a row, Carmeline Williams won the 50/50 raffle. 

The Hardwick Academy/Hazen Union Alumni Association will post pictures of the three events  on their website – hardwickhazenaliumni.com – and their Facebook page. 

The Association is led by president Mike Clark, vice president Patrick Hussey, secretary Gail  Luther O’Brien, treasurer Karen Hall and members Lorris Brochu Curtis, David LeCours, David  Burnham, David Shepard and Brenda Eastman.