By Danielle Beckwith. Published on July 30, 2020

Bobcat Connection: July 27

A deep dive into the Alumni Council’s impact

Meet the Council and learn about their work in the annual impact report.

Check-in with your Bates friends — for the fall 2020 issue of Bates Magazine. Tell us what have you learned about what’s important in your life that you want to support?
Share your Class Note by Aug. 3 to make it in the next magazine!

Do you have deep knowledge of a given subject or issue, a hidden talent, or passionate hobby? Are you comfortable on camera or recording yourself at home? Let us know about it and you could be included in a future installment of Alumni Experts!

Reid Lutter ’93, CEO of Podiumwear Custom Sports Apparel in St. Paul, MN.

“Podiumwear is a craft factory. Our machines are nimble. They are set up to make short runs of multiple [athletic apparel] styles, multiple sizes, and multiple designs. The biggest challenge was transitioning overnight into a factory that could produce one product [face coverings] on a massive scale. For example, we suddenly needed the ability to cut hundreds of rolls of elastic into 6-inch pieces for the masks but we didn’t have the right machine. We improvised with one of our fabric cutting tables. Usually, this cut table uses a camera to read pattern markers on rolls of specialty athletic fabric, and then it cuts those pattern pieces out. Right now, it’s jerry-rigged up with 24 rolls of elastic so we can feed them through at one time, cutting at 6-inch intervals.

Q: What are you most grateful for right now?
“My family, my health, and the health of my family.”

Thank you, Reid!

Learn more about Reid and his business.

Alumni Update:

Grace Ingabire ’19 is using her art [dance] as a means for change and wants to help others find their voice as well.

“…the objective of the project is to preserve these dances and promote local dancers in different parts of the country.” Read on about Grace’s work.

Alumni Update:

Brenna Flaugher ’83 has been awarded the title of Distinguished Scientist for her exemplary leadership in experimental astrophysics, including her successful leadership of the international Dark Energy Camera project.

Read more about her work that led to this distinction.