This story originally appeared in the Dec. 2024 Checkpoints magazine.

Jerry Bruni ’70 has attended nearly every Class of 1970 reunion at the Air Force Academy since he made Colorado Springs his home.

“These are wonderful opportunities,” he says. “It’s funny how you meet with somebody who you knew decades ago, and after a few minutes, the years just evaporate, and you’re right back in there, in that situation, remembering the funny things that happened that weren’t necessarily funny at the time. It’s a tremendous joy to share with these classmates.”

In addition to rekindled friendships, Bruni says a reunion offers much more potential to be of service to the Academy and the graduate community. To that end, Jerry and Pam Bruni have created the Class of 1970 Endowment for Reunions to continue to foster class connections for years after graduation day. While the endowment is named for Bruni’s own class, the returns from the original $4 million investment will benefit several reunion classes every year.

“Good things can and will happen once you reach a critical mass. And in the case of a critical mass of committed, capable young men and women, who knows what specifically they’ll do, but it will be good,” Jerry Bruni says. “It’ll be good for them, it’ll be good for the Academy, it’ll be good for the country.”

Benefiting the classes celebrating their 10th, 20th, 25th or 30th reunions, earnings from the endowment will help reduce registration fees to make it easier for classmates to maintain their Academy connections and foster engagement across the class. If a targeted class uses the new Hotel Polaris at the Academy’s North Gate as its reunion hotel, some of the endowment could be used to reduce nightly room rates for attendees, as well.

“When people are younger, they’re still building families and so forth. The pressures are greater, and so in addition, it’s important, in our view, for graduate populations to coalesce, to come together early in their graduate careers,” Jerry Bruni says. “Graduation day is the last day in the history of the universe that a class will be together, and the closest thing to that thereafter will be reunions. So we want to encourage the assembling of this critical mass, and we are convinced that very good things will come from that.”

Pam Bruni has seen firsthand how her husband’s class has formed strong bonds, and she, too, wants other graduates to have the same experience.

“As a spouse, I have witnessed the mutual respect, trust and friendship that USAFA grads have for each other,” she says. “They come together to celebrate and support one another through all of life’s offerings, both happy and sad. I have seen that they encourage and sustain each other’s beliefs in living lives of service in every possible way.”

Jerry Bruni’s class experienced its version of critical mass during its 30th reunion. Four members of the class gift committee presented an idea to honor Academy graduates who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The class raised more than $3 million to create the Southeast Asia Memorial Pavilion, and they dedicated the project during their 40th reunion in October 2010.

More reunion projects followed, including the addition of interactive screens in the pavilion to offer history and graduate stories, the creation of the Plaza of Heroes to recognize exceptional acts of valor, and the launch of a website that helps tell the story of the projects.

“If we weren’t together, that commitment never would have happened, and we’re so happy to have done these things. They really all sprang from a reunion experience,” Jerry Bruni says. “Pam and I would love to have other classes have similar experiences where they not only commiserate, but they also commit. I mean, it’s a service academy. These are servicemen and servicewomen. The key word is ‘service.’”

The Brunis’ generous gift will help achieve two goals of the Defining Our Future campaign. In addition to philanthropically supporting the Association of Graduates and Air Force Academy Foundation, it aims to increase participation and engagement of the Long Blue Line.

“Each reunion year, we welcome over 5,000 grads and guests to our Academy — many living outside of Colorado. Reducing some cost barriers to come to a reunion allows more grads to focus on reconnecting, sharing the Academy with their families, and finding ways to give back,” says Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99, senior vice president of engagement at the Association and Foundation. “That deeper connection brings helpful feedback to us, informing practices and programs we offer. I’m already looking forward to our Gold Will Shine 30th in 2029 and am excited to see how our class will lead a legacy project — all recently ignited over conversation at our reunion.”

Jerry and Pam Bruni hope similar inspiration takes place for other classes as they gather for their milestone reunions beginning in 2025.

“I went to the Academy for four years. I taught there for five years. Many times when I come back to the Academy, I get chills just being on base,” Jerry Bruni says.

That awe now continues with the newly opened Hotel Polaris, which is an option for classes to use during reunion weekends.

“Experiencing Hotel Polaris’ beauty and seeing its tremendous landscape and all those thoughtful features indoors — a room with flight simulators and USAFA touches throughout — it’s awe-inspiring,” he says. “Having a reunion that can participate in that environment, I think, is going to be exceptional. And being able to, in effect, buy down some of the rates and make it more accessible, I think that will pay off.”

Mark Hille ’97, CEO of the Association and Foundation, believes the Brunis’ philanthropic leadership will have a lasting effect on the Academy.

“This gift transforms how graduates connect to each other and to the Academy,” Hille says. “Jerry and Pam’s generosity and vision will impact current and future generations, strengthening graduate engagement and creating a culture of participation and support.”

Throughout the Defining Our Future campaign, the Brunis have also supported the renovation of the Planetarium and building the STEM Center, an upgrade to equipment in the observatory, the creation of the new Hosmer Visitor Center and the Hotel Polaris project. The visitor center and hotel are the signature projects at the new TrueNorth Commons development just outside the Academy’s North Gate.

Jerry Bruni was an operations research officer in the Air Force, and he served in the Air Force Academy’s Department of Economics. He is the founder and president of Colorado Springs-based J.V. Bruni and Company, the largest independent money management firm in southern Colorado. He also founded and is president of the Bruni Foundation, which supports education and development programs nationwide for students and adults.

“There is no prescribed way to engage with the Academy, the AOG or Foundation,” says Jerry Bruni, who is a founding director of the Air Force Academy Foundation. “Different people will focus on different things. Some will like being active in local chapters. Others will like gathering for sporting events. Others like participating in other activities together. Pam and I have channeled a lot of our energies into the Foundation and, importantly, its efforts together with the AOG to reach graduates.”