January 2026 Alumni Update

Bison,

I remember an indoor meet at around this time of the year, a little over half a century ago, sometime between Christmas in 1974 and New Year's Day in 1975. The meet was at the musty, old 168th Street Armory in the Washington Heights section of New York. I'm sure many of you remember the Armory, not only from our Bucknell days but from our high school days, when athletes from the region would compete there on its flat 220 yard track, created by placing makeshift rails on the rough, wooden floor. The worst injury a runner could suffer in the Armory wasn't a torn hamstring or calf, but splinters the size of steak knives from a fall.

The Armory was never intended for runners. It was intended for soldiers. It opened in 1911 to store military equipment and to train soldiers for war. Like other Armories in the city and across the country, this Armory had a military unit, the 22nd Regiment of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the same branch of the United States Army Jeff Hines '84 joined more than seven decades later, serving in active duty for five years after his graduation from Bucknell. Later, as a member of the United States Army Reserve, his deployments included Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, he deployed in October 2001 as a Battle Staff Engineer for the Third Army and Liaison Officer to the Army Corps. The Armory began to hold track meets in 1914. But until it was transformed in the 1990's into the world class Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory it is today, its primary purpose was military, as any runner from our time would know, from the ominous jeeps and howitzers lined along the track's perimeter, poised in amber light for battle.

The meet was at night and behind schedule. Coach had some of us on the team come to it, those who lived in the region and were home on break. I was in the two-mile, scheduled for 10 pm. By 10:45 pm, the race had yet to be called, much less run. I had some experience in high school and at Bucknell racing at night. But not this late. I was warming up on the infield. Other than the few dark, terrifying corridors beneath the stands, there was nowhere else in the building to do so, and warming up outside invited misfortunes from hypothermia to mugging. The longer I warmed up, the more I thought running in this race, this late, was absurd. A little after 11 pm, circling on the infield, still warming up, I passed Coach walking in the opposite direction, and I let him know how I felt.

"This is nuts," I said.

"If you think this is nuts, then that's how you'll run," Coach said.

He didn't miss a beat. He didn't even look at me. His gaze was fixed on the jeeps and howitzers, silent echoes of his time in the Vietnam War. His response to me was as military as the Armory, the austere voice of a veteran--the fewer words, the better. It spoke to the imperative at the heart of his coaching, one we all know--we were to succeed, in sport and in life, no matter the challenge. And he was to prepare us to succeed, in sport and in life, no matter the challenge. There was no other way, no option or alternative, no relevance whatsoever to the challenge of the late hour of the race. Nothing impressive comes without challenge. We were to succeed in the face of it, and he was to prepare us for doing so, during and after our time at Bucknell. And we have succeeded, our Alumni Group alone representing many impressive accomplishments, amid many daunting challenges, across many notable endeavors, for a very long time.

I offer this story because I've been reflecting on the extraordinary life of Jeff Hines '84, dwelling on his many impressive accomplishments, which I have to believe drew source and strength from the preparation to succeed in sport and life we all received from Coach as members of the Bucknell Cross Country and Track & Field team. Jeff's accomplishments in his profession, in his community, and in his home, speak to a life well lived and to be celebrated. I've been reading about them, about the wars fought, the degrees earned, the positions held, the awards won, the scholarships endowed, the countries visited, the universities and colleges served, the traditions celebrated, and especially the lives touched--in his hometown of York, Pennsylvania alone, he supported youth reading programs, historic preservation initiatives, community symphonic groups, local sports tournaments, military veterans organizations, Boy Scout councils, and yes, the York Road Runners Club, which he led for nine years--all while dutifully rising in a remarkable career of thirty years to the top of his profession, becoming President and CEO of The York Water Company and leading several state and national water utility associations.

We had our challenges at Bucknell, to be overcome. We've had our challenges since Bucknell, to be overcome. Coach prepared us to succeed, from our first meet freshman year, to our last meet senior year, to our last moment, whenever it may be. And Jeff embodied that ethic, as we all did, which makes his passing all the more piercing, as is the passing of Guy Williams '76 on July 29, 2025, as is the passing of Valerie Gervais '72 on August 31, 2023. "Jeff was two years ahead of me, and I can say without reservation he was one of the best people I have ever met, and I was lucky enough to be around him daily for two years," said Brian Fullem '86. "Jeff was a civil engineer, was in ROTC, and was the most efficient person I know. Many of us would still be laying on the carpet in the gym after a run, and Jeff had already showered, had gone up to dinner, and was studying. He ran some of the fastest times in BU history on the old cross country course. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone, and he always had a smile. This is a tough one."

--Bob