Society Meetings

NWC Alumni 2025

December 15, 2025

Dear Graduate of Northwestern College or Northwestern Preparatory School,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus who took on human flesh for us and for our salvation. As WELS has marked its 175th anniversary during 2025, it has been an opportunity to review and reflect on the role NWC has played in that history as a school that prepared pastors to shepherd congregations with the means of grace and reach out with the gospel. I pray that it has provided an opportunity for you to give thanks to our gracious God for the blessings he has bestowed on our synod through the ministerial education system.

Our constitution states the purpose of our society: "The Northwestern College Alumni Society exists for fellowship purposes and to provide scholarships to students studying for WELS pastoral ministry at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn." Your gifts enable the NWC Alumni Society to carry out its stated purpose. As you consider how the Lord has blessed you—through your past education, through his gospel gifts, through the material assets God has showered on you—consider a generous gift. We encourage an annual gift of $25 to help cover expenses and mailing costs. Additional gifts go to the Presidents Fund for the scholarships. At our 2025 annual meeting, an increase in the scholarship was approved from $1,500 to $2,000 each. That increase was approved because of your donations and the generally upward trend of the stock market. But to continue meeting that goal, your generous donations are needed. Anniversary classes might even consider collecting a special gift. The giving form can be found here. We now also offer the convenient option to give online. You may give to both the NWC Annual Gift and the NWC Presidents Fund using the dropdown menu.

The annual banquet and meeting will be held on the campus of Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wis., on Monday, May 18, 2026. Please note that it will again be held on a Monday. Here is the tentative schedule:

• 3:30 p.m.: Gathering for fellowship

• 4:30 p.m.: Annual meeting

• 5:15 p.m.: Annual banquet, followed by anniversary speakers

• The banquet will end prior to 7:00 p.m. 

Please plan class reunions around the banquet so that classmates may attend. The anniversary classes will be 1956, 1966, 1976, and 1986. Address lists for your classmates may be obtained by contacting me (joel.otto@wls.e​du). You may want to start on that early because you will probably need some time to track down classmates. You will receive a letter in the mail in April with a registration form for the banquet and meeting.

The minutes from the May 2025 annual meeting compiled by Richard Lehmann contain the following information that might interest you:

• The names of the 12 MLC students who received NWC Presidents Scholarships. Since 1997, we have granted $311,800 to 267 different students. We thank you for your generous gifts and we thank God for his gracious blessings.

• The treasurer's report.

• The chronicler's report. We have completed an updated listing of the graduates of Northwestern College. You may purchase a copy for $5 each. Please see the giving form. Thank you to Peter Prange (NWC '94, NPS '90) for putting the list of graduates on the NWC Alumni Society website (nwc-alumni-society.org/alumni). Many of the older names also include links to information about each graduate. A two-disc set containing thousands of historical pictures of NWC and NPS is available for $12 per set (all photos are also now available online at the NWC Alumni Society website: nwc-alumni-society.org/alumni). I would encourage you to take the time to browse through the many photos.

• Photos from the annual meeting.

From your Treasurer:

Thank you for your ongoing gifts and support. With your generosity and reduced costs, the Operating Fund gained $3,875 during our fiscal year that runs from April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, the balance was $11,140.

An increase in gifts year over year and favorable investment returns led to an increase in the Presidents Fund of $12,268. This allowed us to increase our scholarship value from $1,500 to $2,000 for each recipient! This is a wonderful blessing at a time when we need all hands on deck to do whatever we can to recruit and encourage future called workers. As of March 31, 2025, the Presidents Fund balance was $331,218.

Can we do more? Yes, with your help. Would you consider increasing your Presidents Fund gift this year?

Would you also consider designating the NWC Alumni Society as a beneficiary of a portion of your taxable estate?

This is a wise and relatively easy thing to do. Tax-deferred funds like a regular IRA, 401(k), or 403(b) will be taxable to your heirs upon your entrance to heaven. Our society is income tax-free!

You can designate the society as a beneficiary of an amount or percentage of a tax-deferred fund by doing so under the beneficiary designation if you manage your funds yourself or by asking your financial advisor to help you.

Name: Northwestern College Alumni Society

Tax ID or EIN: 39-0901950

For more information you can also contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor using this directory or by calling WELS Ministry of Christian Giving at 414-256-3209 / 800-827-5482. 

Thank you for your help!

The Lord bless and keep you during this Advent and Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus who took on human flesh for us and for our salvation.

In Christ,
Joel D. Otto, NWC '91, NPS '87
NWC Alumni Society President