1987

Dear Classmates, I apologize if some of this information is even more dated than usual. Due to my missing the last column, I have some letters that go back to last fall. Please let me know if you'd like me to include a correction or update in the next column. Anyway, sorry about missing the last column. Right at deadline my mother had a heart attack and I was starting a new job (with Accenture, Global Alliances Marketing), so things were a little stressful to say the least. My mom is OK now, and I'm settling into the new job, so life is good and it's back to Kellogg World.

Lisa Dworkin writes, "How do I paraphrase 13 years?" The answer is "quickly." Lisa and her husband have two children, Geoff (10) and James (8). They were living in Wilmette, Ill., until 1997, and then got this crazy idea that they needed a change, so they packed up the family and moved to Florida. They landed in Celebration, a neo-traditional community outside Orlando that Disney developed. Unfortunately, it wasn't what they thought it would be and they moved back to the Chicago area in 1999. They are now living in Northbrook and are happy to be back. Lisa has worked off and on since her children were born, but her primary interest has been volunteer work. She's been involved with her children's schools, in the education department at the Shedd Aquarium and with Toastmasters International.

Lisa has kept in touch with Carol Loitman Greenspun and is wondering if anyone knows the whereabouts of Lisa Danyluk. Lisa Dworkin's e-mail address is lisa.dworkin@ mindspring.com if you'd like to help her out.

Speaking of Carol Loitman Greenspun, back on Oct. 27, she was busy with the arrival of Caitlyn Sydney Greenspun, child number three. She reports a hectic life with three little ones under the age of four, but she loves it.

Mike Holling and his family made the move back to the Chicago area, too. He and wife, Leslie, along with their three kids -- Logan (6), John (4) and Caroline (2) -- are living in Kenilworth. Mike transferred from the Banc Of America Securities Syndications Group in Charlotte, N.C., to the Real Estate Group in Chicago. Mike formed an investment club (Cocktails and Trades Syndicates -- CATS) with six other classmates including: Cameron Krueger, Paul Embree, Chip Gilberton, Jim Carrow, Jeff Coyner and Scott Brueggeman. Mike is open to investment ideas from any of you out there in alumniland. You can drop him a line at Michael.l.holling @bankofamerica.com.

Regarding the aforementioned investment gurus, according to Mike, Cam Krueger ran out of companies that would employ him and now has his own company, Northern Consulting. Paul Embree is also on his own managing money as Moody Investment Advisors, and his clients seem to be located in places where he can maintain his low handicap like Pinehurst and Pebble Beach. Chip Gilbertson is a world traveler with ABN Amro, and Jim Carow was still with Paine Webber the last time Mike checked. Scott Brueggeman left Ameritech to join a private telecom company, and Jeff Coyner, has a trading job that allows him to split his time between Chicago and his home in Beaver Creek, Colo.

Melody Jeffrey writes from Virginia Beach, Va., to describe her "pilgrimage" to NU last summer. She and her husband JJ (who attended NU undergrad) took their daughter Grace to all their old haunts and got her a Wildcat Willy. While in Chicago they also saw Betsy Fallon, who is a director in the strategic planning group for Northwestern Memorial Hospital downtown. Her son, John, is in elementary school and into sports just like his parents!

Melissa Goodman Peterman, who I'd like to thank for her time and assistance in networking with my job search, was working for the three years up until last summer with a start-up in the wireless telecom industry. The company was happily bought out by VoiceStream Wireless, and Melissa decided to take some time off to spend with her son, Jeremy, who was born in June 1999. Melissa's husband, Steve, is still enjoying working in finance at Kraft. Steve Rosen who was also very helpful in my search is living in Wilmette, Ill., with his wife Claudia, two children: Naomi (11), Gideon (8) and one puppy, Kaylie. Steve, while still very busy with management consulting in the technology space, is looking to explore some of his other interests like writing, volunteering and singing. It must be a life-stage thing, Steve, I've been feeling the same way for the last year or so.

Steve keeps in touch with Ken Bloom and his wife Lisa, who have two kids, Aaron and Julie, and live in Highland Park. Steve also hears from Joe Hagler now and then. He now lives in Houston.

Rick Raabe finally got the "guilts" and wrote me a great letter to update us all on he and Lauren's (Hudson Raabe's) activities. Rick is still enjoying the ride and rewards of Wall Street after 13 years "crossing size," now as a slightly gray-haired executive director in global equities for UBS Warburg. On his own time Rick enjoys skiing in Jackson Hole (where I once nearly froze to death camping in 30-below conditions) and coaching kids soccer. Lauren, after retiring from Schering-Plough as a senior brand manager in OTC, is very busy full-time in "bucolic New Canaan, Conn.," with all of the mommy/wife stuff an MBA comes in handy for and helping Derick (9) and Wheatley (6) with homework (as you may recall she did all of mine at Camp Kellogg)." Rick, also, feels compelled to note that "while riding the 6:26 a.m. into NYC every morning he is able to witness classmate Kevin McQuilkin model one the largest and best collections of investment banking suspenders in the western hemisphere. This power fashion statement really does drive another local alum, one Rab Ker, crazy, but thankfully not to the point of wiping that famous smile of his face."

Jane (Bukoski) Skittone recently moved to sunny Florida from Illinois and is employed with the town of Palm Beach as finance director. Every once in a while I get a letter from one of our alums in a foreign land and feel a tremendous sense of envy for the adventure and excitement of living abroad.

The letter I received from Greg Peterson was one of those notes. Greg, along with his wife, Lia, and four children -- Elizabeth (13), Nathan (10), Richard ( 7) and Alexander (4) -- has been stationed in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the last two years where he is managing director, Southern Africa, for the Kellogg Company. He and his family have had some great adventures in Africa, including going on safari twice, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, and traveling to Tanzania last summer where he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Greg reports that there is not a lot of air on top of that particular mountain above 19,000 feet. Greg is still doing a fair amount of bike riding, even participating in some local races. As he turns 40 he's happy about the prospect of being in a new age group (40-49) and competing against a bunch of geezers (my word). Lia rides as well, and they have done some races together on their tandem. Greg, I'm not only envious of your geography, I'm awed that you're still racing. I feel pretty big if I can get out for a group ride once a week in the summer. You rule, dude! Keep it up.

Greg Peterson '87 and family with their guides in Tanzania.

That's enough for now. Drop me a line at my new e-mail address. Best wishes to you all.