EMP-25 graduates meet to share dinner. From left, Dale Peterson, Bill Knab, Diana Walker and Nicki Schuh.

EMP-25

Welcome to the ten-year anniversary edition of our class update. I have lots of news and hope that you enjoy knowing what is happening with our class. The goal is to keep the class up-to-date and informed with personal and professional changes. Thanks to all who took the time to send me information, email me and call. I would like to have you encourage some of our classmates who we have not been heard from to respond next go-round.

This just in from William R. Knab and Diana Walker of Park Ridge, Ill: "After severely testing the powers of endurance with long and difficult negotiations, years of meticulous efforts, thousands of emails, I am proud to announce that a strategic merger has resulted. In 1998, while working together at Hu-Friedy, a dental supply manufacturer in Chicago, a 'spark' ignited a journey for the pair that was predetermined and inevitable. Overlooking the many faults that Bill has (so many that I cannot list them here due to space), and determined to put up with the 'perfection is the only way' that manifested from Diana, the merger took place. On June 22, on a beautiful Marco Island shrimp boat loaded with bait for a short cruise, the culmination of many years of sending e-cards and courting took place. Now, having just recently returned from their honeymoon camping and canoeing trip in the jungles of Venezuela, the couple appears to have recovered from their wild adventures and are settling down nicely at home. Bill recalled fondly, 'The years of dial-a-date are over, as my lovely bride and I will join our 12 children, my 10 and her two, at one residence in Park Ridge.'"

Nicki L. Schuh president of NLS Enterprises of Libertyville, Ill., and I had the opportunity to view some of the Knab-Walker wedding pictures at an October dinner gathering at Bob Chins. We were amazed at what a great location it was for a wedding! The boat was pretty clean for a 75-year-old vessel. To have as many of the boat's crew available and willing to participate in the ceremonies was just a fantastic bonus for the couple. The pictures just do not share the serenity and beauty of the local riverbank. We are all so happy for the couple and hope that everyone drops them an email to wish them well. One last note, Bill is now senior vice president, marketing and corporate development, for RenalSolutions in Park Ridge. They recently obtained the funding they needed to expand and are on the way to doing some great things in the health care industry. Good luck and great success to y'all.

Had a few brief messages from Michael M. Nanney, manager of business development at Nexen Petroleum in Dallas, Stephen Kells, vice president at Northern Trust Co. in Chicago, and Joseph C. Czopek, vice president at BankOne, commercial credit products finance. All are doing well and say hello to the class.

Received a note from Peter Krol, vice president at Harris Bank in Chicago. He wrote, "Ah, how good it is to hear about the many adventures of the EMP class and to occasionally hear from someone other than my parole officer ó thanks for calling. Glad to hear that you, J. Fred Brunk, William R. Knab, Don R. Misner and my favorite classmate Nicki L. Schuh are doing well. I'm in my 34th year at the bank. In the last 10 years I have gone through five bosses and have left an everlasting impression on each and every one of them. One even gave me a compliment by stating that I am a self-made manager. Unfortunately all good things do end. We were all notified in October that our operation is closing within three years and moving to Canada. As to other accomplishments in my life, there is the restoration of my 1957 Ford Fairlane. It took seven years and cost so much that the auto shop was able to build a three-story addition to the back of their service bays. Now I'm looking for a woman who wears bobby socks and a poodle skirt to take to an old-fashioned drive-in movie. If you have any leads, please have the person email me ASAP. The heater does work in the car if someone can be found this winter. I have postponed my plans to build a home in Poland. It is difficult to find homes built by Cambridge Homes overseas. I still live in the 'hood' and maintain my nickname the 'Rot Man.' My best friend and companion, Girly Dog, a rottweiler, is getting up in years, but still has a mean bite. I basically get about one visit from the Humane Society a week, but she is just an ole' softie. The bites are never very severe. Next time you, or anyone for that matter, are in the Windy City, please call me. We can all hop into the 1957 Ford and cruise down Lake Shore Drive. If someone drives, I can sit on my phone books, piled in the back seat and yell at some lassies from the suburbs. I would also be open to meeting some of those Texan ladies that we all hear so much about. The taller, the better. This Ford Fairlane cowboy wants to die with his boots on. Take care and tell everyone hello!"

Received a note or talked with Wendy L. Tweeten, Steve L. Hamilton and Brendan Coyle. All is well and they are keeping busy. Brendan is now director of customer service for Vistant, headquartered in San Diego. He still resides in Wheaton. Don R. Misner is currently collecting state quarters and has plans to spend his free time filling in gaps to his collection, striving to acquire all 50 states.

The adventure continues for Karen L. Powell, now a principal partner at Worldzen LLC, who shared the following: "I loved reading the last updates and though it took me a year to send my news in to you, I've made some big professional changes as well. I have ventured into a new business and as a result, feel like I'm back in my Kellogg days of constant learning, challenge and excitement! The name of our firm is Worldzen ó we are a business process outsourcing firm focused on insurance, banking, health care, collection and recovery processes and technology. We have a center in New Delhi, India, and are currently building a new center in Bangalore, India. I travel to India about four times per year and absolutely love the country! Our business process outsourcing model includes proving a lasting benefit to our clients by moving back-office transaction processing to our center in India. We understand how to align processes with those retained in a client's home office and we include a guaranteed savings well beyond the labor arbitrage offerings of our competitors. We have been in business for one year now and are currently in the final stages of raising our first round of financing with the leading international private equity firm, headquartered in Washington, D.C. The many teachings from our long hours with Tom Lys have come in handy with this mind-boggling exercise! My family is doing great and my youngest daughter, Tatum, delivered during our summer break of our second year, making it easy for me to keep track of how long it's been since our Kellogg days. My best to all!"

Vince A. Inendino is doing well and provided the following update. "I talk on a regular basis to Michael J. Bauer and Greg A. Orlando about life, women and our careers. Greg is raising sled dogs to race in the 'Last Great Race,' the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska and the Denali 300 in 2004. As a Midwest musher, you can really tell that he loves the winters. We get together after work about once a month or so. Greg is doing well and is a workout fanatic these days. A few months back Brian L. Rucks joined us for a cameo appearance, and we had a lot of laughs talking about old times. Brian is now in the custom golf club business. As you would expect, he is doing quite well. I also ran into Wes Hayden this past November 2002. He is now senior vice president for the Americas at Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories in Rosemont. I think we will see if he can join us the next time that Greg, Mike and I get together. Mike's company has changed ownership (what else is new) and he is working through that process as we speak. I really do not have anything new to report. We were toying with the idea of issuing a special 10-year anniversary addition of the 'Singles Magazine' we published during the second live-in week, just for the heck of it. What do you think? Tell everyone to send in their money if interested!"

After 10 years of being MIA, I heard from Steve R. Trenholm. In his note he says, "I apologize for 'falling off the face of the earth' with regard to getting back to you and keeping you informed on my activities for the last 10 years. These past 10 years have gone by very fast. I will attempt to update everyone on what I have been doing. After we finished up at Kellogg, I spent several years continuing in my role as the head of business development and marketing at Sargent and Lundy. However, by 1995 or so, my interest was moving in a different direction and I was looking for new challenges. To satisfy these desires, several of us within the organization put together a plan to start a management consulting group that would focus on the company's primary customers. By 1996, we had a small group and began providing management consulting services as Sargent and Lundy Management Consultants. Our small group continued to grow and by early 2000, we had a group of 25 or so consultants. By this time, however, we wanted to move in some directions that were not consistent with the overall direction of the company. As a result, I left Sargent and Lundy (June 2000) with several of my senior consultants and went to Harza Engineering Co. to start a management consulting group at Harza. We were aware that Harza was in merger discussions with Montgomery Watson and within a year after joining Harza, we became Montgomery Watson Harza. I am currently at Montgomery Watson Harza, now known as MWH and we are in the midst of building an energy/industrial and water/wastewater management consulting practice. MWH is an interesting company in that it is a very global company and also very much of an engineering company. As a result, we are faced with numerous challenges as we move forward. We do however, continue to be excited and are charging forward to build our new organization."

Had a phone conversation and learned about the new opportunities in store for Deborah R. Fiori, now the associate director of development at Princeton University. I did not get a lot of the details, but she told me that she misses everyone, continues to be committed to her work and loves the challenges. She promises to provide more detailed information and news when "life becomes less hectic," so we will just have to wait for the details.

Providing some exciting news is John S. Strauss, who shared that he recently learned of his 40th high school reunion ó which he did not attend. However, while in Philadelphia this past September, he ran into his high school sweetheart. As good fortune would have it, they married on Dec. 14! Congratulations. John also mentioned that he now has four grandchildren and is currently between careers. After an extremely successful tenure as vice president and general manager of the AVW division of System Sensor, Honeywell International, he was "downsized" by the new owners. Their loss was clearly John's fortune, as he has had the most incredible year of his life. With a new bride, we can see why he is so fortunate. Good luck and stay positive.

Recently J. Fred Brunk began a new challenge at Siemens Building Technologies in Buffalo Grove, Ill. After many phone calls to this advisor and confidant, Miss Cleo, he has decided to reinvent himself and enter a new stage in his life. He is the senior director of business development and is again working with many old friends and managers he has known in the industry for many years. He is having a great time with the fast pace and ever-changing opportunities. He commented that he recently hosted Heinrich von Pierer, chairman of Siemens, at a Siemens Building Technologies management conference for 500 Siemens managers and leaders. I had plenty of opportunities to polish up his public speaking skills during that informative conference. He is also having fun leading six sigma initiatives at four divisions. Fred wrote, "My son Alex, a sophomore at Georgia Tech, helped Perdue and Chamblis get elected in the great state of Georgia. He met Rudy Guliani, Oliver North, and Bob Barr, and had a VIP seat for the George Bush speech just prior to the election. He has been invited to the inaugural ball for the new Georgia Governor in January, a black-tie affair! What a great experience! Son Chris is a junior at Deerfield High School and is headed again for the state chess championships. Although Chris has never been without money, including CDs and mutual funds, we insisted on him taking a job this summer. The first month he was made employee of the month! Next, he surprised the local banker when he opened a Roth IRA for himself. My toughest recent assignment was holding down 16 seats for Patrick and his classmates as we celebrated his eighth birthday at the sold-out opening night of 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.'"

Not too long ago I heard from Mary Paskell. She continues to find work challenging and enjoyable. She is heading up the marketing for a behavioral health firm as director of marketing at ComPsych Corp. in Chicago. She mentioned that it is a great industry and has lots of challenges, as well as a good quality of life. Mary's 10-year-old daughter is doing well ó which means that we have has been out of school for 10 years now! Has it really been that long?

In December, I had the chance to talk with Lee J. Spruit, director of program management and technology at CAMACO in Novi, Mich. Lee told me that he had two major events this last year. One, he turned 50 and is no worse for the wear. Two, after rupturing his Achilles tendon earlier this year, he matched them both up by rupturing his other Achilles tendon as well. Lee shared with me that he was "as lame as a duck for quite some time. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but like a real duck that was actually lame." At least his limp is more even these days.

You will love this. Here is a note from R. Scott Blankenship. Scott writes, "Hope all is great with everyone. The old study group of Harry M. Johns, Sally A. Faber, John C.T. Dodgen and Lee J. Spruit and I did go to the Reunion this past year at Kellogg. As far as I could tell, we were the ONLY ones there from EMP-25. We had a blast catching up, visiting all at the Allen Center, and of course, spending a good deal of time at the Davis Street Fish market. It was wonderful to see the team again. As for me, I have taken an early retirement option from the USPS. Leaving after all those years really hurt. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall. They wanted me to relocate again and I just decided that I have given them some of the best years of my life and could not do it any longer. We were pretty content here in Florida and were not going to relocate again. After a 3 1/2 week trip to Spain, France and Italy with my wife Cathy, I returned to new adventures back in the states. The exciting news is that in June, I accepted an offer as part owner and president of Nature's Gallery. This is a new high-end dried and silk floral manufacturer located near my home in Clermont, Fla. The offer also included a significant equity position and I am extremely excited about the opportunity. Talk about change! Our primary market segments are interior designers, design centers, furniture stores, hotels and large retail stores. We also import prearranged products for our lower-end customers. We are wholesale and sell only to the trade. That is a 180-degree change from what I was doing, but this is what I have been looking for. Running a small company is a real challenge, especially in these times of uncertainty. This has kept me really busy the past five months and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. So for now it is work, work and more work. Please come see us at www.NaturesGallery.biz if you care to visit." If you get the chance, visit the site and catch a picture of a relaxed and casual Scott in his Bermuda shorts!

John C.T. Dodgen continues to enjoy Indiana. He writes, "As you may have heard from Scott, our entire study group met at Kellogg for the reunion this past year and had a wonderful time. It is hard to believe it has been 10 years! It was great to get caught up on everyone's life and also to meet Scott's wife Cathy. As for me, there is not much new professionally. I am still at VTI as general manager. Business is phenomenal and I think I have found the perfect career opportunity for me and hope that it continues for some time. My wife and I have had another baby ó Annaliese is her name. That makes number six! I think we get egg roll now, or something like that. My oldest is in his second year in college and my next oldest is running a lodge in Montana that our family purchased years ago. Come to think of it, maybe there is a better job than mine! We are in the process of building a new home in Columbus, Ind., where we will have 50 acres. My new hobby is farming with my new Holland tractor. Life is good and Indiana is an absolutely great place to live."

It's been some time since we have heard from Erik E. Olson of Westport, Conn., who wrote in to say that little has changed for him these last few years. He is still the executive vice president, managing director with Greenfield Consulting Group. They were sold this year to WPP/Millward Brown, but it really hasn't meant a lot of dramatic changes around the place. Ulich Kammholz and his wife Anne spent a weekend with the Olson's last summer. It appears that Ulich loves what he is doing at F/X Nike in Portland, Ore.

Gregg H. Dorner recently shared the following: "I sold my interest in Heinemann's Bakeries in March 2001. My business responsibilities at Heinemann's will cease in a few months. So far, part-time retirement agrees with me and I am looking forward to participating in some charitable efforts and activities. I have served for the last three years on the board of trustees of Riverview School, located in Massachusetts. This residential school serves adolescents with learning disabilities. I find it quite satisfying to use my business expertise in a nonprofit environment. By the way, I saw John A. Nickele some time ago and haven't talked with Steve L. Hamilton and Mary A. Gottenborg in seven or eight years." Steve is still enjoying his hobby of hamster psychic and medical advisor for abandoned animals in Utah.

I recently had a note from Michael J. Bauer, chief resource officer at Smith, Bucklin and Associates Inc., of Chicago. He wrote, "Unfortunately, I continue living the life of a 'typical' U.S. married male. I've been focused on keeping the job I have, while looking for financial security and nirvana ó even with the odds, lotto is my best shot at accomplishing that in the short term. For the most part, what I do centers on work and on my three kids. My pastime consists of working on the farm ó my hydroponics farm, which keeps me busy. I am now paying tuition for one at Northwestern and one at the University of Illinois with two years left. What a killer that is, but at least my youngest is still two years away from beginning college. Aside from the divorce threats I get from my wife over how much time I spend at the office, it's not too exciting. The old study group team still gets together periodically and that is a lot of fun. Hope all is well and tell everyone hello."

We are fortunate to have some free investment advise from one of our own, Brian L. Rucks, who wrote, "My wife Donna and I enjoyed a trip on the Orient Express in October. London to Rome in three days! What a great adventure. I would highly recommend it to all. I have one tip for all our classmates: A good way to have a million dollars in the stock market is to invest two million dollars into the market the first of each year." Thanks for the interesting advice, Brian!

Brian K. Reese, vice president of operations at CenterPoint Energy in Houston, Texas, is doing very well these days. "No real news here other than my oldest daughter, Tiffany, who was 7 when we were in Naperville and I was attending Northwestern, has gone off to the University of Kansas and is enjoying being back in the Midwest. She liked the Texas Gulf Coast, but it got a bit too hot and humid for her. Even though I grew up in the Houston area, I also have a hard time with the heat! Hope all is well and I do enjoy reading about what's going on in the lives of our classmates."

Guess who is moving again? Dan Leffert. He recently celebrated his ninth anniversary with Nestle and is in his fifth relocation. Dan is now residing in Canada. He says, "I moved from Switzerland to Toronto the first of October to begin my new role of vice president, manufacturing for Nestle Canada. I am responsible for all manufacturing and technical services in Nestle's 12th largest market worldwide. We have eight factories and 30 comanufacturers in this $2 billion market. Still haven't unpacked all of the boxes, and the painters have another two weeks in the house, so I will be thankful when things return to normal.

From out of the great northwest Timothy R. Schulte sent me a note recently and shared, "I am finishing up my fourth year at Intel in Portland, Ore., where I head global public relations for Intel's channel group. My wife Laura and I are about to mark the fifth birthday of daughter Isabel and the second birthday of daughter Christina. We hope to get transferred with Intel to Germany in the next year and will be traveling to Munich next summer to begin scouting out home locations.

Here is some good info from Thomas M. Prescott. "Everything is great out here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have been out here since 1999, so it feels like home. In 1999 I came out to rebuild a small, public interventional cardiology company called Cardiac Pathways. We managed to get it turned around and sold it to Boston Scientific for $115 million in August 2001. I took some time off, and in April accepted a job as CEO of Align, a developer of Invisalign, an alternative to conventional braces, for straightening teeth. On the home front, everything is great as well. Our son is now 16 and driving, which brings its own set of challenges! I do look back on those weekends at Kellogg and wonder where the last 10 years have gone! If anyone is out in the Bay area, please give me a call. I would love to see fellow classmates and have the chance to get together ó just call me."

Last December, I had the opportunity to talk with Mike V. Schrock at length about his challenges at work since school. He has moved seven times, and his wife and two kids, a daughter, 7, and son, 3, continue to enjoy the many sites and places they have been. To take you back a bit, while still in school at Kellogg, Mike was with Honeywell, a company with $2.7 billion in sales. His career took to him to Minnesota after about one year at Kellogg and immediately after graduation, he was off to Brussels with Honeywell, responsible for Africa and the Middle East. He spent two and a half years there. He then relocated to Frankfort, Germany, where he took over responsibility for Eastern Europe and the United Kingdom. After five years of feeling out of the loop with things, came a transfer back to Connecticut where Mike headed up a new division, the valves and industrial group. When that division was sold, Mike decided to come back to corporate headquarters in Minnesota. He commuted back and forth to Chicago, where he took over as president of Pentair Corp. of Aurora, Ill. While in Chicago, the company bought the world's largest manufacturer of swimming pool equipment, with locations in North Carolina, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, to name a few. The division was renamed the pump and pool group. Mike took control over this division and the water softening group in Chicago. Last year, Mike was appointed president and CEO of Pentair Enclosures, which go to market with a number of different and well-known brands. They sell to the automotive industry, commercial buildings and many other industries. In addition, he has responsibility for Pentair Electronics packaging that sells to Dell, Compaq and other computer data storage companies. While I have not captured all of the exciting things Mike has done, I think you will agree he has accomplished a tremendous amount since school. Thanks so much for sharing, Mike, and good luck in all that you do.

Anita A. Loch is senior vice president, human resources at FISKARS Brands Inc. in Madison, Wis. She writes, "Well, it's been a crazy couple of years. Moved to Wisconsin from Chicago and now live on a beautiful Delavan lake. My husband Randy retired after 30 years with Maytag and now owns and operates a Yamaha dealership and marina. Great change in lifestyle for all of us! I changed jobs to a great company, FISKARS, which makes wonderful consumer products like orange-handled scissors. I have global responsibility and really enjoy the challenges, the work environment and the work-life balance."

Dr. Scott S. Sarran told me he is "continuing to have excitement and challenges at work." He is responsible for 200 physicians and the clinical and economic risks of 200,000 at-risk lives at the Advocate Health Centers in Chicago., where he is vice president and medical director. He also found time to complete his third Iron Man Triathlon in 2002.

Please make sure you update your email forwarding address and your contact information on the Alumni Directory online. It keeps us in touch and allows your classmates to get a hold of you.