Susan (Hoy) Shields '87 and family boogey boarding at Stinson Beach in California.

1987

Greetings. It’s sunny and cold here in Chicago today. Plenty of snow. It’s been a good winter for sledding, skating, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. The combination of a missed deadline and a pretty dry news pipeline kept me out of touch with you all for a while. Please don’t stop writing because you think your life is boring, or you don’t care. Kellogg is and always will be an important part of your life, and it’s the people you shared that experience with who matter the most. They want to know what’s going on in your life.

As for me, the girls are growing up fast. Gen is in high school now (ohmagod!), and Cate is all about horses and becoming a vet (ouch$!!). Connie is in her second year teaching fourth grade and enjoying her kids a lot. I’m with Catalina Marketing ... at least for now. The company is going through turbulent times and who knows. I’ve gotten used to it. We’re all free agents now. If this gig doesn’t pan out there are always other opportunities.

Barb (Sandy) Golub has moved again. This time it’s relatively local. Still in New Jersey. Just a new town. She and Matt are in Demarest now. Beth VanStory has started a company called Toucanz, www.toucanz.com, focused on developing activity-based products for kids. She loves it, but finds it scary, fun and exhausting all at once. Definitely rewarding though. Toucanz’ first product is a video that gets kids off the couch by teaching them moves done on an obstacle course and how to build one themselves. Beth is living in San Francisco and recently adopted Ella Virginia, who is keeping her mommy busy. She’s a little love bug.

This is old news for some of you, and I apologize to Lisa for being so late in getting this news out, but Lisa Eckstrom and family packed up and moved from D.C. to San Francisco last fall. Hopefully, by now the move is a distant memory and life has settled into a comfortable routine. For Scott Cragin, a masters’ apparently wasn’t enough. He completed the requirements for a PhD in marketing from Oklahoma State University. He has been teaching at Missouri Southern State University since 1989 ─ the same year his father retired from the institution after 20 years. Scott’s wife Kelli and their 11-year old daughter are doing great.

I saw in the paper a while back that Gary McCullough was leaving Wrigley’s here in Chicago. No word about where he was going. Well, I tracked him down, and I’m sure to no one’s surprise, he has become a president. The company that was fortunate enough to land him is Abbott Laboratories, where he is running the Ross Products operation. Ross is the nutritional business of Abbott and has familiar brands like Similac, Ensure and Glucerna. Ross is a more than $2 billion business. Gary describes the position so far as a “challenging and growthful opportunity.” Unfortunately, Gary and Kim had to relocate from Chicago, but they’re very happy with their new home in Columbus, Ohio.

Espen Ludvigsen '87 and family. From left, Gayle, Kelsi, Kaja, Espen and Nicolas

I received some great Christmas cards from classmates (see photos). The Ludvigsens continue to call Belgium their home. Gayle and the kids (Nicolas, Kaja and Kelsi) are all doing well. Espen Ludvigsen travels quite a bit, but mostly in Europe. Working a lot, but biking regularly on Sundays. Sounds familiar. Are you X-C skiing in the winter Espen, or are you one of those insane “polar cyclists” who enjoys riding throughout the winter?

Lee Wright dropped a line to say that he is back in start-up land after a good run with Nokia. He’s working with some early-stage companies in the Dallas area. Jim Fulton, if you’re out there, Lee would like to get in touch. If he hasn’t already found you why don’t you send me an email and I’ll put you in touch.

The Health Discovery Corp., a biotechnology company focused on biomarker and pathway discovery for diagnostic markers and drug targets, has appointed Dr. Tin-Chuen Yeung to its scientific advisory board. Dr. Yeung is a pharmacologist and experienced researcher for the biotechnology, medical and pharmaceutical industries, and serves as an adviser to several venture capital and start-up biotechnology companies.

Tom W. Olive reports he is settling into a new job in a new city. He has been named chief financial officer of Elan Nutrition and is residing in Grand Rapids, Mich. Congratulations, Tom.

Michael-David A.R.R. Kerns provided us with this update on school, career and his affection for his pets: “I am now into my third year as an extramural health scientist at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging. In addition to conducting secondary research and science, I manage a number of research grant portfolios, including the ever-popular Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer programs for the National Institute on Aging.

“I went back to two more rounds of graduate school in 1993 and 1996; obtained an MS in counseling psychology and then a PhD in human development, life span studies (an interdisciplinary field). After a post-doc at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and a stint as a starving academic researcher, I moved from New York to take a position at the National Institutes of Health. I’m still not fully committed to the greater Washington, D.C., area ─ I’m really hoping to return to the San Francisco Bay area where I completed a part of my graduate work.

“Otherwise, I have had my share of ups and downs, but am professionally and spiritually more content than I have been in a very long time. I’m wildly in love with my two adopted English springer spaniels, Spanky and Gioia. I wonder very much about Drew Hanson, Drew Hastings, Daniel Eustaquio and Jorge Virgili.”

Well, that’s about it. Please try to keep in touch, and I’ll try not to miss deadlines. Deal?

‘Til next time ...