1989

Joseph Lyu last summer was appointed chairman of the board of the Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan's largest bank. Joseph also reports that he met with Sejiro Takeshita during a recent trip to London.

John Wood reports that his nonprofit organization, Room to Read, will expand its work into Sri Lanka to help rebuild schools that were damaged or destroyed by the recent tsunami. The organization had planned to expand its efforts into Sri Lanka in 2007, but decided to accelerate the pace after the tragedy. A pool of donors will match the first $100,000 donated to rebuild schools. Further details are at www.roomtoread.org/tsunami.html.

Luc Suykens reports he was elected "Marketeer of the Year 2004" in Belgium in a competition organized by the Stichting Marketing (a Belgian marketing organization) and Trends, Belgian's major economic weekly newspaper. In various articles written about his accomplishment, Luc proudly cites his Kellogg experience as key to his career.

Debbie Decker Hall —my neighbor from down the block —checked in to say: "After many years of burying myself in my marketing career and avoiding parent volunteer work, I have recently taken on the role of president of the PTO for our children's (Izzy, 10, and Sara, 8) elementary school. To my surprise, my years in brand management have prepared me well for the PTO. Joining me in this new endeavor is Debbie Smith, wife of classmate Paul Smith, who is nicely parlaying her professional accounting and financial career as PTO treasurer or 'chief financial officer.' I feel it's my duty to inform all graduates and future graduates that there is a career path with your local PTO/PTA, where your skill set will be highly valued. Also I should mention that I've set out my shingle as independent marketing consultant. I work with a range of clients, from traditional consumer packaged goods to consumer electronics to marketing services. My areas of focus are business strategy, new product development and business development. If your marketing department is slim, overworked or nonexistent, contact me at deckerhall@comcast.net. I would welcome the opportunity to work with my fellow Kellogg grads.

"Last summer we enjoyed an evening at the outdoor Ravinia Festival near our home in Highland Park, Ill., with some class of '89 classmates and their families, including John O'Brien and his wife Mary, Jennifer Steans and her husband Jim Kastenholz and Jamie Star and his wife Sara. Since we live within walking distance of Ravinia, we also had the opportunity to take in concerts with some other Kellogg friends, including Al and Sally (Lindsey) Tomlinson and '90 grads Laura (Kotler) and Dean Egerter."

Jenny Lewelling Clare writes: "It has been a long time since I have written. Some of the basics are that I married Jay Clare, whom I met working for General Mills in Switzerland. In 1998 I left General Mills and went to a small dot-com startup in the Bay Area, which went under just in time for the birth of my first child, Katie. Another little one came along in 2002, Alex. I was having a great time at home being a mom and enjoying everything the Bay Area has to offer until this summer, when I started part-time consulting at Del Monte. It has been great getting back to work. My skills weren't quite as rusty as I thought they would be after four years at home. I miss seeing my old Kellogg buddies in Chicago and the Midwest, but keep up with Marie Devlin and others through the grapevine. If anyone is in the Bay Area, drop me a line." (jaclare@yahoo.com)

Amy L. Davidson reports the following: "I'm very excited to share that I have accepted a new position as vice president of marketing at the Party City Corp. Party City is America's largest specialty retailer of party supplies through its network of superstores. The company comprises 500 stores, of which approximately 259 are franchise locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. The organization is in the process of re-branding with a more creative, upscale assortment of private-label products and a greatly enhanced communications strategy. It's a phenomenal opportunity to work in one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country. The offices are located in beautiful Rockaway, N.J. Even though I remain a die-hard New Yorker, I have become a commuter. And I will likely be looking for some "NYC-quality" marketers, so call or write! (amydavidson25@hotmail.com)

	Sydney, 12; Michael, 10; Beth (Kroft) Mondry '89; David, 7; and Josh Mondry '89 enjoy Snowmass, Colo., in August.

Beth (Kroft) and Josh Mondry write with news of their family's recent move: "After 13 years living in Franklin, Mich., we and our three kids (ages 7, 10 and 12) made a big move this past June to Aspen, Colo., and we are having the times of our lives. We're enjoying all the great outdoor activities, the multitude of cultural events, the terrific climate and, of course, the incredible beauty that Aspen has to offer. We feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to be here and, while we have not yet determined how long we might stay, we are certainly not looking for reasons to leave anytime soon. The enclosed family picture was taken at Snowmass in August 2004.

"I'm still doing real estate and private equity investment with my brother who lives in Michigan, but I have also started a real estate investment company here in Aspen with one of the top brokers in the area, acquiring residential properties for investment. For fun I am also teaching skiing part time at Snowmass, so call soon for lessons if you are in the area! Beth has 'retired' from her multitasking 'super' status (supermom, superwife, supercommunity worker, superhostess and superchauffeur) and has settled comfortably into 'just' being a wife, mother and part-time volunteer, with a little snowboarding, skiing, hiking, biking, Pilates and yoga thrown in. Apparently cross-country skiing is next on the agenda.

"Another perk of living in Aspen is that we get to see more of our Kellogg classmates. Debbie and Brian Hall were in the 'hood this fall and we're looking forward to seeing them again — as well as Gwen Farley and Jason Green — in March. We'd love to see some more of our old friends and acquaintances from Kellogg, so please give us a ring if you get out here, summer or winter, and we'll have some fun in the mountains. (mondry@comcast.net, Tel: 970.925.8112).