1980

It's amazing how a long column encourages our other classmates to send in updates. Here's who I've heard from since the last Kellogg World:

William T. "Bill" Ross is still in southern California, where he continues to run a 525+ physician multi-specialty group in the west L.A. market (and I thought running my 12-physician group had its challenges). Obviously having a lot of time on his hands, Bill has also started a medical management company and concurrently runs three other large multi-specialty groups in California: a 600-physician group in Long Beach/northern Orange County, a 350-physician group in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a 100-physician group in the San Jose/Mountain View area. Those of us who were in the healthcare program at Kellogg and work in that industry are certainly impressed. He also serves as secretary and sits on the board and executive committee of the AAPPO, which he describes as "the only true PPO trade association in the U.S.," and on the clinical credentialing committee of URAC, one of three credentialing organizations for HMOs, PPOs, case management, network and other health care companies. On the personal side, Bill reports that his kids are grown and out on their own — his daughter has her master's degree and works as a school counselor in Rhode Island, and his son is finishing his master's degree in finance at the University of Denver. His wife, Cheryl, is in sales at one of the national PPO companies, which, he notes, leads to some interesting discussions about healthcare. Great to hear from you, Bill.

Holly (Hoffman) Brookstein wrote to offer her first update in 27 years. After spending eight years in advertising, she spent many years raising children and following husband Steve's career from New York to Philadelphia, to California, and back again to New York. They now live in Larchmont, N.Y. with daughter Emily (22), a senior at the University of Massachusetts, and son Harry (18), a high school senior. Since returning to the work force three years ago, Holly has turned years of volunteer fundraising experience into a career. She is currently the director of development for Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Southwestern Connecticut, a small nonprofit that serves all of lower Fairfield County and operates a hospice residence in Stamford, Conn. She describes the job as challenging, fun and incredibly rewarding; the nurses she works with as "salt of the earth" and working in hospice as a great way to keep things in perspective."

I also heard from Dori Loebl, who writes that, after graduating from Kellogg, she worked for two years in Mexico and then returned to Lima, Peru, where she has been ever since. She and her husband have three daughters. The eldest (23) attends Parsons in New York, the middle daughter goes to university in Lima and the youngest is still in high school. Dori and a partner have a small consulting company that does marketing and social responsibility consulting, and has both local and international clients. Appreciate the update, Dori.

Francois Gadenne writes that he and his wife, Lucie Ennenga '79, were happy to see many familiar names in the last issue of Kellogg World and were reminded of the years when they first met and got married (1980). They have lived in Marblehead, Mass., since 1982 and have three children (ages 20, 17 and 14). Although Francois doesn't get to Chicago frequently, he visited twice in 2007 for conferences and was pleased to see the city has clearly changed in what he called many wonderful ways. Francois is currently president and CEO of Retirement Engineering Inc., an R&D company that offers novel, protected designs for insurance and investment products that solve retirement income issues for the millions of "baby boomers" now approaching retirement. He is also a co-founder, chairman, and acting executive director of the Retirement Income Industry Association, which serves both as a think tank to analyze retirement income issues and as an incubator to facilitate the exchange of new ideas, concepts and knowledge between institutions interested in building retirement income businesses.

Finally, John Fricke writes that he is a senior principal in the Detroit area alliance office of Cushman and Wakefield, specializing in office property brokerage, tenant and landlord leasing/purchase, and investment property sales. He and his wife of 27 years, Lori, have a daughter who graduated from the University of Michigan in April 2007 and is now living in the Wrigleyville area of Chicago and working in real estate. He anticipates paying for law school in a year or so. Their second child, a boy, is in kindergarten in Birmingham, Mich., where they have lived for the last 10 years. As John phrased it, "somehow we timed our children to have the second one start kindergarten three months after our first graduated from college." More power to you and Lori.

Thomas J. Wilson, president and CEO of The Allstate Corporation, was appointed by the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System to serve as a Class C director for a three-year term that will run through the end of 2010.

Many thanks to all those who have written with updates, and please keep them coming. A great 2008 to everyone.