The EMP-41 gang got together for our bi-annual cocktails on April 19 at Carlucci's. And, as usual, a good time was had by all. Kevin Harte couldn't join us -- he's traveling 80-90 percent of the time. Send him e-mail and tell him to get a life! The next get together will be Oct. 18, in downtown Chicago.

Steve Wirpel and his wife, Linda Moses, welcomed their new daughter, MaryElla Wirpel, Feb. 5. Mary's sister, Sophie, is over-the-top in her new big sister role!

David Wartner and his wife, Kathy, added daughter Emily Anne on Feb. 25 (joining sisters Katlyn and Lauren).

Mark Fedorak is with Ford Motor Company in their global craftsmanship department working as a supplier liaison. He commutes between Chicago and Detroit every week. Last spring Mark and his wife, Mary, received job offers in the same week. Mary is in charge of the Bank of Ireland Asset Management office in Chicago, which covers the entire central U.S. In case you missed it, Mark and Mary had a baby girl, Alexandra, who was born June 19, 2000.

Cheryl Gidley accepted a position as chief marketing officer for Katten Muchin Zavis, a B2B law firm with over 450 attorneys practicing 52 areas of law. The 5th largest firm in Chicago, KMZ has grown rapidly over the past several years, with offices in Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles and New York. She can be reached at Cheryl.Gidley@kmz.com.

David Kahl has begun his own marketing representation and fulfillment firm. He currently represents two organizations, Value Vision Associates and Sirius Decisions. Value Vision improves sales performance through its Value Selling methodology. Sirius Decisions conducts performance benchmarks to determine the effectiveness of an organization's sales and/or marketing functions. David can be reached at davekahl@earthlink.net.

Matt O'Toole was named president of The Hockey Company, which is the largest ($200M) hockey equipment and apparel company in the world. It is headquartered in Montreal.