1986

Nikki Pope graduated with honors from Santa Clara Law School on May 22. She reports the pomp and circumstance surrounding a law school graduation is much greater than at Kellogg. Nikki did say that she did not have to wear a white powdered wig. She celebrated her graduation by taking a week-long vacation to Kauai. I was not invited to go along. Her two-hour orchid slide show is fantastic. She will sit for the California bar exam at the end of July. Nikki is excited to be working for the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.

Willy Kotas has left academia for awhile and has re-entered the scary world of business. He is now the director-Latin America for an innovative firm headquartered in Chicago. The firm specializes in organizational surveys, for example, employee satisfaction studies. His job is to find a few clients. He is very happy because this position allows him to focus on a region he loves, he reports to the charismatic founder/CEO (U. of Chicago alum, I am not optimistic). He will be based in Miami and travel throughout Latin America.

Eugene Kamarasy is back in the United States and has retired to stud. I mean he is living on a horse farm near Carbondale, Ill. He promises a longer update next time.

Lori Collins was one of five finalists for Charlotte's Business Woman of the Year. Three of the other four finalists were presidents of their companies, so Lori felt pretty good to be included in that group. The winner was Dana Radar, a pro golfer with her own company, who wrote and published a book this year. Lori vows to win it next year. She is working on her short game and hopes to ace the swimsuit competition next year. On a more serious note, Lori, along with her brother and her sister, has endowed a scholarship at North Carolina State University in honor of their parents for the College of Agriculture. Their father is on the faculty. They have gotten so many people involved that have gotten permission to make it a Caldwell Scholarship (a big deal at NCSU). They have also raised enough money to fund two scholarships. They hope this will inspire others to fund a scholarship at Kellogg.

Dallas' loss has been Melbourne's gain, as Josh Field and family have returned to Florida. They left the topographically challenged (no water, no mountains, no trees) heat and humidity of Dallas last year and moved the beautiful beaches of Melbourne, just south of Cocoa Beach. They have not seen Major Nelson, Roger or Jeannie. They are only 75 minutes from Disney World and Jamie's parents. Josh is working three jobs so his family can visit Disney World for 15 minutes. During the daytime, Josh is the vice president of marketing for a small multilevel marketing company, Legacy for Life. Legacy markets and distributes a line of wellness products, and Josh and Jamie have never felt younger or healthier. The boys, Adam, 14, and Zachary, 12, are doing great and enjoy the proximity to the beach! Josh and Jamie celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in June. Two more years and it will be paid off. Josh keeps in touch with Glenn Deutsch and is happy to report that Glenn and his wife Lori welcomed their second daughter into the world on May 4. Arin Rowan joins her sister Emily in their New York home. Glenn is still with Dannon and loving life.

Big news, we have an update from Bruce Robinson. As Bruce says, he only submits an entry every three jobs or so. He has left the heat and dust of El Paso for the heat and humidity of Houston. How did this happen? Because a recruiter decided he was in the area (only 750 miles away). As Bruce approaches the mid-century mark, he decided to combine two professional loves, music and marketing, as marketing director for the Houston Symphony. He was surprised by the fast pace compared to the other companies he has worked for since leaving Kellogg. I could have told him, since I was the director of marketing for the Florentine Opera Company. One of the benefits of this position is that Bruce received a fax from the music director with a personal note with musical quotations from Salzburg. This never happened at Shell. He has run into Larry Proler at the opera, but has not convinced him to purchase a subscription to the symphony. Try a 10 percent discount for classmates. Bruce and Anne are celebrating 25 years of marriage.

Cindi Bigelow was invited to Maria and Jordan Davis' house while Thomas Gyongyosi was visiting from Austria. She says it was great to see all of them together again. I received an update from Wes Walraven. Wes is still a managing director in Merrill Lynch's Global M & A Group, based in Los Angeles. He covers general industrial and tech companies. He has been in M & A since graduation (CSFB for nine years, Salomon for five and Merrill for about four). He will stick with it 'til he gets it right. He lives in Malibu (yes life is hard). About four years ago he became the legal guardian for three teenagers from a troubled family situation. He is proud to report that the oldest, Josh, is finishing his sophomore year at Santa Monica College and will transfer to a California state university next year. Chris finished at Malibu High School in June and will be going to the University of Colorado - Boulder next fall. Felipe is a sophomore at Malibu High School. Never a dull moment at this house, as you with teenagers can attest to.

Mary Schwartz '85 tattles on husband Mark, that he is glad to have health insurance. During the spring, he fell while roller blading (sore thumb and seat), and again fell while trying to jump on his dirt bike (another sore thumb and shoulder). All of this while he is recovering from another shoulder injury he incurred last fall and multiple falls from skiing over the winter. Mary is losing track of the injuries and Mark is examining his recreational pursuits. He was going to enter the World Series of Poker, but was afraid of paper cuts. I think this is my chance to take him at golf. The children are fine. They take after Mary.

Also from the Minneapolis area, Ron Leaf reports that he was not upset about the Vikings last-second choke. But if I make fun of the Twins, I should have my wife start the car for a while. Tony Mann wants to say hello to all of his classmates. A reclusive classmate wants to stay undercover and that request will be honored.

Laurie and I have seen a few classmates since the last update. In February, we were in Phoenix and I had a "soda" with my old roommate, Rob Ahrensdorf '85. We will be returning in September and hope to see the entire family. In March, I went skiing in Park City and was able to ski with Kevin Damon for three days. Kevin and Kathy invited me over for dinner and a floor show. Their three children, Katie (harp), 7, Parker (cello), 5, and Travis (PVC pipe), 3, put on a wonderful pre-dinner concert. In April, we ran into Oyvind and Susan Solvang at the opera. They would never attend the opera while I worked there. Oyvind has been very busy this summer, launching the Lake Express ferry on June 1. The Lake Express can get you and your car across Lake Michigan in two and a half hours, which is much faster than driving through Chicago. Oyvind mentioned that my diet must have been working because I already looked fat and not obese. I did not reply. I just sent him a tin of head wax.

Laurie and I made a quick visit to Chicago in May and had a nice dinner with John and Karen Coons and children Paul and Dana. They told us about the joys of remodeling a 100-year-old home, which are few. In June, I went to Monroe, Wis., for two days of golf, deep-fried cheese curds and to see Lisa and John Baumann '85. John is president of Swiss Colony and will be mailing a Christmas catalog to all of us this August, September, etc. If any of you feel I am ever unfair or too harsh, please send in your version of the truth. I encourage all of our classmates to send in an update.