Andy Schultz '84 and his wife celebrating their 25th anniversary

1984

Hello from Riverwoods. When I received so many e-mails for this column, I had to remind myself that it's been 22 years since we graduated from Kellogg, because somehow after all these years, our class still feels like ... our class. Although technology plays a big role in helping us keep in touch, I have to credit our esteemed business school and the superb members of our class for the longevity of our friendships.

Joan Bolz Cleary sends news of her family. She writes that the Cleary family spent the year determining which schools their two kids would attend for 2006-2007. She claims that it's as close as she got to a marketing project: "Allison (14) and Paul (11) are transitioning to high school and middle school. I am glad to say that college applications will be a breeze after this! My husband Jeff is head of marketing for Wild Planet toys, an industry he really enjoys. My kids are consultants for him — Paul is even starring in a "b-roll" PR piece for Spy Gear and has his face on some packaging.

"This is a big year for international exchanges. In April we had a Japanese exchange student and in May my daughter went to Japan with her school. In August we are scheduled to have another member of Philippe Laratte's family come for an exchange.

"My spare time is filled with activities at the kids' schools (and a little tennis on the side). Both kids have learning differences that require significant time commitments on my part so staying involved with their schools has kept me close to the process. We started a local-area speaker series a couple of years ago that has brought nationally known speakers for parent education to the Peninsula. I may now be qualified for another master's degree — in education.

"A couple months ago Northwestern University and the Kellogg School sponsored an evening at the San Francisco Opera, led by our own Karl Olaf Mills, president of the San Francisco Opera. It was a fabulous evening with the Opera luminaries in attendance for a discussion by the composer of "Doctor Atomic," John Adams. It was also fun to reconnect with Adam Thacher and Janice Galletly Thacher who were also there. I felt downright cultured heading into town from suburbia to learn about the enormous creativity that led to this musical masterpiece and experience it first hand. Three cheers for Karl!"

And from Karl: "My term as president of the Opera ends this August. Probably my most expensive but valuable work experience thus far. I will become vice-chairman and will reallocate time to launching a new investment firm. They threw a wonderful dinner in my honor and presented me with the Spirit of the Opera Award, which I think entitles me to sing off-key in public places.

"Kristen and I are dealing with life with three young boys. We feel like roadies for the Stones."

Indira Desai Christie let me know that Hank Miller was recently spotted on "The Today Show" chatting with Katie Couric about his new product venture, Inchworm, in a segment about entrepreneurial ventures. The product is a child's shoe that can "grow" one shoe size. He'll be test marketing the product in Europe first. Hank works in Boston at Harry Miller Inc.

Michael Mandala writes: "My career has not been the typical one of a Kellogg graduate, but my Kellogg education and the friendships I made there certainly have enriched my life and my work.

"I continue with my career as a Catholic priest and a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). My time at Kellogg gave me skills to work over the years with a number of religious and community organizations to help them strategically plan their future and manage their finances. Currently I am in my eighth year as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Hollywood, Calif. Hollywood is going through a major rejuvenation, and I am proud to participate in church structures, community groups and business organizations that work to manage the focus of this growth.

"Blessed Sacrament is a very large church made up of a cross section of multi-ethnic and economically diverse parishioners. We are proud of our church and our community. If any member of the class is ever in Hollywood, come visit."

Murli Thirumale is group vice president and general manager of the Gateways Group at Citrix, which is a global leader in on-demand access. Murli is responsible for driving revenue growth, marketing, product management and alliances for Citrix's Access Gateway and Application Gateway product lines. Murli is one of the co-founders and former CEO of Net6, which Citrix acquired in 2004. Prior to establishing Net6, he was executive vice president and general manager of Symmetricom, and also spent seven years as a general manager of HP, where he built a telecom synchronization business and a wireless OEM business from the ground up.

Katherine Ventres Canipelli runs a boutique marketing firm, marketingFOLIO, serving firms in the logistics, technology and manufacturing sectors. She and her husband Joe look forward to receiving the certificate of occupancy in early autumn for the new house that they're building (and we mean that literally, as Joe is the hands-on G.C.) in Guilford, Conn. Guests will be welcomed, particularly if they are willing to help with the gardening!

Peter Grace, whom I fondly remember from my San Francisco days as the rugged outdoorsman, has turned his attention elsewhere. Peter writes: "Connie and I married in 1999 and adopted daughter Anna from Fuling, China in April 2002. She will go to kindergarten in September, another turning point.

"I watch the situation in Afghanistan with a mixture of resignation and hopelessness. After Sept. 11, hearing that we ought to bomb Afghanistan back into the Stone Age, I volunteered with the American Friends Service Committee and the Afghan Coalition in Fremont, Calif., to collect and send blankets to the Afghan refugee camps. We did several blanket drives including one in a school in 'Little Kabul' in Fremont. It was one way to show support for the people of Afghanistan and for the Afghan community to see that they are not so isolated. The Afghanistan work opened doors and I am now the director of finance for the San Francisco Education Fund.

"I still occasionally get outdoors but it now seems to be reduced to the annual overnight ski trip to the Ostrander Hut in Yosemite. This year we skied in poor and cold conditions. So perhaps I am still hiking through blizzards, but not as frequently."

T. Earle Markes is living in Valencia Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles, with his wife and their three sons. He writes: "Thomas is 17 and a junior in high school. Alex is 13 and Eric is 9. All three are purposefully engaged in their schoolwork and involved in enough extracurricular activities to keep their parents busy 24/7. Eric runs track and plays flag football; Alex plays club soccer and is living his dad's fantasy of being a competitive 400-meter runner. Meanwhile, Thomas is the middle linebacker on his high school football team and finds time to play the flute."

Kim Greenfield Alfonso has been in the pharmaceutical industry for 20 years. She is living in Washington, D.C., where she is vice president of marketing at Immersion Medical. She and her husband Pedro have one daughter, Alexandra (6). Kim is on the board of Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., and membership chair of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Jack and Jill Inc. Her hobbies include knitting and making jewelry.

Marvin Pinkert also sends greetings from Washington, D.C.: "The big news for us is that our daughter Anna, who was born six months after I graduated Kellogg, is now an alum herself — of Wesleyan University. Our son Alan has started driving, much to the trepidation of his parents. Melanie has returned to her roots as an ethnomusicologist and is teaching at Montgomery College. As for me, I am on the last stages of building (and funding) the National Archives Experience (where I am executive director). Classmates are always welcome to give me a call when they visit (though wait until September if you want to avoid the crowds)."

Rainer Ackerman sends us this note from Karlsruhe, Germany. "I am living in San Diego and working for a software company in Santa Clara, Calif., but these days I am mostly at the company's HQ in Germany filling the role of the CFO. I have been in the States since Kellogg, so I am enjoying the German traditions again — like drinking beer, etc. — a lot."

Last year Tim Ryder became executive director of Amanecer Community Counseling Service in Los Angeles. It is a $6.5 million nonprofit that provides dynamic therapeutic mental health services to children and their families as well as to adults in the under-served downtown Los Angeles and Pico Union areas. They recently expanded to provide foster children with wraparound services to keep them in their homes with families instead of group-home environments. Tim writes that his position has been a great challenge, especially with the major funding squeezes from government and foundations. He is also helping his wife Thelma who has taken over her family's business. Their daughter Camila started high school this year.

John Kriz reports that: "I continue to lead Moody's real estate finance ratings and research effort, devoting more of my time speaking on the growth of REITs globally. I spent much of May in East Asia and Australia, with Europe, the Persian Gulf and South Africa coming up. Still living in Connecticut, I have taken up wine and cider-making, trying to use the fruits of our little garden.

In New York City, Rick Smilow reports that his culinary school, The Institute of Culinary Education, is getting some nice national honors. ICE was a finalist in the International Association of Culinary Professionals' 2006 "Awards of Excellence" competition, and the school was designated a "School of Excellence" by the ACCSCT, a national accrediting agency. Rick caught up recently with classmates David Lynn, Dwight Hilson, Steve Zales and Birgitta Hanan at events including a Kellogg alumni event in an Irish Pub in Stamford, Conn., and David's surprise birthday party. Rick has three kids — 12, 11 and 9 — who respectively are young experts in softball, writing and computer games.

Andy Schultz is vice president at Hanley Wood LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based media and exhibition company. He writes: "I run the custom home plans marketing operation, which uses books, magazines and the Internet to help people find and build their custom dream homes. I still live in Rye, N.Y., outside New York City, and commute to D.C. because my family is employed and ensconced there. Since leaving Kellogg, I worked 15 years for Meredith, the Better Homes and Gardens company, and 3  for Time Inc. on Money magazine and in the custom publishing group. I have two daughters, one in college (at New York University in the fall), one in high school. My wife, who put me through Kellogg while working at Evanston Hospital, is now a major furniture designer, traveling to Asia frequently to work with importers and factories on the line. I keep in touch with fellow '84-er John Strauss, who is a healthcare consultant in Chicago."

Howard Friedman writes: "In November 2004, I left my consulting business and accepted a position with VNU's trade show organization as group show director in Santa Monica, Calif. I manage a portfolio of tradeshows for gift and jewelry retailers looking to source merchandise for their stores. After the school year ended, my family left our Connecticut house and moved to Agoura Hills, just north of Malibu. The weather is great. The kids are enjoying the mild climate, although they do miss "snow days." I keep in touch with Kellogg '84 classmate, Barb Vass, who lives in the adjacent town."

Wendy Webb Cook sent me this note: "Stan and I are the stodgy old-timers at our jobs. I'm still at McDonald's — now in my 13th year — leading menu management/new products and marketing for the U.S. business. Stan is still at Unilever as general manager, now in his 21st year! We are busy with our 3 kids, Will (7), Grace (10) and Sarah (16). We are neighbors of Karen Sikel Moberly and see her and her family regularly. Recently we saw Jeanna Holtz on her trip home from Germany."

In closing, I am sorry to bring you the sad news that on May 5, Tammy Teas lost her long battle against breast cancer. Tammy had been living in the Seattle area where she had worked at Microsoft in consumer marketing. After that she traveled extensively and studied, collected and designed textiles. What her good friends will remember about her, though, is that she was someone who was great fun to be with. She had great stories (from a very interesting life), loved great food, and most of all had a quietly infectious laugh and smile. Tammy will be greatly missed. Donations in her name may be made to Noel House in Seattle by calling 206.956.9366.

Thank you to everyone who wrote. I enjoy helping our class stay in touch.