EMP-64

	EMP-64 reunion: Jeff Goto with wife Ciara Gotto
	EMP-64 reunion: Mark Rusiewski, Mitch Myers, Tom Ellis
	EMP-64 reunion: Andy Wiegman, John Potter, David Mohr
	EMP-64 reunion Mitch Myers, Devinder Singh and wife Naina Singh

The weekend of April 29, the EMP-64 class descended upon Northwestern University for its five-year anniversary. The weekend event was a great time to connect with fellow classmates and remember how truly gifted each of us is in so many ways. There were warm smiles, sincere regards and great discussions.

To start the weekend, two members from our class were the first to arrive at the Allen Center for the weekend kick-off, to start with great appetizers and, you guessed it, an open bar. It was good to revisit the Allen Center. The new facility, I can only imagine, will be even better, with less concrete and more windows.

Later  we all connected at Pete Miller’s at our traditional spot, with the pool tables and great conversations. It was great to see how each of us continues to expand his/her influence in the workplace, some within the same company since graduation and some beyond. There were so many stories from our classmates, but just to name a few: Russ Walker is living the dream as a Kellogg associate director at Kellogg. John Potter is a partner at PWC living up in the lovely land of Minnesota (I think he has already developed the accent). Tom Ellis is a vice president at Nielsen Ratings. On and up our class goes.

I think we could start our own entrepreneurial club. Just to name a few self-starters that we caught up with: Andy Wiegman branched out from corporate and now is sought-after for his industry expertise and consulting. Paul Fitzpatrick (Fitz) continues to flex his entrepreneurial muscle with his startup, WorldWhere clothing line. He will change the world. Jeff Goto wrote up a business plan and presented it to the French government. They were sold on it and next thing you know, we have the new Ameline gourmet mustard line in the United States (twitter.com/amelinegourmet). Watch out Grey Poupon! Wesley McDermott is self-employed as he continues to consult for the major medical device industry. We could keep going …. Do you think they all took Professor Rogers’ class?

It is great to see the energy and excitement in each of us. And there certainly was a lot more of it on Saturday as we gathered in downtown Chicago for fine dining. Jeffrey Adik drove five hours just to make it. And of course, Steve Downer flew in, too. EMP-64 was the last group to leave the place. You could say we closed it down and then moved on. You know you have a great class when no one wants to leave and they start turning off the lights. Some things never change, no matter how much time has come between. Every time we get together with our fellow classmates, it is always a great time with a truly distinct group of colleagues.

An EMP-64 reunion. From back left: David Mohr, Andy Wiegman, Wesley McDermott, Wendy McDermott (spouse), Scott Stevens, Mitch Myers, Ted Winslow, Rosemarie Winslow (spouse), Jeff Goto, Steve Downer, Lori Downer (spouse), Yolanda Daniel, Wilson Aihara, Jeffrey Adik, all EMP-64 unless noted