EMP-31

EMP-31 alums hit the beach this summer. (L to R): Lee Esler, Mark Ship, John Kranz, Tim Koch, Mike Collins, Larry Silman, Jim Freeburg, Dan Penovich, Al Gerber and Rob Terwell.

Hey EMP-31ers, the notes are a bit skinny this time.

Lee Esler reports his family is expanding. He writes, “We had a healthy baby boy, Grant Marshall Esler, in June of this year. This brings the total child count to three and gives us the opportunity to get back into diapers, bottles and strollers. We are thrilled with the baby and trust that he will keep us young.” Lee also reports that “in my executive search consultant’s role I have increasingly been in touch with some of our classmates as they continue to climb the corporate ladder. I can’t comment on the nature of the discussions, but let’s just say that some our EMP-31 classmates have put their training to good use and know how to keep their options open.”

Meanwhile, Lynn Monika has been on the move. Lynn writes, “Life is good for me. I have returned to the U.S., quit Motorola and joined Openwave Systems (where Mike Mulica also works!) and am now living in San Francisco and loving life and the change! I miss being in Europe and being able to hop over to Paris for the weekend, and my friends in Chicago, but other then that, I love it out here. Great place to live/work — wonderful surroundings, SF is a great city to live in, love biking and driving in the hills of Marin/Napa (a bit scared of some of them still — both on the way up and down) and just being here (always wanted to move out this way). Really enjoying working at Openwave; it’s a great company! Believe it or not, Mike is key to making it such a great company! Wonderful change of pace for me.”

“Father” Mike Collins was four blocks from ground zero in Manhattan on Sept. 11, and provides this eyewitness account of the devastatingly tragic day in our nation’s history: “We all felt a bit of fear while this was going on. Later, I walked down to St. Vincent’s hospital to donate blood; St. Vincent’s set up a triage area outside of the hospital. It is a combat zone. It was surreal. Seeing the injured, the grieving family members, the firemen and police. Smoke and concrete dust were all over the place. The soot and smoke blew on everyone, scattered over a mile on everything. The firemen and policemen moved their fire lines back to where I was. Most of them are numb from what they have seen and concern for their killed and injured firemen. Over 200 firemen where killed in the collapse. The water mains were damaged, so they are relying on pumping water from the Hudson River. This isn’t enough, so the fires got worse. There are limits to what they can do. I saw firemen from New Jersey, State Troopers from New York and New Jersey. There are hundreds of emergency people of all kinds. I have even seen Marines in full combat gear. The New York National Guard has been mobilized. I saw the third building ablaze that collapsed later in the day. I managed to get out of Manhattan at 3:30 in the morning over the only open bridge to N.J. to rent a car to drive to Chicago. This is profound beyond words. The longer-reaching consequences are almost too much to contemplate. Mass this Sunday will take on an added meaning.”

Please keep the notes coming, and encourage more of your study group members to participate in notes and photos. Meanwhile, the thoughts and prayers of EMP-31 continue to go out to all the injured and killed on Sept. 11, as well as their families and loved ones -- including many colleagues from our companies. God bless America.