EMP-51

Greetings, Alumni . . .

This issue of Kellogg World finds us absorbing the news that our beloved Ronnie Bodi-Sadka — c’mon Steely Dan fans, help me out here! — has departed to a true enemy of the Big Ten, the University of Washington, Seattle. They are fortunate, indeed; we will miss him greatly. Ronnie writes:

My journey at Kellogg has come to an end, as I am assuming a teaching position at the University of Washington, Seattle, starting next week. I would like to thank you all for making my experience at Kellogg so wonderful. If you’re ever in Seattle, give me a buzz and we’ll go out for drinks.” Hope you are doing great and the best of luck in the future. Oh, Ronnie, don’t you worry about a thing; you can bet your sweet bippy we’ll give you a BUZZ! I’m counting on our frequent Seattle travelers to make sure Ronnie is settling in nicely.

Marc Jason Zimmermann informs us that he holds the office of chief financial officer for American Physicians Services Group in Austin, Texas. Under separate cover, Ashley Smith Zimmermann reports that she’s made a smooth transition and will be the first labor and employment barrister at Andrews and Kurth in Austin. Nice work to both of you. Numerous health care players in EMP-51, including Gene McMahon and Kevin Counihan, weighed in with their thoughts regarding this transition to their turf. Looks like they’re welcoming Marc with a watchful eye. Best of luck, Marc, and always remember: Once a bean, always a bean; count ‘em all and serve ’em up (avoid the peanut butter spread).

Through some serious digging, yours truly found out that Ryan Roberts was appointed vice president and general manager of Invensys’ Avantis business group. Processingtalk.com reports that “he will lead Invensys initiatives to develop and market Avantis enterprise asset management solutions.” And,

‘Ryan Roberts brings deep expertise in technology, service and business development, making him the ideal person to lead our ongoing initiative in this growing market,” said Sasan Goodarzi, president of IPS Products of Invensys Process Systems.” Holy mouthfuls, Batman! Sasan was even maximizing and minimizing in European English (long version shortened for space). I couldn’t have packed more pats on the back with self-serving promotion in so few sentences any better than that.

Now, back to the aforementioned serious digging…

Ryan no doubt sought to forego informing me of this move due to his near-psychic knowledge that 1.) I would be hitting him up for a bet on the Notre Dame vs. Michigan game, and 2.) Notre Dame would post the most humiliating defeat of their season. That is, until they showed up to play the lowly Spartans and continued to ride the PAIN TRAIN through the rest of the season. No amount of ibuprofen will take care of this headache, eh, Ryan? As much as I’d like to, I just can’t wish you better luck next time. I suggest taking on the ’CATS as your next best team to root for. Go Purple! (P.S. The extra spread I was allowing on this game would have done you no good, either.) Stay in touch!

In other news, W. Stephen Sullins continues his fairy-tale foray into the world of professional football. An accomplished accountant, Steve found himself at the center of controversy over the bookkeeping misgivings of a team that shall remain anonymous. He was burning the midnight oil at the head offices for the team and found himself so frustrated he kicked a garbage can right through the office window and down 90 rows of seats to the field, where a few of the players were standing after an evening of watching video in preparation for the upcoming game. Word of this thunder-footed CPA quickly spread, and now Steve finds himself playing under an assumed name as the team’s new kicker. Way to go Steve, and don’t worry — your secret’s safe with me.
As you can see, it’s been a light news period for YT. Be sure to keep those cards and letters coming; it’s only as good as the information you provide.

P.P.S. This installment of EMP-51 Class Notes marks the first round of “Can You Guess the BS?” To enter, you must get back to me with some news about yourself, and your guess as to which of the aforementioned stories is NOT TRUE. There will be numerous prizes awarded for correct answers. Multiple guesses are allowed.