EMP-51

Greetings Alumni.

This time the B.S. was plentiful and undoubtedly had you scrambling for your cell phone only to find reception in South Africa a bit spotty.

As far as what was real and what was B.S., let's just keep it simple and interesting: Any article about Coleman McDonough was/is/will be suspect.

	We can only wonder who is taking this picture of Coleman McDonough EMP-51 and Steve "Love Boy" Sullins EMP-51 with the sun still up.
	Bunny Wynne and Elizabeth Crane EMP-51 warming up the camera for Elizabeth's match.com shot.
	Coleman EMP-51 and Alexis McDonough enjoy a pre-safari cocktail on the beach in South Africa.
	Bill Wynne EMP-51 greets Randy Hopper EMP-51 with open arms in the Miracle Mile Marriott.

As for this edition, who knows what the editors will allow. Good luck sorting the fact from fiction. To be clear on my commentary, you will find it offset in this installment by [brackets].

News Roundup

The McDonough Exploits continue [a full 32 percent of submissions had something to do with Coleman].

Coleman McDonough comes with hat in hand. He writes: "I apologize for not communicating more often; Internet communications to the U.S. from Nigeria are not too good. At times I have access to my KPMG email; however, I just was provided an account from the client, cmdd@chevrontexaco.com. I am usually online at the office.

"Actually, it's been work, work, work. Twelve hours of working and about a three-hour round-trip commute to our lodging. A total of 15 hours if we are lucky, but more like 16 or 17 with traffic. Have not had much time to take photos, but will provide some when I can. [He sandbagged me on this one as you can see!] Life is different here; however, if you have time I hear you can enjoy yourself."

[Hmmm. Coleman and time? Coleman and work, work, work? You be the judge.]

Later, this comes in from Coleman:

"Hope all is well. Just returned from a safari in South Africa and am attaching some photos for Kellogg. Story starts out with my new wife and me enjoying ourselves on the Nigerian beaches, followed by a safari on the hunt for some remote sultan. The safari was at the Thornybush Reserve in the Shumbalala Game Lodge, located north of Johannesburg on the border of Kruger National Park. P.S. Next weekend is Oktoberfest in Munich, where at least myself, Steve [Sullins], Andy [Krupp] and possibly others will be gathering." [In the two days of writing these notes, both Bunny and I have received indiscernible voicemail messages seeming to originate in Germany. 2 + 2 is ?]

On to Reunion

[Yours Truly was not able to attend this year. Had to be in Bristol for the night race — good thing I was there to help Matt Kenseth secure the victory and another step toward his second Nextel Cup Championship.]

Marc Zimmermann has yet to make a formal report on the event, so I'll take the discussion to his personal life and time spent guiding his son Zach to the Oval Office as the leader of the free world. As you can see in the photos, they're taking advantage of the Mensa legacy Marc brings to the gene pool by immersing the lad early in complex tasks. [Zachary Marc Zimmermann was born June 29, at 1:30 p.m., 8 pounds and 20 inches long].

[Marc, I'll just keep them hangin' until you have some time to send a proper report on the reunion. Let us know!]

Bristol EMP-51 Winner's Circle: Bill Wynne, Matt Kenseth and Jack Roush (center above trophy) celebrate the DeWALT team victory.

Jeff Hederick joined Randy Hopper and Elizabeth Crane for a fun-filled evening with Yours Truly and Bunny to help us celebrate our 10th anniversary at the scene of the crime in Chicago. As you can tell from the photos, Randy's need to conserve his strength for an Ironman event in two days was put on hold for some spirited EMP-51-style hangin' out.

Bernie Birt checked in to let us know she's thinking about us and misses us. Thanks Bernie — hope to see you soon!

	Bill Wynne EMP-51 psyching up Matt Kenseth EMP-51 before the Bristol NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Bristol.
	Anticipating likely federal budget cuts by the time son, Zach, is president, Marc Zimmermann EMP-51 teaches Zach anti-terrorist driving techniques just in case a Secret Service detail is not available.
	Marc Zimmermann EMP-51 teaching his son the finer points of reading the newspaper.
	Finally, a picture of Steve "Love Boy" Sullins EMP-51 with someone other than Coleman McDonough EMP-51! [Thanks to Kevin Counihan's EMP-51 publicist for this opportunity.]
	Coleman McDonough EMP-51 and Dumbo plot their repatriation strategy.
	Coleman McDonough EMP-51 takes a break with his armed security detail.
	Dan EMP-51 and Jennifer Rice are now husband and wife as of June 18.
	Brand new baby with Rob Sit EMP-51

Rob Sit sends us this: "Hello, all! Thought you might enjoy seeing a few pictures of Catherine Grace. She was born on June 27, 6:08 p.m., weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and measured 19 and a half inches long. Mom and daughter are doing well."

Thanks for the note and the photos Rob!

Steve (Love Boy) Sullins checks in with this while sending us some rare and collectible photos of him and Coleman during daylight:

"Wee Willy! While I've got a few moments thought I'd drop you the latest for the next edition:

"Do I live in London or does Coleman? Sometimes I can't remember (has nothing to do with the wine bar in the basement). Since the last edition it seems I've seen Coleman more times than Coleman made it to class — but then again, that wouldn't be all that difficult of a feat. In any case, for those of you that haven't heard, Coleman has been more or less stationed in Africa for the foreseeable future, and so he has dubbed Kipling House (my residence) as his official waypoint on his way back and forth between California and Nigeria.

"I am usually happy to see Coleman, but in this case I keep finding myself wondering just how effective it is when they come through the plane with that pesticide spray before leaving exotic destinations. My cleaning lady loves Coleman and his frequent visits and the generous bonuses I pay her to scrub his room after his departure.

"May 2005: Coleman departs for Africa. Swings through London on his way there for a couple of days with his roommate/co-worker/wife. Enough time for a few drinks on the deck, a quick dinner and some time at the clubs afterwards. Coleman confides in a weak moment that American Express contacted him before he left and required him to permit a lien on his residence before they would accept any charges in Africa. A dark day indeed.

"Separately, on a trip through Boston, I met up with Kevin Counihan for a quick dinner in Boston's old police headquarters-cum-hip restaurant. Kevin is doing well and as always it is good to catch up with such a good friend.

"June 2005: Is Coleman really back in London? He is! I've given up calling that bedroom the guest room. I'm going to just start charging rent. OK, so no long stories about this trip but I do enclose this photo of Coleman and me in the park outside of my flat splitting a bottle of wine on a fantastic afternoon, scheming about Coleman's trip with us to Munich for Oktoberfest in September (several other Kellogg alums will also be there — stay tuned). I am secretly wondering if Coleman accepted this assignment for the betterment of his career or just so that he could conveniently plan trips to London. [Reference picture of WSS/CBM in park.]

"So that's it. It's a good thing that Coleman comes to London or there would be very few things to report. I wish good tidings to all of the EMPers out there. If any of you are in London, just give Coleman a shout and the two of us will meet up with you. Cheers!"

[Love Boy, all I can say is, "I can't wait for the next round of notes!"]

Dan Rice keeps us up to speed with this short note:

"I'm pleased to report in from beautiful Owego, N.Y., that I married Jennifer Wilson on June 18. We're obviously thrilled and excited to have tied the knot this summer. (Once again, Rob Moll was my inspiration, just like in marketing. We'll see if Jennifer and I go after that Kellogg bib as quickly as Rob and Maura did, however!) Jennifer is also finishing up her executive MBA, here at Binghamton University, and graduated in May just before the wedding. I hope that the EMP-51 reunion 2005 in Austin, Texas, becomes a reality so I get a chance to introduce Jennifer to everyone. If it's a go, we'll be there! My best regards to everyone."

[Well, Dan, I don't know if you were there or not, but I'm sure the reunion update will be a "good read."]

Neeraj Kohli keeps the bytes streaming with more news:

"A lot has changed since graduation. Eileen and I got married in September 2003 and we just built a new house, which we moved into in February. We're now thinking about little kids. We'll keep you posted. I'm sure you have a lot of gossip given that you are the central nerve of the Kellogg class. Hope everyone is well. Definitely give me a call if you're ever in the Boston area."

[Thanks for the update Neeraj!]

Ryan Roberts rightfully sends this quip:

"One-and-two against Ty 'I'd rather be golfing' Willingham, embarrassing 'give up the ship' loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl (where Meeeechigan has dropped 10 of 15, by the way), and now embarrassed (at home, no less) by a first-year coach, with no head coaching experience above the HS level, with a 'team that has far less talent' (according to the 'Notre Dame will never win again' crowd). This is beginning to feel like the Schembechler era.. Can the end be far away? Is the UM plane circling the country looking for replacement candidates? Seriously, this one was exciting to the last 1:45. Go Irish!"

[Good news/bad news Ryan. Your Crusaders certainly deserved the win in the Big House. Then, as predicted, promptly lost to unranked Michigan State in a 44-41 OT thriller. Another prediction for you: UM will trounce MSU and come up just short of a National Championship yet again. Yes, it is feeling like Bo again!]

Steve Monks checked in with regrets on the reunion but expressed his confidence in the rest of the EMP-51 team that a good time would be had by all! [Hope to have more on this in the next issue, Steve!]

Michelle (Rickman) Robinson writes: "I have recently accepted a position with Covance as the vice president of project management, leaving General Electric after 14 years. My husband, Jim, and I will be relocating to Princeton, N.J. The combination of my G.E. training and leadership paired with my Kellogg MBA made me a perfect fit for this new role!"

That's it for now!

Keep those pictures, cards and letters coming. You're what makes these columns great!

Yours Truly, Bill

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