Dennis Wasikowski writes: "I am vice president of materials and I.T. at Nyloncraft Inc., located in Mishawaka, Ind. Nyloncraft is an independent and privately held corporation that is a manufacturer of plastic components and assemblies for the automotive industry. Nyloncraft separated from its parent company in 2002 through a management buyout transaction involving a private equity investor. As a supplier to General Motors, Ford, Honda and Firestone, we continually are challenged in today's automotive business world. I reside in Granger, Ind., with my wife Denice, who is a human resource manager. We have three daughters, enrolled at Saint Mary's College, University of Notre Dame and Butler University. We enjoy traveling and, in 2008, we went to Australia and New Zealand to visit one of our daughters who was studying abroad at that time. We are getting ready to visit our youngest daughter in Greece this fall who is studying in Athens. Though we remain engaged with family activities, I continue to enjoy following sports and remain a diehard fan of the Chicago White Sox and attend many sporting events at the University of Notre Dame where I earned my bachelor's degree in business."

Philippe Leclainche ‘77 and his wife Christiane
Harold Newton ’77 with Betsy Timm Newton in Rome
Robert L. Willoughby ’77
Craig Wilson ’77 and fiancée Melissa Giovagnoli during Christmas 2007
Paul Zellner ’77

Harold Edwin Newton writes: "I completed my degree with an industrial relations concentration while working full time for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. I would read assignments while traveling to work sites in Indiana and Michigan and at night in my hotel room. It was a busy time. It was great! I studied physical science and humanities as an undergrad but received my first exposure to economics in a labor economics course taught by Hervey Juris at Kellogg. It was a revelation for me. I feel I benefitted most from the more macro studies like Professor Juris's course and courses with Frank Cassel. The more technical classes were of less use in my work or, more importantly, in helping to frame an outlook. My work at Northwestern was recognized by my employer and so I was rewarded many times in personal and professional growth.

"I left the U.S. government a few years after graduating from Northwestern and worked full time establishing my real estate company. We are a very small company, but we have experience investing in and managing or developing just about every type of real estate: multi-unit residential (condo and rental), retail, office, vacation condos and land. My education gave me a lot of the confidence needed to get involved in ventures where I'd had no previous experience.Somewhere along the line I developed an interest in aviation. I fly my plane nearly every week for business and pleasure. I've gotten involved in volunteering with Angel Flight, which transports seriously ill people. It's amazingly rewarding. (Not sure what economic model applies!) My wife Betsy and I enjoy the great cultural life of Chicago and other places in the world. We love to bike along the Chicago lakefront or go to summer outdoor concerts. In the winter we do at least two cross country ski trips to the north country and try to work in a scuba trip down south as well. We have no kids; it's just the two of us. But there are lots of nephews and nieces, some with children of their own and we see them often.

"Northwestern was important in my life. I hope my classmates find that to be true for them as well."

Pat Mullan was first a banker, but is today a poet and a thriller writer. He was born in Ireland and has lived in England, Canada and the U.S. He now lives in Connemara in western Ireland. He has published articles, poetry and short stories in magazines such as Buffalo Spree, Tales of the Talisman, Writers Post Journal. His poetry appears frequently in the Acorn E-zine of the Dublin Writers Workshop. Other short work can be found on Amazon Shorts and on the new Amazon Kindle.

His first book received two nominations for best first novel and best suspense thriller at the 2005 Love Is Murder conference in Chicago. His second thriller, Blood Red Square, was published in the U.S. in 2005. His agent Svetlana Pironko of Author Rights Agency is currently selling world rights to his two latest novels: The Root of All Evil and Creatures of Habit. Pat is diligently at work on his new novel, Screwed.

He is a member of International Thriller Writers Inc. and Mystery Writers of America (thrillerwriters.org/connect/Pat%20Mullan) and is the chair of ITW IRELAND (thrillerwriters.org/about/officerscommittees.html). You can read more about Pat at his Web site patmullan.com.

Jean Regan joined Tranzact Technologies Inc. in 1987 as vice president and CFO. She became president in spring 2000. In this role, Jean provides strategic direction and executive management and oversees the administrative, operational and financial activities within the company. She oversees the information technology group, customer service and operational groups, including strategic initiatives, new product development and enhancements. She directs the corporation's financial aspects — all banking, investments and human resource activities, including corporate structure and employee benefits. She is involved in Vistage (formerly The Executives Committee), the AICPA, the Illinois CPA Society and is a member of the board of directors for Sentry Insurance, in addition to being on the board of directors for L3 and a committee chairperson on the marketing committee for the Solheim Cup in 2009 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. She has served on the board of directors as president of fellowship housing corporation and missions committee with her church. She is active in World President's Organization Chicago Spousal Forum.

Jean has been married to Michael Regan, CEO and chairman of Tranzact Technologies for 30 years. They live in Hinsdale, Ill., and are the proud parents of four children. For many years, Jean and her family have been participants in the Youth with a Mission Homes of Hope annual home building project for the under-privileged and special needs families in Mexico. This spring Jean, Mike and their children (Dana, Kelley, Patrick and Joe) built a home for the Antonio family. 

Philippe Leclainche writes: "Christiane and I are about to celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary. We prefer enjoying the happy times we have had together (and God helping, will have!) than crying about time flying away. We were newlyweds when arriving at the GSM a third of a century ago and as no classmate succeeded in stealing Christiane away from me, we are still very happy together.

Our two boys are now 30 and 28. Emmanuel lives in Lyon and works (like a dog) as an information systems specialist for a Swiss company subs in France. Nicolas is a judge and enjoys his first appointment in Pointe à Pître in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. There are worse places. We seized the opportunity to visit last month.

Our home is still in Toulouse. However, I work in Paris running several professional organizations linked with the aluminium industry. I am a lobbyist for Rio Tinto Alcan, Alcoa, Hydro and the likes. Life is a bit complicated as Christiane remains based in Toulouse — her aging mother moved next door several years ago. One of us commutes every weekend (Toulouse is in southwestern France, 400 miles from Paris).

We did not exactly plan that odd life. I had been working 20 years for Alcan in France when the French business was sold to an investment fund, which of course wiped away the existing management team. It is not very comfortable to be fired at 50 in France and almost impossible to get a corresponding level job because of our silly way of running 'the last communist country in Europe.' I did a lot of independent consulting, mainly in Spain and occasionally in Poland or France. Eventually I launched a business with a friend (another victim of the same corporate massacre), selling refurbished windows. We grew it to five sales offices and 50 employees, but sales is not exactly my cup of tea and the marketing techniques are pretty straightforward. So, when I got a call regarding 'would you know someone who…,' I said I did. And since about everybody in the European aluminium business knew me, we had a quick deal. I am glad to report the window business goes very well without me (maybe better) and I am more suited to the political issues I have to deal with now than with spanking salespeople twice a day to make sure they work effectively.

We have kept close links with some classmates, including Mark (and Glynis) Lee, who live in Charlottesville, Va., and presently host one of our nieces, and Daniel (and Christine) Pistre who are neighbors in Toulouse. We attended their son's wedding recently. It is delightful to consider our friendly ties have now extended to a second generation.

I am still an awful 'French intellectual' and have kept my interest for history, sociology and politics pretty well alive (with special dedication to upper Middle Ages, Christian history, American history, among others). Of course, I could not cease being a Catholic and a conservative, a sure recipe to become a grumpy old man and feel somewhat besieged in French society. That's OK; I live it pretty well! I still draw cartoons every now and then for fun."

Dave Hamel writes: "Hello to all my fellow Kellogians. The dry cleaning business I started is up and running. Thanks to those who provided such great advice. We are the only cleaners in the area using organic starch! Because of the assistance I received in developing my business plan, I have decided to use my own experiences from the past 30-plus years to help others. I have started a nonprofit consultant firm for people in need of change; whether it's their job, their outlook on life or their bank. You can find out more at consultingforsmallchange.org (the site is still in beta). While it's a not-for-profit organization, that doesn't mean we don't need money to operate. I will be delighted to give you information on how to donate."

Paul Zellner writes: "I am a partner with Russell Reynolds, hunting CEOs and other leaders in the business services and consulting industries. Nearing the empty-nester phase, my wife and I moved to Chicago and are enjoying city life, becoming grandparents and making occasional visits to Kellogg events, meeting new students and trying desperately not to be viewed as 'that old guy in the corner.' Hope all my classmates are well."

Ron Parker writes: "For the past several years I have been running a company called PAVA LEATHER. PAVA is a company that specializes in designing leather fashions and couture styles in furniture and apparel. We also have a division that sells leather cleaning products and offers leather cleaning services worldwide. Our Web site is pavaleather.com. Over the past 20 years I have been an owner of a Wendy's franchise in Houston and the president of a data communications company. I have four sons, two of whom have followed in my footsteps and obtained MBAs. I also am the proud grandfather of four girls, one of whom will be attending college next year. I reside in Houston. Since I have lived here, I have never run into a former colleague from our class at Kellogg. But I can be reached at rparker@pavaleather.com or and by phone at 713.744.8000."

Robert L. Willoughby reports: "I am starting my 15th year working and living in London. I am a managing director and head of credit underwriting and capital commitments for EMEA for Credit Suisse. My wife Patricia and I have three children, two of whom work in London after attending college in the U.S. The youngest is a freshman at Colorado College this year. Our home in the U.S. is in Beaver Creek, Colo., and we spend as much time as we can there, including the Christmas holidays."

John R. McCracken said he joined privately held company MonoSol Rx, in Warren, N.J., as head of business development. The firm makes oral thin film pharmaceutical and over-the-counter products.

Bob Jones writes: "Where have the past six years gone? In April 2002, I left Chicago to join Cisco Systems in Silicon Valley, got divorced and fell in love a few times! In 2005, Cisco asked me to set up an office in the French section of Switzerland, a beautiful place to live and launch weekend explorations into wine country with the Alps, Southern France and Northern Italy. Sadly, such grand adventures must come to an end, so in early 2007, I returned to the U.S., settling in Georgetown in Washington, D.C., a wonderful city that I now call home. It offers lots of neighborhoods, each with its own character, and with several non-chain-store bookstores that actually hire people who read! 

"I was active in Hillary's campaign and now am enthusiastically supporting Obama. Most weekends I am out on my 47-foot sailboat that I keep in Annapolis, M.D., and next summer I will take enough time off to cruise up through New York City to lower New England. In a few years when I semi-retire, I will venture up and down the East Coast and just maybe take the boat to the Caribbean and Mediterranean for a year each. Life is good! My son Bob (25) married his Lake Forest High School sweetheart and lives in Evanston. He just aborted a trek to become a college history professor in favor of a career in finance; it seems as if he does not want to be poor for 10 years. Pat (23) is also out of college and seriously pursuing a filmmaking career in Los Angeles. He is even on the payroll!"

Jim Ashbaugh reports: "For the past two years I have been the program director at the Baylor Wound and Hyperbaric Medicine Center, where we treat patients with chronic wounds (e.g., diabetic foot and lower extremity wounds). The center is affiliated with Baylor Medical Center at Garland, Texas. I have settled into this position after a whirlwind over the past several years of starting up new hospitals in Texas and Alabama. The success of my wife's performance management and training company (Tradesecrets-training.com) made us want to return to the greater Dallas/Ft. Worth as our permanent home. 

"Barb and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last September. We have a daughter and two granddaughters in southern Wisconsin and a firefighter/paramedic son and police detective daughter-in-law in south Texas. Our blood has thinned out over the years in the hot Texas weather, but we still shiver each Christmas season returning to the greater Chicago/Wisconsin area to visit relatives. There usually is a stop at Café Ba Ba Reeba on north Halsted. Down here we keep our 'serum pizza' at the proper level by frequenting the lone DFW-area Pizzeria Uno's in downtown Fort Worth. So we try to keep some ties to the Windy City."

Craig Wilson writes: "Lately I've been somewhat a whirling dervish. I've owned a company called American Recruiters for the past 10 years. I was voted to the Pinnacle Society, an honorary recruiting society comprised of the top 75 recruiters in the country. I started an outsourcing business for engineering design last year. It's going OK. I'm president of the board for Theatre Building Chicago, one of the nation's leading musical incubators with three 148-seat theaters. Parallel to that, I have partnered with another gentleman to create an Web site that will be an online theater community by theatre lovers for theatre lovers. Stay tuned."

Sandy Osei-Agyeman writes: "After leaving the banking industry in 1979 to start my own hair care business, AFAM Concept Inc., in Chicago and having some success for 21 years (the brands were Vitale and Elentee), we sold the company to another competitor in 2000 so that I can return home (Ghana) and start the whole business again. I don't know what I was thinking since I had to invest all my hard-earned money and wait to see it grow again. I manufacture the Most Valuable Products (MVP) and The Adinkra Naturals brands. The business is growing and I employ about 50 people. I also am the chairman of Ghana Athletics Association (I represented Ghana in Track and field as a sprinter in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games in Munich and Montreal, respectively). I just returned from the Beijing Games. I have re-energized the association with our recent accomplishments in many international competitions although the Olympics did not go as well. On July 3, I was one of the recipients for the highest honor our nation awards to its outstanding citizens by the president of my country. It is called The Order of the Volta and was given for my contributions to sports as an athlete and an administrator. What else? Maybe finding a business partner community interested in Ghana and Africa as an investment destination and team up."

Andy Chanho Sonu reports: "I am a partner of Finnegan law firm based in Washington, D.C., with offices all over the world. We specialize in the practice of intellectual property law. I have been extremely busy handling several patent and trademark litigations involving technology in the past year."

Eric Kagan writes: "Since Kellogg, I have lived on Long Island, Baltimore, Fort Worth, Texas, Buffalo, N.Y., and in Scottsdale, Ariz., since last February. I've been married for 19 years to my best friend (Sari) whom I met in Fort Worth. We have two boys (17 and 16). Max, the oldest,  just started college and is studying nuclear engineering at Purdue. Norman, the youngest, has two more years to go in high school and wants to go into the performing arts or to study ancient history.

"Last January, I took a position at eFunds Corporation in Scottsdale and we made the big move west from the cold north to the oven-baking Southwest. Since that time, eFunds has been purchased by Fidelity National Information Services and the transaction closed last week. They are headquartered out of Jacksonville, Fla., so who knows? Life is a journey and where it goes is not always predictable."

Martha A. McDonald writes to tell her classmates that she is semi-retired, though working as self-employed CPA, which she enjoys, but is "still stressed with three teenagers in the house." She reports: "Added the third this year and as if things weren't tough enough, it was a girl from Madrid, Spain. Knowing that teenage boys do NOT communicate, did I really think a girl would? Still following Tar Heel football with everlasting hope that Butch Davis can deliver a real team. We play Notre Dame (shades of the four quarter class of 1977!) this year in Chapel Hill and the entire family will be there. Recent travels include China and Paris for the French Open. Playing a lot of tennis and studying Spanish. It is a good life!"