EMP-1

From Nancy Owens Brown Bartell: “Shortly after graduating from EMP-1, I became director of management development programs at University of Illinois at Chicago Circle campus. In 1980, I was offered a position in San Francisco and become director of marketing services and public relations at PMI Mortgage Insurance Company. In 1986, I moved to Houston to start my own small business consulting company. I married H. Robert (Bob) Bartell in 1988, and the next year we moved to Johnson City, Tenn., where I taught management courses at East Tennessee State University. Concurrently, I started a doctoral program and was awarded an EdD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in 1997. 

“Although I was on a tenure track at ETSU, my husband and I decided to sail the East Coast, so I took early retirement. For the past 13 years, we have sailed to Maine or Lake Champlain in the summer and to Florida and the Bahamas in the winter, living on the boat six to eight months a year. We spend summer and fall in St. Michaels, M.D., a historic town on the eastern shores of Chesapeake Bay. Last year, we moved our official residence to Punta Gorda, Fla., although we still keep a home in St. Michaels. Between boating trips, we travel fairly extensively. We see Bob’s four children and our seven grandchildren whenever possible.”

Larry Hiipakka writes: “In 2002, I retired after 33 years of service with the Corps of Engineers as director of programs and project management of the North Central Division and subsequently, the military and environmental construction programs of the Great Lakes and Ohio River division. EMP-1 served me very well and taught me how to think differently such that I was successful and able to retire at 55.”

From John Tyson: “I retired ten years ago as an elected corporate officer of SPX Corporation and now live in Bonita Springs in southwest Florida. Following retirement, I looked for an activity where I could ‘give back’ and joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Over time I have moved up through various staff and leadership positions and now serve as chief of staff, a position comparable to chief operating officer. The Seventh District Auxiliary has more than 6,000 members who serve Coast Guard surface and aviation units within an area extending from North Carolina to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You will find our organization (and me) at cgaux7.org. The best part of my job is I work with some of the most exceptional leaders in the Coast Guard. Honestly, I could not imagine a more enjoyable way to spend my ‘retirement years.’”

Anne Blanton reports, “After sixteen years in management of The Chicago Community Trust, I retired three years ago to enjoy the flexibility to devote to volunteering, taking classes and traveling.”