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80 | If class notes had titles, this one would be called "Against All Odds." It all started a few weeks ago when our contacts at the alumni magazine forwarded me a frighteningly thin packet of news from our fellow alums— three items, one of which was a change of address, and another of which was a press release complete with a 4x6 glossy. Not really the stuff of which great columns are made.

My co-correspondent Jill and I had encountered this before and had started brainstorming a few ways to drum up news. Unfortunately, we had no results in time for this deadline. So I resorted to the old ruse of e-mailing a group of classmates, using my old class directory from our 20th Reunion. That worked in August, but I was delayed this time, searching for my elusive copy of the directory. Once found, I was able to e-mail everyone from C to F (about 150 classmates) before time ran out. In August, I received a great response—news of everything from new jobs, great concerts, and mini-reunions. This time, I received only a few responses, one of which was from the previously mentioned "change of address" asking me to keep it for record only. I guess even the Class of '80 has candidates in the "Witness Protection Program."

So here goes. Good news for Mitchell Richman, who was named to the House of Delegates of the American Assn. of Homes and Services for the Aging. He is the group executive director of ACTS Retirement-Life Communities in West Point, PA. Congratulations! All kinds of good news for Laura Chessin, BFA '81. In 2003 she received tenure in the Communication Design department at Virginia Commonwealth U., had a son on June 18, and married Don Leister, the happy daddy! Debby Chessin Dabney '75, MS '82, Seth Dabney, PhD '82, and Gregg Garfin '79 attended the wedding. Laura's nephew Seth Chessin Dabney missed the wedding due to his freshman orientation for the Class of 2007! Best wishes and lots of happiness to you all! Chuck D'Angelo's wife Lucy writes that her brother just bought a house in New Jersey ski country and they hope to get out there in the summer. Hope to see them soon!

In response to my SOS, Peggy Hoffmann Connolly wrote that her eldest daughter Erin is in her second year at the U. of Pittsburgh. She joined AmeriCorps and worked as a childcare teacher for several months. Peggy and husband Hugh, BArch '81, made the rounds of several colleges in upstate New York for daughter number 2, Hope, who is a junior in high school. With a 1570 on her SAT-I and a 100-plus GPA, Cornell is a definite possibility for her! Hugh is busy, busy, busy with work. His firm was awarded a project for a school in Newark for which he wrote the proposal and did the design. He became certified in LEED, which is Leadership in Environmental Education and Design. Green buildings are in vogue.He joined his Souvenir Building Collector's society for their annual convention, this time in Gettysburg, where they had a private tour of the city battlefield. Thanks for the update, Peggy!

As for me, it has been a challenging few months. I've had to deal with a serious illness in the family and have been spending a lot of time with doctors and driving my dad around to various appointments, in addition to helping take care of my mom. Everything else seems to have taken a back seat—work, socializing, and, sometimes, family. It has been a truly enlightening experience, but I must say that I may be witnessing a miracle as Dad continues to thrive. I am really thankful for my blessings, which include friends like Nayla Rizk and Sue Poschmann, who have been a great support during this ordeal.

Nayla, by the way, is enjoying her new home. She moved a short distance, still in California. I am looking forward to seeing the new place and enjoying her visits to the East Coast. Sue is still renovating her house in Massachusetts. That should be a masterpiece by the time she is done!

That's all for now. It's nice to hear news from everyone. Remember, it doesn't have to be earth shattering.Most of us just want to know that you are still alive and kicking. If you've had a great success, we want to hear about that, too, but it's not a requirement for making good news. -- Cynthia Addonizio-Bianco, caa28@cornell.edu; Jill Abrams Klein, jfa22@cornell.edu.

81 | I have to admit that I struggle with the pen every so often, trying to write the class column. I want to remind everyone that your classmates would love to hear news of you and it doesn't need to be something earth-shattering! Our classmates like to hear about you—where you live, what you're doing, or even a funny story about you or a classmate. Our goal as correspondents is to provide updates about as many different people as possible, but that is where we need YOU! Just drop us a note with your class dues, or send it to one or all of the correspondents via email.

I was delighted to hear from Daniel Weisz around Thanksgiving. He had recently entered into a law partnership, Marans & Weisz LLC, specializing in transactional real estate law and related areas of practice. His office is located at 29 Broadway in New York City. He keeps in touch with Oscar Perotto '82 who lives in Switzerland. Also in New York, Rhonda Brauer is living in Greenwich Village with husband Greg and children Jillian, 9, and Justin, 6. Rhonda is still in the legal department of the New York Times Company and was promoted to corporate secretary this past year. In her free time she manages to volunteer at her children's school, PS 130, in Chinatown.

From Dalton, NY, Rodney Bennett wrote that he and wife Michelle celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary this past year. They still own and operate the family dairy farm. Rodney was elected Majority Leader of the county legislature and is also president of the Fillmore Rotary Club. Congrats to Daniel Fenton, who was promoted to President/CEO of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau. He has been with the Bureau since 1996 as the organization's vice president and COO. Daniel, who was a Hotelie at Cornell, worked with Hyatt Hotels, Amfac Hotels and Resorts, and the Radisson. Later in his career he worked for six years as general manager and partner of Horton Fenton and Associates, an organization specializing in hotel management and affordable housing. He also spearheaded his own company, DNF Group, that owned and operated restaurants.He was ranked one of this past year's "Power 100 of Silicon Valley" by San Jose Magazine. He is married to Denise Rainoldi and lives in San Jose, CA.

Life is full for Chris Crehan, whose company Pegasus Mortgage Services is located in Franklin, MA. Chris reports that his eldest, a daughter, is a high school senior and he knows too much when it comes to his daughter attending her high school proms. "Gadzooks!" as he put it. I think I'd have to agree . . . Alison "Bonnie" Spear, BArch '82, reports from Miami, FL, that life is busy with her children, son Jeremy in 7th grade and daughter Caroline in 1st grade. Alison received awards for her design projects in Miami, including the Holly Hunt Showroom and the private residence of Tom Healy and Fred Hochberg. She volunteers at the Miami Performing Arts Center and sees fellow Cornellians Jamie Lustberg and Tui Pranich '79, BArch '81, frequently.

Jim Kent ofWinchester,VA, was promoted to Captain, US Navy.He is serving in the Reserves in the Washington,DC, area.He is also senior natural gas trader with the Washington Gas Company. Also serving our country is Clay Pittman, a classmate and high school friend of mine from Rochester.Clay was placed on active duty this past year to support operations in Iraq. He is homebased, but flies into the Middle East frequently. Clay also spent several weeks supporting Operation Deep Freeze, hauling cargo to the science stations in Antarctica. The Deep Freeze cargo apparently included 9,000 lbs. of toilet paper,which his family finds very humorous! Clay has now flown to every continent in his career, which is certainly an accomplishment! He and wife Lisa are the proud, busy parents of Madison, 7, Zachary, 5, Michaela, 4, and Mackenzie, 2. The Pittmans live in Bellbrook, OH.

Congratulations to classmate Sheryl Wu-Dunn. She is a Cornell trustee who is being honored this year at the Pan-Asian New Year Banquet in New York City. Sheryl is currently anchor for "Page One," a nightly news program for the Discovery Times Channel. In 1990, Sheryl and husband Nicholas Kristof, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement. Sheryl also authored two books with her husband, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power, published in 1994, and Thunder From the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia, published in 2002. After majoring in history at Cornell, Sheryl earned an MBA from Harvard and an MPA from Princeton. Sheryl and her husband live in Scarsdale, NY.

I have a follow-up to the loss of our classmate Eric Schaufert last April. The Schaufert Educational Scholarship Fund has been established by a group of Eric's friends, both for Eric's children (12-year-old twins Brad and Brent and 6-year-old Paul) and for college scholarships for other children of Cornell class members. Donations should be made payable the "Schaufert Educational Fund" and can mailed to: Stewart Howe Alumni Service, 3109 N. Triphammer Rd., Lansing, NY 14882 (Attn: Dorothy Wysocki).

Enjoy the spring and write—often! -- Jennifer Read Campbell, RonJenCam@aol.com; Betsy Silverfine, runbets@aol.com; Kathy Philbin LaShoto, Kathleen_lashoto@equityoffice.com.

82 | Class president Lorraine Aronowitz Danzig marched in the inauguration procession last October, representing our class. She writes: "It was a seasonably warm and sunny fall day in Ithaca, and hundreds of loyal alumni, professors, and trustees came to march from the Arts Quad past the reviewing stand into Barton Hall, where President Jeffrey Lehman '77 gave a rousing speech about a new vision for Cornell. He spoke of continuing Ezra Cornell's promise about "instruction in any field," but also about including more students from diverse backgrounds here and abroad. He also spoke about creating a bridge to the world via Cornell. It was a most festive day full of tradition and fun." She added, "It was neat to have a cap and gown on again. I hadn't had a fitting since my wedding!"

Leslie Gilbert Elman writes that "after 20-plus years I finally have something to announce: my first book, The Ladies' Room Reader Quiz Book, which will be out in March 2004. It's a collection of 100 trivia quizzes for women. Kind of like what ‘Jeopardy!' would be like if it had been created with women in mind. The publisher is Conari Press (800-423-7087, orders@redwheelweiser.com)." Leslie also reports that she is happily married to Dan (now at NYU for his third master's degree), happily living in New York City after a 13-year exile in Connecticut, and happily working as a freelance writer and editor. You can send congrats to Leslie at lesdan@aol.com.

Congrats also to Peter Zahler, BS '90, on his marriage to Lisa Herb, a lawyer. Their New York Times wedding announcement states that Peter is the Central Asia projects coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Bronx. He is also the Society's project coordinator for a conservation project in the eastern grasslands of Mongolia, where he and Lisa relocated to in the fall. In 1994, Peter was one of those credited with the rediscovery of the woolly flying squirrel in Pakistan, an animal that was thought to have been extinct. Additional congratulations to Michael,MBA '83, and Elizabeth Greenberg on the birth of their first child, Madeline Ariel McKenna Greenberg, born November 24, at the Woman's Hospital of Texas.

In addition to celebrating his 21st anniversary with Morgan Stanley, Jeff Kidwell finds the time to sing on national television! This past July, he sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park for the Yankees v. Red Sox game, which he said was "exhilarating and frightening at the same time."His Morgan Stanley colleagues and clients were there to cheer him on, having planned a client entertainment event around his performance. Highlights from the game included meeting Nomar ("Nomah" Garciaparra for those unfamiliar), who signed a jersey for him; Emmylou Harris, who said he had done a "great job"; and the rest of the Red Sox owners in the owners' box. Later, he and David Wells congratulated each other on their respective performances.Watch for Jeff at future Sox games. He "got his start" at age 5—A cappella Choir, Madrigal Singers, MA State Choir, and various parties and weddings in New York, Las Vegas, and Florida.

Another 21st work anniversary was celebrated by Steve Ross, who wrote from home near Denver, CO, where he works for GE. He reports that his youngest daughter, Stacey, is seeking a pre-vet degree from Colorado State U., which ranks second to Cornell as the best vet school, choosing CSU over Cornell because it was closer to home. Steve Mendell reports that his son Jordan '07 started at the Hotel school in September and says the work is hard, but he loves life at Cornell—even the cold weather. Steve started a new company, HEI Hospitality, 18 months ago and has acquired 13 hotels so far and is close to closing on five more in the next several months. Roger Clark joined the company a few months ago; Steve says it's great to have a Hotelie as part of the team.

In some of our better-late-than-never news, Chris and Barbara Higgins Bakowski '83 sent news from Stamford, CT, where Chris has his own financial planning firm, CLB Financial, which he started in 2001. Also in Connecticut are Will and Julie De Simone Conner who celebrated their 21st anniversary! They reside in Brookfield with their children Billy, Brian, and Kristi. Julie completed her doctorate in holistic nutrition, while maintaining a full-time nutrition practice;Will is director of operations/site executive at the Prudential in Shelton, CT.

Eric Aronson chairs the Human Rights and Social Policy special interest group of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is the Northeast regional refugee coordinator for Amnesty International USA, and is a member of Physicians for Human Rights'Asylum Network, a volunteer network of physicians and psychologist who provide trauma evaluations for refugees seeking political asylum. He currently works as a clinical psychologist at Family Associates of Merrimack Valley in Chelmsford, MA.

Kathryn Elmer Frohlich and family moved from Corning, NY, to Westford, MA, at the end of 2002, and she asks anyone living in the area or traveling through to call her at (978) 589-0908. Sarah Nemetz wrote from Rochester, NY, "These middle years of child-rearing don't seem to yield the exciting Class News-worthy events of weddings, births, and career starts." She has "a lovely life" in Rochester, is married now to Mike Berg for 17 years, and is raising sons Ben and Matt. She is an internist in a small group practice, which she finds fulfilling, and loves being part of her community.

Please let us know what's news with you! -- Nina M. Kondo, nmk22@cornell.edu; Mark Fernau, mefliss@aol.com.

83 | Our mailbag is running a little empty this time of year. Because of our publishing schedule, I am actually writing this in December. And by the time you read it, the representatives from the Class of '83—along with other members of the Assn. of Class officers (CACO)—will have had their annual Mid-Winter Meeting in January in New York City. Hopefully, as at our reunions, that event will generate some more letters and e-mails. But memories and tales from our very successful 20th Reunion continue to remain foremost in classmates' minds. We had almost 700 people in attendance, which included 321 alumni, and 379 family members, and we fiercely challenged the all-time record for a 20th Reunion class, set by our sister class of 1982 at 331 alumni in 2002. Those who attended represented 11 percent of our total graduating class and came from as close as Ithaca and as far as Arizona, California,Washington, and Florida.

By the way, if you have never attended a reunion, you might be missing a great opportunity to rekindle some old friendships . . . or maybe even an old flame! Such was the case with Omar Saldaña and Melanie Vielhauer. They became reacquainted at our 15th Reunion in 1998 and were married at a country inn outside Ithaca in June 2000 (making sure not to book a date that would overlap with either graduation or reunion weekends!). Currently the couple are living in Boston. After graduating from Cornell, Omar earned his MBA from NYU. He is now performance management director for Mercer Management Consulting. Melanie completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology at SUNY-Buffalo. She is a staff psychologist with the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Boston, and a clinical instructor in Psychiatry at the BU School of Medicine. In September Omar's daughter Krissa began her freshman year at the U. of Vermont, where she is studying environmental policy.

Omar and Melanie enjoyed reconnecting and spending time with old friends at the 20th Reunion: Susan Sayer, Kathy Stratton, Sheila Smith Morrell, Mike Drumm, Jim Conover, and Karen Gottschalk. They were disappointed that Beth Frederick, currently living in Madison, WI, wasn't able to make it to reunion, but hope to see her at the 25th. Omar also is currently volunteering (along with Dana Gordon) as our class historian.

Taking advantage of the convenience of using our class website to post news (http://classof83.alumni.cornell.edu) was Bob Bellis. Bob thought that our 20th Reunion was a success on several fronts, "the most important being the re-establishment of old friendships." He reports that, like many of us, he lost touch with friends from our college days. The 20th Reunion, however, provided just the vehicle to reunite several fourth floor Donlon freshmen from the Class of '83.While several Donlonites have been in the fold since graduation and attend nuclear gatherings on a fairly regular basis, the "wayward souls" of Cindi Kulas, Ellen Schimoler, Chuck Cotsalas, Kevin Myer, and Scott Miller had been lost to the group prior to reunion. As a result of reunion—and the wonders of e-mail—these five Donlonites have reconnected with Bob, Scott Cole, Steve Elias, ME '84, Brent Finley '81, Mike Hale, Jeff Labonte, Mark Kangas, Andy Pollock, and Tim Veazey after a 20-year lapse. In the spirit of renewed friendship, Ellen, Cindy, Chuck, and Bob got together in NYC in the fall, and hoped to share some eggnog during the holidays.

Our class must be going for another record number of children in attendance at the next reunion—the reports of births continue to roll in. Tom Helf welcomed his son Gideon on May 20, joining big sister Gabriela, 5-1/2. Though this happy event caused Tom to miss reunion, earlier last spring he enjoyed hosting two classmates and their respective families. Rob Smith, wife Tina, and children Sophie, 6, and Alexander, 4, live in Westchester County; Rob practices psychiatry in Manhattan. Nancy Schlie Knowles,MBA '89, and husband Jim '87 visited Tom and family with their children Halle, 7, Luke, 5, and Jack, 6 months, not long after moving to their new hometown of Oxford, MS.

Our Cornell Fund class volunteer, Abbie Bookbinder Meyer, tells us that she and her husband are moving in February to a new home that is only ten houses away from their present house. Exclaims Abbie, "We found that with the three children (Madison, ninth grade; Jack, sixth; and Clayton, fourth) we needed more space away from them!"Abbie attended reunion this past June and relates her experience: "I enjoyed seeing a lot of different people. Anyone who did not attend missed a great time. I went with my roommates Linda Moore, MBA '88, Gail Titus Ryan, Laura Lange Anastos, and Jennifer Bell Knapp. At reunion I became the fundraising co-chair with Dave Tralka. I am looking forward to the job as a way of staying in touch with the university and other alums.Watch for our fund-raising calls and letters! Linda, Gail, and I also went to the Cornell vs. Princeton football game. Fortunately, the weather was fantastic because the team sure was not."

And rounding out our column this month comes news from Mark and Kim Osborn Rhodes, who continue to balance work and family life in Westfield, NJ. Kim is back working part-time at E&Y in their structured finance advisory group while maintaining her board of education duties.Mark continues to work as an internal M&A lawyer for Citigroup Global Markets and serves as assistant scoutmaster for his son's boy scout troop. He proudly relates to us that son Christopher, 13, and daughter Amanda, 11, have just completed very successful fall seasons for their top-flight travel football and soccer teams. In his not-so-ample time, Mark is also serving as our class treasurer.

Please keep your news coming, I fell back on calling a lot of our class officers for content at the last moment. And while many came through and responded, I don't believe I can keep going to that well too often. Let us know what is going on in your life. Don't think that only major events like births, new jobs, marriages, etc., are newsworthy. If you haven't contributed notes in the recent past for this column, it's all news! -- David Pattison, d.pattison2@verizon.net; and Dinah Godwin, dinahgodwin@msn.com.

84 | Our 20th Reunion is quickly approaching! Come to Cornell on June 10-13 for some good, old-fashioned fun (you know, things we considered fun 20 years ago . . . okay, maybe not ALL the things).We have had a terrific response to the first reunion reminder— many classmates plan to come back to the Hill in June. If you're not sure whether you'll recognize any faces, call a few classmates so you can relive those college days with your best Cornell friends.

We can still use more classmates on the reunion committee. Some of the reunion committee jobs will require only an hour of your time reunion weekend. Please contact our reunion cochairs Kitty Cantwell at ccantwel@rochester.rr.com or Janet Insardi at insardij@hotmail.com. For more information about reunion in general, check out our class website, www.alumni.cornell.edu/orgs/classes/1984.

If you're still not sure you want to commit, remember it's all the little things that make our lives so challenging and fun that are the ties that bind, not whether we've become CEOs. This applies to news as well.We want to hear from you!

Michael Ravnitzky and Victoria Wagman of Silver Spring, MD, had a baby boy on Nov. 17, '03, Nathan Gabriel. Michael is starting a new job as a private investigator for The James Mintz Group Inc. in Washington, DC. Tori is on maternity leave from her job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Washington. Karen Vail Ephraimson recently had her third child, Sam. He is 1-1/2 now and was welcomed by sister Dylann, 9, and brother Alec, 6. Karen is currently a stay-at-home mom, and prior to Sam's birth, enjoyed being on the board of her local Environmental Education Center. Karen is planning on coming to reunion.

Michael McGarrity is working as a clinical endocrinologist in Wilmington, NC. He is married to Sheila and has a 25-year-old stepdaughter Melissa and a 4-year-old daughter.Michael is hoping to attend reunion. Michele Zweig Greenberg has been married for 13 years. She and husband Alan have children Isabella, 10, Julia, 8, and Stefan, 6.Michele has an MPH and a PhD in epidemiology from Yale. She lived in the Ivory Coast for four years and Boston for two years and has been living in Atlanta for the past five years. Michele is hoping to come to reunion.

Sandra J. Stephens and her husband have three kids and a dog. Sandra is the chief of pediatrics at CHC. She is definitely coming to reunion. Linda Zell Randall is definitely coming to reunion as well. After living in California— Silicon Valley—for eight years, Philip George and wife Kristin are happy to have moved back to Massachusetts to be closer to family. Their kids Kyle, 8, and Grace, 5, get to see Dad more now because he works from a home office and travels to San Jose every month for one week. He, his wife, and the kids are all coming to reunion! Andrew Woo and wife Gina Bettinsoli (USC) announce the birth of son Julian Jian-Fu Woo on July 7, '02. Big brother Miles, now 5, chipped in trying to breast feed early on, convinced that he "had lemonade in his nipples."

Betsy Loytty McCormick had twins Sarah and Margaret in December 2001. They joined big brother Will, now 6. "Needless to say, all of our time is spent running around after the kids!" Betsy is still working as a hearing officer for the NC Employment Security Commission and still loves it after seven years. Kim Dely Forrest gave birth to a second son, Brock, on Mar. 22, '03. He joins older brother Beuk, 7, who is involved in hockey, gymnastics, baseball, and dance. Kim is in her 14th year of coaching the girls gymnastics team at Paramount Gymnastics in Hillsborough, NJ. She was honored with the "New Jersey Coach of the Year" award last year. She might be coming to reunion.

Daniel Kammen's research group at the U. of California, Berkeley, has been involved in a number of local, national, and global energy, environment, and climate projects and debates. For details, see http://socrates.berkeley.edu/.He's been traveling to Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Cuba, Zimbabwe, and Zambia for research projects and generally to set up his doctoral students' dissertation projects. "After a long and arduous 19 years of post-graduate training, I'm finally joining the real world," writes Ed Yang. He and wife Laurie have both joined the Vanderbuilt U. faculty. Laurie will be with the law school and Ed will be in the pediatric surgery department at the medical school.

Dr. Larry Lazar celebrated his 40th birthday by skiing in Banff, Alberta, in March with his boys Jason, 5, and Aaron, 2. He is absolutely coming to reunion. Gregg Gerlach has opened the Law Office of Gregg Gerlach in Jacksonville, FL, representing both employers and employees in all types of labor and employment law disputes. He is accepting referrals in wage and hour cases and will pay a referral fee to referring attorneys. He is licensed to practice law in Florida and Texas. Gregg also has a new son, Trevor Philip.

Scott Diehl is the senior VP of sales and business development at ON24, an enterprise streaming media firm based in San Francisco. He is married to Lauren and they have two lovely daughters, Dakota, 4, and Sienna, 2. He might come to reunion. Vicki Seiden Sherman's company, VSS Consulting, won two Clarion Awards—silver for advertising and bronze for writing—for a sales brochure recently produced for one of their clients. She saw classmates Adrienne Bell Podell and husband Scott and Jeff and Beth Marshall Marfurt at the bar mitzvah of the Marfurts' son Brett. Vicki is definitely coming to reunion! Steven Atherton married Megan Clinning of Cape Town, South Africa, on Sept. 1, '01. They traveled back to South Africa in February 2002.

Kim Glasgal and her husband have two children. Rachel Levy was born in August 2001 and Evan Levy was born in February 2003. She's seen classmates Betsey Small, Dan Winston, Kevin Hunt, and Kristi Jaska, MS '85. She is definitely coming to reunion. After a year of "retirement," Jennifer Pierce Fusco went back to work as an instructional assistant in kindergarten and first grade at a local elementary school. "The kids are the best at that age—sweet, innocent, and so eager to learn, and I was fortunate to work for three amazing teachers." Jennifer saw the following fellow classmates at their annual getaway: Rhonda Alexis Dirvin, Maria Mainelli Bloom, Sarah Hanlon Cigliano, Kim Shoop, and Elizabeth Sullivan Martins. Jennifer is definitely coming to reunion!

Many of you already know that our classmate Edward Lu was on the International Space Station recently. But you probably didn't know that he was up there on his 40th birthday, orbiting 240 miles above earth. Hawaii's governor, Linda Lingle, proclaimed the day "Edward Tsang Lu Day" in Hawaii. Ed was on a six-month mission aboard the space station. Stephen Howell and wife Susan (Seligsohn) '86 founded Howell Design & Build Inc. six years ago. The company designs and constructs new homes, as well as additions and renovations, and has distinguished itself locally in North Andover, MA, with its emphasis on unique design, craftsmanship, quality, and professional service. Remodeling Magazine named their company one of the top 50 remodelers in the country! -- Karla Sievers McManus, Klorax@comcast.net; Lindsay Liotta Forness, Fornesszone@aol.com. Class website, www.alumni.cornell.edu/orgs/classes/1984.

85 | For these alumni notes, we are proud to start with introducing a couple of "5-year-olds" and their proud Class of '85 parents. The first one is CP Partners, whose proud papa is Jim Joseph. He recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of his marketing agency. As many of you know, Jim started the agency from scratch—no clients, no employees, just a lot of wishful thinking. Five years later, CP Partners has become a powerful little agency with clients the likes of Tylenol, Clean & Clear, and Kraft Foods. Of course, all of this is balanced by raising two kids, Alicia and JP, who are now in the third and fifth grades.Weeknights and weekends are full of homework, football games, and parties (just like our days at Cornell!).

Likewise, Kathleen Rowe is celebrating the fifth year of Kathleen Rowe Associates, a public relations and marketing communications firm. Kathleen explains that her firm specializes in strategic advice, quality writing, and effective media relations for technology, medical, and education clients. Rowe Associates is also the winner of the 2002 LACP Platinum Award for product/service communications.

Mark Martin is stateside again, after spending three years in Hong Kong with his family (wife Kelly, daughter Ashley, and son Craig). While working for Analog Devices, he traveled considerably for business, but the family travel was the most rewarding. They managed to cover nearly all of the region, getting to Singapore, Korea, Bali, Australia (twice), China, Vietnam, Bora Bora, and Queenstown, New Zealand, for the millennium change. Upon their triumphant return, they moved back to Lynnfield, MA, outside Boston, and he took a new role as product line director for Analog Devices Wireless chipset business. His group develops and markets the critical component set and the software that handle all of the key functions in a GSM mobile phone.Mark now has development teams in the US, Europe, China, and India, and major customers in all regions of the world.Most recently, he met officials in Beijing from the Chinese government as part of an official ceremony to discuss long-term partnership. It was a unique opportunity to experience traditional Chinese business protocol.When he's not globetrotting, Mark also keeps busy as a dad and local parttime basketball coach on weekends.

Shaz Kahng is also curtailing her globetrotting, despite the adverse effects on her golf game. For the past year, Shaz has been working for a global brand consultancy called Wolff Olins. She is head of strategy in the New York office. Shaz and Wolff Olins specialize in brand creation and brand revitalization. Some of her recent clients include GE, Fila, and the College Board. In one of her more fascinating projects, Shaz is also working on the rebranding of New York City.

Last November, you may have seen Steve Bloom in the New York Times that featured his family in a House & Home article about people who buy before selling their existing property. You saw them in their old space and their new space before they moved in. "There goes my 15 minutes," laments Steve. This new living space is important as his family is growing; his third child, Paul Robert, was born on October 6. Little Paul joins older brother Jamie and sister Daniella. Last February, they adopted a goldendoodle (part golden retriever, part standard poodle) puppy, Charlie.With their household expanding, they were finally forced to move to a larger apartment. They relocated further up New York's Upper West Side, saying goodbye to the Fairway Supermarket (locals will understand the loss) in exchange for more space and a second bathroom. Jamie is thrilled to have his own room. Steve has worked at HSBC Asset Management for the past three and a half years as an analyst/portfolio manager. He covers tech and telecom stocks. He recently took over management of their global TMT (technology, media, and telecom) funds. Steve really enjoys his window office view of Manhattan's Bryant Park. His firm is a sponsor of Junior Achievement, and Steve volunteers in a junior high school classroom to help teach math and business concepts.

Did you know that a Cornell grad was sworn in as the new mayor of Shelby, NC? Ted Alexander, executive director of Uptown Shelby Assn. for the last 15 years, took the oath of office to become mayor of the city of Shelby in a ceremony held on a chilly December night in the City Council chambers. Ted won in a run-off election in November with 54 percent of the vote. The Honorable Larry Wilson, Chief District Court Judge for Cleveland County, performed the ceremony, which was held as part of the regularly scheduled City Council session. Ted's wife Patti, children Will and Christina, and a bevy of supporters and wellwishers attended the ceremony. He received his master's in Preservation Planning from Cornell in 1985, and is a former director (1996-2002) and current member of the university's Historic Preservation Planning Alumni Assn.

A. George Sanders loves to vacation each year at Seabrooke Island, SC, but most of the time he works as a recruiter at MRI in Maryland. His son Bradford is attending Milton Academy in Boston, and second son Michael attends Harford Day School in Bel Air, MD.We should all cheer on Amy Smith Linton with the publication of her first fiction piece in Rosebud's winter edition 2003.Amy also recently cheered on her husband as he competed in the PanAm games. Even though he didn't win a medal, Amy reports that she had a wonderful adventure. She also had some home remodeling adventures with Terry (Mr. T.) Soyring '84, who has become a successful "carpenter-entrepreneur" in the Ithaca area.

Thanks for all the great updates.More and more we realize what an interesting class we are! Keep the news coming. -- Ed Catto, edcatto@hotmail.com; and Risa Mish, rmm22@cornell.edu.

86 | 40 in 2004. That will be the case for many of us, a milestone to marvel at. No doubt, we'll reflect upon friendships with our Cornellian classmates that have endured for 20 years now. That said, I was honored to share in the wedding of one such longtime friend of mine, Susan Hirsch Levy, to Joshua Cantor of Westfield, NJ, in October. I was asked to sign their ketubah, but I wasn't the only one with a backstage pass to the ceremony. My daughter Sara was by my side until the reception, when she was off to the head table to sit with her pal Dara, Susan's 9-year-old daughter. The newlyweds enjoyed a brief honeymoon in Belize, but returned in time to spend Halloween with their newly blended family. At the end of the year, Susan left Pfizer to start her own consultancy with a focus on strategic business initiatives for the consumer healthcare industry.

At Cornell, Susan and I shared a house on Delaware Avenue with Delfina Gova Bisha, MBA '98. Just so happens, I heard from her as well—an e-mail probably sent in-flight. At any given time, Del might be in Paris, Rome,Milan, Madrid, the Canary Islands, or the Island of Capri. She recently took the lead in the Global Practice, Energy & Materials, Internet Business Solutions Group at Cisco Systems. Her work takes her all over the globe. "In fact, I've moved from living in Houston to permanently residing on Continental Airlines. And Air France, and Iberia, and Alitalia, and British Airways."

Although I never shared a house with Brian Linsey, we were coincidentally living in the same town (Glastonbury, CT), our homes not a third of a mile from each other, for a while. But at the end of the year, Brian moved to Nevada and says he "may never come back East!" After weathering many years of northern winters and over 16 years in human resources, Brian accepted a developmental move from his company, ADVO Inc., and has traded in his VP HR hat to become regional sales manager in Las Vegas. He reports that those who know him well were "extremely worried" about him moving to Sin City, but so far he is doing well. "A lot like New Yorkers who never go the Empire State Building, Las Vegans avoid the Strip at all costs," he says.

Last fall Frank Kelly III, president of Kelly & Associates Insurance Group in Hunt Valley,MD, was named chairman of the board of the Baltimore County Dept. of Social Services. Frank lives in Lutherville with wife Gayle and three children. In Seattle, Larry Loo was named assistant vice president of marketing at Regence BlueShield.

A few Cornellian "creations": Audrey Glassman Vernick released her first children's book, Bark and Tim: A True Story of Friendship (Overmountain Press). And in 2003, Ellen Nordberg married Paul Williams and gave birth to twin boys. Ellen got through the "miserable pregnancy, convinced by friends Lori Spydell Wagner, Alison Passer Ostern '87, and especially Donna Thomas Choromanski and Elsa Waymer Dempsey (both twin moms!) that I would survive!" She says that at home in San Pedro, she sees Anne Ferree and Leesa Storfer, who "spoil the boys already." And Ellen Lederman, writing from Nayland in the UK, welcomed her first child, Emma Lauren LeFevre, in Nov. 2003. "Alison Washington Wheaton is Emma's godmother and made her a beautiful quilt," Ellen writes. She also forwarded a note from Mike Lally, depicting a surprise 40th birthday party in Buffalo, NY, attended by Nigel and Elizabeth Vandenbrink De'ath, Mike Malaga, and Kevin Cornacchio.

In this big birthday year for me as well, I began a new position at Aetna in Hartford, moving from my writing position in PR to IT communications, and will be teaching a continuing education class in "writing raw" (www.writingraw.com) in West Hartford through the spring. Are you facing 40, too? Be sure to let us know how you marked this milestone. Cheers! -- Hilory Federgreen Wagner, haf5@cornell.edu; Jackie Byers Davidson, jackiekd@sbcglobal.net; Allison Farbaniec MacLean, aaf9@cornell.edu.

87 | Gary Okamoto, BS '89, with his wife and sons Chris, 5, and Andy, 2, are enjoying a beautiful view of the Wasatch Mountains from their new home. Gary reports that his big task is to bring in orders for flat panel X-ray imaging subsystems this year at 80 percent growth! Good luck with that, Gary. R.Brent Vallat, ME '89, was recently promoted to VP and chief credit officer at American Express Business Finance (AEBF). Kimberley Alkins is back in New York City as a one-year substitute assistant professor at Queens College. Also in the academic world is Veerendra Lele, who was recently appointed assistant professor of sociology/anthropology at Denison U.

Londell McMillan was on the cover of the December 2003 issue of Black Enterprise magazine as part of their "Hot List: Best and Brightest under 40." Londell was recognized as the cofounder of the artist Empowerment Coalition that promotes artists' rights.He is the CEO of the McMillan Firm & North Star Business Enterprises Inc. Londell was also recognized in a previous issue of Black Enterprise as one of America's top black lawyers. Gligor Tashkovich, MBA '91, sent me a picture of Hope Mehlman Hurowitz with President Bush. I am, of course, happy and excited to see Hope, but also love the cool factor of having a picture of the president on my e-mail.

Brenna FrazerMcGowan has children John David, 2, and Meredith Rose, 8 months. She recently retired from Brown Brothers Harriman in Boston to be a full-time mom. She is doing consulting work for the investment industry. Amy Perez Friedlander welcomed Gregory Bernard to the family. He joins big sister Molly. David Fine is living outside of Harrisburg, PA, with wife Beth (Campbell) '88 and their son Kenneth. David is a partner with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart; his practice focuses on Federal commercial litigation.

I recently attended my 20th high school reunion and ran into a few Cornellians. Jerry and Lauren Cioppa Ludwig are living in the New York area. Lauren recently had baby Gerald, who joins brothers Calvin, 8, and Roy, 3, as well as sister Brenda, 11. Jerry is teaching and Lauren is a stay-at-home mom to her active crew. I also hung out with Lloyd Robinson and Victoria Rand, MD '91. That's all the news this month. Please keep sending us e-mail. -- Debra Howard Stern, dstern@acksys.com; or Tom Smith Tseng, ttseng@stanford.edu.

88 | Greetings, Class of '88! As I write this column, we are experiencing the second blizzard of the year— the earliest snowfalls ever for a December.My husband and I are hard at work on an addition to our home, living like pioneers in two rooms with three dogs and a cat while the rest of the house is gutted and rebuilt. I've been spending significant amounts of time on what's left of the roof, shoveling furiously while Mother Nature laughs at us.

Have you ever submitted news, but didn't see it published? Have you ever wondered why certain sentences are worded the way they are? Sometimes when you report a future event, out of respect for your privacy, we don't report it until we have received confirmation that the event actually occurred (i.e., a birth, planned adoption, wedding), so please write us again with happy outcomes—we'd love to share your good news! Also, if you don't specifically mention your spouse or significant other, we make no assumptions about family status when we report the birth, so please be specific if you would like us to include other information.

Babies, babies, babies! Our class has been busy bringing future Cornellians into the world! Congratulations to Richard Ballew, hailing from Manhattan Beach, CA, on the birth of his daughter Giselle Maya. She joins brother Richard James, now 2 years old. Anne-Lise Mogstad has transferred back to San Diego, CA, from Barcelona, Spain, where she is the head of Hewlett Packard's Large Format Media Business, Worldwide.Her daughter Astrid, 2, was born in Barcelona during her three-year stay there.

Patrick Nash and wife Christy report that they had their fifth child in January 2003. Baby Jack joins brothers Nick, Alex, and Casey (8- year-old triplet boys) and sister Cate, 2, who rules the house! Jennifer Betit Manley finished her first year teaching seventh grade in urban Rochester and says, "It's a challenge, but I don't miss Industry. I'm back in school again myself, working on my teacher certification." Jennifer lives in Fairport, NY, with husband Paul and children Clayton, 3, and Clara, 2.

Melissa Van Kirk of Mill Valley, CA, reports that she graduated with her PhD in clinical psychology, and presented her dissertation research at the Mavin Foundation Conference. Adam Sniderman,VMD, is the director of operations for the Veterinary MRI and Radiotherapy Center of New Jersey, and reports that he has daughters Lora Claire, 6, and Lilah Rose, 3. Adam says that the "Cook Street Crew" still spends a lot of time together.

Jane Gorham Ditelberg (j.ditelberg@comcast.net), husband Josh, and 1-year-old daughter Claire moved to a new home in River Forest, IL (near Chicago). Jane is working part-time as counsel in the estate planning department of Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood. She would love to hear from fellow '88ers. Stephen Kuntz of Palmyra, NY, was married in August to Tricia Migliore and moved into an 1890s Victorianstyle house. Elizabeth Jackson Luce and Kris Kick Vandervegt '89, fellow high jumpers, came all the way from Michigan and Colorado, respectively, to attend.

Malka Korman reports that she's had an eventful 15 years, but that the last year and a half have been a rollercoaster. "The good stuff is that I'm married to a wonderful person, Gavin Steyn, and we have two fantastic boys,Moshe, almost 6, and Raphael, 3.We live in Newton, MA. The not-so-great stuff is that I was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called ‘carcinoid' in May of 2002. By the time it was found it was well metastasized. Since then, I have been on two different treatment protocols and am about to start a third. The saving grace with this type of cancer is that it tends to grow slowly, but my symptoms are no fun. Hopefully, some of that will change soon. So, though I've changed careers in the last 15 years (molecular biologist to ESL teacher), my new job is to get well." Malka says, "I'm happy to hear from anyone, but prefer upbeat messages and any funny jokes anyone cares to send. Concern is great, as long as it is couched with humor.Moany groany doesn't do much for me. Happy news is appreciated."

Malka also writes that her family is currently raising funds for a school in Israel, named in her mother's memory. Dr. Ruth Z. Korman was a microbial geneticist at Cornell for 27 years. The Ruth Korman Pelech School for Girls honors her commitment to both secular and Jewish education, especially for girls. The school has been open for three years and has just moved into a new building, which needs laboratories and other permanent fixtures, as well as operating funds. Write to Malka at her husband's e-mail: gavin.steyn@verizon.net.We're thinking of you, Malka!

We'd like to ask you all for your indulgence with an idea. Every once in awhile we'd like to pose a question to the class, and report the answers all together in a future column. Here's our first question: "If you could go back in time and change something you did at Cornell, what would it be, and why?" E-mail us your thoughts—the more detailed, the better! -- Suzanne Bors Andrews, smb68@cornell.edu; and Steve Tomaselli, st89@cornell.edu.

89 | Happy spring, everyone! Hope everybody is thawing out and looking forward to some beautiful weather ahead, especially in June for our 15th Reunion! Just a few tidbits of news to report this month.

Ted Shafer married Rita Starritt, a medical doctor from Denver, on Nov. 15, '03 in a lovely wedding covered by the New York Times. A bunch of Cornellians flew in from around the country to attend: Joe and Heather Campbell Forkey, Cam and Peggy Curan Haugen, Marianne Wait, and Mike and Christy Clark Pambianchi '90 and their children. Ted is currently VP of sales for the SA division of ASML, a Dutch equipment manufacturer.

Catherine Rauscher Gianchandani wrote in to let us know she is living in Manhattan with husband Alkesh and children Ami, 3, and Aron, 1. She is working at a small business technology consulting firm called Intrasphere. Kurt Harendza tells us that he left his job at NCR Professional Services in August 2003 to join General Dynamics,Advanced Information Services in the Dayton, OH, area.His family has grown to three children with the addition of his first daughter, Holly, who arrived in December 2002. Kurt can't wait for the Big Red hockey team to come back to Columbus, OH, and whip Ohio State again.

Please send in your News Form, submit your news online at www.alumni.cornell.edu, or e-mail one of your trusty class correspondents, and let us know what is going on in your life. We are always looking forward to filling our columns with all the wonderful happenings! Please remember, we cannot print weddings or births until after they have occurred. I hope to see everyone June 10-13 at reunion! -- Lauren Hoeflich, laurenhoeflich@yahoo.com; Anne Czaplinski Treadwell, ac98@cornell.edu; Mike McGarry, mmcgarry@dmaus.com; and Stephanie Bloom Avidon, savidon1@hotmail.com.

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