1970s 1980s

For class secretaries and alumni photos visit
http://alumni.uvm.edu

1970
As I write this communiqué, it is mid-July in sunny, warm Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve had very few updates from our class. I knew I could count on the lovely Linae Johnson Schroeder. Her email informed us that Megan Maddox, daughter of Don and Perky Spaulding Maddox, was to be married in August in Stowe, Vt. Most of us will remember that Perky and Linae were inseparable friends and roommates during UVM days. Linae updated her family status. Both kids are married; Geoff is a teacher in Colorado, and Samantha lives in South Africa, where she was married a year ago. I heard from my old swim team pal, Joe Lovett, who has been very successfully involved with medical venture capital enterprises in the Boston area. He has now taken his expertise to Baton Rouge, La., where he works with an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in companies formed from research of Louisiana universities. Additionally, Joe has organized a UVM alumni group, “Catamounts on the Bayou,” with another alumnus Phillip Youngberg ’71. Joe would love to hear from classmates via email at jlovett@louisianafund.com. I recently heard from Tom Cioci, my old roommate. Tom was just checking in on my health…he’s always been that way. He remains in Providence, R.I., where he is still “King of Parking Lots.” Since there was no more news from anyone, I’ll fill you in on my life as punishment. My one and only child, Heidi, is on to her sophomore year at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She’s been a great kid, with good grades, too. I’ve been told these things skip a generation. My wife, Barbara, and I are still working our two companies, despite the fact that my business has not been great lately. I’m looking forward to playing golf with George Kreiner at his club in Canada. It should be fun if I get all my strokes. That’s it. I really need to hear from all of you. I can’t continue to make up this stuff.
Send your news to—
Doug Arnold
darnold@arnold-co.com

1971
Where did the year go?
For starters, I heard from Jimmy Seder. I wanted to know when he planned to visit Vermont. Turns out he’s heading for Nantucket for a bit of a vacation with Dick Peisch. I’d love to be a fly on the wall there. I had a dinner with Joanne Czachor Magliozzi in Boston in early May, right after Anna ’08 finished her freshman year. Mike Rosenberg and his wife, Dawn, of Bedford, Mass., celebrated the birth of their first grandchild, Josalyn Cecilia. Mike’s daughter, Rebecca, and her husband chose the name, and Mike says it evokes fond memories of jostlin’ for center-ice seats at Gutterson. But seriously, Mike enjoyed a surprise reunion with classmates, Charlie Quimby and Tyler Robinson at the UVM-BU basketball game in Boston. I missed Mike at that game, but we talked at the end of May. Mike attended a Bedford community event, where four incoming UVM freshman were awarded community scholarships. Mike presented the students with UVM t-shirts. What a guy! Paula Christofoletti Sawyer (she’s remarried) wrote that her National Association of Disability Examiners chapter won the best chapter award in the northeast region. At the northeast regional caucus, Paula was elected to serve as regional director for 2005-2007. I reconnected with Janey Williams Sherman at her home in May. She and husband Lon have two kids — a son out of college, living in L.A., and a daughter on the college search. Lon has practiced cardiology in Amesbury for most of his career, and the family enjoys sailing. When Janey and I met for lunch, Lon had been out to sea for two weeks, sailing up the Northeast coast. I heard from Sandra Simpson. She wrote, “In October, I was sent to Afghanistan for a six-month tour (about three months at K2 in Uzbekistan and the other three at Bagram Air Base). I was part of a defense logistics agency (DLA) support team, and our whole function in life was to help expedite supplies of just about everything (food, clothing, medical stuff, repair parts). In November, I went to Iraq for a 120-day tour-in the Green Zone in Baghdad, doing the same sort of expediting. That was a long 120 days. I don’t know how the folks who go down a year or more at a time do it. Sure would not want to be in their shoes! Came back at the end of February this year and have been working with our prime vendor contractors providing support to the European footprint.” Sandra hopes to “downsize” on the work side and spend more time at her home in the Netherlands. She deserves it! I just heard that Liz Mead Foster came in first, not only in her age group but also in the age category below her age group, for women running in the Burlington City Marathon held Memorial Weekend. Liz continues to perform on the marathon circuit and is becoming proficient in Spanish. I also ran into Jim Taylor and Barbara Potter ’76 since we are neighbors. Jim and Barb still work in the field of film production all over the world. And, to end on a personal note, my oldest, Robert ’00, just became engaged to a lovely lady he met in Florida. She is originally from the Ukraine and speaks several languages. We are delighted. No wedding date planned, but I cannot be happier. Please call or write. Jimmy Seder wants more gossip.
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Sarah Sprayregen
sarah.sprayregen@uvm.edu

1972
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Debbie Koslow Stern
debra.stern@uvm.edu

1973
David Abbott has received the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) 2005 Outstanding Alumni Award. He currently serves on the CALS board of advisors and heads the fundraising campaign, “Rising to the Top,” for the College’s CREAM (Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management) Program, a student-run experiential learning program. Over the span of a 26-year career with Purina Mills Inc., David rose from management trainee right after graduating from UVM to become the president and CEO in 1995 until his departure in 1998, when the company was sold. Since then, he has held senior positions with other successful business ventures, including E-Markets of Ames, Iowa, and Exopack of Spartanburg, S.C. David currently has a consulting business based in Newport, Vt. Vermont State Representative Ira Trombley ’73 G’85 has been appointed to the Vermont Human Resources Investment Board. Ira is serving his second term in the State House and is clerk of the House Commerce Committee.
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Deborah Mesce
d.mesce@verizon.net

1974
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Steven Rice
swinner123@aol.com

1975
A small but lively crowd gathered for our 30th (gulp) reunion at Halvorsen’s Restaurant in Burlington early in June. It was a picture-perfect Vermont evening, and Church Street was bustling with most restaurants serving as venues for the annual jazz festival. Thanks to Chico Lager for pulling the whole thing together! It was fun to catch up with Cindy Hall Condos. Her husband, Jim, was finishing up with the Vermont legislature and was unable to attend the gathering. Cindy reports that daughter Chelsea is an accountant in Atlanta, currently working on her master’s degree in taxation. Cindy and Jim are very happy with major renovations they did on their home when Chelsea finished college. Our class president, Mary Ellen Fennessey, “flew” up the Interstate and made it to Halvorsen’s, too. Her nine-year-old son is keeping her very busy these days. Ernie Janus made the trip back to Burlington. He reported that he travels frequently to Poland. I met Margery Kaye Jadwin, who has started a specialty toffee candy company, “Confection Diva.” It sounds like the business is really taking off. Margery has a son who graduated from UVM last year, and her younger son will be spending the next year in Israel, then heading to Brandeis. She was having fun with former roommate Janet McMahon, who was up visiting from Tampa, Fla. Janet is taking a break from her career as a veterinarian, and with her husband is raising three children. Several local folks enjoyed catching up with each other and visiting with friends from out of town. Among them were Chico Lager and wife Yvette Pigeon, Bert Anderson and wife Sandy, honorary class member Scott Baldwin, Becky Pardee Davis, Dick Erdman, Hank Elitzer, Paula Cope along with husband Tim and son Evan. Rumor had it that several people from our class were in town to toast Kate Howrigan (’78) Baldwin at a surprise party the day after our reunion. Others in attendance at Halvorsen’s were Rich Falcone, Bill Dillon, Dennis Canedy, Richard Goldstein, Robert Kallman, and Kevin Grogan. I know I have forgotten the names of others in attendance, and I apologize. Please email me with your stories. I played golf with Missy Dever at the beginning of the summer. She reported that the “Pi Phi Girls” held their annual weekend trip, which has evolved into several days. They spent time in New York City and Long Island, and, of course, managed to rally and party. James Grogan wrote that he is still alive and raising kids in Connecticut. Mary Lafler James is director of spiritual care at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire. Candace Lovely sent an email to let us know that she held an art show, entitled “Venus Visits Vermont,” at the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester, Vt., over the summer. Candace’s inspiration and technique come from the masters and traditions of the Boston school of painting. I heard from Wes Macleod-Ball, who had been practicing law in southern Maine for 15 years when he decided to seek something more intrinsically rewarding He took a job with the ACLU of Alaska. He and his wife, along with two dogs and a chinchilla, moved to Anchorage last winter. He said it is like Vermont only big…really, really big. He’d like to hear from friends at wk@akclu.org. Debbie Ploof Moore became a grandmother to beautiful Malaya Cecelia Moore. Debbie is working as a nurse practitioner at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, Vt. She is still happily married after 32 years.
Send your news to—
Dina Dwyer Child
dinachild@aol.com

1976
Congratulations to Steven Briggs, who received the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 2005 Outstanding Alumni Award at the college’s alumni and friends’ dinner last April. Steven is a leader in the field of plant genetics research whose discoveries have earned him a place in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences and a host of patents. Widely published in leading scientific journals, Steven is noted for reporting the first isolation of a disease-resistance gene from plants and the discovery of a plant disease resistance mechanism. He is also part of the research team that produced the first draft sequence of the rice genome, giving the first explanation of how genes function to protect plants from pathogens. Steven is currently on the faculty at the University of California at San Diego and the Scripps Research Institute. Brothers from Sigma Nu fraternity representing the classes of 1976, 1977, and 1978 gathered in Cleveland, Ohio, for a reunion. It was a great three days filled with lots of memories and making many more, a testament to the strength of the friendships formed at UVM that have endured over the years. Attending the weekend were Gary Gottfried, our supreme host, Curt Duane, Tom Lenci, Pete Larkin, Tim O’Connell, Gary Wright, Dennis Keresey, Vic Vaughan, Chris Wallace, Jon Richmond, Duke Snodgrass, Bill Coogan, Don Smith, Greg Sullivan, Brian Donahue, Scott Macomber, Jeff De Luca, Mark Byrne, Tom Wheeler ’77, Scott Turban ’78, and me.
Send your news to—
Pete Beekman
bbeekma1@wcny.rr.com

1977
Send your news to—
alumni@uvm.edu

1978
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Audrey Ziss Bath
audreyb2@aol.com

1979
Tammy Guevara Fesche received the UVM College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 2005 Outstanding Alumni Award at the College's Alumni and Friends Dinner. Tammy is founder and executive director of Ecuadent, a non-profit organization that assembles teams of health care professionals to deliver free medical and dental care each year to needy children in her native country, Ecuador. In addition, Tammy is an accomplished businesswoman who runs four private dental practices and manages Greenwood Associates Builders in Maryland. She has been recognized for her successful endeavors as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2003. Michael Jessamy of West Bloomfield, Mich., was named management co-director of the UAW-Daimler Chrysler National Training Center in Detroit. He has 22 years’ experience in human resources and union relations with Daimler Chrysler. Reunion ’05 in June brought back some Pi Phis for our annual open house, including Nancy Norton (’80) Batchelor, Anne Trask Forcier, Cindy Horn (’80) Whetten, and Kelly Walters ’80. Please continue to send or fax your news.
Send your news to—
Beth Nutter Gamache
banutter@adelphia.net

1980
Greetings from beautiful Vermont! As I write this column, I am sitting on Church Street, enjoying the sun and appreciating the joys of laptops. Who would have thought 25 years ago that I would be able to sit at a café typing this message to all of you? The electric typewriter I used in 1980 is now a collector’s item. I think of all the times we spent here during our UVM days. Businesses have come and gone, but Burlington, for the most part, remains unchanged. The incoming group of new and returning UVMers keeps us young. The lake is beautiful. My iced latte is cold, and it doesn’t get much better than this. I want to start by thanking Kris Yonker Hazen, my fellow Tri Delta, for all her hard work as our class secretary. Whatever happened to that darn rock anyway? UVM should have auctioned it off or sold it like the Dairy Bar stools that now will sit proudly in the new student center. Although it did have a rather compromising reputation, the rock stood proudly on the corner of Main and Willard for years and deserves its proper place as a piece of our UVM history. What do you think? I have enjoyed reconnecting with all of you over the past few months. It has been great to chat and reminisce. Kate Caldwell of Bahama, N.C., and I commiserated over the loss of our beloved Dairy Bar. I was particularly fond of the chocolate ice cream. I figured out that during my sophomore year I could eat one pint, and if I didn’t eat anything else all day, I could still stay on my 1,000-calorie-a-day diet. I can’t believe that I had that kind of willpower. Kate is working on the clinical development of a sickle cell disease drug at Icagen, Inc., a small RTP pharmaceutical company. In her spare time, she trains border collies to herd sheep and cares for her horse, pony, pigs, and chickens. She visited Vermont and long-time friend Cindy Crawford ’81 over the summer. Congratulations to Denise Marcoux of Hyde Park, Vt., and Tom Beatini of Glen Rock, N.J. Denise received recognition for 35 years of service at Copley Hospital as well as the President’s Award for outstanding dedication and service. When presenting the award, Copley’s president noted, “not a day goes by that a letter of thanks or a patient satisfaction survey passes my desk recognizing Denise’s caring and compassionate ways. Her service has been a testament to her commitment to the nursing profession. Tom’s Alternative Assessment/Student Responsibilities was selected as an exemplary teaching model by Key Curriculum Press, an organization specializing in cutting edge mathematics education. Tom presented the model at the University of California at Berkeley’s Advanced Algebra with Technology Summer Institute Share-a thon. Through his Alternative Assessment/Student Responsibilities Check Up, students measure their own accountability, responsibility, and organization to master real-world survival skills.
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Mary Beth Cirino Pinard-Brace
mypookey4ever@yahoo.com

1981
Again this summer, I was very fortunate to be able to get out of the Texas heat and spend two beautiful weeks in Vermont visiting my sister, Anne Trask (’79) Forcier, and her husband, Larry. My daughter, Samantha, who is now 10, spent two weeks at Camp Hochelaga in South Hero, while my eight-year-old son, Scott went to UVM baseball camp for a week. While visiting, I had the opportunity to see Eileen Sheehan (’78) McCann and Beth Nutter (’79) Gamache, and we enjoyed remembering the “good old days.” It was great to hear from Linda Johnson Norris, who has been living in Vermont with her husband and daughters Ashley and Kimmy. Linda enjoys running into UVM alums at the kids’ school, soccer games, and, of course, at UVM basketball games. I hope many of you will take the opportunity to reconnect and reminisce during our 25th reunion June 1-6, 2006. I don’t know about you, but I’m not old enough to be having a 25th reunion! Please save the date. I hope that many of you will plan on attending, not only to see old friends, but also to see the amazing things that UVM has done in recent years. Six years ago, Steve Woodruff started a project to renovate the Pomfret hockey rink in memory of his twin brother Doug Woodruff, who died of colon cancer in 1999. The two grew up in Pomfret, where they both played for the Pomfret School hockey team. The rink was badly in need of renovations, so Steve became the driving force behind the $2.5 million project. He established the Doug Woodruff Memorial Alumni Game, which raised more than $230,000 in its five-year history, enabling Steve to have the lobby dedicated in Doug’s memory. Judy VanWormer Wachala wrote that she lives in Westchester County, N.Y., with her husband, Jim, and their three sons, one in college, one in high school, and one in preschool. Although Judy is no longer living in the mountains, skiing remains a passion. She wrote, “I even let my husband talk me into going helicopter skiing.” She has also taken up triathlons “in an effort to hold back the clock that keeps on ticking.” Judy has had several different jobs, including working many years as a data warehouse manager and college professor. She has also written several computing books. She noted, “Those of you who knew my scholarly disinterest at UVM will get a chuckle out of the fact that I’m finishing up my second master’s degree and have started working towards my PhD.” Judy would love to hear from UVM friends via email at jwachala@opton line.net. Mike Strauch of St. Johnsbury, Vt., graduated from the Eckerd Youth Alternatives Leadership Program. He currently serves as the organization’s regional operations director.
Send your news to—
Mardie Trask Sorensen
mardie@uta.edu

1982
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Beth Peabody
peabodyea@aol.com

1983
It’s been a warm and very exciting summer in Chicagoland. My highlight was having my parents visit. We saw the legendary pianist Van Cliburn perform at the internationally-renown Ravinia Festival. His rendition of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony was a musical triumph. Daniel Kelin wrote us from beautiful Hawaii. He is now approaching 20 years as director of drama education with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, during which time he also served as director of summer theatre with a social service agency in the Marshall Islands, and he recently took on the position of director of theatre training with a newly developed theatre company in American Samoa. One of the highlights for him was publishing his second book, To Feel As Our Ancestors Did: Collecting and Performing Oral Histories, a manual for teachers interested in integrating drama into their social studies/history classes. His first book, Marshall Islands Legends and Stories, featuring a collection of 50 stories that he gathered from Marshall Islands storytellers, was published in 2003. Jim and Joan Zorzi ('82) Woodlee are preparing to celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary. They enjoy living in Greenville, S.C., with their daughters, Rachel and Laura, and their Weimaraner, Simon. A native of Tennessee, Tim enjoys being back in the South, and the mountains of northern South Carolina and western North Carolina provide Joan just enough “New England atmosphere.” I will be attending the UVM alumni gathering at the White Sox versus Yankees game here in Chicago. Thanks to Sam Jung ’84 for helping plan this fun event.
Send your news to—
Sharon Morrissey Young
smyoung@att.net

1984
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Laurie Olander Angle
alumni@uvm.edu

1985
Hi, everyone! I hope all is going well with you and your families. I have a little news about our class, but I always like to receive more, so please write me. Vermont State Representative Ira Trombley ’73 G’85 has been appointed to the Vermont Human Resources Investment Board. Ira is serving his second term in the State House and is clerk of the House Commerce Committee.
Send your news to—
Barbara Roth
roth_barbara@yahoo.com

1986
Pol Klein is living in Washington, D.C., where he works in international development, helping grow the economy in less-developed countries. Recently, he has been working on projects in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldavia, and Mauritius.
Send your news to—
Larry Gorkun
vtlfg@msn.com

1987
Thank you, Debbie Abel Lucci, for writing in a while back to tell me about the wedding of Linda Davidson and Peter Soboroff, a New York City veterinarian. Linda is a language pathologist. Debbie was married to her husband, Chris, in February 2004, and they live in the Washington, D.C., area. She is national director of sponsorships for Feld Entertainment, the producer of Ringling Bros. and Disney on Ice. In addition to Linda, Debbie’s wedding was attended by Lisa Lewis and Dana Lubitz Shimo. Dana lives in Arizona with her husband, Todd, and daughters Sabrina and Noelle. Keith Eldred and his family collaborated to write and illustrate a young readers’ novel about bubble gum, baseball, bad guys, and a boy battling to do his best. After running as a 36-week series in the local newspaper, it is now a book. Keith’s sons drew some of the illustrations. Keith wrote that he really appreciated the time he has spent with many members of the UVM English Department who have helped him advance as a writer. Finally, I am sad to report the death of our classmate, Sharon Sama, on June 6, 2005. She received her B.A. degree in business administration then moved to Rhode Island, where she worked for two public relations firms, eventually starting her own public relations company, SAS Communications. Sharon and her husband, Geoffrey Liggett ’90, made a home for their four children in Pomfret, Conn. She will be remembered as a generous and wise person, well-loved by all who knew her. She will be greatly missed.
Send your news to—
Sarah Vaden Reynolds
ssrey@optonline.net

1988
David MacLaughlin has almost completed his first term on the City of Nashua, N.H., Board of Aldermen. He is hoping to gear up the campaign team for a second term. He has served on the budget committee, the economic development committee, and the joint special school committee. He was also alternate to the fire commission, to the Historic District Committee, and the Mayor’s Task Force on Commuter Rail. He also served a term on the South Burlington City Council from 1994-1998. John Williams joined Woodard & Curran as a senior project manager. Woodard and Curran is a consulting and operations firm integrating services in engineering science and operations.
Send your news to—
Cathy Selinka Levison
crlevison@comcast.net

1989
First of all, my apologies to Greg Grieco. I mistakenly reported that he and his wife, Kim, had moved to Seattle from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., when in fact the opposite was true. They are very excited about being back East. Sorry about that, Greg! John Lomas completed his master’s degree in computer information science at the University of Phoenix and started a new job in configuration management at Vertex, a tax software development company in Sarasota, Fla., where he has been since 1997. He lives with Bruce Nobil, his partner of four years, as well as a collection of cats and dogs. Christine Bianchino Thompson is a grant writer and program director for an after-school program, Project Succeed, which serves disadvantaged youth in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She and her husband, Bob, have two sons, Frank and Jack. There’s a bit of a baby boom going on. Congratulations to our wonderful class president Tony Reilly! He and his wife, Danielle, welcomed their daughter, Alexandra Maria, into the world in April in New York City. Best wishes to Jeff Schulman and his wife, Debbie Lichtenfeld ’95, who welcomed a new daughter, Gabriella, on June 21, 2005. The family makes their home in Burlington, Vt. Congratulations also to Kim Slomin McGarvey, Diane Peligal O’Halloran, Maureen “Moe” Kelly Gonsalves, and Susan Bowie! Kim’s daughter, Tess, was born in January; Diane’s daughter Mia, in March; Maureen’s son Michael, in May; and Susan’s daughter Maggie, in June. We missed them very much when Kate Fallon Croteau, Robyn Fried Boyd, Sue “Pecka” Noonan, Stefanie Conroy Wallach, and I convened for a three-day trip to Vegas last May. I also heard from Randy Markey of Cleveland, Ohio, who, along with his son Max, shaved his head in honor of “St Baldrick’s Day,” a fundraiser for cancer treatment and research. And finally, congratulations to Don Fox and his wife, Rachel, who welcomed their son, Douglas Anthony, into the world in June 2005. He joins older sisters, Claudia and Caroline, in the family’s Pascoag, R.I., home. Don’s new business, Alashan Cashmere Company, continues to grow nicely. He has been trying to get Dave Paolella ’90 up from Connecticut on weekends to do some saltwater fishing, but his work at Amgen, Inc, has kept him very busy. Thanks so much to those of you who got in touch. Don’t hesitate to let your classmates know what’s up.
Send your news to—
Kate Barker Swindell
katebs@comcast.net