Alumni Spotlight Kirby Adams (MBA ’79

Valuable Lessons From Darden— Kirby Adams (MBA ’79)

KIRBY ADAMS was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated in 1977 from Auburn University with a degree in industrial engineering. From college, he went straight to Darden, making him one of the youngest members of his graduating class. “As one of the youngest students, I was also the least experienced,” Adams recalls. “Therefore, I learned a bit of humility — and the value of listening and learning with my mouth closed.” Adams was impressed that the School had received top ratings and used the case method in the classroom. “I had no previous connections to Darden,” says Adams. “I liked that Darden gave me a chance to get my MBA without having to start a full-time job. I was in study mode.”

Adams has many significant memories of his time at Darden, especially of the people in his class and the teamwork. “One of my finest moments at Darden was representing the School in 1979 in New York City at a national MBA school championship,” he says. “Our five-person team was up against [students from] other great business schools in a case method contest. Our case was Joseph Schlitz Brewing. I was nominated as the chairman, and we won the tournament with our analysis and presentation. It was a great day!”

Since graduating from Darden, Adams has had a successful career as an international CEO in the petroleum, mining and metals industries, helping to build leading businesses in the United States, Australia, Europe, China, India and throughout the world. Some of his key business achievements include growing Australia’s BHP Steel into a global leader and restructuring Tata Steel Europe to become Europe’s second largest steel company.

“Darden gave me a great generalist management education,” Adams says. “The need to consider all perspectives and the ability to present with confidence to a large group ultimately became my best assets as a CEO.”

Adams, 55, recently retired from the Tata Steel Group. He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada, with his partner and enjoys skiing, swimming and gardening. He still values the lessons he learned at Darden. “Empathy, humility and listening will go a long way in business — and in life,” he says, “because they are increasingly rare attributes.”

running the sport of rugby in Jamaica as the CEO of the Jamaica Rugby Football Union. I am having a great time working with young Jamaicans and trying to instill the values of hard work and good sportsmanship in them (smile).

“I’m heading off to New Zealand in a few weeks’ time to watch the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and hope to spend some time travelling around the North Island (from Auckland to Wellington). So I’ll miss a trip back to U.Va. to see the football team (some of my friends who were law students during our days at U.Va. make an annual visit to the campus to see the team play, and I hope to join them next year).”

After 15 years overseas with Hines in Barcelona and London, Jay and Heather Wyper have moved their base of operations back to the United States and bought a house in Houston. This “next phase” in life is to be closer to their two children, who are 20 and 24 and living in the United States. The shift notwithstanding, Jay reports that he is still the managing director of Hines business in the United Kingdom as well as a managing director of the Europe/MENA business and participates on Hines global task forces like the Sustainability Task Force. He is in Europe/United Kingdom at least two weeks a month. So in Jay’s words, the business is the same but the closets and airports have moved!

John Marshall reports, “I’m in a new chapter of my career/life. Nowhere close to retirement ready (too many years in government, a price of which is underfunded retirement savings). So, figuring I have one good run left, I’ve started up a cloud/IT services company that helps entities that do business with government manage their compliance reporting workloads (mostly manual) more efficiently and effectively — kind of like TurboTax. Our first offering is a grant reporting service for research universities — we can save them 20 to 30 FTEs by simplifying and moving to the cloud a highly complex, mostly manual reporting workload. Having a lot of fun and using more of the Darden tool-kit (at least the ones I can remember!) than ever before. Very exciting!” Frederic Guyonneau writes that “2011 started off nicely with a family vacation to Hong Kong and Beijing as both girls’ spring breaks fell on the same week. It turned out to be a fantastic adventure and the opportunity for the two girls to get a quick sense of Asia. We went there in early March, and it turned out to be the ideal time, with few foreign and domestic tourists, and very short to no lines at all. Never in my life would I have thought that at 6.0 feet, I would be thought of as an NBA player and be asked to pose for pictures with total strangers. As for the girls, they were featured in dozens of photos with people mesmerized by blue eyes and blonde hair.

“Our oldest daughter Margaux graduated from U.Va. last May with a double major in Latin American studies and Spanish and, a few days later, joined a start-up hi-tech venture in Manhattan as community manager. Look up Tout.com to find a creative and innovative approach to managing and sending e-mails. Since she moved to New York City in early June, and as I travel often to the home office in New Jersey, I have had more opportunities to have dinner with her than in the past four years at U.Va., which is really enjoyable to break up a business trip.

“Her sister Morgan is a sophomore in the business program at the University of South Carolina (USC). One of the benefits of USC, as a parent, is that one can cheer for a real football team, or even drive to Columbia for solid tailgating and a thrilling game. Morgan is now ‘Greek Village ambassador,’ guiding visitors and prospective students through the corner of the university where all the sorority and fraternity houses have been built.

“Laura has taken on a new career and now applies her skills and parenting talents as a French teacher at Roswell High School. After many years of substituting, she figured she might as well do it fulltime now that the kids are away and as I continue to walk my beat in Brazil, Mexico (trying not to get my head lopped off) or other parts of the world: just came back from Colombo, arguably one of the hardest places to reach, where we have a very large manufacturing complex.

“Amidst all the great blessings we’ve had this year, my mom passed away a few months ago after several difficult months, but in spite of the distance, my sister and I took the time to visit and be with her, making the loss less painful.” I am pleased to announce that T. Scott Coleman, age 57 with insulin-dependent diabetes, has added another major swim to his already impressive resume!! He crossed the Gibraltar Strait on Monday morning, 8 August 2011, in 4 hours, 2 minutes and 58 seconds. He had stellar

conditions for the first half of the swim with escorts of dolphin pods, Pilot whales, sun fish and even some 30-foot “other" whales below him.

The wind kicked up the second half of the swim with terrible chop), but he powered through to become what appears to be the fastest time for an insulin-dependent diabetic person to swim Gibraltar. This adds to his past successes of the English Channel, Catalina Channel, MIMS, Cook Strait (New Zealand), Tampa Bay 24-mile swim, Long Island Sound, around Key West and Masters Open Water National Championship (and others I’m certain that I’ve omitted).

At age 57 and with his medical issues, he is a true and “real” testimony that age is just a number. I was honored to be the M.D. and crew member for Scott’s swim, but he needed no assistance or care as he truly knows his body and diabetes. His blood sugars were spot on at the end of his swim. He was bummed that he didn’t break four hours, but the last hour proved to be a challenge as the wind kicked up, and at the end, the current off the Coast of Africa was running at 2.5 knots/hour and he really showed grit powering through to Morocco.

It was full circle for this year as he was crew (along with my brother Dan Richards) for my 24-mile Tampa swim this past April, and then he and I crewed for my brother’s recent MIMS swim in June. This time Dan (my bro) and I were able to provide the support as crew. We all are graduates of Pine Crest Prep High School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: Scott Coleman ’72, Dan Richards ’74 and Scott Richards ’77) and are proud to carry on the school’s swimming tradition into our 50s!!! His preparation was obvious from the start. Way to go, T. Scott Coleman!!! On to new adventures for the future!

Finally, John Robertson says, “I will get on the phone with you sometime, but just to let you (and the rest of the class) know, Charlotte and I are moving back to Chicago. I had an opportunity come up a few weeks ago with BMO Harris Bank in Chicago to join their credit review team as a senior reviewer, and I accepted their offer. They just bought M&I Bank, the largest bank in Wisconsin, and have a great need for pulling apart and analyzing the portfolio. This is what I would regard as my ‘get back to the Lower 48 and one more gig before retirement job,’ but it could be a fairly long-term deal (if I last that long). Never thought we’d be going back to colder weather than here, but we really like Chicago and will help our granddaughter celebrate her first birthday on Thanksgiving Day!! Hope all is well with you. Yikes, after nine years up here, it doesn’t seem possible I’ll be back in the real USA.”

1980

CLAIRE TERRY CTERRY@CINCI.RR.COM Peter Chadwick retired three years ago, is doing a lot of fun volunteer stuff and is waiting for his wife to retire so they can more seriously focus on their bucket list. They have spotted Frank Kinder doing stand-up comedy under the name of Tim Balz at Second City in Chicago — check it out: www.secondcity.com/about/ people/cast — Frank finally followed his true calling!

John Kotsonis has had a good year: his son David graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a degree in economics and math and joined a medium-size global firm as a Forex trader, and his daughter Rebecca started her studies at Wake Forest University. Among other distinctions, Rebecca was selected as a Presidential Scholar, one of two of New Jersey’s top-rated high school seniors, who were rewarded with a four-day trip to Washington, D.C., for shows, medals, parties and speeches, including Obama himself! “Yes, we’re very proud of them both,” John writes, “and my wife, Miriam, and I work, work, work — but I love this volatility in the market the past few years. Trading is good (fun and profitable) these days.”

John Johnston sends this update: “The kids are grown and off the payroll, and my wife is still working, so I could be a gentleman of leisure if I could figure out how to stay retired. My temporary part-time job turned into full-time. I hired a replacement for myself, and the work expanded to load both of us. (Captain Z warned us about that.) I hope eventually the revenues will expand as well.”

John Bogasky retired from Accenture after 30 years and has become an independent consultant. “It’s going very well, and I am having more fun that I have had in years,” he writes. If you are interested, you can see more about his business at his Website, www.advancier.us.

Bill Martin writes: “I continue at Wilmington Trust Company after spending 30 years in the wealth management industry. My wife, Punky, and I are deeply involved in many charities here in Baltimore, including the University of Virginia Alumni Club of Maryland. I continue to serve the university as a member of the Gift Planning Committee, which brings me back to Charlottesville twice annually. My daughter Elizabeth recently married a wonderful young man from England whom she met through international lacrosse programs, and we are fortunate that they live in Baltimore. I am lucky to be able to spend a good deal of time fishing for brown trout throughout the country and serving in a variety of environmental causes. All of the Maryland alums here were very proud of what the University’s men’s lacrosse team accomplished last spring.”

Gary Becker is still working the commercial real estate beat in the Raleigh Triangle area of North Carolina. Working with successful retail franchisees and restaurant owners is helping him weather today’s economic climate, as they are excellent sources of repeat business. He writes, “To make things more interesting, my oldest daughter has a New York City wedding planned for next spring.”

Tim Ebright reports he is “amazingly an empty nester. Last son, Quinn, off to play soccer for the University of Mary Washington.” Greg Islan reports having seen Tom Laster and John Rockwell recently and both are doing well.

An update from Preston Moore: “I’m still enjoying Charlottesville and was recently made president and CEO of Virginia Community Bank. All classmates are welcome to look me up if they come to town. Best regards!”

I just celebrated the milestone of my 10th anniversary surviving breast cancer with a team of family and friends in the Komen Race for the Cure. We have one more in high school, and I am working for Ted (Terry)’s company, primarily in human resources. That does it for this edition — keep those updates coming!

Claire Terry

Secretary, Class of 1980

1981

SEND TO DARDEN ALUMNI RELATIONS: WOODS@DARDEN.VIRGINIA.EDU Jim Baker reports that his daughter Sarah Baker (U.Va. ’11) began medical school this fall and is doing well. His wife, Adele Baker “Sugar” (U.Va. ’82), is still competing in USEA and USEF events up and down the East Coast in between her instructing and breeding three-day event horses at Fox Lake Farm (www.foxlakestables.com ). Finally, his son James P. Baker III (“Jamie”) is running Lundy Charters and doing well (www.lundycharters.com). Luckily, Lundy Group is still in the commercial real estate business and surviving!

Alton Martin writes, “Glad to have Katrina, my older daughter, back from 18 months in Korea, where she taught English to elementary school kids. She had a wonderful time and is preparing to head off to Durham for several months prior to either going back to school or hitting the real world of work! Wonder which it will be … Tyler, my younger daughter, is ensconced at UNC-Ashville. I had a chance to visit with her last June, and we had a wonderful time, including rafting on the French Broad River and spending a day at the Biltmore Mansion, which is truly a sight to see.

“Work is going great, having set up my own consultancy a couple of years ago. I enjoy the clients and curiously, given the high hassle factor at times, the travel. I will say that [the movie] Up in the Air hit pretty close to home at times, with the best scene being the one where George Clooney refused to travel with someone who checked bags. I so get that. …

“Golf and, of all things, yoga, are my fun activities. There are about 40 golf courses within an hour of my home, and I swear twice that number of yoga studios. I will NEVER consider yoga a wimpy activity again! I have been getting around seeing more of Texas than in the past, as well as taking some time when I travel for clients to see the sights where they are. I took a helicopter tour through the Grand Canyon earlier this year, which was spectacular to say the least. I wish all of you the best.”

MICHAEL DIEFENBACH MIKE.DIEFENBACH@GMAIL.COM Deborah Anderson is orchestrating a comeback after the California Inspection Company she started 20 years ago lost most of its business with the 2010 shutdown of an automobile assembly plant she serviced. Her recovery has her working for Tesla and Bloom now. Talk about continuity! Debbie lives in the same house she grew up in (and one of these years, she says, she’s going to remodel it).

Debbie’s son studies at Claremont McKenna College, ranked as the “happiest college” in the United States by The Daily Beast (and among the top ten liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report). Her son plays basketball and runs track there, and is holding up far better than Deb’s dog, who tore his ACL twice and needed surgery. Debbie’s daughter is 15 and is dreaming of college.

Glenn Camp is a grandpa! In July, a little boy described by Glenn as “incredibly humbling” was born to his oldest son and his wife. Glenn probably speaks for many of us as he laments, “Each month my target retirement date moves out one year, currently slated for sometime after my 90th!”

Scott Creighton has been at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for nearly nine years and just took on a role overseeing the marketing development of 1,600 consumer marketers across all of J&J’s franchises. Scott gets back to Darden often, as the executive sponsor for “Team Darden” at J&J. After nearly five years of activity, he now has about 18 dedicated Hoos on the Team. This fall, J&J welcomed four full-time marketers (their best year ever). J&J’s chairwoman addressed the First Year class during orientation last fall, supplied their first case and ran a four-hour version of “The Corporate Athlete” (a program on energy management) from their Health Performance Institute.

Scott’s become an avid cyclist and completed a benefit ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles this past summer — six days of pedaling (whoa). He was also a top fundraiser in an effort that garnered over $13M for two West Coast–based AIDS organizations.

Mark Hartshorn is getting back into the executive search game after 20 years of disability retirement with a brain injury. At the urging of an old entrepreneur friend and with encouragement from his injury therapist, he has started working again part-time. Mark’s now managing six searches for two clients. Don’t be surprised if you hear from him, as he plans to take full advantage of the Darden alumni network. Go get ’em, Mark!

Carlos Ioas is no longer an employee. No, he didn’t get canned; he’s just enjoying the freedom of being an independent asset manager. Carlos and wife Ana will be at our 30th Reunion next April. Their son William is in his third year at U.Va., majoring in political philosophy, policy and law. Daughter Victoria has three years left at the International School of Geneva and is dreaming about attending U.Va. afterwards. This summer Carlos and Ana visited Soo and Steve Peer in Washington, D.C.

Ann Tessier Lundeen checked in from Arizona, where she’s a docent and vice president at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts. Ann donated a kidney to a friend in 2010 (both are in great health). She went to Sweden in June for the World Transplant Games in Goteborg to watch a friend compete in track and floorball (indoor floor hockey). Incredibly warm and welcoming people, the transplant community are, says Ann. Ann’s son, Jay, graduated from Yale this May, moved to Providence, R.I., and now works for a major consumer product sales broker in New England.

Jan McLemore’s son is a freshman in the College of Engineering at Penn State. Her younger son is a high school junior, so Jan’s hoping to fit our reunion in among a bunch of college visits next spring.

Sally (Genster) Robling, president of the Bird’s Eye Frozen Division of Pinnacle Foods, is doing her part to get us to eat more vegetables (and, of course, move more product). Less than three months after the USDA unveiled its new plate icon for following a healthy diet, Sally’s division kicked off a “Wonder of Vegetables” marketing campaign in September. (Guess it’s time to move my snacking from chocolates to chickpeas ...) The U.S. Government and Sally Robling (MBA ’82) want us to eat more veggies. Rick Pfeiffer caught up with Lyon Loomis recently (assist to David Hillman). Lyon lives in Florida and works in support of the property and casualty insurance industry. Rick returned recently from Lagos, Nigeria, where he checked out a bank for an international investor consortium. It reminded him of the kinds of opportunities he saw 18 years ago in India.

John Reilly says that son Myles, his new bride Jillian, and daughter Kathleen all have jobs (for the moment, anyway) and are still living in the Dallas area (for the moment, anyway). Myles got married to a lovely young lady over Memorial Day weekend. He met his future bride the old fashioned way … he was introduced to her by his mother at church.

Classmate and lifelong pal Mike Diefenbach (me) and wife, Michele, screeched into the rehearsal dinner on two wheels, after racing from Houston to Dallas in a rental car when the airline screwed up our connection in Houston. The wedding was followed by a record-setting heat wave in Texas, packing triple-digit heat and wildfires for something like 70 out of 71 days ending in early September. “No, Texas didn’t burn to the ground,” John reports. “It just looked that way on TV.”

Other Class of 1982 Texans who we hope have enjoyed soaking fall rains are Jim Allison, Scott Franklin, Ginnie Mueller, Dick Peters, Connee Sullivan and Sue Wasilewski. Call them and “wish them wet,” won’t you?

My son Ted didn’t have to pray for rain this summer, as he interned at Microsoft in soggy Seattle, doing video game development. He finishes his MFA program at USC Interactive Media next spring. My other son, Colin, is delighting tenants as a property manager at Transwestern in Northern Virginia. My freshly minted college grad daughters Hilary and Heather are chasing careers in music therapy and food policy, respectively.

Earl Seekins wrote from Venice to say … he was in Venice! He would have written more, but drafting e-mails from smartphone in a gondola will get anyone seasick!

Ralph White is savoring (and still recovering from) his daughter Molly’s September wedding. Molly will be a cardiac intensive care nurse in Fairfax, Va., and her husband, Jarrett, is an investment banker with BB&T capital markets in Reston, Va. Ralph now turns to helping son Beau apply to Duke, UNC, and U.Va. (he’ll handle the financial aid form part). Beau and his soccer team are serious contenders for the North Carolina state title. Ralph’s wife, Beth, retires from the school system and the end of this school year, and hopes to continue with some contract work that’ll allow them to do some traveling.

Sue Sweet wrote from the Senate Hart Office Building about continuing her “non-MBA” career path as a congressional staffer. Her boss, Sen. Kirk, sits on the Banking Committee, so she finds herself recalling her years at Wachovia. Sue’s daughter ended up at B-school in Chicago (Chicago Booth). She enjoyed a great summer internship in product management at KFC, and is probably heading to Louisville after graduation. Sue’s second daughter is in St. Louis, studying occupational therapy at Washington University.

Gary Shaivitz joined Maryland Financial

Bank in June as senior vice president, with responsibility for operations and its consulting subsidiary, MFB Advisory LLC, which provides loan reviews for community banks. Gary’s son is starting a production company called jumpcutentertainment.

Louise Smoak is now the recruiter for Edison Electric Institute in Washington, D.C., working full-time after more than 20 years of part-time employment. She started there when she had her own consulting business doing project work, then morphed into regular, parttime and now full-time.

Suzi Bailey Stone loves her active role in the U.Va. Club of Jacksonville. She serves as treasurer, coordinated the Jefferson Book Award and represented U.Va. at several college fairs. Suzi organized several events for the club, including “A Taste of Virginia” last October, where attendees sampled Virginia wines. This January, she coordinated a visit to Jacksonville by Professor Larry Goedde, who gave a lecture at the University of North Florida Art Gallery. Suzi’s looking forward to mid-November, when U.Va. plays Florida State University in Tallahassee. She plans to rally a horde of vocal, local ’Hoos at the game … despite the fact that both of her children are Seminoles!

Harry Travis reports from Orlando that son Danny graduated from Rollins with a sociology degree and is now gainfully employed in the kitchen at … The Cheesecake Factory. In today’s economy, Harry considers that a win! Younger son Peter transferred from Rollins to Portland State, which Harry notes is about as far away from mom and dad as he can get in the contiguous United States! Wife Joan is keeping very busy as the president of a nonprofit summer study abroad program for aspiring opera and musical theater students (www.musictheaterbavaria.org).

Our 30th graduation anniversary may not be until next April, but this May marked the 30th anniversary of the O.B. Open, a riotous (read: “drunken”) golf outing we held at Keswick Country Club. Ask David Kelso (center) … he just might remember some of it! While you’re at it, ask John Reilly about “cart jousting,” a new, unofficial sport he played with Susan Coogan. I can’t imagine why we weren’t asked back to hold a second annual tourney…

I hope many, many of you are planning to return to Darden next spring! Watch your inbox for news and updates from our Reunion Committee.

1983

MITCH BLAND MITCH.BLAND@CABLEONE.NET As I write, fall is officially upon us, but everyone seems to have had a great summer. For example, Chris Privon, our illustrious Class Agent, had an awesome time with his wife, Keron, in France, where they did a bike ride in Provence with their “kids.” Recently retired from HP, Chris stated, “What a beautiful area and a fun ride!”

Speaking of foreign places, Kim Labuschage sent in a short update: “Two years ago I started Continuum Principal Investments with a group of colleagues from Babcock & Brown. It’s a company focused on developing infrastructure projects (mostly rail related) in sub-Saharan Africa, and it all seems to be coming together quite nicely. Still living in Durban, South Africa, but travelling a bit in Southern Africa. On the personal side, I finally got divorced. My two sons are both at the University of Cape Town. Just attended a Darden recruiting presentation in South Africa and realised that none of the prospective students were born when we were there! Visitors welcome. Just drop me a line.”

Another biker, Brad Smith checked in and wrote that his youngest is off to college later this fall so “my wife and I will have a lot more freedom in planning our travel schedule in the future.” Brad also (in a note to Chris) said, “I’m still riding my bike, but not as much since I’ve taken up a new activity: rowing. After watching both our girls row in high school and sending one off to college to row, I took up the sport about four years ago. Master’s rowing in the northwest, really throughout the county, is very active and competitive. Lots of former collegiate rowers who want to stick with the sport form the base for many clubs, including the one I row with. Since we row from 5:30-–7:15 in the morning, I still manage to ride my bike a few afternoons a week or on weekends. Clearly, there isn’t enough time to goof off as much as I’d like and still manage to earn a living. So far I’m staying ahead of the curve, but I won’t be out of the woods until our youngest gets through college.”

Brad also told Chris that John Schumacher was in Portland a few weeks back and got together with Brad for lunch. According to Brad, John is “a picture of health and success, notwithstanding his employment at Goldman Sachs (ha ha). Since he has a few clients in this area, we get together every year or so and share war stories. He and Katie have raised a couple of kids, with the youngest in his second year at Alabama.”

And finally, reporting in from Richmond was Anne Henkel, who had this excellent recap for everyone: “On a lovely summer evening late in June, the Richmond Chapter of the Darden School Class of 1983 held its first gathering at Al and Liz Rider’s home in Goochland. For a relatively spur-of-the-moment idea, thanks to Al, attendance was excellent. Gathered on June 30 were Al and Liz, of course, Brian Gagliardi, Jay and Peggy (MBA ’84) Doherty, Pat and Tricia Bullock Branch, David Wade and his lovely date, Howard and Jill Goldfine, Laura Roberts Wright, Suzanne Johnson McCusty and Anne Stephan Henkel. Jay Moore, Coke Hall and Palmer Peebles Garson were unavailable and we were unable to track down Walter Smith and Earl Cox. Yes, I’ll call the Martin Agency next time. Not much high finance or global business was discussed, other than to acknowledge Howard’s longevity with the Richmond Fed. We did become wiser, the deeper into Al’s wine cellar we delved (serves you right to offer to do the cocktails, Al!). We beat several dead horses rehashing stories from way back when — the OB Open… Notes were compared on children, whose kids were going to which college with other classmates’ kids, and general family matters. Everyone seems to be faring well despite the economy. I’m not sure the Riders will be inviting us back anytime soon, but perhaps with time, they’ll forget how late we stayed (or perhaps have time to restock their wine cellar) and we’ll do this again. I promised not to take pictures or notes, so will be silent on that! Best to all, and anyone who’s in Richmond, let me know, and we’ll get you on the list for next time.”

1984

GARY WILHITE RECEIVED A 2011 HIGHPERFORMANCE AWARD FOR CLASS AGENTS, THE HIGHEST NON-REUNION DARDEN ANNUAL FUND DOLLAR TOTAL AWARD ($281,982) AND THE GREATEST DARDEN ANNUAL FUND PERCENT INCREASE IN GIVING AWARD (159%). James Cooper is featured in “New Members Elected to Darden School Foundation Board” on page 5. DEBBIE SHINAULT MCPHILLIPS MCSIX@EMBARQMAIL.COM Greetings, Class of 1984! Thanks again for saving my butt — I mean, responding to the call for Class Notes. Here’s the latest from our class.

First, from Marci Dobal (mdobal@verizon. net), “In May, I had the pleasure of spending a glorious weekend at the St. Michaels, Md., home of Lisa Sanders for a mini reunion with Lisa, Lezlee Emory-Cherrix, Jane Piness (wife of Jack O’Neil) and U.Va. alumna and classmate of Lisa’s, Janet Hinchcliff. Lisa has painstakingly restored this lovely historic property that sits on the Miles River and was gracious enough to host the weekend that was long overdue, since planning among five women with busy lives proves challenging at best. Though alarmed to find that the first to arrive had somehow managed to forget to bring wine, Lisa quickly rummaged in the owner’s closet and came up with some harder alternatives until reinforcements arrived with the vino. Between combing the streets of St. Michaels to check out every shop in town and hanging at the house to catch up — cocktails on the dock, anyone? — a good time was had by all. As an added bonus, Lezlee surprised each of us with a photo memory book that she published after our return that captures the weekend beautifully.”

The alumnae updates continued, with the following from Karen Edwards (karen.edwards@ kosibaedwards.com), who kicked off what will now be known as the “back to school” edition of Class Notes. She wrote in sympathy to my plight as mom to four kids in four different schools. “My eldest daughter is a sophomore at UTampa. My other sophomore, in high school, reminds me that parenting different children is

Lisa Sanders and Marci Dobal (both MBA ’84), with Jane Piness in St. Michaels, Maryland.

Leadership Roundtable was well represented by the Class of 1984: Gary Wilhite, class agent; Karen Edwards, president, Alumni Board of Directors; Henry Skelsey, past chairman, Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees; Debbie McPhillips, class secretary; and Michael Woodfolk, vice president, Alumni Relations.

totally different. This summer we went to see Gabriela Gold (MBA ’95) in Rome, followed by a stunning tour of northern Croatia, including Plitvice Lakes Park — highly recommended. I’m excited and honored to be incoming president of the Alumni Board, and proud our class continues to be so involved in Darden’s leadership and in so many ways supporting the mission of the School and each other. Please do check out Darden’s website to see what’s happening in Charlottesville and around the globe. I continue to consult with entrepreneurial companies and am increasingly active in several organizations trying to increase the numbers of women who serve on public company boards of directors in the United States and abroad. Still a member of the board of Arbor Realty Trust in New York, I am looking for my next opportunity to build on that experience.”

Also following the different school theme, Steve Mewborn (sm2626@att.com) wrote, “Tammi and I have three small children — Marina (7), Noah (4) and Coral (2) — also all in different schools. We live on Galveston Bay near Houston and often take them boating and fishing off our dock. I will be going to Uganda for 1 1/2 weeks in October on a Mission trip to visit eight children that we sponsor through Compassion International. Still working at AT&T (second time around), for a total of 24 years.”

Brian Schiff (bschiff@greystonecommunities.com), responded next, also from Texas. He wrote, “I have two great daughters. Mandy is a sophomore at Indiana University and majors in international marketing and Spanish with a minor in Portuguese. She plays in the marching band there, too, and through high school was an accomplished soccer player. She spent last summer in Spain going to school and interning with a tour company. My older daughter, Laura, is a senior at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and majoring in English with a minor in Japanese. She has studied in Japan and England and been active in drama and music! She is clearly headed toward being a professional student, but it also helps to be a writer.”

“I live in Dallas, Texas, and work with a company called Greystone Communities — we develop retirement communities with notfor-profits around the country. Last year we completed about $1B in financings and will be close to that this year. We are self owned, which means I’m fully invested or poor, depending on the day! It’s a lot of fun. Been in this space for over 25 years now — never expected that for a life.”

Next up, Lezlee Emory-Cherrix (lec4ever@ cox.net), a fellow mother of twins, who wrote,

“Wow, I cannot believe your twins are now in college! My B/G twins started middle school this year, and I am definitely not ready for that onslaught of adolescent angst. Nothing else new with me. I’m still in consulting (with MorganFranklin), and hubby Bill is still doing his R&R band thing, in between assisting with homework and chauffeuring kiddos everywhere (he has been home with them since AOL imploded and has never looked back!).”

Julie Bakke Dittman (juliannedittman@ hotmail.com) began her update with an understatement: “Life sure takes unexpected turns. For the past few years, I have been substitute teaching at Juvenile Hall in Fresno. I loved working with the students. So, I made a return trip to college. I recently completed my teaching credential at CSU Fresno and qualified to teach mathematics through calculus. (Pretty scary thought!) We have relocated to Patterson, Calif., and I am teaching five geometry classes, tutoring athletes and seeing a lot more of my two grandchildren (ages 4 and 6) who live in Patterson. Patterson is near Modesto, Calif., and about 1 1/2 hours from San Francisco.” Tom Inglesby (tinglesby@ saratogapartners.com) wrote, “My son Tad graduated U.Va. in 2010, which means I no longer get to sit next to Bill Utt at my son’s fraternity parents’ weekends. My daughter Caroline is starting her second year at the University. At her first parents’ formal last year, I saw a lot of Darden parents from the Classes of 1985 and 1986; wondering if any 1984 class members will be at the parents’ formal in October.

“I recently had dinner with David Johnson and Jim Ferency in New York City. Jim had to go home after two drinks because he wasn’t feeling well; some things never change …”

Here is an update from Dan Rusz (Daniel. rusx@woodmac.com): “I recently bought a wonderful new house on Kent Island, Md., in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay across from Annapolis. I live there with my girlfriend, Shannon, and we’re enjoying island life very much, lots of great seafood restaurants and dock bars near us. My youngest son is now a freshman at Virginia Tech’s School of Engineering. This now means all three of my kids have gone to Tech — a tough pill to swallow for this double Wahoo. But I’m proud of them all just the same!

“I just got back from three weeks in Australia for my work, giving speeches, meeting clients and visiting coal mines (yup, dirty coal mines). Aus is a wonderful place to see.”

I informed Dan that we were sitting two seats apart at his son’s and my nephew’s high school graduation in Richmond in June. Of course, neither of us realized it at the time, but it is a small world after all!

Joan Gutmann Roberts (jroberts@zoomtown.com) wrote, “I sent my oldest off to Bellarmine University in Louisville in August. To fill the void, Bill and I are now certified open water divers — we intend to try our first ocean dive this January in the Caymans. I switched companies again. Now I am with Fairway Mortgage, which I helped bring to Cincinnati. Had a quick visit with Sarah Lincoln Trafidlo and Diane Johnson Exter in Providence, R.I., when I was in the area for a wedding this summer. They both looked fabulous. So wonderful to catch up!”

From Lou Gary (louis.gary@gmail.com): “Fall is the new beginning, isn’t it? Still living in Richmond, I now have two kids in high school, but they are in different schools. My oldest is a junior at Freeman in their Government, Economics and Leadership Center. I believe she is working harder now than she will at college, but don’t tell her that! My youngest is a freshman at Deep Run High School and has made the transition well. Look for his sports scores in the future! I am still at Hamilton Beach Brands (16 years) managing the security, telecommunications, database and Linux support, network and VoIP support team. That is my current incarnation! My wife, Judy, is continuing to work part-time for VCU’s Department of Family Medicine in ever increasing roles and responsibilities. I have been working for various charitable causes helping raise money so that I don’t feel guilty just playing in their golf tournaments. Just had my 35th high school reunion, and we aren’t really that old, are we? Last summer (2010) I worked on the Richmond Maccabi Games (1,000+ Jewish athletes from around the country and Israel descended on Richmond for a week, along with 300+ coaches and officials) managing the transportation needs with

a great local bus company (James River). I survived a couple of storms and the redirection of many bus routes!”

Stuart Frantz (sfrantz@biologicstoday.com) wrote, “Ella and I still live in Raleigh and have two not-so-young children. Our daughter Neill graduated from Elon and is in Wellington, New Zealand, for the next year or so working and exploring. She is NOT our adventuresome child, so we were shocked and excited about her decision to venture off. Rob, on the other hand is adventuresome. He took a gap semester between high school and college attending a National Outdoor Leadership School semester in the Baja. He is now a junior at UGA and dreams of being the next great singer/songwriter. He sings and plays guitar (mainly acoustic) in the Athens bar scene. He occasionally will play in Raleigh when he is home, which is not that often.

“Ella is very active with a nonprofit, Dress for Success. And I’m running a health care company focusing on care coordination and navigation for cancer patients. While we love catching a glimpse of Neill and Rob at every opportunity, the empty nest is a lot of fun.”

And my final update for this edition, the Smythe/Parker update from Dan Smythe (smythe@mastcapllc.com) who wrote, “Ros would do a much better job on this but she is on the back of a horse somewhere. After commuting to New York City from Boston for five years, I joined Mast Capital, a Boston-based credit hedge fund, in January of this year. Shortening the commute from four hours to 40 minutes has made the Delta shuttle less profitable, but life so much better out on Round Lot Farm in Medfield. With our eldest child out of college, number two in her senior year at Washington & Lee, and our youngest enjoying her second year at U.Va., the animals seem to take up more and more of our time, which isn’t so bad; they complain less and do not need private education!”

Thanks to everyone who sent updates this time, and for those of you who didn’t, please start making notes now for the graduation issue!

1985

TOM TAYLOR TOMTAYLOR84@OPTONLINE.NET As you may recall, my request for your updates mentioned the anniversary of the HP12C, which is now 30 years old. Judging from the updates I received, a lot of these little slabs are still on the job. Tim O’Shea writes that he had to get a new one a few years ago (so did I) and still uses it, admitting that “regular calculators remain awkward for me after all these years.” He adds, “For the past decade, I have been managing principal with Dominion Benefits, an employee benefits consulting firm in Richmond. One of my partners is Larry Colley, M.D., John’s son. About 30 employees. We specialize in employer decision support analytics and this year received a patent on one of our models. Another patent is pending. About two years ago we started doing analytic work for middle market benefit consultants in other markets around the country (in addition to the employers we work with directly).

“Earlier this year, we sold our core agency to an Atlanta-based company called Digital Insurance, and we are on the ground floor of forming a new middle market group called Digital Benefit Advisors. We spun out our analytics to a separate company (independent of Digital, called Dominion Analytics) and are expanding our reach across Digital and with independent consultants as well through licensing agreements. So far, so good. Health care is tricky these days, but we are staying one step ahead so far.”

Tim is now an empty nester. “One son is an employed college graduate (hurray) and a son and daughter are first and fourth years at U.Va.” Tim says that wife Kim is “still hanging with me”; I love it.

Another new empty nester is Jimmy Rose, who also wins the Largest HP12C Collection award and might need an intervention. “I think I have five of them. Three at the office, one at home and one in briefcase. I have probably lost five or six over the years. The pattern repeats itself. I lose one, go replace it and then the one I lost is returned. I now etch my name into the back of them.

“Still live in Richmond and work in New York. Commuting now for 12 years. Older daughter is sophomore at Vanderbilt and younger daughter first year at U.Va. I now have another reason (other than Darden recruiting) to visit Charlottesville. Recently returned from Parents Weekend at Vanderbilt, where I saw Sylvia and Charles Coker. Sylvia and Charles have two daughters at Vanderbilt. Also saw Heather and Randy Daniel. Randy is Darden Class of 1986. Their daughter Parks is a Vanderbilt junior.”

Not everybody is a 12C loyalist. Tom Paine writes that he retired the 12C after finding that the iPhone took over many of its more basic functions. “Retiring me is another story,” as is the case for many of us. “Still at AGER Group, the Boston office I opened in 2008 for a Chinese design firm, doing development and green infrastructure design projects in China and now Taiwan, where it all began for me before Darden. Would love to hear from classmates involved in China or sustainability.” Incidentally, I visited China for the first time in March and recommend Shanghai to anybody who wants to see a non-fantasy version of Disney World. I digress; Tom continues: “Our youngest, Lydia, graduated from U.Va. last year and has joined the online educational publishing group at HRH in Boston, while her two brothers are still leading parallel lives on the Left Coast — Sumner at Adobe as project manager for photo library cloud-based Carousel, and Mallory at Path, an Apple-app start-up, which he joined after many years at Apple doing the photo/video apps on iPhone and iPad.”

Back to the stories from the 12C faithful. Lee Stocks writes that he still uses his original Darden-issue 12-C on a daily basis. “Thought I’d lost it a few years back, and bought a 12-C 25th anniversary edition on eBay to replace it, but then found the original. So now I have one for both home and office. I never have to worry about anyone borrowing it, because very few folks are familiar with Reverse Polish Notation!

“I have been working at ESG for close to seven years, involved primarily with providing engineering and staffing services to electric utilities. I have two kids — son Braden is starting his junior year at Clemson, majoring in environment and natural resources, while my daughter Grace is starting third grade, majoring in American Girl dolls.” Hey, that can get costly!

“In May of this year, I knocked off one of my bucket-list items by riding my bicycle cross- country, from Newport Beach, Calif., to Amesbury Beach, Mass. It took 31 days to cover 3,457 miles, averaging 111 miles per day. Attached is a photo of my wife, Debbie, and daughter Grace meeting me at the finish in Massachusetts.” Very impressive!

As usual, there’s a mix of our classmates who are on a long run with their current employer and others who have transitioned. Scott Kammeraad has a new job, and I would almost be disappointed to hear otherwise. “In June I joined Cascade Engineering, the largest accredited B Corporation (look it up) in the country after a decade of entrepreneurial distress. I’m happy to contribute to our household income once again. I’ve discovered that I’m pretty good at marketing despite my accounting background.

“I’m also a proud papa. Daughter Haley started med school at Michigan State University in the fall. Colin is a junior at Grand Valley State University. He and Haley are running a marathon in October. And youngest daughter Dara got her braces off this week, just in time for her Homecoming date.

“This may not make very good fodder for the Alumni News, but what the hell. The Tigers just clinched the division.” It’s excellent fodder and will be even better if, by the time this is published, the Tigers finish strong.

Madison Riley continues his career in consulting, which explains why his update arrived in a numbered list ready for easy transfer to a PowerPoint slide:

Family is doing well — oldest is a senior at Cornell, middle starting at MIT and our youngest a high school junior.

Still living outside Boston, MD, and with the Consultancy Kurt Salmon.

My firm does a lot of recruiting at U.Va. and we are quite successful with the school.

Whether it’s recruiting or offspring at U.Va., so many in our class have reasons to go back to Charlottesville. Mark Shields is another one; here’s his update: “Karen and I, married 26 years, have four children: Andrew, 23, an army lieutenant leading a cavalry platoon in Afghanistan; Ian, 21, an army infantryman in Hawaii; Struan, 20, a U.Va. Second Year and aspiring rock star (www.struanshields.com); and Mary, 17, a high school senior keen to study nursing.

I’m a partner at The Avascent Group, a strategy firm in D.C. I’m still a history bore and piper, and still talk too much. New interest: learning Hebrew. Karen and I do a lot at church, and do mission work in Rwanda. It’s been a busy quarter century; we promise to make the next reunion! New home e-mail: markkarenshields@ gmail.com.”

Steve Cook checked in and provided this news: “I’m still president of Thoughtfire Communications LLC, consulting in marketing and new products strategy; positioning / branding; and all forms of written business communications. I’ve been in Wisconsin 26 years with my wife and three kids. Wilson is 25 and working at Bridgewater Associates (Conn.), the world’s biggest hedge fund. I keep sending him Darden propaganda as he thinks about grad school. Sarah, 22, is doing very well in restaurant management, and my youngest, Biz, 20, is at UW-Madison, majoring in graphic design/commercial communications while playing on a ranked Ultimate Frisbee Club travelling team and having way too much fun. Nina is working for a lean management health organization that gives advice (and takes advice) from around the country on ways to take costs out of health care. I bought a house out East, and eventually we’ll likely end up back on the East Coast — New England most likely — but not until this lovely economy turns around.”

Steve is on the hunt for Don Harris. Anybody know his whereabouts? Don, if you’re reading this, please raise your hand (then use it to dial Steve).

With fall upon us as this is being put together, it’s timely for a colorful update from

Van Sewell: “I still have my 12C and it is in working order. Libby, my one and only, just graduated from George Washington. She spent the first semester of her senior year in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. I drew the line at Syria. She got home about two weeks before it all broke loose. With the Feds not hiring, only the IS guys, engineers and accountants got real jobs after graduation. And, the accountants were hired to audit the banks and health care (me). A big chunk of the new graduates took public service stuff to keep their student loans dormant. And here I thought ‘free at last.’ Well maybe not. Anyone got a position for a 23-yearold that speaks Arabic and French? Since I am still paying the rent in D.C., I am pretty sure she will relocate if needed.

“I am still in Chattanooga working in managed care and waiting for the reform legislation to either die or take hold and possibly make me obsolete. Talk about dysfunctional government. I now have a more sympathetic view of the French Terror. While I do not condone mass beheadings, I now understand how you can get that frustrated.”

Good to hear from Marvin Pastel, who provided this news: “I have started my own law firm that specializes in small to medium corporate transaction and litigation. The firm has 11 lawyers and six paralegals. We are located in the heart of Buckhead at One Securities (Lenox and Piedmont). The firm handles the gambit of corporate activities from incorporation to SEC audits and shareholders litigation. View our Website at www.wczlaw.net.”

Jim Leavitt used to say (and probably still does) that if it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all. That pithy remark popped into my head when I saw the news from Sam Yates. “2011 hasn’t been a good year. In January, daughter Kathryn, a U.Va. undergrad, totaled her car a few blocks from home. Fortunately, no one was injured. In February, wife Heidi, had repeat bunion surgery on her right foot. In March, daughter Virginia, a Vail resident, shredded her knee at high speed on a tree off the slope when she caught an edge. Included in this package were a compression fracture of the tibia, an MCL, ACL and a PCL tear. In May, I suffered a near fatal cycling accident when I collided into a stone wall at 40 mph with my face. Fortunately, today I am fully recovered with a face full of titanium and a new nose. In June, daughter Samantha, a ninth grader, suffered a broken shoulder and torn rotator cuff in a bicycle wreck. July through September have thus far been free of bad news, but we still have a dog that hasn’t been injured this year. On the positive side, business is booming, and we are rebuilding industrial America a piece at a time!” Sam is with TMS Group, a diverse manufacturing company based in Alabama.

Since I already mentioned Jim Leavitt, I was glad to get his quick update: “My oldest is a senior at William & Mary undergrad B-school and is seeming to attract the big eight consulting firms sides — EY, KPMG, PWC … She also is interviewing with Booz in D.C. Will let you know how it all shakes out! I have three more to launch — the girls I don’t worry about; it’s the boys. Patrick is at William & Mary B-school too — he is starting to get it.

“Christopher is a junior in high school and plays lacrosse. He is flying around this fall to see college coaches/teams. Might be Fairfield, Hofstra, Vermont, UMBC, etc. Kathleen is a sophomore, and I don’t worry about her.”

Here’s the latest from Bob Reeve along with some advice, so listen up: “All pretty much same with us, same jobs, still raising our Bernese Mountain Dogs. My golf game took an unexpected turn entering my favorite time of year when I lacerated my right forearm, seven tendons cut and a minor nerve, done while moving a mirror. Was lucky, missed the main nerve that controls hand movement by one layer, that would have meant long-term loss of some hand capability, as it is, I should make a full recovery in a couple more months.

“Advice to classmates if they need to move a large mirror:

Hire someone

If that fails, do some Internet research — use duct tape on all edges and a big X across surface, etc.”

I’m tempted to stretch Bob’s mirror story and his advice into some elegant life metaphor, but I’ll resist. By the way, Bill Hardy still uses his original HP 12C with the same batteries. Another metaphor opportunity! OK, I’ll drop it.

I visited Celia Martin (Vlasin) and her husband Jim this summer at their beach home in Delaware for a mini Darden reunion that included Elizabeth Lawson. Celia’s oldest is a high school senior and will soon be college bound. Elizabeth has changed jobs and is now working for Freddie Mac.

As for yours truly, I’m still playing in a rock band, and we’re booking dates into April of next year. No plans for a CD because it is too hard to fully appreciate us if you’re not in a bar. My oldest, Tommy, is a high school senior and looking north for colleges where he can continue alpine racing. Daughter Gina isn’t far behind; she’s a junior. The empty nest isn’t appealing to me right now; we’ll see how that evolves. My company, Neoris, provides nearshore IT services and continues to grow nicely in the United States.

Enjoy the rest of your 2011 … onward and upward!

1986

BEN MIX AND MARY BUCKLE RECEIVED THE HIGHEST REUNION OVERALL DOLLAR TOTAL AWARD ($1,251,034) AND HIGHEST REUNION DARDEN ANNUAL FUND DOLLAR TOTAL AWARD ($165,837). BEN MIX, MARY BUCKLE AND GREG YORKE RECEIVED THE AWARD FOR 2011 OUTSTANDING CLASS OFFICER TEAM FOR THEIR SEAMLESS EFFORTS IN PLANNING THE 1986 25TH REUNION.

GREG YORKE GYORKE@GMAIL.COM Gregory Dyson writes “Sorry I missed the 25th reunion. Thanks for the notes and calls from those who attended, “fondly” remembering the Earl Black case from the first day of OB class first year, back in the dark ages of 1984!!! Yes, I “fired” Earl Black. Twenty-five years later I remember the lessons from that case whenever I have to execute a “personnel action.” This fall Avis and I celebrated our 25th anniversary and sent Adam off to college. He is a freshman at the University of Tampa, where he is playing lacrosse. I know, an athletic Dyson, not thought to be in the gene pool. Our other son, Alden is a junior and just beginning to think college. I have enjoyed getting to see classmates on Facebook the past several months and getting caught up.”

News from Bonnie Zellerbach: “This email came in just as we finished sandbagging our house in defense of flooding in Bangkok in October. By the time everyone reads this, it will be all over and I hope our house will be dry once more!”

Celebrations are in order for Bob Louthan and his wife Katherine! Bob writes “The big news for me is Katherine and I celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary on Oct. 25, 2011. We met during First Year at Darden — Katherine was at U.Va. working on her Masters of

MCLEAN FAULCONER INC. REALTORS

Charlottesville, Virginia’s leading farm and estate brokers invite you to preview a sample of our 2011 current offerings. . .

MAXFIELD – 37+ acre estate located in the renowned Keswick Hunt Country features a circa 1767 renovated historic manor home w/handsome interior woodwork, hardwood floors, 5 working FP. Complete w/1.5 Story guesthouse, 6-stall stable, kennels, bank barn & machine sheds. $695,000. MLS #463584

FARMINGTON - This charming circa 1930 home was totally renovated and expanded in 2003, has great character and updated systems. Privately situated on over 4 acres. Features include large gourmet kitchen, main level master suite. Price: $1,275,000. MLS #488810

SUGAR HILL FARM - Spectacular country estate offering breathtaking panoramic pastoral & Blue Ridge Mountain views from 51+ acres in Western Albemarle. Impressive stone 6,100+ sq.ft. manor home, pool, pool house, guest quarters, manager’s residence & extensive equestrian facilities. $5,495,000. MLS #482382

CUMBERLAND FARM – 102 acre country estate, privately situated on the Pamunkey River just east of Richmond. Lovely historic frame & brick manor home, c. 1662, w/much original woodwork & moldings, but enlarged & modernized. Also includes a pool & barn - all set on a navigable river. MLS#: 486771 NORTH WALES FARM - Exceptional 1,466-acre VA estate, c. 1718, featuring an impressive Georgian-style manor house, a Georgian Revival-style stone carriage house, extensive farm & equestrian improvements, additional residences & a shooting preserve. Listed on both the National Register of Historic Places & the Virginia Landmarks Register, as well as under a preservation easement, this extraordinary property, in excellent condition, is a rare offering of a National treasure. www.NorthWales-Farm.com

GEORGETOWN FARM - Spectacular 542 acre farming estate offering a beautiful Williamsburg manor home, numerous other homes, barns, privacy. Only 8 miles from Charlottesville, Blue Ridge Mt. views; available as whole or divisions: 120 acres with main residential complex for $3,750,000; total farm $10,300,000. See website: www.georgetown-farm.com Jim Faulconer (434) 981-0076.

RAMSAY - Exquisite historic estate with 180-degrees of breathtaking pastoral & Blue Ridge Mtn. views, apprx. 17 miles west of Charlottesville & UVA! c. 1895 Revival-style manor home, guest house, farm manager’s residence, architecturally designed barn & other improvements. 78+ acres of gently rolling pastures well-suited for livestock, a vineyard or other agricultural pursuits. $6,950,000. www.RamsayEstate.com Steve McLean (434) 9811863. KESWICK ESTATE - Magnificent brick home w/slate roof within walking distance to Keswick Hall & all club amenities. Superbly constructed, 5BR, 6.5BA, grand 1st-floor master suite, gourmet kitchen, 3 fireplaces, 3-bay garage, large covered deck, professional landscaping. MLS #490673 $1,695,000.

EDGEWOOD - Magnificent 206 ac. horse farm in famed Somerset estate area near Montpelier. Restored brick manor, c. 1852, features high ceilings, extensive moldings, spacious rooms. Garage w/huge studio, guest house, pool, 6-stall stable, riding ring. Rapidan River frontage. MLS #487472 $3,695,000.

WINDY COVE FARM - Stunning Colonial manor home on 182 protected acres overlooking appx. 1 mile of river frontage w/sweeping mtn. views, guest & carriage houses, 6-stall stable & barn complex, all just minutes from the Homestead Resort. Additional 919 acres available. MLS #486991 www.WindyCove-Farm.com

KENRIDGE - Lovely spacious townhome 2 miles from the Rotunda. Over 3,900 finished sq.ft., 3 or 4 BR, huge master on main level, traditional w/open floorplan. Loaded w/extra features. Great entertaining home, or for retirement. Price $699,000. MLS #481405.

Education. I learned a lot at Darden, but she’s the best thing I took home. I am sure there are a few others in the class having passed or closing in on the same milestone — best wishes to all.”

Tom Fulcher has ridden his bicycle over 4,000 miles so far this year and has taken up cyclocross racing, a sport out of Belgium that is like a steeplechase race on bicycles on grass, mud, and lots of twists, turns and hopping off the bike to carry it over barriers.

George Tahija tells us “My business is doing fine mostly because Asia is still growing rapidly. Next year we expect a slow down, though. I am making plans to transition from business to non-profit activities. Both kids are in college in the U.S.A. so we are empty nesting— not at all bad! Looking forward to visiting the kids over Thanksgiving holidays.”

Dean Bob Bruner joined Pat (Bland) Nicklin for the Partnership for Public Service’s “Improving the Business of Government” conference at the Rockefeller Estate in Tarrytown, New York. Pat recently joined the Partnership as EVP/COO. The Partnership for Public Service is a national nonpartisan nonprofit the mission of which is to make government more effective by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming federal government operations. Pat is working with Dean Bruner and Darden towards incorporating some of this programming at the Darden School. And on a more personal note, Pat’s 14 year old son Thomas has starting attending boarding school at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Del. and she misses him!

1987 • Reunion 2012

CHRIS PADGETT CPADGETT@PURINA.COM TWITTER: @CHRISPADGETT Hello, classmates! The countdown continues toward our 25th Class Reunion! I’m sure everyone’s fitness programs, family picture updates and resume revisions are in full swing. Don’t forget to add to your list catching up, in advance, with your classmates. Let me get you started with a brief set of Class Notes, and a tip for an easy way to reconnect (read on).

Beth Nelson Cliff has been doing a great job contributing to the class’ Facebook page, including a recent query about Newton’s Laws. You remember “feed your eagles,” etc? Joyce Jennings Ernst added: “If it doesn’t smell good, it’s not going to taste good” and “You can’t polish horse****.” Beth also mentioned that Dan Newton wrote a book including many of his laws, but I can’t find it on Amazon (probably because, as I write this, I’m in Paris and all the top results are French things).

Beth also asks, “Is it my imagination, or is Section D overrepresented on Facebook? Yahoo! We always knew we were hip, starting with Mr. Weber as advisor.” C’mon, other sections (especially A !!), join in the class page fun!

Charlie Duffy (still aka The Mysterious Entity) has posted a reunion countdown clock at www.1charlie.com/flower. It is his second reunion clock post, the first being “so powerful, I cannot be held responsible if it falls into the hands of any other B-school graduates except those of the Darden Class of 1987.”

From viewing some awesome travel pictures, it looks like Mike Kender spent some fun time this summer traveling Europe, including stays in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy, Fussen, Germany and the Timmelsjoch Pass on the Italy/ Austria border. Also, commenting on recent important events in the United States, Mike notes: “I never thought that all three of the universities that I attended (Virginia Tech, Pitt, and U.Va.) would eventually end up in the same conference.”

I saw a pretty funny picture of Bubba Fortner on his blog (blogs.darden.virginia.edu/everettefortner/), showing him in shirt, tie and shorts running from or to somewhere — it is a picture of unbridled energy and enthusiasm (I think). There is a lot of good stuff in Bubba’s blog, beyond the pictures, including a post on his time in Japan this year, during the earthquakes.

As I complete this short column, remember to head over to the Facebook page (this is the promised “tip”), where the reunion chatter and nostalgia will begin piling up. Type “Darden Class of 1987” in the Facebook search bar! And, as always, stay connected, and see you next April!

1988

Chuck DiMeglio is featured in “Did You Know?” on page 14. Rhonda M. Smith is featured in “20 Questions” on page 72. ROB HANCKEL HANCKEL@AOL.COM Happy fall to everyone! I hope your spring and summer were filled with adventure and safety. Several responded to my call for news and activities, so here goes.

We have several classmates who live in or around Charlottesville, one of whom is Steve Krohn: “Carol and I are alive and quietly kicking here in Cville. We’re going to have a fun weekend this Saturday as my undergraduate alma mater — Southern Mississippi — will be here to play the ’Hoos. I’ve taken the high road, just as I did two years ago, and committed to root for the home team. I have a fraternity brother coming down from Washington for the game, though, so I might be the only one in the group wearing orange. Work goes as well as any banker can claim, and play goes pretty well, too. Turns out, a sucky economy is a great time to improve a golf game or discover a new hobby. It is early yet, but I seem to have caught the running bug from my oldest, who really excels at it. I’m a relative newbie but considering a half marathon in December. I get to go ‘back to school’ tomorrow (Sept. 23): I’m helping Professor Sihler with a case in his second-year entrepreneurial finance class. I’ve been able to help him with cases a few times a year for several years now. Seeing cold calls happen is much more fun when there’s zero chance it’ll be you! And no one does a cold call better than Sihler. We’re starting to make some college trips with Joseph, who’s now a junior. We have to work those in between his cross-country running, which is going well for him. His team has legitimate state championship aspirations, so we’re hopeful they all stay healthy and fast. Our youngest, Peter, is like any eighth grader, acting like he owns the school before he goes up to high school and back to the bottom rung of the ladder again. Carol just wrapped up her final year as board chair for the local domestic violence shelter. She enjoyed that (and did a great job too!) and often worked with Darden second-year students via their women MBA organization’s annual fundraiser for the shelter. If anyone knows any good experienced commercial bankers, please steer them to my Virginia National Bank posting on the Darden Alumni Career Services site (and on McIntire’s site also). I could use a good talent acquisition, if a small community bank environment and Cville would be the right long-term career fit.”

Further south in Atlanta, Steve Colton checks in: “It has been a busy past six months in the Colton household. My three sons and I backpacked 105 miles in the mountains of New Mexico; kids spent a month working in orphanage in Mozambique and then traveled with Jeri through Western and Eastern Europe. Two sons at BYU (one son is a junior in the accounting program and the other is a freshman who is a lacrosse high school all-American midfielder on semester at the Y and then going on a two-year mission for our church in January). Daughter is a junior at Stanford. Business (Zerorez Atlanta) is going well, running 18 trucks and using much of what Darden taught me.”

From the northern outback, Don Dunham writes that they (Don and Linda) are experiencing their first empty nest moments. “Our son, Robert, went off to Eastern Europe as part of a high school/early honors college class for three weeks in January so we scooted down to Scottsdale, Ariz., for a quick break. Fell in love with old car auctions at the Barrett-Jackson Auction (did not buy anything — yet). We went to Scottsdale again in March for my beloved and beleaguered Chicago Cubs Spring Training — another long year for me and all friends of the friendly confines. In May, our family went to Ohio as three of us were in my niece’s wedding, and I got to practice giving away a bride, hopefully a long way off for our Maggie who is in nursing school at Kent State. While in Ohio, we conducted our maintenance week on our real estate ‘empire’ of five rentals, one of which includes our retirement house in Bay Village, Ohio. Financially, retirement seems a long way away. I am now chief of staff to the president at BP Alaska, though a new role is expected in a year or so. Managing the senior management team and its direction is a real challenge, but we have such a good team. As I write, I have just completed five days in Durango, Colo., and just last night arrived for four in Vegas (our first trip) for another bout of the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction

— still going to only look. I know the temptation will win out at some point, though.”

We have many classmates overseas, and several wrote in. Our faithful resident German, Udo Reichling, reported: “No new job, no new house, and no new family. What did change is that we did not go to Denmark this summer (Danish economy tanked as a result), but we took a tour of the American West, including Hawaii, taking advantage of the exchange rate (my personal theory is that the crisis was triggered by the news of us leaving the country). The kids loved it, but found the Pacific altogether too salty compared to the Baltic. Since shops, restaurants, malls etc. were all packed, I found it hard to believe at first that there is a crisis, but watching the debt ceiling drama convinced me. It is interesting that in Europe, everybody blames the current meltdown on the Americans, and vice versa in the United States. Germany is holding up pretty well, so I am very busy, and Berlin is actually experiencing a rise in housing prices for the first time since 1994! All best from Old Europe, and see you 2013 (25th Reunion for our class).”

Staying with the European theme, Bill Birrell talks about his latest project and family: “I have directed my second feature film, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” starring Lydia Hearst, Luke Bracey, Reed Thompson, Izzy McNally and HRH Theodora Greece. It was produced by Two Ton Films (“The Bucket List,” “The Wedding”). My oldest daughter is studying painting at NYU, middle daughter a senior at Cate, eyeing the Ivy League, and my youngest is at Marlborough School. Laura and I spend a lot of time in Northern Italy, at the gateway to the Dolomites — lovely spot.”

And lastly from the other side of the world, Thomas (MBA ’89) and Rong Huang Amann write: “I was just at Allan Beckenstein’s talk he gives here in Auckland, New Zealand, for the executive program that Ernst & Young organizes here and thought it would be nice for Rong’s classmates to hear what she is up to. Rong and I are happily settled here in New Zealand (over 11 years now). There is a large percentage of Chinese here in Auckland and the restaurants and supermarkets that go with that. She started playing tennis six years ago and competes in the local scene. Felix Fei, 20, is studying software engineering here and loves it. He has to cut back on his sports after winning the National and the Oceania Championships in Modern Pentathlon twice in a row. Louisa Li, 18, just joined the police force and will graduate from police college in November. There have not been any Darden visits to our place recently, but thanks to Facebook we do not lose touch.”

Now speaking of social media, I want everyone to be aware that our class has both LinkedIn and Facebook group sites. If you are involved in social media (of course we all are as we are trail blazers!!), please try to connect with as many as you can on both sites. It is an easy way to keep in touch between my reports in the Darden news.

One last item before I sign off — if you recall, our class is making a significant impact on the university as a whole, and another member, Alison Cryor DiNardo, has been elevated to a leadership role. Alison was selected by the governor to join the Board of Visitors, which makes the third classmate (Helen Dragas, Mark Kington) to be a part of that important group. Congratulations to her!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and let’s hope the economy improves!!

All the best, Rob

1989

CHAMPE FISHER CHAMPE59@GMAIL.COM Whew! If you are reading this, then I just made the deadline for submitting my column. I don’t know where the time went since my last column, but I certainly lost track of it. It has been crazy here in Delaware, as I am certain it has been wherever you are, but over the summer we had an earthquake, tornado and hurricane. I would deem that to be the Triple Crown of nature’s wrath.

OK ... enough about me. Let’s get going with the Class Notes.

Debra Wilson checked in to announce that she has started her next great career opportunity as the vice president of global talent acquisition at Assurant Inc. Assurant, a Fortune 300 company and a member of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and select worldwide markets. She is responsible for global talent acquisition strategy and performance, linking customized and scalable talent acquisition strategies and processes to the corporate culture, business plans and needs. She also spends time on workforce planning, including succession planning, gaps in skills and capabilities and competencies.

Debra mentions that during her search journey, many of her Darden classmates offered encouragement, contacts and coaching. For that she thanks each and every one. She shares with us that a key learning for her during the job search has been the true power of a mutually beneficial, well-developed and nurtured network.

Marianne Dean has checked in again to say that although she has been a victim of California budget cuts, her time out of the workforce has turned out to be a needed respite — she took the time to think about her career over the next 30 years and a chance to solidify her relationship with her soon-to-fledge 16-year-old son. She found it to be a very fruitful year with the most important realization that her skills and interests are truly better suited for the for-profit world.

She is now working in downtown San Francisco for a small commercial insurance brokerage, ISU of San Francisco, which is the flagship for a national network. They are in the midst of rethinking how an insurance brokerage in a mature industry can best provide insurance and risk management services to the vital and evolving market of small to medium-size companies. Marianne is looking forward to sharpening her MBA skills in the process of helping companies better manage their risk and realize their goals. She encourages classmates to call anytime they are in San Francisco. She is in the financial district enjoying the urban environment!

Lastly, Bill Douglas wrote to say that for the past four years he has been running his own small business as an independent focus group moderator (his e-mail address is below). He has been helping global brands with new product development, advertising and packaging optimization. He reminds us that anyone interested in marketing research should feel free to contact him. Bill is happy to help in any way that he can. His e-mail is bill@envision-research.com.

Bill goes on to mention that he lives in Atlanta and that his wife, Beth, is a project manager for the state of Georgia. His son Evan is a high school senior and enjoys engineering classes (his mentions his tinkering skills definitely did not come from Bill!) and lacrosse (and Bill says way to go ’Hoos for the National Championship!). His daughter Alexa is a high school freshman and enjoys cello and, of course, shopping.

That is all for now. Please keep the updates coming (Champe59@gmail.com).

1990

Scott A. Price is featured in “New Members Elected to Darden School Foundation Board on page 5. HEATHER MCGREW HEATHERJMCGREW@GMAIL.COM When I sent out my call for news for this column, I mentioned that yet again Darden had managed to find the worst possible timing for a Class Notes deadline. Now that I’m working for a breast cancer organization (the Young Survival Coalition [YSC]), thanks to Breast Cancer Awareness Month (officially October 1–31, unofficially early September through mid-November), my life is pretty crazy in the fall. Even though I know this, in a moment of utter insanity in February, I signed up to ride in three different cycling events in September/October to raise awareness and funding for YSC. Five hundred miles over seven days in three different states. Really, what was I thinking? To make matters worse, the deadline for this column was on the calendar right smack between ride number two and ride number three. In my note to the class, I mentioned my insanity and the three rides and also included that my training schedule had been disrupted over the summer when I had a nasty crash due to some unfortunately situated train tracks and was carted off to the emergency room in an ambulance. Almost as soon as I hit send on my e-mail to the class, I began receiving responses from numerous classmates who had also had nasty

cycling accidents. And people weren’t referring to accidents they had back when they were 8 years old and weren’t terribly coordinated. No, these were accidents that happened within the past year. One had happened the week before. I won’t share the stories or reveal who sent them in, since some of the tales of woe were a bit gory. I’m really not sure what to take away from this other than if you see a Darden classmate approaching you on a bike, it may be a good idea to get out of the way!

Dorothy Batten, who has not fallen off her bike lately, wrote in to share that she completed her master’s in counseling studies last December and is now working toward a doctorate in positive psychology. One of her two sons is a high school senior and co-captain of his varsity football team and the other is in ninth grade and was made co-captain of his junior varsity football team. Both are very busy, and Dorothy is burning up the roads driving all over the place for games. And then on the weekends they want to go to U.Va. football games.

In our last column, I mentioned that Steve Wilson was pondering relocating to Singapore. He recently wrote to tell me that he moved to Singapore last summer with his job with World Fuel Services. He hopes that if any of our classmates find themselves in Singapore that they will give him a call for dinner.

Jess Ellington now has two more Wahoos in the family. He and Sally have a first year and a fourth year at U.Va.

Joe Gill is still plugging away with his home remodeling and repair business and just started a Boy Scout Troop for his sons, who turn 12 in December.

Cynthia Ashworth and her boyfriend, Malcolm, visited with Mike and Vicky HowellObresly in Piedmont, Calif., over the summer. They enjoyed many bottles of wine from their trip to Santa Ynez wine country and made a pilgrimage to foodie shrine Chez Panisse for dinner. Cynthia writes, “Vicky’s girl are bright, gorgeous and (no shock given Vicky’s their mom) sassy!”

In August, Ron Aizer married the amazing woman he brought to our reunion last spring. He writes that despite a work trip to Africa two weeks prior to the wedding, an earthquake the week prior and a hurricane that struck during the ceremony, they had a great time. They are hoping the string of pre-wedding natural disasters is not an omen. They spent a week in Spain on their honeymoon. Ron is now the proud stepfather of two really great kids. Paul Pliakas drove down from Providence, R.I., to attend the wedding. Ron reports that Paul seems to be happy and busy with his tax preparation franchise and marketing consulting practice. Ron’s fairly new position with FINCA International is going well. He shares, “I reflect on the ‘A’ I received in Mark Eakers’s ‘International Finance’ class and realize now I probably deserved a D.”

Tracée Edmondson is a homeschooling mother of an 8-year-old and an advocate for the homeschooling movement. Around the time I sent out the call for news, Tracée had just received word from the New Jersey Appellate Court that she will orally argue before it on October 31 in Edmondson v. Elmer & Pittsgrove. The current ruling challenges compulsory education and residency laws and thus — in the State of New Jersey— appears to reverse a prior ruling on vouchers. She writes, “Guess I will have to dust off my Darden A&C skills! Given that the oral argument is on Halloween, I guess I will have to dress in costume as — well, what else? — the winner!”

Annette and George Cassiere celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this year by taking the family on a cruise. George described the cruise as a great blend of family and alone time in that they were able to get rid of the kids each evening and yet still know where they were. George’s youngest son took up lacrosse this year, and it has become his favorite sport. He and George watched numerous U.Va. games this year on ESPN, including the national championship. The lacrosse bug has taken hold, and George has signed on to be the head coach for the winter indoor league.

Bob Cox left Howrey LLP and private law practice in March 2011 (Howrey went into dissolution after a failed merger attempt with another large law firm in March). He is now an assistant director with the Division of Enforcement and Investigations at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). He is learning the PCAOB auditing standards and other related securities regulations. Bob feels this is a good fit with his previous career in litigating securities and complex commercial cases involving accounting issues. The best part of his new job is that the work/life balance is much better. Bob sees his wife, Shawn, and son, John, a lot more. He is optimistic that he may even have time to start playing golf again. John is doing well in second grade, a NASCAR fan (Kyle Busch is his favorite driver) and becoming a Redskins fan.

Rusty Saylor retired from investment banking and started a small consulting business, which is consulting to not-for-profits. His practice requires a bit of travel but allows time for Rusty to finally try to learn to play golf, and spend more time with his daughter, who is now 16.

After 2.5 years as CFO for Mars Retail Group (division of Mars, Inc.), Kristin Colber-Baker traded chocolate for gum and transferred to Wrigley (acquired by Mars, Inc., in 2008), to head up the global strategic and financial planning team. Kristin says that her kids still love the perks and she’s shed the eight pounds of weight put on via the daily ritual of chocolate eating. She says that the best business trip of her former role included visiting 65 chocolate shops in four European cities over the course of four days. “Top recco from the trip is Patrick Roget in Paris.” Kristin and Joe’s two boys — Quinn, 13, and Aaron, 10 — are at that really fun stage where they are fairly independent and self sufficient yet still enjoy being around their parents.

Larry Selzer continues to lead The Conservation Fund. Last year they launched a major initiative with North Face and REI called Outdoor Nation. The campaign is aimed at reconnecting young people with the outdoors.

Eric Allyn has been working in his family’s business, Welch Allyn Inc., since graduation. Welch Allyn has nearly 3,000 employees worldwide and is one of the world’s leading medical device firms. The company was started by Eric’s great-grandfather, and it remains 100% family owned today. Eric is now chairman of the trust that controls his company’s stock. Eric led his company through the transition from the third generation to the fourth generation of ownership and governance, a task that sounds much easier than it is! Outside of Welch Allyn, Eric works with other family businesses, serving on a number of privately held company boards, and is a frequent speaker at family business seminars. Eric is also the chairman of the board of Auburn Hospital, on the Board of Governors of the Healthcare Trustees of NYS, and serves on the boards of several foundations, for two of which he chairs the investment committee. He is also founder and managing director of a small, private investment fund. eric and his wife, Meg O’Connell, have three daughters — ages 19, 17 and 14 — and the oldest is a freshman at Dartmouth College, but hopefully one of the others will consider U.Va.! Eric and his family live in Skaneateles, N.Y., and he still plays guitar from time to time.

Dave Lisle recently completed the sale of his family’s company, Wausaukee Composites, to Sintex Industries, a diversified international manufacturer headquartered in Gujarat, India. They have grown nicely over the past 10 years, and established the company as one of the leading suppliers of very large molded composite plastic housings to the passenger rail, wind turbine and Con-Ag truck industries in the United States. Dave continues to serve as CEO, but the sale gives him some additional freedom, and perhaps other options to consider. Dave writes, “I can tell you I already miss all of the highs and lows of ownership, but this has also been an extremely challenging time to be a rust-belt manufacturer in the United States. With ownership came these daily tremors and an irrational fear that the whole thing was in the balance every waking moment. Candidly, it’s a relief to have the elephant off the back for the first time in a decade! Bonnie and I made it to the Super Bowl last January in Dallas, and helped coach our Green Bay Packers to their 13th world championship! We had a fantastic time at the game, but the pre-game management by Jerry Jones could serve as a model case study on bad planning and worse customer service! Anyway, best to you, and would love to catch up with any who might stray through Green Bay!”

BRIAN COWAN RECEIVED A 2011 HIGHPERFORMANCE AWARD FOR CLASS AGENTS AND THE HIGHEST REUNION DARDEN ANNUAL FUND PARTICIPATION AWARD (79%) LAUREL PELTIER LAUREL77@COMCAST.NET Kudos to our school’s leaders for continuously improving, thinking competitively and marketing our program’s strengths so well and it shows with our Economist ranking of number four in the world!

The “glue” for our class has been Brian Cowan, and after a decade he is passing his Class Agent baton to John Harris. John and Brian will serve for one year as co-Class Agents, then John will take over in full starting the summer of 2012. Our class is fortunate to have two amazing and committed classmates. John Carrico and his wife, Sheri, enjoyed seeing everyone at our reunion in the spring (20 years … really?) and, “I finally have some great ’Hoos family news to share. Over the summer, my oldest son, Tyler (currently a senior at James River High School in Midlothian / Richmond), received an offer from U.Va. head baseball coach Brian O’Connor to play for the ’Hoos next year. He is a pitcher and is very excited to join the team next fall … the U.Va. baseball team was ranked number one in the country most of last year and advanced to the College World Series. He signs his official letter of intent/offer the first week of November. Sheri and I are still pinching ourselves at his wonderful opportunity to play college baseball and receive an incredible education, too! Tyler is a very good student (he gets this from his Mom). He also had offers from William & Mary and several great Ivy League schools (but it is just too cold to play baseball in New England in the early spring)! On a business note …. Ukrop’s Dress Express (we design, manufacture and distribute custom uniform apparel programs) now supplies more top 100 (based on sales) supermarket chains in the United States than any other company. We recently signed deals with Harris Teeter (Charlotte), Schnuck’s Markets (St. Louis), Sweetbay Markets (Tampa), Roundy’s (Milwaukee) and Fiesta (Houston). So the next time folks are in Charlottesville and need food (or beer & wine) and venture to the Barrack’s Road Harris Teeter store, admire those great looking uniforms. It is definitely a “low tech” business, but since even in a recession people have to eat, we are fortunate to be serving a good industry in these unstable economic times.”

Tracy Shirley checked in from the Midwest. “Our oldest child, Parker, started college at the University of Tulsa this fall. He is majoring in mechanical engineering. My youngest, Jeff, started driving this fall as well, so Shari and I are closing in on empty nest syndrome. Is it wrong to say we are looking forward to being the co-captains of our lives again? I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon last year and ran it this April. I’m wondering how many of our class members have run marathons and how many have run Boston?”

Scott Crawford and his wife, Linda, are still in San Francisco. “I was acquired again (a good outcome), this time by Dell. Dell acquired Boomi about a year ago, and still going through the acquisition integration. Last time it was IBM. I seem to have a knack for finding startups, growing them and then going through the acquisition process. I’m pretty sure I’ll find another start-up in the near future that looks primed to be acquired by a big company with a blue logo (there are lots of those in the software world).”

Per-Andre Marum shares with us, “I’d like to use this opportunity to extend our thanks to all the Darden alumni who showed their concern and support after the terrible killings in Oslo this summer. It really warmed our hearts in a demanding situation. (We live in between the two locations, 20 minutes in each direction.) Most of the summer we spent in the United States, and our only regret was that we did not have time to follow up on all the hospitality invitations that we got during our nice reunion. We ended up spending almost a week in D.C. at Leslie and John Pitcher’s (THANKS AGAIN) — and almost suffocated in the heat and humidity. We also enjoyed a great BBQ there over at Master Chef Brian Cowan and Connie Hallquist’s. The trip also covered Boston, Martha’s Vineyard, The Hamptons, New Jersey, New York City and the U.S. Naval Academy. We’ll be back next summer — the boys just loved it! Hope to see more of you then, or make sure to stop by when you’re in Oslo next time.”

Our own maestro Paul Hoffman e-mailed in, “I am still running the orchestra in New Hampshire, trying to keep things lean as is the way with nonprofits these days. Also rowing seriously again, racing in the Head of the Charles. Over the summer, Martha hiked the Maine section of the Appalachian Trail; Samuel is doing lots of karate; Kerry is happiest when she is riding her big horse in the woods. Hello to the Darden gang!”

What a nice surprise to see Julie Mollick Hallowell’s e-mail in my inbox (laurel77@ comcast.net BTW): “It has been awhile since I checked in, so here is a quick summary. I voluntarily left the financial world a couple of years ago to spend more time with my kids, travel and just take in a bit of a change of scenery since I had been going full-time ever since Darden! I am now thinking of getting back into the workforce (but with this economy, who knows!). Certainly not before I go to Bolivia for a couple of weeks next month! It has been a great couple of years pursuing many different things, and I’ve had the luxury to travel (my passion) to places that I just couldn’t fit into a regular working schedule. And it has also been great spending more time with my kids and getting more involved in their activities and my community and volunteer organizations. Fortunately I have a very understanding husband and a mom that comes up and covers for me while I’m gone! I’m certainly not going to call being a full-time parent ‘taking a break’ — in fact, I think in many ways it is easier to have a job than be a full-time parent, but I miss work outside the home so will probably go back at some point…[Editor’s note: Amen sister. Staying at home is amazing and a little humbling and exhausting.] My son Drew is 11 now, and my daughter Allison is 9 and my husband and I just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.”

Jay Scott is still running his own business! “Business volume has increased every year since we started four years ago. Sarah, the kids (Ford, 9 in Nov., Alden, 6, and Elisabeth, 3 in Dec.) and I all doing well. Sarah just did her third triathlon and is now hooked. Ford and his swimming relay team won first in their age-group in the regional swim team championships this summer. Alden and Elisabeth just love doing their thing, whatever that is from day to day! Sarah and I celebrate our 10th anniversary this week. Lots of things for which to be thankful.”

My favorite line to read is when classmates say, “I have nothing new to add” and then your e-mails are the opposite. Check out Greg Warmuth’s e-mail. “Actually, you could put in there that I received a master’s of accountancy degree from Gardner Webb University in 2009, and I passed the CPA exam. Still working with American Emergency Vehicles as VP of finance — 18 years next week.” If most people did that, hmmm, a long-term career a second master’s degree, a CPA, yeah, that’s chump change. Call the president — our economy would be zooming if everyone thought that was nothing!

Chris Black and Connie Dato English met for lunch in Atlanta and hopefully Bob Bruner spotted the bill! (Idea: Take pictures when you visit classmates and we’ll include in this magazine.)

Mark Dales has been flying under the radar for a while but resurfaced in real estate, of all places. Son Alec is 19 and looking at colleges; Veronica, 16, is in a private school in upstate New York. I am working in South Carolina and Georgia, buying low and selling hopefully not as low. Keeping an eye on Eric Randall, George Collins (the troubadour from Prague), RT Lyman, and Brian Cowan. Looking for Chris Black and Tripp Wood. (Editor’s note: I sent Mark their contact info; just go to the Darden website, enter your user name and password and the updated database is at your fingertips). Heading to Philly in a few weeks to see the folks and sites, then New York City to see the amazing Alfie Boe in “Les Miserables” and perhaps the Rockettes Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall.

Jim Kent once again states that his e-mail is boring; not so, says editor. “Still working at Washington Gas Energy Services, but many new challenges as we expand our service area and product mix out of Northern Virginia/Baltimore into all of Pennsylvania, western Maryland and Delaware. Although natural is in our company name, we actually sell more electricity and green power to consumers than gas. And

we sell a lot of gas... Family doing well. Dena and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this July in the south Outer Banks, where we’ve been going for nearly 20 years. Our kids were with us, of course. John is a junior at Cornell, and Eleanor is a senior in high school looking at Virginia Tech and JMU. A lot has happened since we walked the lawn...Any cheeseheads out there? Look for me on Monday Night Football this November as all four Kents will be on the 50-yard line of the home-team at Lambeau Field as our world-champion Packers take on the (hopefully) hapless Vikings! Other than that, all work and no play make Jim a pretty dull boy … but it pays the bills.”

Antony Takahashi is still in China on assignment for IBM. “I am an old SAP cost accounting guy, but I have been asked to do this project in Oracle, so it has been a fun learning experience. My family joined me in August after five months of commuting back and forth. I do miss spending time in the United States but I am very happy to have my family here and to not be jet-lagged!” Another classmate living the life abroad!

John Reisky de Dubnic wrote: “The ‘Swedish’ Reisky family is doing well, and we enjoy living in Malmö in the burbs of Copenhagen. Elliot and Amanda are now 7 and 11 years old, respectively.

Johanna is a district nurse working in a private pediatric clinic. We enjoy supporting football and dance performances, lots of travel and a neverending list of renovation projects at home. As for work, I have found a dream job: running an early stage biotech company with a novel diagnostic technology for HIV management in high disease burden countries. I am learning to live in the moment and savor these precious years, with the realization that these are our best days.”

Doug Klein has a great idea for our class, “Facebook, Schmacebook! LinkedIn is the way to go! I already have 662 quality leaders in my network, with over 50 from Darden. Please, please send me an invite! I was just recruited to be the sales manager for corporate treasury and risk management applications for OpenLink Financial, a global provider of trading technology tools for central banks, comm-banks, I-banks, oil, gas, electric, etc. I’m hoping to travel to visit clients and prospects in some of the 44 countries where we do business. Little Eliana just had her Bat Mitzvah October 17th, and sophomore Evan is in the teen phase where everything we do is annoying. But compared to what we did in high school, these kids today are angels (or they hide things very well!). Wife Rebecca managing the chaos somehow. Sorry I missed the reunion; best wishes to everyone from D’91!”

Finally, I am often asked what I’m doing outside of gathering our Class Notes. Laurel Peltier is our family’s chief household officer (the CHO title is courtesy of Paul Miller, who markets for www.manilla.com, a very cool and free online account and bill manager). And, I’ve taken my consumer brand management experience and now publish an “eco-glancer” called www.greenlaurel.com. Focusing on super-busy iPhone readers, an eco-glancer is a monthly newsletter: only four bullet points on one topic and why it’s relevant. It’s been fun to become a green expert in Baltimore ( a not-very-green city). Doing radio gigs, consulting for nonprofits, running classes and writing for various publications, hopefully bringing a big topic down to a personal level.

Cheers and happy holidays.

1992 • Reunion 2012

Shin Furukawa is pictured in “Did You Know?” on page 14. JAMIE BERGER JAMIEMBERGER@VERIZON.NET Bob Armour writes: “I recently left Cognizant to pursue something more entrepreneurial again. My passion is really around building and transforming businesses — especially those that are software/IT intensive. Despite the economy there are a lot of emerging opportunities in the cloud/mobile space so we’ll see…perhaps by the time this is published I’ll be back in the game.

Family is doing well. Alex just turned 14!?! Hoping to make reunions in April – it’s 20 years so we need a good turn out! Have caught up with Scott Adams, Bruce Lavine and Bernie Student in recent months. Perhaps we can provide the “things that make you go hmmm” chili and a few kegs at Old Turner Mountain Rd. as a draw in April!”

Lawrence Gray reports: “In January of 2010, I started as the CEO of Gray Holdings, a real estate operating company based in Richmond, Virginia, with investments in apartments and residential land throughout the southeastern U.S. The great recession provided an excellent opportunity for a “sabbatical” for most of 2009 after 17 exciting years in the real estate investment banking business, the last 12 of which were with Wachovia/First Union.

Yoshi Watanabe writes “My wife, Noriko, and I are enjoying our life in Tokyo. We actually got married in 1990 when I was at Darden, and I still remember well my (male) classmates held a “special” party right before our wedding…Over the past several years, I’ve been with a Belgium company “SWIFT” as Head of Japan. And my wife works at a small law firm as a lawyer, spending part of her time to protect human rights of foreigners in Japan. We are trying to mark our calendar for the 27th–29th of April 2012. We’re hoping to see you all there!”

Hard to believe we are old enough to be celebrating a 20 year anniversary of our Darden graduation….”

After eight years as VP Content Acquisition, Erin Ruane has left Netflix to spend a bit of time at home with her three children with Geoff Hale (JD/MBA ‘93). They both frequently see Jordan Posell. They most recently visited Ann (O’Connell) Joseph in April in Paris (it could be a song!) for a great visit with her and her family.

Rick Edmunds says he hasn’t sent notes in a while so he could probably fill out a long list of things since last time. However, he offers up the short version: “Still living in Alexandria 20 years after Darden with my wife and two high school kids. Elected as senior partner and head of the global health practice at Booz & Company this past year. Joined the Darden Corporate Advisory Board this year and still a leader of the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation. Keep up with a number of fellow ’92 grads including Robbie Huffines, Michael Meyer, Chip Caravati, and Gordon Wallace.”

Speaking of Robbie Huffines, he had quite a bit to share on our class: “Have couple tidbits on classmates to offer. Chip and Amanda Nisbet’s daughter Alannah is a freshman at U.Va. where she is an Echols scholar. She is loving Cville. Vivek Joshi recently visited for dinner and is running an exciting growth company and enjoying California. His kids sound great and his son loves baseball. Asli Keskinel Eksioglu and her husband Berk and daughter Daphne have visited a couple times. Our daughter Bea took Daphne around town with some NYC teens. Now that’s global generational connectivity courtesy of a Darden education.”

Finally, Brian Chase writes “Another spectacular fall is upon us here in Cville where I continue my work as a Managing Broker for Roy Wheeler Realty/Wintergreen Resort Premier Properties. We’re finally starting to see buyers with a real sense that value has returned to the Cville real estate market, and market inventories are slowly on the decline. We also just finished our first annual Tough Mudder event at Wintergreen Resort. What a terrific group of people — dedicated, considerate, and respectful. Many were seeing Wintergreen for the first time (or at least for the first time without snow on the ground). It was a blast — 15,000 competitors, some from as far away as Michigan. The Tough Mudder concept was cooked up by a couple of Harvard B-school grads — come on Dardenites, let’s get with it!”

Save the date — come back to Grounds 27–29 April 2012 for our 20th reunion!

1993

REBECCA KILDUFF RECEIVED THE 2011 OUTSTANDING DOMESTIC CHAPTER LEADER AWARD FOR HER EXEMPLARY ORGANIZATION OF HIGH LEVEL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR ALUMNI, STUDENTS AND PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS WITHIN THE WASHINGTON D.C. CHAPTER. Donna M. McAleer’s book is featured in “What to Read Now” on page 16. MAY NG NGMAY2000@YAHOO.COM

REBECCA KILDUFF RKILDUFF@MADISONKILDUFF.COM It was great to hear from Kenneth King: “I’m

due for an update since I have not provided one in 18 years. We live in Nashville, Tenn. I work for Community Health Systems, which is a publicly traded hospital operator. I head up acquisitions. LaDonna and I have a 10-year old-boy, 8-year old-girl and one Lab. Outside of work, our activities are fairly domestic, with PTA meetings, tennis, taking kids to their various activities, etc. We did a couple of interesting things this year: we vacationed in Wyoming and South Dakota (we learned that Yellowstone can have six feet of snow on the ground in midMay) and attended the Rose Bowl (thankfully, the right team won ...TCU 21, Wisconsin 19). I always appreciate reading the update on others and apologize for being delinquent myself.”

The number of Darden ’93 classmates in health care is expanding. Gerry Sequiera reported meeting with Amar Rajasekhar at an annual health care conference (HIMSS). Gerry is still President of ICP Corporation, a consulting firm now with projects in health care. He and May Ng started a LinkedIn group for Darden alumni in health care to connect.

Speaking of other alumni in health care, I caught up with Naomi Tam and Tom Klenke (MBA ’94) at the home of Christine and Christoph Heiss (MBA ’94). Naomi and Tom were visiting in the Bay Area after dropping Zoe off at swim camp. Naomi was prepping for a trip to China with her dad.

We also have a few job moves and relocations to report. After more than eight years with Microsoft traveling the globe for a variety of mobile product incubations, Ken Pawlak has returned to helping start-ups on the outside and is leading a new venture. This month Ken mentored a few social entrepreneurs competing in SVP’s Social Innovation Fast Pitch (http://sifp.net/) and started customer beta tests for his new mobile tech startup, Via 121.

And so glad to hear from Amy Ritz: “After a nine-year maternity leave, I’ve reentered the world of the employed. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that even after so many years, my Darden MBA was highly regarded by many potential employers during my job search. After much consideration of jobs back in the toy or entertainment industry, I landed a job in business-to-business marketing (Professor Spekman would be proud!). I’m now working for Accenture, creating programs and events to develop client relationships. I like the work, but the best part about it is that I do it all from home. Great to not commute in Los Angeles and very convenient that I am here when the kids get home. Speaking of kids, Adam (10) is in fifth grade, and after one night of his science homework, I am now certain that I am not smarter than a fifth grader. Zoe (6) is in first grade — I can still manage her homework, at least. In September, I was able to get together with Gordon Cook, Ed Han and Dan Parsley, who was passing through Los Angeles. Hopefully next time we can get an even bigger group together. While it is still over a year away, I’m looking forward to returning to C-ville for our reunion.”

From across our border on the north, Denise Smith writes, “Elliott and I have moved to Calgary for his job. Elliott is running the Canadian operations for his company. It should be an interesting adventure and will certainly be a bit colder than it has been in Houston. Zachary (13) and Katherine (12) are adjusting well to their new schools. Let us know if you are in the area.”

Also, Rick Jones now lives in the Big Apple — we’ll miss him at Bay Area social events. And congratulations to Ed Han! He is now a principal at Granite Investment Partners in El Segundo, Calif.

Note: Michael Bennett Slone, who passed away in November 2009 was also an alumnus of Tufts University. This past year three of his Tufts classmates established a scholarship at Tufts in his memory. The scholarship will reflect Michael’s love for travel by supporting the participation of a deserving undergraduate at the Tufts European Center program in Talloires, France. If you would like to make a donation, contact Kosta Alexis at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences, 80 George St., Room 323, Medford, MA 02155

1994

CHRIS PIORKOWSKI AND MARK RISER RECEIVED A 2011 HIGH-PERFORMANCE AWARD FOR CLASS AGENTS. ANDREW LOGAN LOGANP94@ALUM.DARDEN.EDU

TAMARA DE DIOS TAMARADEDIOS@YAHOO.COM Andrew Spreadbury: I am living in Paris with my wife Veronique and sons Thomas (10) and Julien (2). I am working on acquisitions (Director, M&A) for a French transportation and logistics company (Geodis). I was delighted to see Dean Bruner on his recent visit here.

Kate McKone-Sweet: I am still at Babson College and live in Needham, MA, with my family—Mark, Maya (7) and Marcos (4). I am currently Chair of the Technology Operations and Information Management Division. This fall, my big news is that I published a new book, The New Entrepreneurial Leader: Developing Leaders Who Shape Social and Economic Opportunity (www.newleaderboook.com). This book details a new model of leadership—entrepreneurial leadership—and describes how to develop leaders who engage a different logic of business decision-making based on a fundamentally different rationale for the existence of business. The book is sold on Amazon—good reviews are always welcome!

Damon Devito: Affinity Management (www.affinitymanagement.com) played an integral role in stabilizing a Poconos area country club leading to a sale on behalf of PNC Bank following a year earlier foreclosure. It was an interesting transaction with closing happening inside 24 hours of P&S agreement execution. Affinity led a recapitalization of Stoneleigh G&CC near Leesburg, VA, and recently doubled our equity position. Also advised a South Carolina university on the feasibility of adding equestrian amenities to address Title IX compliance objectives. Had a very late Sunday night recently when David Richardson visited from Louisville with his daughter to visit U.Va. (His daughter Mary-Winston was born in Charlottesville in David’s second year at Darden, is a senior in high school and a Jefferson Scholar nominee!) David, Ian Ratcliffe, Graham Anthony, Toan Nguyen joined me for red-wine fueled discussion on guns, Tahoes, politics, Hot Browns, and the future of higher education in America. Many macro problems were solved. Unfortunately no notes were taken and no one can remember the conclusions. (Editor’s Note: Classic study group session and results!) Graham played chef and cooked burgers and sausages (from companies which he and Tom Clenke invested in, of course!)

Toan Nguyen: The amazing outcome of David’s visit was that it changed the course of my life! David showed me how to structure financing terms to take C’ville Coffee, a successful “lifestyle” business, into a franchising business. We are now taking steps to open a second store, a “proof-of-concept” store, in Richmond, and then start selling franchises. David gave us the final piece of the puzzle. I think that it’s wonderful how we all affect each other in ways that we don’t even realize.

Kristina Mangelsdorf: Still with PepsiCo 17 years later (am the last one left of our class — at one point there were 4 of us), and I just stepped into a new role as CMO of our foodservice division. Fascinating challenge, both on the business side as I’m working across all our food and beverage lines of business, and on the people side as my team is spread all across the U.S. All good at home, still living in Pelham just outside NYC, Charlotte is now 8, Eric almost 6. Some fun recent vacations, but we do seem to be a bit weather challenged — annual Rehoboth

Tamara and Jorge DeDios (both MBA ’94) and family at Lynna Martinez’s (MBA ’94) NYC restaurant ‘qba’ in April 2011.