2014 Landon Spring Magazine

L A NDON SPRING 2014

END OF AN ERA Armstrong to Leave Landon After 2014-15 School Year

Marra Writes His Own Ticket 20

I Lacrosse Gets an Adrenaline Shot 26 I Alumni News 31

Landon School Board of Trustees Chairman:

H. Sherman “Tiger” Joyce ’78 Vice Chairman: Joe Kenary ’82 President: David M. Armstrong Secretary: Michelle Freeman Treasurer: Carter Hertzberg ’89 Trustees Emeriti: Knight Kiplinger ’65 Samuel M. Lehrman Lawrence Lamade ’65 Russell “Rusty” C. Lindner ’72 Peter J. FitzGerald ’50 David M. Armstrong Michael S. Banks ’92 Michael I. Connolly ’75 Francis “Mike” O. Day IV ’94 Robert H. Edwards Jr. Peter “Chip” J. FitzGerald Jr. ’83 Michelle Freeman Steven Gewirz ’84 Jeffrey Harris ’80 Carter Hertzberg ’89 Wallace “Hap” F. Holladay Jr. ’65 Ernest Jarvis Sr. H. Sherman “Tiger” Joyce ’78 Joe Kenary Jr. ’82 Douglas C. Kiker ’93 Brigham C. Kiplinger ’99 Reverend Steve Klingelhofer ’60 Doug Lagarde Steven C. Mayer Brett McMahon ’85 Amy Mehlman John P. Oswald Tushar C. Patel ’81 Keith Powell Monica M. Thompson Martin Weinstein Laura Zaimi Landon Magazine Headmaster

David M. Armstrong Editor

Meredith Josef Assistant Editors

Tom DiChiara Daphne Kiplinger

Contributing Writers

OUR MISSION

Landon School prepares talented boys for productive lives as accomplished, responsible and caring men whose actions are guided by the principles of perseverance, teamwork, honor and fair play.

Painting by Matt Schick ’14

Tom DiChiara Rob Yunich Designer

Hillary Reilly Photography

Tom DiChiara Laura John Daphne Kiplinger Landon School Archives Wendy Steck Merriman Rob Yunich GoLandon.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FIND US ON:

What’s Inside

26 Features

4 | David Armstrong Steps Down Headmaster to leave Landon after 2014-15 school year.

20 | Written in the Stars

L A NDON SPRING 2014

Hal Marra ’03 finds success with his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.

26 | Growing a Sport with a Conscience

END OF AN ERA

Alex Cade ’94 helps spur a West Coast lacrosse boom with his

Armstrong to leave Landon after 2014-15 school year

multifaceted company Adrenaline Lacrosse.

Marra Writes His Own Ticket 21

W

elcome to the new look of Landon Magazine, our school’s flagship publication. Our publications manager, Daphne

Kiplinger, and our graphic designer, Hillary Reilly, will engage you

with a design that catches the eye and reads more easily. Our writer/

Departments 2

From the Headmaster

3

Landon Lowdown

31 Alumni News 44 From the Archives

editor, Tom DiChiara, and others will captivate you with appealing

content – compelling stories and school news that inform, bind our

community together and demonstrate how Landon fulfills its mission

I Lacrosse Gets an Adrenaline Shot 27 I Alumni News 32

ON OUR COVER Headmaster David Armstrong, who will leave Landon at the end of the 2014-2015 school year, photographed with Lower School students on April 8, 2014.

for students and graduates.

Whether you read us in print or online, you represent a readership

that loves Landon, and we value your loyalty to our school. With

every magazine we deliver to your home, article we post to our website or newsletter we send to your inbox, we are committed to providing

you with stories that convey the distinction of the Landon experience.

Our Communications office invites you to send your feedback to

1

communications@landon.net. – Meredith Josef, editor

HEADMASTERNOTES

Landon in the Community The following is a reprint of a letter sent to the Landon community in April:

Dear Members of the Landon School Community,

I

am writing you now to share the news that I have decided to step down as headmaster at the end of the 2014-15 academic year.

By that time, I shall have served for 11 remark-

able years at Landon, which is more than a

generation of our students. My wife Liz and I have

been truly blessed to serve the Landon School community. It has been

a wonderful journey, and we have been deeply enriched by and are pro-

foundly appreciative of the experience. However, our life plan now calls

for change. It is time for us to devote more time to family, to move back to the West Coast, and to explore new endeavors and opportunities.

While there certainly is never a perfect time to leave and while great

learning institutions always have needs to be addressed, the time is right.

Landon is in a deservedly strong position as one of the most respected boys schools in the world. The Landon United Campaign will be successfully completed, and Landon’s mission and core values have been

validated, confirmed and cemented. My admiration and respect goes to so many whose collective efforts, characterized by teamwork, commitment and sacrifice, have made this possible.

I fondly remember July 4, 2004, when I arrived at Landon for my first

day, entering the world of White Rocks as I headed toward Andrews

House to my relocated office. I was struck by how humbled (and a little

nervous, I might add) I was to be the fifth headmaster of this prestigious institution. However, from that day forward, these feelings were over-

whelmed by my experiences getting to know and work with some of the world’s greatest young men and adults: a caring and inspired faculty and administration; a dedicated and engaged staff; alumni and parents com-

The school provides a practical roadmap, mostly to its students but to

all members of the community, to reach SUCCESS in life that is best captured by the words of the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson.

To laugh

Often and much; to win

The respect of intelligent

People and the affection of Children; to earn the

Appreciation of honest critics And endure the betrayal Of false friends.

To appreciate beauty; to Find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit

Better, whether by a healthy

Child, a garden patch or a redeemed Social condition; to know

Even one life has breathed Easier because you have Lived.

This is to have succeeded.

Liz and I thank you for the extraordinary opportunity to be part of

this SUCCESSFUL community we call Landon.

All the best,

mitted to and supportive of Landon’s mission; and a talented, motivated

and accomplished student body. To each and every one of you, thank you.

I am also grateful for an exceptional Landon Board of Trustees that

has addressed our mission and strategic plan squarely and resolutely — working intelligently and relentlessly to ensure Landon’s success today

and tomorrow. During my tenure, I have served four extraordinary chair-

David M. Armstrong Headmaster

Landon School

men, to whom Landon and I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.

I admired Landon long before I arrived. Over the years, I have come

to more than merely admire but rather to admire and love Landon. Why, you might ask? Quite simply, it is because the Landon community (and the individual members who comprise it) represents much more than a

* For more information on Headmaster Armstrong’s departure, please see page 4.

learning institution that does unique, important and meaningful work.

2

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

SCHOOL NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

Len Armstrong to Serve as Assistant Headmaster

C

urrent Lower School Head Len Armstrong has accepted a new position at Landon as assistant headmaster for

admissions, enrollment and community, effective July 1, 2014. Armstrong has headed the Lower

School for the past three academic years and before

that was a teacher, coach and associate director of admissions at Landon from 2002-04.

Between his stints at Landon, Armstrong served as head of school at

St. John’s Episcopal School and as director of Upper and Middle School admissions at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School. Armstrong graduated

from Hampden-Sydney College with a degree in English and Spanish

and earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Trinity Washington University.

LOWDOWN

Fourth-grade teacher Randall P. Bednar will take over the role of

Lower School head beginning July 1, while current Director of Admissions and Enrollment George Mulligan will return to teaching and coaching at Landon full-time next year.

Bednar to Head Lower School

A

fter a national search,

daily basis, I will now be able to

Headmaster David M.

that I was afforded this opportu-

Landon School

Armstrong announced the

appointment of Randall P.

Bednar as the new head of Lower School, effective July 1. Bednar

currently serves as a fourth-grade teacher at Landon.

“Randy is beloved by so many

parents, students and faculty

within our community,” Arm-

strong said. “Randy will make an outstanding Lower School head because he is authentic — he

builds relationships that last a lifetime, and he is not afraid to listen, collaborate and innovate.”

“Landon is the school where I

have coached, taught and men-

tored for the last 15 years,” Bednar said. “Instead of only impacting

Bednar began work at Landon

He now works as an assistant

impact 120. I am extremely ecstatic

in 1999, and his son Randy Jr.

coach to the varsity team, as well

nity to head the Lower School, and

student at the school. In addition

and fourth-grade football teams.

I look forward to working with

the Landon community at large as we continue to fulfill our mis-

sion to prepare talented boys for

productive lives as accomplished, responsible and caring men.”

’17 is a ninth-grade (Form III)

to his classroom duties, he also de-

as coach of the fifth-grade baseball Current Lower School

veloped and maintained a mentor-

Head Len Armstrong will

Bednar was the varsity baseball

admissions, enrollment and com-

ing program in the Lower School.

coach in 2011 when the team won the I.A.C. championship.

become associate headmaster for munity beginning July 1.

Randy will make an outstanding Lower School head because he is authentic — he builds relationships that last a lifetime, and he is not afraid to listen, collaborate and innovate.

— Headmaster David Armstrong

one homeroom of 15 boys on a

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

3

SCHOOL NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

HEADMASTER DAVID M. ARMSTRONG STEPS DOWN The following is a reprint of a letter sent to the Landon community by the chairman of the Landon Board of Trustees:

I

SEARCH COMMITTEE

am writing to inform you that Headmaster David M. Armstrong

will step down at the end of the next school year, 2014-15. As board

chairman, I join my fellow trustees as we thank David, only the fifth

headmaster in Landon’s 85-year history, for his remarkable 11-year tenure at the school.

Over the coming months, we will reflect on the great success of David’s

leadership and service to Landon. David and his wife Liz are terrific

friends and loyal supporters of a generation of Landon students, families, faculty, staff and the entire Landon community.

David’s tenure has included outstanding accomplishments and ad-

vancements, but no single development is more important than Landon’s

recommitment to its historic focus on character education for young men.

This aspirational educational effort, led by David and implemented by our dedicated faculty, occurs every school day in our classrooms, playing fields, music rooms, hallways, and throughout our 75-acre campus and beyond.

Central to this commitment are the “Nine Goals for Landon,” which were approved by Landon’s Board of Trustees in 2006. David played a leading role in the development of this centerpiece of our strategic plan to carry out the school’s mission: to prepare talented boys for productive lives as accomplished, responsible and caring men, whose actions are guided by the principles of perseverance, teamwork, honor and fair play.

David has been tireless in his efforts to strengthen our school. The

Landon United Campaign, our school’s most successful capital campaign ever, has raised more than $50 million. Among the many accomplish-

ments of the campaign are endowed scholarships to support our students and their families, funding for the Banfield Ethics Program, the creation

of the Freeman Center for Athletic Achievement, and the renova-

CO-CHAIRS H. Sherman “Tiger” Joyce ’78 Michelle Freeman

tion of both levels of the Barton Alumni Athletic Center. The

BOARD MEMBERS Steven Gewirz ’84 Douglas C. Kiker ’93 Brigham C. Kiplinger ’99 Reverend Steve Klingelhofer ’60 Dr. Tushar C. Patel ’81 Monica M. Thompson Martin Weinstein

innovative faculty housing program that David initiated at Landon is a vital tool to help the school attract and retain the very best teachercoach-mentors.

Landon students have thrived

during David’s tenure, as three of

FACULTY MEMBERS Kathleen Lubin Ted Ogden

our very best were named United

States Presidential Scholars. Sixteen boys were named National Merit

Scholarship finalists and semifinalists. Our artists, musicians and actors

have received widespread recognition for their accomplishments. Landon’s athletic teams have won 29 Interstate Athletic Conference (I.A.C.) titles, and more than 160 boys have competed at the collegiate level.

David’s decision was reached in close collaboration with the Landon

Board of Trustees. That David will remain as headmaster until the end

of the next school year allows Landon to seamlessly conclude important initiatives such as the Association of Independent Maryland & DC

Schools (AIMS) accreditation process and the Landon United Campaign.

It also provides time for the board to thoughtfully and comprehensively identify and select his successor. To that end, I have asked my colleague

Michelle Freeman, who is currently board secretary, to serve as co-chair

of the Headmaster Search Committee with me [see sidebar for full list of

committee members]. The committee has engaged the services of Spencer Stuart, one of the world’s leading executive search firms, to support this important process.

The Headmaster Search Committee will carry out its vital responsibil-

ity so that Landon and our community can rally behind a new leader of

our school who can build upon David’s achievements in the years ahead.

Sincerely,

H. Sherman “Tiger” Joyce ’78 David and Liz Armstrong with family at the Azalea Garden Festival

4

Chairman

Landon School Board of Trustees LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

David Armstrong Cites Family, West Coast Roots In Decision to Leave Landon

H

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ARMSTRONG ERA

eadmaster David M.

opportunities.”



Landon at the end of

munity (which can be read on page



Armstrong will leave

the 2014-15 school year, following more than a decade of service to the school.

“My wife Liz and I have been

truly blessed to serve the Landon community. It has been a won-

derful journey, and we have been deeply enriched by and are pro-

foundly appreciative of the experi-

ence,” said Armstrong, the school’s fifth headmaster in its 85-year

history. “However, our life plan

now calls for change. It is time for

In a letter to the Landon com-

tance

2004, but how overwhelmed he



was by “getting to know and work

for Landon”

young men and adults: a caring and



tion; a dedicated and engaged staff;



inspired faculty and administra-

accreditation process and capital

sion; and a talented, motivated and

gives the board time to thought-

oratively between Armstrong and

and to explore new endeavors and

the school to successfully finish its

Landon’s Board of Trustees, allows

Spearheaded a new faculty housing initiative

alumni and parents committed to

The decision, made collab-

Recommitted to character education with “Nine Goals

with some of the world’s greatest

accomplished student body.”

Increased financial aid: 1 in 4 Bears now receives assis-

he was when he arrived in July

us to devote more time to family, to move back to the West Coast,

Landon United Campaign

2), Armstrong recalled how nervous

and supportive of Landon’s mis-

Raised $50+ million with

campaign this school year. It also

Alumni Athletic Center  

fully and comprehensively identify and select Armstrong’s successor

3 U.S. Presidential Scholars 16 National Merit Scholarship finalists and semifinalists

during the next school year.



chairman of the Landon School



H. Sherman “Tiger” Joyce ’78,

Renovated the Barton

29 Interscholastic Athletic Conference (I.A.C.) titles 160+ college athletes

Board of Trustees, and Board Sec-

retary Michelle Freeman will serve as co-chairs of the Headmaster

Search Committee, which is com-

prised of a number of other trustees and two faculty representatives.

The board has hired Spencer

Stuart, one of the world’s leading executive search firms, to iden-

tify and attract highly qualified candidates.

Armstrong with students at the 10-Year Club senior lunch

My wife Liz and I have been truly blessed to serve the Landon community.

— Headmaster David Armstrong

Armstrong, who is not involved

in the search process, believes the

next headmaster of Landon “should be an academic visionary who will raise Landon’s profile both regionally and nationally,

who will emphasize balance among increasing commit-

ments for our boys and our

faculty, and who will pay special

attention to the role of technology

as part of the learning experience.”

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

Armstrong at Mark’s Run in 2005

5

FINAL

FINAL - B W

SCHOOL NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

th

A nn

ive r s a r y

1929

2014

LA N DON

th

A nn 1929

ive r s a r y 2014

LA N DON

The 85th Anniversary Gala Was a Huge Success!

• Almost 600 attended a fun-filled night!

• We now can replace chairs in the Coates Auditorium!

• We raised $280,000!

Thank you!

6

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

7

SCHOOL NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

Landon Is an Under Armour School

L

andon has signed a five-

available in the bookstore. The

with Under Armour to

out in fall 2014, with each team

year sponsorship contract

make the Baltimore-based com-

pany the exclusive provider of the school’s varsity sports uniforms.

Under the contract, Landon

new uniforms will begin rolling

suiting up in Under Armour when their turn comes in the natural cycle of uniform replacement.

“Under Armour is a phenom-

will receive a significant discount

enal brand with great customer

credits for each uniform purchase

step in solidifying the branding

on uniforms, as well as “buy-back” that can be used toward train-

ing apparel and gear for varsity and junior varsity athletes and

coaches. Teams will also be able

to buy Under Armour footwear at a discount, and Landon-branded Under Armour apparel will be

service, and this deal is a gigantic of Landon moving forward,” said

Landon Director of Athletics David Holm. “Our varsity uniforms will have a consistency of style,

color and logo that we have not

had before. We are thrilled to be an Under Armour school.”

Women’s Health Forum Delivers Powerful Message

A

t the inaugural Maria Weiss Women’s Health Forum (named for Landon’s longtime school nurse) on Feb. 4, panelists

discussed risk factors and prevention related to heart health.

National Public Radio host Diane Rehm, whose son David graduated

from Landon in 1978, moderated the event held in Coates Auditorium.

Panelist Dr. Janet Wright, executive director of the Million Hearts Initiative, warned

that “80 percent of

adult women have at least one risk factor

for heart attacks and stroke.”

Dr. Roger Blu-

menthal ’77, director of Johns Hopkins

Ciccarone Center for

the Prevention of Heart Disease, added that the 200 people in atten-

dance should think of the risk factors as the “ABCs”: “A” for age, “B” for blood pressure, “C” for cholesterol, “D” for diet, “E” for exercise and “S” for stress.

The event was held in memory of Marlin Perkins, P ’07

Barton Renovation Begins, Landon United Campaign Nears End

A

visit to the lower level of the T. Edward Barton Alumni Athletic Center requires a hard hat these days, thanks to construction that is expected to be completed early this summer. But the finished

product will be something to behold!

All the locker rooms will be updated, and the equipment room will expand. The student-athlete team room will have a modernized layout designed for viewing game film with new seating, smart boards and video equipment. And the sports medicine facility will include spaces for Landon’s trainers to work more effectively to evaluate injuries and provide treatment for our athletes.

The renovation of Barton has one been one of the goals of the Landon United Campaign, our capital campaign that begin in 2007. With a recent $1 million donation from Cary Maguire ’46, we have raised more than $50 million toward our goal of $52.5 million! Our focus now is on the health of our endowment (Landon’s savings account), which stands at about $10 million — well short of the $55 million recommended for our annual operating budget.

A healthy endowment allows us to: recruit and retain worldclass faculty through housing assistance and professional development, provide financial aid to the finest boys to ensure a dynamic and diverse student body, enrich our curriculum so that our school continues to prepare boys for college and for life, and upgrade and maintain state-of-the-art facilities on our beautiful 75-acre campus. To donate, please go to landonunited.com!

(husband Steve Perkins ’73, son Sam Perkins ’07), who died suddenly of a heart attack in 2011.

8

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

STUDENTNEWS

NATIONAL ACADEMIC HONORS FOR LANDON SENIORS

!

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FINALIST Sam Jones ’14 NATIONAL HISPANIC SCHOLAR Jonathan Haskin ’14 NATIONAL MERIT COMMENDED SCHOLARS Ozair Ahmad ’14 Jack Bolen ’14 Jake Harris ’14 Jonathan Haskin ’14 Robbie Hefferon ’14 Harry Laird ’14 Kibaek Lee ’14 Trey Lundelius ’14 Ishan Satwah ’14 Kevin Soraci ’14

Jones ‘14 Is a National Merit Finalist

S

OUTSTANDING PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARS PROGRAM Elijah Engermann ’14 Bradford Gladstone ’14

am Jones ’14 is a finalist for the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program,

which honors students who

display the potential for excellence in their college studies. He will

compete against roughly 15,000 other nationwide finalists for

one of 8,000 merit-based college scholarships to be awarded this year.

Landon Senior Is Named Potomac Youth of the Year

M

att Schick ’14 was named the top male student in his local community when he won the 2013 Potomac Youth of the Year Award. At Landon, Schick is a talented painter who

has earned numerous awards and is one of a select group of students to

mount a solo show in the Landow Gallery this school year (see photo on inside cover). He is editor-in-chief of the Brown and White yearbook and has overseen the community service event “Pennies for Patients,” which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Division I National Letters of Intent

M

embers of the Class of 2014 who have signed Division I national

letters of intent to play college athletics (L to R): 

Zach Fingerhut, soccer, Wake Forest



Sean K. O’Brien, lacrosse, Bucknell University



Jack Falk, lacrosse, University of Virginia



Andrew Mitchell, lacrosse,

United States Military Academy



Sam Lynch, lacrosse,

Johns Hopkins University



Riley McTague, lacrosse, Hobart College



Zac Buller, lacrosse, Jacksonville University (not pictured)

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

9

FACULTY/STAFFNEWSRETIREES

THE SUPERB 6 he six men and women who will retire at the end of this school year have taught Bears how to be excellent in the classroom and in life, helped them grow into captivating actors and exceptional musicians, tended to them when they were sick and guided them through the daunting college admissions process. They have earned our admiration and gratitude for

T

here are a number of reasons that Landon

Summer is a popular

“Or perhaps it was her attention to detail, as exhibited through the

and acclaimed summer-

deft manner in which she

camp program in

learned to maneuver

the D.C. area, and

a golf cart over every

Amy Stull is one of

inch of Landon’s

75 acres, a tour she

Landon in the fall of

1992 as associate direc-

Fred Zirm hen Fred Zirm came to Landon in 1975, the Mondzac

Performing Arts Center did not exist, and the school the-

ater program was in its nascent stages. So the English and

drama teacher did what he does best: got creative. In 1979, he mounted Landon’s first-ever musical, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, in the

library. A few years later, he wowed audiences with the ingenious special effects in his production of Harvey in the old dining hall of the Lower

School. Gradually the program grew to include three Zirm-directed plays a year (now mostly held in Coates Auditorium): a

Middle School Shakespeare production in the fall, a Middle School musical in the winter and an Upper School play in the spring,

many of them performed in conjunction with sister school Holton-Arms.

During his 39 years at Landon, Zirm

directed more than 100 student productions,

helmed several Middle School plays that earned

awards at the Folger Shakespeare Festival, and coached a number of

tor of Landon Summer and

Hans Farnstrom to build up the

been the experience of raising a

program’s robust academic, athletic and artistic offerings.

What was the secret to Stull’s

The Landon News. In the classroom, he enjoyed “feeling like a coach” components.

“It has been my pleasure and honor to work with Fred for 37 years

now,” said choral teacher Tad Cavuoti, the musical director for many of

Zirm’s productions. “I’ll miss the inventive ways Fred looks at scripts and the easy way that rehearsals run when he’s there.”

Zirm plans to spend his retirement traveling with his wife, writing

poetry and — of course — continuing to direct.

young Landon man, her son Greg “Jethro” Stull ’97.

But Luther thinks the answer

is a simpler one. “The true secret

Summer coach Andy Luther, there

the kindness, loyalty and support

School Latin teacher and Landon are several possibilities. “Maybe

it was the commitment and the

intensity she demonstrated over

all of those years lifting weights in 5 a.m. fitness classes run by [Assistant Athletic Director] Marty

to Amy’s success can be found in she showered on all of us who have worked summers at Landon,” said Luther. “As we have grown up,

Amy has been there with us and shared the joys in our lives.”

Dr. Paul Scimonelli

“Dr. S.” — was

(1990-2006), served as an advisor to the student council, and oversaw

and leadership.” It could also have

success? According to Upper

by teaching students exercises to break down writing into its simplest

Zirm was also the school’s first-ever visual and performing arts chair

as she observed all of the

different camps and activities

that sprung up under her guidance

Assistant Head of Upper School

student publications Prometheus (before it was Prometheus Unbound) and

Dreyfus — that would go on to successful professional acting careers.

would take frequently

worked with English teacher and

D

young performers — including Emmy-winning Veep star Julia-Louis

10

Klingelhofer ’77,” Luther said.

them. Stull came to

being, in a word, superb.

W

Amy Stull P ’97

uring his 16 years at

Landon, Director of Strings Dr.

Paul Scimonelli —

2009 Teacher of the Year. Most impressively, Scimonelli

took Landon’s string program from a

known to many

head count of

of his students as

10 students in 1998 to more

assistant conduc-

than 100 in

tor of the Landon

Symphonette, music

director of the Landon

2014, a fact that

has earned him

high praise from his

Sight Reading Orchestra, and the

longtime friend and Landon’s Per-

ciation Maryland/D.C. Chapter’s

Earl Jackson.

American String Teachers Asso-

forming Arts Department Chair

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

Sheila Lockshin P ’93 Maria Weiss P ’87

F

or the past 29 years, whenever a Landon student had an ail-

ment — whether it was a stomach ache, a food allergy, a broken

bone, a bee sting or (on one memorable occasion) a pencil in the

eye — they went to see school nurse Maria Weiss, and she gave them

the understanding smile and the tender care to set them on the road to recovery.

Weiss, who is married to retired Landon fifth-grade teacher and Low-

er School Head Jim Weiss, became school nurse in 1984 and, despite a

daunting first year that included seven students with fractures, has been here ever since. She has known all the headmasters from Paul Landon

Banfield through David M. Armstrong, and has delighted in seeing the school and the students change around her.

While the future is likely to include fewer peanut allergies and pencil-

poked eyes, Weiss has plenty planned for her post-Landon years. She and Jim own and will continue to run Camp Wachusett, the summer

camp where they met in 1967. Weiss also intends to take classes, garden and travel, as well as spend time with her children, Bill ’87 and Susan, and six grandchildren.

Weiss’ legacy will endure at Landon in the Maria Weiss Women’s

Health Forum, an annual event named in her honor that will explore a

different women’s health issue each year, and in her impact on the faculty and staff. “Whether providing Band-Aids or life saving treatment,

dispensing medicine or educating us on topics such as juvenile diabetes,

allergies and CPR, Maria has always been there to take care of the boys, parents, faculty and staff,” said Director of Lower School Admissions Carole Kerns. “She is a confidant to many and much beloved by all.”

W

hen she drove her son Ben ’93 to Landon, Sheila Lockshin often

remarked that she wished she could

have been a Bear. Shortly after Ben went to college,

Lockshin got her chance: A veteran of the Ohio and

Illinois school systems, she was asked to fill in for a teacher

on sabbatical, the temporary position became a full-time one, and Lockshin was (as she puts it) a “permanent part of the Landon community.”

The term “integral” would be just as apt. As a third-grade teacher for

19 years and the Lower School learning specialist for a year, Lockshin

schooled the youngest Bears in the basics of math, social studies and language; helped them hone their typing, geography and writing skills; and coached football, basketball, lacrosse, street hockey and softball. Lock-

shin, whose grandsons Mikey Amsellem ’18 and Jeremy Lockshin ’18

are Landon eight graders, also received the Senator Danforth Excellence in Teaching Award and the Banks Family Chair Excellence in Teaching Award from the Landon Fathers Club.

“Sheila’s hard work and dedication to countless boys, their families and

Landon has not gone unnoticed. She has changed lives through her ex-

citement for learning,” said fellow third-grade teacher Vanessa Burchett.

“I will surely miss the friendship and guidance she has given me, and I wish her a retirement full of joy and family.”

Jamie Kirkpatrick

J

amie Kirkpatrick has served

also taught a history seminar titled

counseling for 21 years —

for 22 years and served as co-chair

as Landon’s director of college

longer than any current independent-school college counselor in the Washington, D.C., area

“I’m grateful for what Paul has

done over the years. He’s been ex-

tremely supportive of the program, and not just when it comes to

strings but to the performing arts

as a whole,” said Jackson. “I’ve felt

very pleased and fortunate to have

him here as one of our staff. He just brings a little something else that

music. He plans to continue per-

forming with Street Life, his rock

‘n’ roll band of 34 years, and to get back to writing music, something

he did professionally from 1982-85.

And, if Jackson has anything to say about it, he and Landon have not seen the last of Dr. S.

“Paul and I gig together all the

you don’t always see in a teacher —

time — probably a dozen times a

about him.”

Jackson said. “And I will be bringing

and he’s got that Italian panache

While more time with family is

on the docket for his retirement,

Scimonelli is far from through with

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

year — and we’ll keep doing that,”

him back to conduct with the Symphonette too. He’s not gone just

because he’s not going to be here.”

— and he felt it was time to step down and give someone else a chance to

“bring new vision

and leadership to the role.”

“Jamie has helped so many boys

and their families find the right

fit following life at Landon,” said

Headmaster David M. Armstrong.

“Jamie has served the community brilliantly over the years.”

Kirkpatrick not only guided

hundreds of students through their college selection process, but he

“Critical Issues in the Middle East” of the school’s Gender Equity

Committee. He has coached varsity, junior varsity and Middle

School baseball, served as the official “bagpiper” at school events, an-

nounced football games,

and dressed up as Santa

Claus at the annual chil-

dren’s holiday party. Kirkpat-

rick, who has lived on campus for

15 years, also is well known for his

photography of Landon and school events. That love of photography has led him to create his own

business with a new website for the sale of his Landon landscapes and

candids, as well as other photos he has taken over the years.

11

FACULTY/STAFFNEWS Bartman’s painting “Rolling In”

Bartman Goes Solo in Frederick Art Show

T

his March, Upper School art teacher and Visual Arts Department Chair Walt Bartman put

his abilities with the paintbrush on full display

with a solo exhibition at the Griffin Art Center in

Frederick, Md. The show featured 40 original paintings

(like Rolling In, pictured), and the March 1 opening drew nearly 300 people — including many Landon students, alumni and parents.

Sorkin Is a “Class” Act

S

teve Sorkin’s excellence in

about it, too. Our long-time (36

B

named “Top of the Class” in the

the path toward intellectual growth.” In making the nomination, Sam

the classroom is something everyone at Landon has

known about for years, and now the broader community knows

If you know the kids and they know you, everything else can be built upon that.

Alumnus Nominates Reed for Award

years!) geometry teacher was

fall 2013 issue of Bethesda Magazine, an honor he received for his teaching effectiveness and strong

ill Reed, history department chair and varsity soccer coach, was

nominated for the University of

Chicago’s Outstanding Educator Award. Each

year, freshmen have the opportunity to nominate a

teacher who “has changed them, challenged them, or helped them along Kroll ’13 said that Reed is “an exceptional advisor who always knew how to bring levity and fun to a heavy and dense course load.”

connections with students. In the article, Sorkin said, “If you know

the kids and they know you, everything else can be built upon that.”

Reed is an exceptional advisor who always knew how to bring levity and fun to a heavy and dense course load. ­ –Sam Kroll ’13

12

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

FALLATHLETICSUPDATE

Football Finishes Season Strong

FALL SEASON HONORS

!

CROSS COUNTRY Jack Bolen ’14: Most Improved Runner, All-Montgomery County Jack Chlopak ’17: All-I.A.C. Ben Gilbert ’16: All-I.A.C., All-Montgomery County, Jack Gilbert ’14: AllMontgomery County, Coaches Award Logan Giles ’16: Captain’s Award Alec Merski ’14: Coaches Award Will Powell ’17: AllMontgomery County Kevin Soraci ’14: Co-Captain, All-I.A.C., All-Montgomery County, Most Valuable Runner

T

he varsity football team went 3-1 during its last four games, finishing

FOOTBALL

4-5 overall, including two huge

Justin Cort ’14: Lunch Pail Award

and St. Albans. The victories were

Jules Deroches ’14: Lineman of the Year Jack Falk ’14: Co-Captain Jake Harris ’14: Lineman of the Year Kyle Hartman ’14: Co-Captain, Hanker Award Andrew Mitchell ’14: Co-Captain Paul Padalino ’15: All-I.A.C. Austin Petty ’14: Co-Captain Michael Rallo ’14: Co-Captain Colton Rupp ’15: All-I.A.C. Dominique Seagears ’14: AllMet Honorable Mention, AllGazette Honorable Mention, All-I.A.C., Co-Captain, Most Valuable Player Keith Simms ’16: All-I.A.C.

wins over rivals Georgetown Prep especially significant in light of

the myriad injuries that plagued the team, with younger players

stepping up their game to turn the season around.

“The young kids put it together

at the end of the season,” Head

Coach Paul Padalino said. “The

13 triumph over St. Albans came in a nail-biter in overtime.

“Those two wins showed the

group of guys dealt with a lot of

character of the seniors, how they

it allowed the seniors to go out in

approach life,” Padalino said.

adversity. It was exciting to see and a way they deserve because of all of their hard work.”

The Bears’ 14-7 win over

Georgetown Prep earned them the

approach the game and how they

“There were many reasons to just go through the motions, but they didn’t quit.”

Davis & Fegan Cup, while the 19-

Gonzaga Win Highlights Solid Water Polo Season

T

he varsity water polo squad finished 18-11 during a 2013 season that boasted notable accomplish-

ments by both the team and Trey Lundelius ’14. Landon finished in the top 16 during the Beast of the East Tournament, which features the best teams from the East Coast and is one of the largest

water polo events in the country. The Bears also notched a fifth-place finish at the Eastern Division II Tournament.

But perhaps the biggest team achievement occurred during a 17-11 win over Gonzaga College High School.

“We used a new defense and stopped the Eagles from

playing us the way they normally do,” Head Coach Walt Bartman said. “We were able to bring their offense to a halt.”

Lundelius, meanwhile, set new school records by scoring

94 goals and incurring 33 offensive ejections this season.

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

13

FALLATHLETICSUPDATE

Cross Country Repeats as County Champs

T

he varsity cross country

team won only one meet

!

SEASON HONORS

Jack Feldman ’14: All-I.A.C., All-Gazette Honorable Mention, Most Valuable Player

big one: the Montgomery County marking the second straight year

Seth Kaplow ’14: Coaches Award

Bears also were the runners-up at

Will Olson ’14: Captain, Class of 1948 Gillespie Memorial Award

Private School Championships,

Landon captured that event. The the I.A.C. Championships and

Addison Hunt, Cross Country Head Coach

SOCCER

Zach Fingerhut ’14: AllMet First Team, All-Gazette First Team, All-I.A.C., Most Valuable Offensive Player

this season, but it was a

We had a dedicated group of seniors who came in as good of shape as any team that I have coached here. I’ve only coached one other team in my 23 years here that left it on the course as much as they did.

Hal Pence ’15: All-I.A.C.

Win Over DeMatha Highlights Soccer Season

T

he varsity soccer team made a statement early in the season

with a 1-0 win at DeMatha Catholic High School in September. At the time, the Stags were ranked the No. 3 team in the

country and had won 64 consecutive regular-season games.

“They were significantly better than us. We did enough to win and

everyone had to perform,” Head Coach Bill Reed said. “Because of

the DeMatha game, our soccer team was mentioned in national soccer

placed third at the Maryland and

Matt Perlmutter ’14: Most Valuable Defensive Player

media. Knowing that people

ships.

Ishan Satwah ’14: Rookie of the Year

about our team was unprecedented

D.C. Private School Champion“We had a dedicated group

of seniors who came in as good

around the country were reading to me, and I know it was really

Walter Spak ’14: Coaches Award

rewarding for the kids.”

of shape as any team that I have

Jarett Witzal ’15: Most Improved Player

son Hunt said. “I’ve only coached

WATER POLO

Bears reached the I.A.C. Tourna-

here that left it on the course as

Robbie Hefferon ’14: Co-Captain

big wins over St. Albans (1-0) and

coached here,” Head Coach Addione other team in my 23 years much as they did.”

Hunt attributes the success

overall and 5-7 in the I.A.C., the

ment semifinals. They also scored Sidwell Friends (3-1) during the

Luke Kennedy ’14: All Eastern Prep Team

to the team’s seniors — Raman

Trey Lundelius ’14: Co-Captain, All Eastern Prep Team

Falcone, Jack Gilbert, Sam Jones,

Ed Wolins ’14: Co-Captain

Ananthanpillai, Jack Bolen, Leo

Although the team finished 9-7

regular season.

While Zach Fingerhut ’14

racked up the accolades — he

earned The Washington Post’s All-

Alex Liu, Riley McTague, Ke-

bron Sawhny, and Kevin Soraci — assuming leadership roles

before the season even began.

“They did the work over the

14

Met first team and All-Gazette first team honors — teammate

summer that you need to be pre-

Nico Sensenbrenner ’14 quietly put together an exceptional season.

by example at every meet.”

deal with injuries this season.”

pared,” said Hunt, “and they lead

“Nico was, on any given day our top player,” said Reed. “But he had to

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

WINTERATHLETICSUPDATE

Ice Hockey Scores 9th Straight I.A.C. Championship

F

or eight straight years

straight I.A.C. title, a semifinal

season, Landon varsity

Hockey League (MAPHL) Tour-

coming into the 2013-14

hockey had won I.A.C. Championships — and yet, according to

head coach Chandler Gammill,

ner ’15, and seniors Campbell

I’ve coached here at Landon, these guys looked out for one another,” Gammill said. “They were a co-

hesive unit, and it was magical to

have that. When they figured out

what their roles were, their level of

T

Championships. And Coach Andy Katz only sees the junior

improving. “Jarett has a chance to break 100 wins for his career next year if things go well,” Katz said. “And I believe he can do it.”

As a team, the Bear wrestling squad capped off a solid 9-7 regular sea-

son with an impressive second-place showing at the I.A.C. Tournament.

According to Gammill, captain

decessors. Fortunately, the team

“More than any other team that

since 2011 when he qualified for the National Prep Wrestling

record.

Jack Barton ’14, assistant captains

didn’t care about expectations.

his season, Jarett Witzal ’15 did something no Bear has done

nament and an 11-4-2 overall

this year’s team didn’t seem to

carry the expectations of its pre-

Wrestling Pins Down 2nd Place in I.A.C.

berth in the Mid-Atlantic Prep

play and their expectations of each other rose, and it was truly a team that came together, worked hard and over-achieved.”

Those (over)achievements

included a ninth

Colton Rupp ’15 and Jones LindBlue, Grant Valentine and Sean P. O’Brien stepped up and led

by example. “Things really gelled in our last game of the regular

season against Georgetown Prep,” said Gammill. “We just went out there and took care of business.

The score was 7-1, but it wasn’t even that close. That gave us

the confidence and the known-how going into the I.A.C.

tournament to get the job done, and that’s what these boys did.”

Varsity hockey player

Five wrestlers made the finals for their weight class, and Witzal was the

individual champion in the 170-pound division. Witzal and senior Jules Desroches earned All-I.A.C. honors for their efforts, and Katz couldn’t have been prouder. “Our three captains [Witzal, Desroches and Matt

Johnston ’14] were amazing leaders this season,” Katz said. “Jules especially has grown so much over his four years.”

Young Bears also bared their claws on the wrestling mats this winter.

Isaac Engermann ’17 made huge improvements to nab the

team’s Rookie of the Year award. And Miles Franklin ’15 se-

cured a nail-biter of a victory over Bullis in the last dual meet of the season with a clutch win in the final match of the day.

“We have some great young wrestlers on this team,” said Katz.

“I’m already looking forward to next season.”

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

15

WINTERATHLETICSUPDATE

Silver Linings Abound for Basketball Squad

T

o look at the basket-

ball team’s challenging

2013-14 season in terms

of wins and losses doesn’t tell the whole story; according to Coach Andy Luther, there were plenty

of highlights. “Our young players did a really great job of improving as the season went on,” said

Luther. “That was really encour-

aging to see.” Those young Bears included freshman Brent Bates

and sophomores Mark Ebo, Alex Leder and Keith Simms, all of whom saw a wealth of playing

time and continually upped their

game throughout the winter — a fact that bodes well for the team in coming years. Also notewor-

WINTER SEASON HONORS

!

BASKETBALL Khaleef Bradford ’14: Co-Captain Tommy Dunigan ’14: Co-Captain Harry Laird ’14: Co-Captain Dominique Seagears ’14: Co-Captain ICE HOCKEY Jack Barton ’14: All-Met First Team, All-Gazette Player of the Year, All-I.A.C, Captain, Most Valuable Player Aaron Beguelin ’14: Brian Fishman Award for Determination, Integrity & Enthusiasm Jones Lindner ’15: AllGazette Honorable Mention, Assistant Captain Sean P. O’Brien ’14: AllGazette First Team, All-I.A.C., Coaches Award

16

Colton Rupp ’15: All-Met Honorable Mention, AllGazette Honorable Mention, All-I.A.C., Assistant Captain INDOOR TRACK & FIELD Oliver Hightower ’14: Co-Captain, Most Valuable Athlete Eric Shalloway ’16: Most Improved Athlete Kevin Soraci ’14: Co-Captain, Coaches Award RIFLERY Pravin Fonseka ’14: AllMetro Honorable Mention, Co-Captain, Frank Parsons Award for Highest Individual Average (272) Ben Levinson ’15: Most Improved Alex Liu ’14: All-Metro Honorable Mention, Co-Captain Grayson Ours ’15: All-Metro Honorable Mention Feng’ao Zhang ’15: Rookie of the Year SWIMMING & DIVING Ryan Curto ’14: Co-Captain, Most Valuable Diver

Hayden Fralin ’16: Most Valuable Swimmer Garland Kennedy ’14: Co-Captain, Coaches Award (Swimming) Greg Kulp ’14: Co-Captain Sam Krauland ’17: Coaches Award (Diving) Walter Spak ’14: Co-Captain WRESTLING Jules Desroches ’14: AllI.A.C., All-Gazette Honorable Mention, Co-Captain, Most Valuable Wrestler Isaac Engermann ’17: Rookie of the Year Matt Johnston ’14: AllGazette Honorable Mention, Co-Captain, Coaches Award Andrew Mitchell ’14: Co-Captain Mitchell Pan ’17: Most Improved Wrestler Jarett Witzal ’15: All-I.A.C., All-Gazette Honorable Mention, Co-Captain, Most Outstanding Wrestler

thy was a big Landon win over

Wakefield School in the Bishop

McNamara Holiday Classic. The

Bears had lost to Wakefield earlier in the season, but showed grit and determination in coming back

to defeat the team 72-61 in the tournament.

Luther also commended his

assistant coaches, whom he called “gifted players and teachers”

and “one of the best groups of

coaches I’ve ever worked with,” and noted the “unbelievable

work and dedication” of longtime

basketball bookkeeper Mac Jacoby and managers Isher Gill ’16 and

Drew Hurley ’16. “Those guys did

everything they could to make us better.”

Riflery Team Hits School-High Mark

W

hen the Upper School riflery team tallied its score at

the end of its January 29 match against Lake Braddock

Secondary School, Coach David Wray was ecstatic to learn

that his boys’ aim had been truer than ever before. The team’s score of

1101 — which is comprised of the combined scores of four boys shooting

a .22-caliber air rifle from three different positions (standing, prone, kneeling) — was a new school record, edging out the previous best of 1100.

“The absolute top score you can get is a 1200, and the best team in the

league shot 1132,” said Wray. “So we were pretty excited about the 1101.”

Wray was also thrilled with the team’s depth this year. The 18 mem-

bers were the most ever. And the team, which finished the season 4-4

in league play and 4-5 overall, had three shooters — co-captain Pravin

Fonseka ’14, co-captain Alex Liu ’14 and Grayson Ours ’15 — make the Potomac High School Rifle League’s All-Metro Honorable Mention.

Swim and Dive Team Finds Inspiration in Adversity

T

he varsity swimming and

swimmer Robbie Hefferon ’14,

celebrate this season: Af-

last summer that effectively ended

diving team had much to

ter a winning 3-2 dual meet record, the boys swam to a third-place

finish at the I.A.C. Championships and a respectable 25th place at the

Metro Championships. In the water, senior co-captains Greg Kulp, Garland Kennedy and Andrew

Baca provided depth and leadership; freshman Jack Chlopack

showed promise in the intramural

and backstroke; and junior Hayden Fraylin enjoyed a standout year, swimming season-best times in

the 100- and 200-meter freestyle at Metros to qualify for the finals in both events. On the diving

platform, senior co-captains Ryan Curto and Walter Spak led the

way, while newcomer Sam Krauland ’15 learned 11 dives in one

year to earn his first trip to Metros.

According to Coach Walt

Bartman, the true “gold medal”

of the season was the resilience of

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

“That means we had 3 of the top 25 shooters in the league,” Wray said.

“I was pretty proud of that.”

who was in a serious bike accident his high-school athletic career. On Senior Night, Hefferon surprised his teammates by swimming the 500-meter freestyle against his

longtime friend Ed Wolins ’14.

“The kids worked hard, they had a good time, and it was a great

season,” Bartman said. “Then to have Robbie move through his

adversities and do what he did, that was icing on the cake.”

The kids worked hard, they had a good time, and it was a great season.

Walt Bartman, Coach, Swim and Dive Team

Indoor Track Records Fall

T

he indoor track and field season consisted of just a couple of practice meets and two invitational meets this year, but

records still fell! On the track, captain Oliver Hightower ’14

set new school records in the 55-meter hurdles (7.86 seconds) and the

300-meter dash (36.44 seconds) at the Private and Independent Schools Invitational, while fellow captain Kevin Soraci ’14 turned in an impressive 4:40.42 1600-meter time at the Hoxton Invitational. In the field

events, George Shalloway heaved his way to a personal best of 28’11”, an improvement of almost five feet over the previous year.

Despite the abbreviated season, Coach Addison Hunt believes his

Bears’ indoor track achievements have positioned them nicely for a successful outdoor season. “We have a couple of guys who were All-I.A.C.

finishers last year that are returning,” said Hunt. “So we’ll continue to work on the areas where we need improvement and hammer on our strengths.”

17

ARTSUPDATE

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

1 Landon and Holton-Arms

students perform “The Sound of Music” in February.

2 Middle School students in

February’s musical production of “Bye Bye Birdie”

3 The Middle School’s “As You

Like It” earned three awards at the Folger Shakespeare Festival in March.

4 Romare Marshall ’14 showcased

cars (and samurais) in his March solo art show.

5 This work by Sam Novak ’18

earned honorable mention in the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

6 Tribal painting by eighth grader

Christopher Duplessie ’18

7 A psychedelic work of art by

third grader Vincent BarahonaLevin ’23

8 Middle School musicians

perform in the Lindner Dining Hall in October.

9 Middle School singers

1

performed at the Thanksgiving Assembly in November.

10 Photo from the solo art show of

Walker Hague ’15

3

BYE BYE BIRDIE AS YOU LIKE IT 18

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

2

GALLERY 7

4

8

9

5 SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

6

10 19

FEATURE | HAL MARRA

WRITTEN IN THE STARS Hal Marra ’03 finds success with his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.

BY TOM DICHIARA

Mara grills shashlyk, an Eastern European kebab, while visiting Chechnya, the setting of his novel, in 2012.

20

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

A

nthony “Hal” Marra was a self-professed “B” student with little idea of the path he would pursue after

high-school graduation. Then, as a senior at Landon

in 2003, he took English teacher Fred Mora’s creative

writing elective, and everything changed.

“I was bit by the writing bug. It was the first class I’d taken where it

didn’t feel like school, where I really felt like: I have a knack for this,”

Marra, 29, said. “It felt like I was sort of pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes a little bit, that here I could just sit at my desk and make up things,

invent these little imaginary people, and other people would take it seriously. I just had a tremendous amount of fun doing it. And so I kept on doing it.”

When I read, I want the book to transport me to someplace I didn’t know before, to open the world to me, so that when I emerge back into my own life I do so seeing things with a slightly wider lens maybe.

— Hal Marra ’03

Eleven years later, Marra is one of the most celebrated young fiction

writers in the country. His debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, follows normal people struggling to survive during the bitter Chechen

literary triumph wasn’t always paved with easy-to-follow yellow bricks.

popular and critical acclaim when it was published in May 2013.

read what he wrote in high school,” said Mora (or, as Marra still insists

Wars of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The book achieved immediate

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena became

a New York Times bestseller, was one of 10

books (and the only debut novel) chosen as a long-list finalist for the 2013 National Book

“Hal has said to me on a couple of occasions that he’s embarrassed to on calling him, Mr. Mora). “I don’t think he knew what he wanted to

write back then — he didn’t have any subjects — but I could see that he was good.”

Mora could also see that Marra had a passion for the written word

Award for Fiction, and received the inau-

that went beyond the classroom. He remembers teaching Marra the

tional Book Critics Circle for a first novel. It

English class. And, while the whole class liked the story, Marra seemed

gural John Leonard Prize given by the Naalso notched spots on The Washington Post,

New York Magazine and Publisher’s Weekly lists of the top 10 books of 2013, as well

as The New York Times’ list of 100 Notable

Books of 2013. The New York Times called the novel “a 21st century War and Peace,” while The Washington Post hailed it as “a flash in the heavens

T. Coraghessan Boyle short story “Greasy Lake” in a sophomore year

to connect with it more than his fellow Bears. “Boyle was in town to do

a reading at Politics & Prose, and Hal, of his own accord — I didn’t even know Boyle was there — walked over to hear this guy read,” Mora said.

On a random scrap of paper, Marra had Boyle write a note saying, “Hi Mr. Mora, thanks for turning Hal on to my work. — T.C. Boyle.”

“I think Hal, very early on, took a lot out of what I assigned that

that makes you look up and believe in miracles.”

maybe his classmates didn’t,” said Mora. “In my view, that’s the sign of

funny because I don’t think anybody in their right mind would write a

been assigned.”

For Marra, the success of his book was one of those miracles. “It’s

non-linear novel set in Chechnya hoping that it would be published, let

someone who might someday be a writer — someone who feels what he’s Even so, Marra didn’t find his writing groove, or an audience, im-

alone find a readership,” he said. “So I actually didn’t have particularly

mediately. He recalls heading Landon’s literary magazine, Prometheus

myself because it was a place I was interested in and wanted to explore.

around school. Two months later, when Marra went to pick up the

high expectations or high hopes going in. It was really a book I wrote for I’ve been immensely gratified with and grateful for the reception. It’s certainly changed my life, and I feel quite blessed.”

It may sound like Marra enjoyed overnight success, but his path to

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

Unbound, during his senior year, and printing out 1,000 copies to leave leftovers, he found 960 waiting for him. “I think those sat in my parents’ garage for years,” he laughingly remembered.

Following graduation, Marra took a year off before college to work at

21

FEATURE | HAL MARRA

Marra signs a copy of his novel following a reading at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., in May 2013.

I feel like a novel can convey an experience and a time and a place with more specificity and more emotional depth than any other form really.

a UPS store. He spent his free time writing semi-autobiographical short

— Hal Marra

was studying abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, when he became interested

22

stories about a lovesick guy working in the same store, one time spending three pages to describe a single kiss.

The following year, Marra enrolled at the University of Southern

California and really started to hone his voice as a writer — thanks, in

part, to his mentor at the school: one T. Coraghessan Boyle. It was also

during his undergraduate years that Marra developed a sense of what he

wanted to write about, and the topics were far from autobiographical. He

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

in Chechnya, a small Connecticut-sized country in the Caucasus.

organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation.”

erans of the Chechen Wars would gather every day in their uniforms to

the stories of six point-of-view characters, most of them average citizens,

Marra lived down the street from a metro station where Russian vet-

beg for change. “Oftentimes they would be missing limbs and were just

in these desperate conditions,” Marra remembered. “Many of them were

In keeping with this definition, the book’s narrative “life” unfolds through trying to scrape by in war-ravaged Chechnya.

It was an ambitious topic for a first-time novelist, even more so since

my age or a couple years older, and I realized that I had no idea where

Marra had never set foot in Chechnya — but the time-honored “write

synonym for far-flung poverty and terror. So I started reading about it,

experience as a writer to mirror the kinds of experiences I seek as a

Chechnya even was on a map. It was nothing more to me than some

and the more I read the more fascinated I became with its history and its culture.”

The stories of ordinary people surviving amid extraordinary circum-

stances captivated Marra, so he tried to find a novel set in Chechnya that

had been written in the past several decades and was available in English.

His search came up empty.

“Being a fiction writer and being drawn to fiction, I feel like a novel

can convey an experience and a time and a place with more specificity and more emotional depth than any other form really,” said Marra. “So I came to write the book

as a reader as much as a writer. It was the type of book that I wanted to read, that I wanted

to find on the bookshelves of Politics & Prose ... but it wasn’t there yet.”

And so in 2010, after he received his M.F.A.

what you know” mentality never held much allure for him. “I want my

reader,” Marra said. “And when I read, I want the book to transport me

to someplace I didn’t know before, to open the world to me, so that when I emerge back into my own life I do so seeing things with a slightly

wider lens maybe. That process of discovery, of realizing that the world

we exist in is much more complicated and there are more shades of gray

than maybe I’d previously suspected, that sense of just finding is one that

Marra (pictured here with a Landon senior) returned to Landon in October 2013 to talk to Fred Mora’s senior creative writing class.

from the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop,

Marra wrote a short story simply titled “Chechnya.” It won the 2010 Pushcart Prize, awarded for standout short-form writing, and the Narrative

Award, given by Narrative Magazine for the best

short story by an emerging writer.

Encouraged, Marra

began writing the novel A Constellation of Vital

Phenomena, which takes

its title from a rather lyrical definition of “life” that Marra found in a medical journal: “A constellation of vital phenomena —

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

23

FEATURE | HAL MARRA

I want to stumble upon again and again as a writer.”

Although Marra hadn’t been to Chechnya when he wrote Constellation

— he drew much of his information from reference books and firsthand

journalistic accounts — he did visit the now peaceful Russian republic in the summer of 2012. He calls the trip “one of the most meaningful ex-

periences of my life,” and remembers being shocked to see how different the Chechnya of today is from the one captured in his book.

“In 2003, the U.N. declared [Chechen capital] Grozny the most dev-

astated city on Earth. When I visited less than 10 years later, it had been nearly completely rebuilt,” he said. “It was extraordinary not just to visit

Chechnya, but to see this version, this sort of reincarnated city that from so many photographs and so many documents that I had come across in my research really looked like 1945 Dresden.”

Of course, a lot can happen in the span of a decade. Today, the student

who 11 years ago sat in Mora’s classroom dreaming of a career in writing is wrapping up work on his second book (which he calls “somewhere

between a novel and a short story collection”) and hopes to start on his

third, a novel set in Afghanistan, this summer. Fittingly, Marra has also become a teacher: The Oakland, Calif., resident is a Stegner Fellow at

Stanford University, where he teaches fiction writing to undergraduates.

“My students are just brilliant,” Marra said. “It’s very rewarding to

work with students who are so engaged in the material and who have so many outside interests that are so peculiar and unique to their own set

of skills and their own backgrounds, which inevitably finds its way into their fiction.”

Mora is not surprised that his former pupil has found fulfillment in

cultivating a passion for writing in others. “Hal sent me a very nice email

shortly before his book was published and thanked me for nurturing that love of writing in him,” Mora said. “That’s the job as a teacher — to give students a safe place to create. You have to take every chance you can to make a kid feel good about what he does.”

To this end, Marra returned to Landon last fall to talk to Upper

School students about the creative writing process — and Mr. Mora was only too happy to see the man and teacher Marra had become. “Hal was totally confident. He answered questions, listened to questions, joked easily,” said Mora. “That made me as proud as anything: watching an

acolyte strut his stuff. The great connection is that when our students do what we teach them to do and then teach other people to do that too, it just keeps that circle of learning going. I think Hal is a shining example of that.”

2424

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

Marra with Fred “Mr.” Mora during his reading at Politics & Prose in May 2013

That’s the job as a teacher — to give students a safe place to create. You have to take every chance you can to make a kid feel good about what he does.

— Fred Mora, English Teacher

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

25

FEATURE | ALEX CADE

GROWING A SPORT WITH A CONSCIENCE Alex Cade ’94 helps spur a West Coast lacrosse boom — and change the perception of the sport — with his multifaceted company Adrenaline Lacrosse.

BY TOM DICHIARA

26

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

Left: Cade playing for pro team the San Francisco Dragons; Middle: Cade (back row, third from the right, wearing No. 11) in the All-Met first team photo from 1994; Right: Cade playing goalie for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish

lex Cade was in the fourth grade at Landon

when he got his first lacrosse stick, but he never fathomed that the sport he learned on the

sprawling fields at the school would provide the foundation for his life’s work.

Cade had a standout career as a goalie at

Landon, which included an All-American year

as a senior. He earned NCAA All-American honors at the University of

Alex was always a kind of wild-haired kid. He was not afraid to take chances and go out and do things on his own if he wanted to do them.

Notre Dame and played professional lacrosse for the Boston Cannons and

— Penn Leachman ’94, former teammate

ning, it wasn’t until he and his Fighting Irish teammate Steve Sepeta

started cranking.” Adrenaline Lacrosse was born, and instructional camps,

San Francisco Dragons. But, while Cade loved lacrosse from the beginmoved to San Diego after college in 1998 that the sport became more than a passion, but a mission.

According to Cade, all they really wanted was a pleasant change from

the South Bend, Ind., weather, but they found inspiration instead. Cade,

who has a degree in psychology and sociology, was working with troubled

kids, and Sepeta landed a job running playground programs for elementary schools at recess. At the time, lacrosse as a sport was still in its infancy out West, and the pair saw an opportunity.

“We were talking one day, and we were like, ‘We should bring lacrosse

to the playgrounds,’” said Cade. “So we did, and it started to catch fire.

From there, the entrepreneurial spirit took over in both of us, and we just

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

clinics and leagues soon followed. Then came the apparel and gear.

“People started asking us where to buy the equipment, so we started up

a shop, kind of self-funded, and bootstrapped along the way,” said Cade.

“People really liked our logo and asked us where to buy the shirts our staff was

wearing, so we started up our apparel brand. It kind of took off from there.”

Today, Cade is chief executive officer and chief marketing officer and

Sepeta is president of a multidimensional company that is the largest

lacrosse events organization in the nation. Adrenaline has more than 40

full-time employees (including Landon’s Parker Anger ’97), runs upwards of 200 clinics, camps, leagues and tournaments annually, and spearheads recruiting events that help talented West Coast players find NCAA

27

FEATURE | ALEX CADE

homes (according to Cade, a whopping 75 percent of kids from the West

away with much, and that served me very well,” he said. “I remember

brand has taken off as well, with a booming online business, a successful

that. The teachers took more time to dig further than other teachers

who play NCAA lacrosse are from Adrenaline programs). The apparel

brick-and-mortar flagship location in downtown San Diego, and apparel and gear for sale nationwide at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Landon varsity lacrosse coach Rob Bordley ’66, P ’00 ’03 couldn’t be

prouder of his former “stud goalie” (as he likes to call him). “Alex is a good man, and I’m excited for his success,” said Bordley. “I think he’s done a lot

to promote the game in California. Lacrosse has exploded out there, and a lot of that has to do with him.”

Cade’s Landon teammate Penn Leachman ’94, who has been the Bears

lacrosse team’s defensive coordinator for the past 16 years, is also ecstatic about his longtime friend’s achievements — but not surprised by them.

“Alex was always a kind of wild-haired kid. He was not afraid to take

chances and go out and do things on his own if he wanted to do them,”

being challenged in a very personal way with academics, and I really liked would in a different environment and really helped each kid excel.”

On the field and in the classroom, Cade found mentors in teacher/

coaches Bordley, Temple Grassi and Jack Crawford, as well as teachers Tom Dixon and Matt Dougherty. “I’m not sure they realized it back

then, but those guys were super pivotal for me. The fact that they took the time to push me to a higher level — and also, I’d imagine, advocate for

me behind the scenes when it was needed — I appreciate that and I think about that all the time. It was super impactful.”

Alex’s mother, Helen Cade, agrees. “Landon had a strict environment,

which taught the students to work hard, be respectful, be loyal to your friends, give back to your community and persevere,” she said.

Those are all lessons that Cade took to heart, and they shine through

Leachman said. “Case in point: going out to California and starting up

in the aspect of the company that makes Cade most proud: the Adrena-

at the time. But to see what he has developed out there is pretty unbeliev-

initiative aimed at erasing the negative perception of lacrosse culture

this lacrosse thing from scratch. No one really knew what to make of that able. It’s just totally taken over that West Coast market, up and down.”

Cade credits his experiences at Landon with providing him the tools

for success early on. “For me, it was really good to be in an environment that had a very personal touch with the students. Frankly, I couldn’t get

28

line Awareness project. Launched in 2012, Adrenaline Awareness is an

and simultaneously having a positive impact on the community through charitable ventures.

“We’re starting to get to a point where we can give back, which is super

important to me, I think, from my education,” Cade explained. “It’s very

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

Cade coaching the Coronado High School lacrosse team in California

Those guys were super pivotal for me. The fact that they took the time to push me to a higher level — and also, I’d imagine, advocate for me behind the scenes when it was needed — I appreciate that and I think about that all the time.

— Alex Cade ’94 on his Landon mentors

important to me that our company is one that’s really focused on using lacrosse as something that’s positive for social change.” He believes the impact is already evident.

“We’re starting to see a real social change in the sport of lacrosse and

how our athletes are treating themselves and carrying themselves. For me, removing that stigma of a typical ‘LAX bro’ culture, where social responsibility is not a part of it, is pivotal,” said Cade. “Making a difference in

the community is a huge part of what we do. I think once you start doing those types of things, you can really have a huge impact on the world —

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

and you’ll also start seeing an exponential growth in lacrosse.”

To this end, each of the company’s events places emphasis not just

on athletics but also on ethics. “We have an ethics team out there that

touches base with kids and really understands who they are as players,”

Cade said. “You know, we’re not just harvesting players and money from

them. We want to see them all the way through to their eventual success.”

Adrenaline also donates merchandise to and raises money for a bevy of

charitable partners, including the Lead the Way Foundation, which sup-

ports the families of wounded or fallen soldiers; Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego; and Landon’s own Mark’s Run, which benefits the Mark Ferris Scholarship Fund, as well as juvenile diabetes research and awareness.

Cade’s dedication to Landon doesn’t stop there. According to Bordley

and Leachman, Cade donates Adrenaline socks, shoes and flip-flops to

the Bears lacrosse program — a fact they find somewhat ironic since Cade prefers to go barefoot, even when he’s playing and coaching. And, almost

every spring, Cade brings the high school lacrosse team he coaches, Coronado, to play a friendly — but, of course, fiercely competitive — exhibi-

tion game on the Landon turf. He sees it as a great way for the teams to

get experience against an opponent from the opposite coast, as well an opportunity to catch up with family (his parents live in the area) and friends, Bordley and Leachman included.

Although the game did not happen this year because Cade and his

29

FEATURE | ALEX CADE

wife Jada (sister of Noah Fink

’94) recently welcomed their third child, all involved hope to resume the tradition next year. “A lot has changed since the first year Alex

brought his team out here,” Bord-

ley said, recalling that he spent the day before the game showing the

Coronado boys and then-neophyte coach Cade some drills. “When you have a former player who

becomes a coach, you want them to succeed ... but you don’t want them to beat you. I don’t have to show Alex drills anymore.”

For his part, Cade will never be

afraid of playing his alma mater — or taking big risks to achieve

something positive. It’s a mentality that he has captured in Adrena-

line’s “All Fight, No Flight” motto.

“It’s about that fight-or-flight

response,” he said. “We came up with that tagline because everything we do is all fight and no

flight. Whether it’s working for a charity partner, or advocating

for a kid to get recruited to go to

college, or staying up late design-

ing apparel, I want everything we

do to be in that vein and be super positive.”

30

For me, removing that stigma of a typical ‘LAX bro’ culture, where social responsibility is not a part of it, is pivotal. Making a difference in the community is a huge part of what we do.

— Alex Cade

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

July 1 – December 31, 2013

CLASS NOTES

LANDONALUMNI

1942

1948

John Gill (pictured below with his son, Nick

Howard Tucker writes: “Saw Em Gardner in

Gill ’73) has been at every Landon/St. Albans

football game since 1938, except for two during World War II.

Jamestown, R.I., during the summer of 2013.”

1950 Hal Butts and his wife Rosemary attended

the Landon Palo Alto Alumni Cocktail Party.

They are building a new home just outside of

San Francisco and also enjoy spending time in England.

1951 Rody Davies and his wife Peggy (pictured

below) enjoyed the potluck lunch served in

1943 Bob Hanson was named this year’s Potomac Citizen of the Year. He lives on his family’s

mid-October on the farm of Bob Hanson ’43.

Rody joined 18 other Grizzly Bears and wives for a “day on the farm.”

farm near Gaithersburg, Md., the last working

farm in the immediate Washington area. Han-

son was the 1992 winner of Landon’s Anthony Edward Kupka ’64 Distinguished Alumnus

Award. L to R: Picture of Eric Spates ’87, Tim

Hanson ’76, Bob Hanson ’43 and Robert Butz ’87

1952 Robert England writes: “Class of 1952: Hi guys, I’m still hanging in there, Bob.”

1946 Duncan McDonald writes: “Good to see the story about Anthony Tappe. I am still in Salt

Lake City, fly fishing and duck hunting — not much flying of late.”

Lloyd Kriner writes: “Still chugging along. We

had snow the other day, which is extremely rare.

No sticking.”

1953 Neal Krucoff writes: “My wife Ella and I live

Cary Maguire received the 2013 Kupka Award

in Washington, D.C., not far from the National

ous $1 million donation to the Landon United

ruptions) since my childhood. We have two

in December. This spring, he made a gener-

Zoo, my neighborhood (with some brief inter-

campaign.

sons and three grandchildren, all of whom

live within the area. I have been retired from

the practice of law for a few years, but I am in

action at the D.C. Courthouse and at the MuSPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

31

LANDONALUMNI

seum of American History as a volunteer. Ella

Sam Milliken has been operating Green Man-

Anna taught art at a boarding school in India.

but there remain places we wish to see. Our

and for many years, he has hosted events for

das in San Francisco.

and I have traveled over much of the world,

next trip will be, we hope, to South America

and Antarctica. I look forward to renewing my friendships with the class of 1953.”

1954 Joe Sears writes: “Enjoyed seeing Connie and David Povich, Meryl and Gil Nolan, Bobby Norris ’50, and my brother Ed Sears ’61 and

his wife Charlotte at Bob Hanson’s ’43 great

Grizzly Bear Picnic.” L to R: David Povich, Joe Sears, Gil Nolan

sions Catering in New York for 40 years. Now Landon alumni. Sam’s wife, Lore Monnig, is president of the Spanish Bullfighting As-

sociation and recently received an honor from the king of Spain. Sam celebrated his 77th

birthday at the New York Cocktail Party, where he was serenaded with “Happy Birthday” from all the 70-plus alumni there!

Ramon Osuna continues to operate the Osuna Art Gallery in Kensington, Md.

Marcus Page writes: “Still living near Ocean

City, Md., fishing, traveling, raising funds for high school scholarships and serving as treasurer of the Ocean Pines Kiwanis Club.” He

and his wife Mary still run an antique business in Berlin, Md., and serve as docents at a small train museum in nearby Newark, Md.

Bob Ring and Charlene cruised the Elbe River last spring. Son Andrew completed an Army

tour in Afghanistan last year while his family

1955

The younger Ring son, Henry, works for AdiFred Smith and Karen split time between Charleston, S.C., and the Finger Lakes in

upstate New York. Their daughters, Christine,

43, and Katie, 41, each have two children. Fred shares Charleston with Jay Hartwell and oc-

casionally they get together for sessions at the local bridge center.

1956 Preston Clark writes: “Just completed a cruise around the British Isles. Also, still in touch with Jon Sullivan and George Raynor.”

1957 Bill Rough continues to be active in the

theater. He directed a production down in

Charlottesville, Va., of Getting Near to Baby, an adaptation of a novel by Audrey Couloumbis.

The play was performed in February.

visited his wife’s family in Peru. Daughter

Sherwood “Woody” Chu visited a heavily

bearded Don Collins last summer in Lyndonville, Vt. They sat at Woody’s B&B for two days and gabbed about the whole class.

Richard “Dick” Dortzbach and Laura spent time between Princeton, N.J., and Madison,

Wis. They visited their son (an attorney) and family in Milwaukee and their daughter (a

doctor) and family in New York City. Dick still maintains an office at the Madison Hospital.

Kurt Habel and Ethyl still reside on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Kurt has given up golf due to

some surgeries, but keeps in shape doing lots of yard work.

Bob Leahy is living in a retirement facility near

Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Charlie Hayes, Nick Kolb and Murray Simpson visit him from time to time.

32

1958 Class Reunion LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

Grizzly Bear Living the Lower School Motto

T

he Hon. Stan Harris ’45, P ’84 ’85

strongly believes in Landon’s guiding principles. “What is the motto for

the Lower School? Do your best, be honest and help the other guy,” he said. “Those are pretty good suggestions.”

They have also been guiding principles in

Harris’s own life — a life that focused on baseball early on. The son of Washington Senators and New York Yankees Hall of Fame manager Bucky Harris, Stan was an accomplished first baseman at Landon and Woodrow Wilson

High School before he enlisted in the Army at the age of 17.

served as the general counsel for the Landon Alumni Association. He and his wife Becky

of 49 years have three sons who attended the school: Scott ’84, Todd ’85 and Mark (who

transferred to Winston Churchill High School before graduation). Scott, who was class presi-

dent every year that he attended Landon, chose a career path similar to his father’s: Scott was

recently promoted to the position of clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1988, Harris earned the Kupka ’64

Distinguished Alumnus Award, given annually

before I got shot at.” As a result, Harris played

citizenship, integrity and diligence that Landon

ball while serving two years at Fort Belvoir,

Va. By the time the Army discharged him in

— Stan Harris ’45

Washington area in 1953. For many years, he

“World War II had not quite finished when

I joined,” Harris, 86, remembered. “But it did

Do your best, be honest and help the other guy. Those are pretty good suggestions.

Outside of work, Harris has been deeply

involved in Landon life since he returned to the

1947, Harris had realized that his chance for success in the big leagues was slim, and he

looked afield for another career. “Baseball was a lot of fun,” he said. “But I decided to go to the

University of Virginia because they had a great varsity baseball team and a great law school.”

After he graduated from law school in 1953,

Harris joined the law firm Hogan & Hart-

son in Washington, D.C., and he soon made partner. In 1971, he received what was to be

the first of four presidential appointments and became a judge in the Superior Court of the

District of Columbia. From 1972-82, he served as a judge in the District of Columbia Court

of Appeals, but he moved to the federal courts

soon after. As a judge in the U.S. District Court

to an alumnus who exemplifies the ideals of

strives to instill in all its students — although Harris likes to joke that he should not have

been eligible because he did not graduate from Landon. “I certainly loved it here. I’ve always been high on the school,” said Harris. “But I

transferred to Woodrow Wilson for financial

reasons after my Form III [ninth grade] year.”

Even so, Harris considers himself a Bear.

He returns to campus regularly for Grizzly

Bear meetings, where he catches up with other alumni. He calls Landon classmate (and UVA baseball teammate) Jack Leachman ’45, P ’69

’77, who recently passed away, a “lifelong close friend.” Harris also says that every time he

ventures inside the White Rocks he is “struck by what a great setup the school has and how great the people are.”

for the District of Columbia from 1983 until his retirement in 2001, he received numerous

accolades, including the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Distinguished Career Award in 1996.

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

33

BEARS IN PRINT

LANDONALUMNI

Check out these recently published books authored by Landon alumni...

1961 George Barbee writes: “My ‘retirement’ still

has me teaching at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business teaching innova-

James Sulzer ’70

Mark Breier ’77

Eric Lindner ’77

The Voice at the Door

Life is a Game: Group

Hospice Voices:

Games for Kids, Teens

Lessons for Living at

and Adults

the End of Life

tion. We are back to D.C. regularly with one son, Scott, living in McLean.”

David Madison writes: “Guess who I bumped into by pure accident at the Coliseum? Gema

and John Ordman (bottom picture, below). We both arrived on Monday but had not gotten in touch yet to arrange a meeting. John also had the coincidence of running into Karen and Fred Hetzel in Naples, Italy, at the Museo Nazionale (top picture, below).”

Jared Genser ’90

Hal Marra ’03

Stay up to date!

Co-edited

A Constellation of

Keep up with the latest

The Responsibility

Vital Phenomena

alumni news and

to Protect: The

(For more on Marra,

information at

Promise of Stopping

see the feature on

landon.net/alumni.

Mass Atrocities in

page 20.)

Our Time

34

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

1964 Wilbur Thomas (pictured below) joined Nancy and Lowell Davis for lunch in Edina, Minn.

Wilbur stays in good shape by being a member of a local bicycling club. He is considering a

move to Austin, Texas — thinking the weather

there might be a better fit for him if he wants to ride year round.

1973 Class Reunion 1966 Elliot Daum has a new pride a joy — his puppy.

“Actually the beautiful woman next to me is

also my pride and joy,” he says of his wife Linda (pictured below).

Will Lesh continues to grow his model boat

company, Tippecanoe Boats (www.modelsail-

boat.com), with great news coverage in The Wall Street Journal this year and a wonderful backlog of orders from anxiously awaiting customers.

Jamie McEwan shared with the final install-

ment of his trilogy of kayaking stories this July on www.sitezed.com.

1965

Dave McConnaughey has finally departed

his Washington, D.C., gig with the Ogilvy PR

John Hanks writes: “I just recently returned

firm and has taken up full-time residence back

from a really amazing trip to Rwanda. I was

in Connecticut with his wife, Kat, while he

invited by the National Medical Board to

looks at options for the future.

review the medical school curriculum and

their examination of finishing students at the

James Sulzer has published his novel about

National Medical School in Kigali. A fascinat-

Emily Dickinson, “The Voice at the Door”

ing process by a dedicated faculty.” John (center)

(Fuze Publishing), in print and digital form.

with Patrick Kyamanywa (left), dean of the

1971

medical school, and Dr. Georges Ntakiyiruta (right), chief of surgery

1968 David Dickson writes: “Sorry to miss the 45th

John Ourisman (pictured below) with his wife Lisa and daughters Juliet and Mary Chloe.

reunion. I’ll be there for the 50th! I’m enjoying semi-retirement — travelling, writing a book

about non-profit leaders, and supporting nonprofit causes.”

1970 Robert “Buck” Arnold is still tending to his Lawrence White writes: “Retired in Dahlonega, Ga.”

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

wine business in Sonoma, Calif.: Chandelle Winery which can be found at

www.chandellewinery.com or 707-938-5862.

35

LANDONALUMNI

1975 Michael Connolly (pictured below) married

Peggy Dulin Thompson of Birmingham, Ala., on Nov. 27, 2013, in Charleston, S.C.

1978 Class Reunion Rik Parker (pictured below) participated in his

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Shore ride in October to support the fight

Cardiology. Ellen and Eric Lindner attended

eighth Philadelphia-area Bike MS: City to against multiple sclerosis.

I am now the Kenneth Jay Pollin Professor of the ceremony and dinner.” Blumenthal also

returned to Landon in February as a panelist to discuss heart disease at the inaugural Women’s Health Forum.

Mark Breier writes: “Following our successful

summer Kickstarter campaign, our family book

John Gill writes: “I have joined the ranks of

is now launched: Life is a Game: Group Games

grandparent members of the Class of 1975.

for Kids, Teens and Adults. We recommend it to

My son Matthew ’03 and his wife Patricia gave

our Bear friends for family get-togethers and

birth to handsome Alexander Ramsey Gill in

holiday gift-giving.”

February 2013. Could he be the first fourth-

Eric Lindner’s book, Hospice Voices: Lessons for

generation Bear? It’s tough keeping up with the

Living at the End of Life, was released Oct. 8

Leachmans!”

Robert Howe, his family and Landon friends

gathered to celebrate his father’s life on Saturday, Nov. 30. Howe writes: “[My father] was 93, a life well-lived, and well looked after in

his home since 1954 through his last years and

(Rowman & Littlefield). All of its profits are

1977

being donated to hospice-related organizations.

Dr. Roger Blumenthal writes: “In June 2013, I received an endowed professorship at the

weeks — the greatest generation.”

1976 George M. Flint III writes: “I was reminded

recently that I’m coming up on 40 years since I

wrote my first line of code on a 64K HP 9830 in

the back of a west side basement classroom in the Upper School. I can’t tell you how many times

I’ve shared that useful fact with a prospective IT client who wonders if I ‘get’ their business.”

1988 Class Reunion 36

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

1983 Class Reunion

S

1978

teve Amitay writes: “Thirty-three

suddenly from a heart condition a few

members of the Class of 1983 at-

years after graduating from Cornell. When

tended their 30th reunion party,

Josh passed away in 2006, his life insur-

held at the home of Jennifer and Law-

ance policy poured several hundred thou-

rence Bou. The long-distance attendee

sand dollars into the Thorpe Fund.

Dave Saitlin (pictured below) was married Oct. 5, 2013.

distinctions went to Matt Carberry and Ed ‘Shep’ Rogers, who came from Beijing and

The Class of 1983’s fundraising effort, led

Tokyo respectively. The party committee

by Ed Rogers, set a lofty goal of adding

(Lawrence, Dave Roberts, Pat Gorman

$250,000 to that number to fully capital-

and I) did an excellent job keeping the

ize the fund and provide for two half

attendees happy and hydrated ... and, per

scholarships. It was a very heartfelt tribute

usual, the Class of 1983 went ‘late night.’

to these special classmates and a true example of the lasting bonds of brotherhood

Last year, the Class of 1983 decided that its

that Landon creates and instills in its stu-

30th Reunion gift effort would focus on

dents and graduates. So far $121,000 has

honoring late classmates Calvin Thorpe

been pledged by fellow 1983’ers — already

and Josh Freeman (father of Nick ’09 and

a reunion gift fundraising record — and

Ben ’20) by raising money for the Thorpe

the class hopes to reach its $250,000 goal

Fund, a minority scholarship that Josh set

by the end of the school year.”

up in honor of his good friend, who died

1980 Gretchen Poston, Catherine Block and Kelly Falvey (pictured below), daughters of classmates Jeff Poston, Steve Block and Sean

Falvey, all worked at Landon Summer in 2013.

1982 Samir Qureshi was named the Ultimate Redskins Fan by ESPN.com.

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

37

LANDONALUMNI

HOMECOMING & REUNION

1

1 Class of ’63 at the 50th reunion Headmaster’s Dinner 2 Bear spirit at homecoming 3 Class of ’73 reunion band 4 Football team celebrating with the Davis & Fegan Cup after defeating Georgetown Prep 5 Justin Murphy ’11, Headmaster Armstrong & Mark Strabo ’12

2

3

4

5

6 6 Will Patch ’07, Danny Korengold ’69, Mel Laird ’70, Gray Hurd ’69 and Zeke Dodson ’69 after the homecoming game 7 Class of ’07 alumni gather during homecoming weekend

38

7 LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

1991

1982

1987

William Leininger writes: “Still working as a

Greg Jaffe covered the Pentagon for The

Peter Corrigan writes: “It’s amazing that it’s

as the OB/GYN specialty advisor to the Navy

Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle

still have the best time hanging out with our

recently penned a book review in the Post of

discuss the worst historical ‘no pick’ of Lower

M. Gates.

co-captains Bobby Goeltz and Zach Warren

Navy OB/GYN in San Diego and also serving surgeon general. It’s a great opportunity to promote women’s health in the Navy.”

1983 Marty Schnider writes: “Unfortunately, we

aren’t able to host the reunion party as much as we would like to in October. We had two wed-

dings in the family (Marty ’04 and Bernadette).

I have been extremely busy with work and I had four moves to complete with my oldest kids, including two in New York.”

Washington Post and is a co-author of The

been 20-plus years since we graduated and we

for the Future of the United States Army. He

fellow Landon Bears. We still passionately

Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert

School football in fall 1984, where Chargers

Bernie McMahon works at Norfolk Academy teaching several sections of Spanish II

to sophomores. He also co-chairs the school’s International Relations Fellows program, and

coaches junior varsity football and winter and spring track.

1984 Ted Duncan is running for Maryland State Delegate in District 16, which consists of

Bethesda, parts of Chevy Chase, Rockville and

Potomac. He writes: “My campaign is just getting up to speed, and I am looking for support

on my staff and thought this might be an excellent opportunity to reach out to the Landon

that season on the back of Carter Schoo — up

provides innovative

championship game.” L to R: Art Rosen, Peter

pick and proceeded to run over every opponent

Higher Logic, which

the middle every single play all the way to the

professional social media

Corrigan, Todd Boehly, Zach Warren, Mike Banks

and mobile applications for organizations

ficer of Bitcasa, the inventor of secure infinite storage across all devices, in September 2013.

1990 Jared Genser co-edited The Responsibility to

Protect: The Promise of Stopping Mass Atrocities in Our Time (Oxford University Press).

20th clerk in September.

Pete Olson is once again

1985

Europe for 2014, one

sponsored by BELL

Geoff Scott has co-founded a new company,

year after a success-

the Hackerati, in New York City. It is an engiwww.thehackerati.com.

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

’92, Jon Wagner

worldwide, in August 2013.

aspect or alumni who would like to do some

neering placement service and can be found at

Lower School field that he had ‘no hands’ when

marketing officer of

grads who would be great at the social media

Todd ’85) was named the U.S. Supreme Court’s

— all because it was observed in recess on the

was named chief

Brian Taptich was named chief executive of-

Scott Harris (son of Stan ’45 and brother of

to be a 6’4”, 235-pound behemoth of a man

quickly snapped up Schoo with the second

1988

election is on Nov. 4.

class, Carter Schoo, who appeared at that age

playing 500. The Patriots’ captain, Jon Wagner,

managed campaigns before, possibly recent

election will be held June 24 and the general

70-pound Peter Ernst over the new kid in the

Hunter Montgomery

community. There may be someone who has

grass roots work on an election.” The primary

chose with the first pick a skinny soaking wet

ful 2013 Asia Formula

Renault season. This year,

1994 Tal Alter is the executive director at the newly opened Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Southeast D.C.

he finished third overall in the “International

Jonathan Joseph co-founded Fantasy Brain

in the series.

cisco, the company hopes to change the world

Category,” reserved for the highest-level drivers

(www.fantasybrain.com). Based in San Franof fantasy sports.

39

LANDONALUMNI

1995

Paisley and Doug Blank welcomed a baby boy, Trudy and Chris Cox welcomed baby Riley

Levi (pictured below), on Sept. 18. He was 7

pounds, 8 ounces, and 20.5 inches. He joins big brother Gardner.

1997 Travis Martz and Erin Martz welcomed a baby to their family in October.

Kernan Cox on

1998

He was 7

Runner (www.therunnerbk.com), in Brooklyn,

Aug. 27, 2013.

Andrew Burman opened a new restaurant, The

pounds, 5

N.Y. Spencer Flajser ’07 ate there in February and had this one-word review:

ounces, and joins

“awesome.”

older siblings Hadyn and Caelen.

Forrest Hainline, headmaster of School of

Alexandra and Mike Voris welcomed baby boy,

Rock in Silver Spring, was part of a perfor-

George Gray Buckley Voris, on Sept. 2, 2013.

1996 Adam Berke (pictured below, far left) is presi-

dent and part of the founding team of AdRoll, an online advertising platform that was named

to Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest growing

mance this fall at The Fillmore. The concert While fishing on the Billfisher in August

2013, Jeremy Duffie (pictured below) landed a 77-pound white marlin that held the top spot

on the 2013 White Marlin Open leaderboard.

showcased musicians from the School of Rock

101 program, Performance Program and Adult Program, as well as the Silver Spring School of Rock House Band and special guest perform-

ers Swift Technique. There was a second show at Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., in

private companies in the United States two

January.

years in a row. Berke met the prime minister of Ireland as part of the launch of AdRoll’s

John Pontius married Ping Zhu in Qingdao,

hire more than 100 people in that office before

their wedding in Rockville, Md. Pontius is

China, in October 2013 — six months after

European headquarters in Dublin, with plans to

working at the tax law firm of Frost & Associ-

the end of the year. Berke has also traveled to

ates in Annapolis.

Australia, Mexico, Brazil and northern Sumatra

in Indonesia for kiteboarding and surf trips over

1999

the last two years.

Evan Bliss, who died from a pulmonary

Richard Ayres and his wife Francesca wel-

into the Kenyon College Athletic Hall of Fame

8:41am, weighing 7 pounds and stretching 20

embolism in 2012, was posthumously inducted

comed Eli Miles Ayres on Nov. 8, 2013, at

in September 2013. (See picture below.)

inches. Eli joins older brother Benjamin. Ayres is working at Ford Motor Company as the global product marketing manager.

40

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

Alex Bush married Libby Berlacher on Aug.

Scott Hettermann and his organization, Full

Anthony Vita is currently working in Nairobi,

Mich. The couple (pictured below) traveled to

the summer to restore courts, bring gear and

Mall, the site of a terror attack last fall. Prior to

24, 2013, at Snow Moon Ranch in Glen Arbor, Italy for their honeymoon.

Court Peace, held a mission in Cuba over

shoes, and hold a tournament to fundraise for typhoon relief. He plans to do the same in

Manilla, Philippines, this spring before heading back to Cuba again in the summer.

Kenya, and lives 10-15 minutes from Westgate Nairobi, Vita worked in Cape Town, South

Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; and Kampala, Uganda.

Pictured below is the view from his apartment window.

George Vincent (pictured below with family and Vice President Joe Biden) opened a

new Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop at 18th and M Street in Washington, D.C.

Olivier Kamanda married Hannah Burris

(pictured below) on July 27, 2013, at Strong

Mansion at Sugarloaf Mountain. The couple’s

story was featured in The Washington Post’s “On Love” column in August. Olivier also served

as a guest speaker at the Landon Multicultural Student Alliance dinner in September.

2000 Thomas Sanders writes: “I am just finish-

ing up orthopedic residency at Georgetown

University and looking for a job as an orthopedic surgeon in the area. My wife, Megan, and

I have a daughter, Evelyn, who is now 2 years old.”

2002 Brian Ball married Shannon Burke (pictured below) in October 2013 in Buffalo, N.Y.

2003 Eugene Gokhvat earned a spot on Forbes

Magazine’s 2014 “30 Under 30 Finance” list,

which highlights the top young traders, bankers and dealmakers in finance. He serves as a portfolio manager at the New York City outpost of $35-billion European hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management.

Hal Marra’s novel, A Constellation of Vital

Phenomena, was one of 10 finalists for the 2013 National Book Award in Fiction. In March,

he was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf award for

literature that “confronts racism and examines diversity.” (Read more about Marra on page 20.)

Raleigh Martin writes: “Just started a post-doc

research position at UCLA to study desert sand dunes.”

Joe Hainline and wife Emily welcomed baby

Phil Mills and his brother, Tony Mills ’05,

2:51 a.m. Eisley weighed in at a healthy 8

in Real Clear History, a division of Real Clear

girl Eisley Rae Hainline on Sept. 26, 2013, at pounds, 4 ounces and was 22 inches long.

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

wrote an article together that was published Politics, in December 2013.

41

LANDONALUMNI

2004

resume

consultation and

Hugh Barrett married Nicole Johnson on Sept.

templates, case

28, 2013, at the Chevy Chase Club, followed by

studies, cover

a honeymoon in Hawaii. The couple resides in

letters and

Washington, D.C. Classmate Matt Harrigan

interview

served as best man, while the groomsmen in-

preparation —

cluded brother Blair Barrett ’98 and classmates

at no charge.

Ian Tobin and Andrew Goldstein.

the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

2006

Frederick D. Bierbower writes that he has recently joined the Billy Morris and Bruce McNair team at Avison Young.

2009 Christian Webster just completed his first

season as assistant coach of the Harvard men’s basketball team. This season, the Crimson set

2005 Will Manderscheid is an M.B.A student at

2008

program records for overall wins (27) and conferSam Wilkins married Ashley Graciela Miller (pictured below) on Aug. 31, 2013, in Clarksville, Tenn.

ence victories (13) en route to the team’s fourth

consecutive Ivy League title and a third straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. Webster graduated from Harvard in May 2013 as the

winningest student-athlete in program history.

Anthony Naing visited Dallah, a small township

Dominic Goodall works at Hopeworks of

in Burma, last April. (The picture below is of

Howard County, a sexual assault and domestic

his second trip, which he took with his brother

violence center. In February, he hosted a film

Richard, while filming the children in school.)

screening and discussion on masculinity, hiphop and violence.

Blake Shue went on “Postgratitude,” a 38-day community service adventure around the

United States, after earning his degree from Wake Forest University.

2010 James Speight is enjoying his senior year at

Austin Bisnow is lead singer for the Knocked Up Kids, which “embraces its modern-day hodgepodge of cultural and musical back-

grounds,” according to its Facebook page. The

group formed in 2011 and has performed at the Sweetlife Festival in Washington, D.C., and the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas.

2007

Landon 2007 alums get together in New York City. L to R: Scott Leachman ’07, Robert Leach-

man ’12, Jonathan Duber ’07, Spencer Flajser ’07, Brandon Goodwyn ’05 and sister Lacy Goodwyn

Colgate. In September 2013, he returned to Landon as a member of the Colgate 13 a

cappella group, which he has been singing

with since his freshman year. The Colgate 13 conducted a workshop presentation with the Landon Chamber Singers and Bearitones.

Dwight Townsend-Gray will be starting his

professional life after graduation as an intern groundskeeper with the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.

Sam Perkins co-founded Conditions Set, an organization that helps veterans and active-

duty military personnel secure jobs outside the

military. The organization provides all of its job application services — such as personalized

42

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

2011 Sam Anas started his ice hockey season by

IN MEMORIAM

ing camp. He won the NCAA Division I Men’s

Bradford S. Granum ’47. June 20, 2009.

participating in the Washington Capitals’ trainIce Hockey National Rookie of the Year award after notching 22 goals (tops among NCAA

freshmen) and 21 assists for Quinnipiac. Anas was honored as the ECAC co-rookie of the

year and was named to the ECAC all-rookie team and the conference second team.

Alex Becker helped The Dartmouth, the country’s oldest college student newspaper, create a

video element as its multimedia editor. Becker

Mary Riney Arrowsmith, mother of Thomas ’81, Edward “Ted” ’84, and Peter ’88.

July 6, 2013.

Pamela Griffin, wife of Charles N. Griffin, Jr. ’52. August 4, 2013.

Peter S. Burr, father of Shep ’77 and Corey ’81 and grandfather of Patrick ’11. August 12, 2013.

Henry Putzel Jr., father of Henry “Pete” ’60 and Roger ’62. September 2, 2013.

Constance S. Walser, wife of Dan Walser, Landon former staff and mother of Chuck Walser ’79, mother-in-law of Paul Adkins ’77 and grandmother of Robinson ’15 and Paul ’11 Adkins. September 7, 2013.

also worked with other editors to add advertis-

Harriet Bradley, mother of J. Curtis Bradley ’64 and Stephen S. Bradley ’71.

directing, shooting and editing, but occasionally

Barbara Marmet, mother of Richard Marmet ’75. October 22, 2013.

ing. Becker typically stays behind the camera, conducts interviews.

Adam Bern performed Cape Breton music in January with his mentor, Doug MacPhee (a renowned Cape Breton pianist) at the Glen

Echo Town Hall in Maryland. The concert was sponsored by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington.

September 20, 2013.

Robert M. Hickerson ’10. October 30, 2013.

Gerard F. Treanor Jr., father of Chris ’01. October 30, 2013.

James F. Bomar ’68. November 2, 2013.

John A. Hardie Sr., father of John ‘83 and grandfather of Michael ’22. November 7, 2013.

William E. Howe, father of Robert ’75 and William ’64. November 13, 2013.

Andrew D. Peters, father of Cord ’12 and Marshall ’13, husband of Cindy Peters, Landon’s Director of Parent Programs. November 25, 2013.

Robert Spencer (pictured below) was a key

John A. Sanders Sr., father of John ’80, Thomas ’00, and Austin ’04. December 18,

team. He was joined by Aidan Kelso ’13 on

Olive Watson Cobb, mother of Calvin III ’76 and Robert ’78, grandmother of

victory over the California State Institute of

Allan R. Plumley, Jr., father of Allan III ’78 and Christopher ’83. December 26, 2013.

member of the Connecticut College water polo the squad. Spencer scored five goals in a 10-9 Technology in October 2013.

2013.

Johnson ’12. December 22, 2013.

Jacquelyn Randolph Ewing, mother of Richard Jr. ’68. December 30, 2013.

Steven N. Rupp, father of Dillon ’11 and Colton ’15. January 1, 2014.

Calling All Alumni!

H

ave you downloaded

access to a directory integrated

School Alumni app

help locate alumni near you,

the official Landon

yet? It has almost 500 active

2013 Alex Mockett was one of two tenors accepted into Sewanee’s a cappella group, Cambiata.

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

alumni users! The app allows you to securely network and connect with the Landon community

around the world. You’ll have

with LinkedIn, GPS maps to photos, news and more!

Dowload it today from the App Store for iPhone and Google Play for Android

43

FROM THE ARCHIVES 1963

FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE PLAY MUST GO ON! Even when one of the actors falls asleep on the floor. Do you recognize any of these young student actors or know the play being performed? Send us your best guess at communications@landon.net!

Modern Biology Photo Recognized!

There was a consensus from Mark Amorosi ’87, Hunter Montgomery

’87 and David Peikin ’90 about the students, course and even the classroom location in last issue’s “From the Archives” photo. As Montgomery informs us, “The picture is of Ron LaCosse’s eighth grade biology class. The classroom is above the Upper School headmaster’s office (it

was Spud Parker with Mrs. Atherton as the Upper School secretary, at

the time). The students (L to R): Tom Sokoly, Andy Morton and Bob Weiman, all from the Class of 1987.” Thanks for letting us know!

44

LANDON SCHOOL | SPRING 2014

WWW.LANDONSUMMER.COM

2014

79 YEARS OF TRADITION ... A SUMMER OF NEW ADVENTURES!

BOYS & GIRLS, AGES 3½ - 17!

New sports, arts, academics and specialty camps!

Full-day preschool camp!

Sports camps

Extended dates from June 9 – August 22!

Academic cl asses

Day camps

Have FUN!

Art & music camps

FOLLOW US ON and LIKE US ON

LANDON UNITED SECURE OUR FUTURE

CAMPAIGN ENDS JUNE 30!

Please donate at WWW.LANDON.NET/UNITED

SPRING 2014 | LANDON SCHOOL

3

NON-PROFIT O R G A N I Z AT I O N U. S . P O STAG E

LANDON SCHOOL

PA I D

6101 WILSON LANE BETHESDA , MD 20817

B E T H E S DA , M D P E R M I T N O. 7 0 2 7

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Parents: If this issue is addressed to a son who no longer maintains an address at your home, please send current address information to the

SAVE THE DATES

Alumni Office at alumni@landon.net.

Painting by Kevin Soraci ’14

Alumni Golf Tournament

Friday, May 30 Reunions (Classes ending in ‘4 and ‘9)

November 6 - 8 Homecoming

Saturday, November 8

communications@landon.net