CLASS NOTES
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From Allyson: I have the great fortune to travel all around this country and beyond for NMH, and often run into classmates, which is great fun. Karen Faucher Gaddy and I connected in Florida in February. She was on the verge of moving to her new farm in Kentucky while her daughter finished up high school. She is working for Pfizer and has three kids. • I saw Alice Fisher Fazekas in May at her new farm in Kentucky, right after Karen’s permanent move there. Alice writes, “Karen’s place is gorgeous; her kids are bright, personable, and nice. And she just keeps getting better! We are here looking for an eventing horse for Liesel [Alice’s daughter], who has outgrown her pony. Karen has so many great ideas on how she wants to fill her paddocks with rescue horses. Those horses certainly would be pampered.” • I was lucky to see Tim Lam in Hong Kong in March. He is doing very well, and we had a blast at a very special gala to kick off the “Hong Kong Hall” challenge in the new math and science center. • I caught up with Courtney Small Francis on a rainy night in Chicago in April. She and her family are doing well, and she is going to help us reach out to our alumni of color for networking and connection. • Lea Baran and I had fun in New York City in April. She is living in Brooklyn and working in graphic design. • Heather Jones Sano was not only back on campus to sing for Sacred Concert (which is still held in the auditorium), but she assisted Sheila with conducting the group this year. Heather conducted Sacred Concert back in the early 1990s when Sheila was on sabbatical, and Heather was the only alumna to ever conduct the iconic concert. • I seem to keep missing State Trooper Michael Rickard ’82 at Bradley Airport, where he works. Hopefully, I’ll run into him on one of these trips! • Finally, I met up with Jon Pucker in April at his beautiful gallery on Boston’s Newbury Street. He is generously helping NMH art department chair, Philip Calabria, acquire art for the school. Jon has also offered to host events at the gallery, and will be working on curating some exhibits at NMH in the
future, hopefully during June 2018 for our 35th reunion. He gets together annually at his summer house on Pleasant Lake, N.H., with counselor Tim McCabe and classmates Mark Rigdon, Dave Farnsworth, Pete Leinbach, Rich Gavalya, and Rob Tanenbaum ’84. • In March, John Dobbertin, Jon Duffy, Terry Connors, and Chris Stiepock got together for their annual meet-up in New York City. It’s the “Big East Tournament” get-together, including b-ball, food, and fun. Next time, snap a photo to send along to us, boys! • Courtney Small Francis writes, “Our 15-year-old son goes to Costa Rica this summer to work on a community service project. Two years ago, he went to Italy to be an ambassador/judge in the Giffoni Film Festival. My daughter, who graduated from Northern Illinois University with a major in psychology and a minor in black studies, went to Amsterdam to study public health last year. I regret not taking a term abroad at NMH, and so I am living vicariously through my children.” • “After arriving in the New York area,” says Bill Rowe, “Paul and I have finally found a cute house where we are in a cab for just 25 minutes from midtown Manhattan. My work continues to challenge and our company is continuing to grow.” Bill and Paul went to Ireland in June with friends Sheila Heffernon, Bill Hattendorf, Barbara Tweedle Freedman ’66, and Anne Zimmerman ’66. Bill continues, “I was asked to join the Alumni Council this past year and it has been a fun and challenging adventure. My mother passed suddenly this past winter and then we had to say goodbye to our 16-year-old golden retriever. I look forward to seeing fellow alums again soon.” • Writing from Nigeria, Leila Abu-Gheida says that she is still based in the D.C. area, working at FHI360. “My job is challenging and takes me to interesting places and situations,” says Leila. “For the foreseeable future, Nigeria will remain a focus. Interesting NMH link: My daughter’s tutor, Su Hong ’00, is also an alum. Su figured this out because my daughter was wearing an NMH sweatshirt. Su recently confirmed her suspicion that I was on the Northfield campus (smile), so the legacy perseveres!” • Sue Swift Warner was on campus in the spring for daughter Katie’s lacrosse game. Katie goes to Loomis and her prom date was an NMH grad. Sue writes,
Courtney Small Francis ’83 (left) spends an evening with Allyson Goodwin ’83 in Chicago.
Alice Fisher Fazekas ’83 (left) and Karen Faucher Gaddy ’83 swap horse stories at Karen’s Kentucky farm.
Northfield Mount Hermon Allyson Goodwin agoodwin@nmhschool.org • Angela Lambert drangela@mac.com
“NMH ties run deep!” She plans to be on campus again for future lacrosse games and to be at our 35th reunion. Reunion’s in June 2018, so it’s not too early to plan! • Kirsta Schmitt Davey, Thekla Smith Alcocer ’84, and Sue Leonard Toll ’81 were victorious in an 11-person ice hockey shoot-out to win their division of the April Showers Tournament. Kirsta’s photo business (kirstadaveyphotography.com) continues to grow. Two of her photos were featured in the March/April 2016 issue of Yankee Magazine. Chris and Kirsta’s eldest, Sara, was married in August; Margaret is attending Connecticut College; and their son, Walker, is a sophomore at Groton School. • David Hendricks writes, “My wife, Jennifer Rocco Hendricks, and I cannot believe that it’s been almost a year since we moved from Stamford, Conn., to London. The move came at the heels of a big funding round for the company I co-founded in 2009, LiveIntent. I am expanding our growing company across Europe from a base in central London. Our three children, Anna and Lily (15-year-old twins), and son,Will (11), have adapted well to London life, riding the double-decker bus to a private school in North London, where we live a hybrid city-suburban life among Edwardian terraced houses. Jennifer is tutoring and working on some volunteer projects at local schools while navigating the U.K. culture. Ask her about the driver’s license test! If you find yourself in London, please don’t hesitate to look us up!” • Daniel Bellow was working at Salmon Falls Stoneware in Dover, N.H., while waiting to get his building permit to install a new kiln at his great new studio in Great Barrington, Mass. While in New Hampshire, he stayed with Angela Lambert, and they had a fantastic time catching up and sharing memories of NMH and their fabulous time in Morocco as NMH students.
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Northfield Mount Hermon Liz Mayers lizmayers@outlook.com
Special “Happy Birthday” wishes to fellow classmates turning 50 this year! It can’t be possible! • Sarah Prescott sends her happiest wishes to all the ’84ers “aging up” this year! Sarah celebrated by running a road race and rocked it by placing second overall female in all age groups! Congratulations! • Melissa Paul writes from Arlington, Mass., where she lives with her husband, Pieter, and 10-year-old daughter, Lily. She’ll be celebrating her 50th birthday at Christmas by traveling to Vietnam with her husband, daughter, and parents to show Lily where she was born and adopted from. Melissa is busy leading a capital campaign at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, raising $200 million to end blindness and deafness. She loves her work, but her favorite job is being Lily’s mother. She’s so grateful for the three wonderful years she experienced at NMH and is looking forward to returning to campus for our next reunion. • Michael Smotrich (Win-
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