CLASSLetters posts of some pretty amazing-looking cooking. He invites anyone near the Elmhurst, Illinois, area to stop by for the next lamb roast.
1988
LIVY HECHT ’87 resides in Reading, Massachusetts,
David Jonas 202-251-9640 / djevents@aol.com
and works at Philips Healthcare. She’s an avid runner training for her next half marathon.
Kathy Wade 248-470-4336 / wadekas@sbcglobal.net
MICHELLE MARTIN ’87 works at Cummins in Madison, Wisconsin, and skates with Mad Rollin Dolls, the local women’s roller derby team. Michelle is planning a November trip to Cuba.
Hey Class of ’88!
DORRIE SMITH SCRANTON ’87 of Woodstock, Connecticut, just dropped her oldest son off for his freshman year at Bryant College. She works at the local school and promotes educational development and fund raising for a variety of local causes. CHRIS TEMPLETON ’87 of Chicago, Illinois, is a partner at a Dallas, Texas-based ad agency, Moroch. She’s also put all those years of Boone’s Farm “research” to good use as a founding partner of SQZ, a lemon wine product that recently launched in northwestern Illinois. Check it out at sqzbevs.com. We’d love to hear from you so we can add your news in the next letter. It’s always fun to read what classmates are up to, whether they are big, life-changing events, or just working hard at a job you’ve had for the last 10 years. We can be reached at dsscranton@gmail.com or christinetempleton17@ gmail.com. You also can join our Facebook group, Ripon College Class of 1987, and participate in, not just ‘like,’ the conversation! J At our gathering this past weekend, we started wondering how we each found our way to Ripon College nearly 28 years ago. Here’s what we heard from some of you:
BETSY MEYERS KNIGHT ’87: “A mentor in my church group recommended it — he didn’t know I went until I saw him last summer. Plus, Lawrence didn’t accept me — they were originally my #1 choice ... I’m so glad they rejected me. I had a wonderful experience at Ripon. It seems like we graduated just a few years ago.” BARBARA FLATT BAY ’87: “I was third generation. My mom, Charlotte Booth Flatt ’66, and grandma, Winifred Layton Booth ’31, went there. My mom was just there for a reunion this week.”
CHRISTINE ELLIOTT ’86: “I wanted to go to Michigan State, and my dad wouldn’t let me. He told me to ask my high school counselor for a small, private liberal arts school about three hours from Chicago. Bam! Ripon it was ...”
CAROL RAVITZ ’87: “I wanted a liberal arts education. Of the five schools I applied to, Ripon seemed ‘middle of the road.’ Macalester too liberal, Lake Forest too preppy, Beloit too industrial, Carlton too competitive.”
GEOFF BLANCO ’87: “Closest state to Illinois where the drinking age was 18.” JOHN SWALLEN ’87: “Don’t quite remember ... being 50 does that to one’s memory. I transferred to Ripon after first semester freshman year from a large university in Florida. I loved the small campus and the people. Sure glad I switched. Great times!” And one last thing, please update your email address — we’ve got a lot of outdated Hotmail and AOL email addresses! Best wishes to all! Dorrie Smith Scranton and Chris Templeton
Each time I write to you all, the passage of time is on my mind. It has been 27 years since we graduated! Yes, I just cringed a little typing that. This October, I will have lived in the Milwaukee area for 10 years! I am serving my last year of my second three-year term on the Alumni Board. I have seen a lot of wonderful changes in the last five years. Homecoming is one function that I have seen change. There were not really any official Alumni events over Homecoming weekend my first year on the Board. This upcoming Homecoming on October 3 is the exact opposite; it will be a busy time on campus. The Board of Trustees is meeting. The Alumni Board is meeting. The Parent Volunteer Network is meeting. It is Family Weekend. The end of the extremely successful Imagine Tomorrow campaign will be celebrated. There will be a Homecoming party before the game that alumni are invited to attend. It will be a busy but fun weekend! As the news from the College reports, Alumni Weekend was very successful this past year with almost 700 people in attendance. I have really enjoyed watching the itinerary for the weekend change these past several years. I really enjoy the all alumni events. The College has really made it possible for anyone to attend. It is not just for people who are celebrating a reunion. The highlights of Alumni Weekend for me are the welcome reception on Friday night at Hughes House, the all-alumni lunch that includes the State of the College on Saturday, and the all-alumni party on Saturday night (and there will be dancing!)! I know it is a ways off, but mark June 23-26, 2016, on your calendars! I plan to be there! The next change that I am looking forward to following is the revitalization of the J.M. Storzer Athletic Center into a comprehensive health and wellness center that meets the needs of all Ripon’s students. The College has started raising funds to support this revitalization of Storzer. More information about the campaign can be found at www.ripon.edu/revitalize. Of the 218 first year students, 31 are legacies. As you will see from the Class News, there is at least one legacy in the incoming class whose parents are in our class! I have met some of the legacies! It is so much fun! Enrollment in the College is a key factor to its success. If you know high school age students, talk to them about Ripon. Over the summer, the Admissions Department put out a call to alumni to lend a hand. If you are interested in learning more about how you can become a volunteer, please contact Eliza Cherry Stephenson ’09 (call 920-748-8396 or email stephensone@ripon.edu)! Class News
ZEV BARNETT ’88 of Aurora, Colorado, sends news about his nonprofit, the Peanut Butter Plan, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary in October. They have held 10-15 events per year and have made and given out about 77,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. CBS news out of Denver covered the anniversary event: http://denver.cbslocal. com/2015/10/18/the-peanut-butter-plan-hands-outhundreds-of-sandwiches-to-the-needy.
JIM CONWAY ’88 and WENDY SCHOENIKE CONWAY ’88: “Have been married 27 years this year and have two grandkids, a girl named Ireland and a
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Connections