CLASS NOTES
SEVEN HOCKEY PLAYERS, THREE OF WHOM COACHED AT BLAKE, GATHERED FOR DINNER AND A GOPHER HOCKEY GAME AT MARIUCCI ARENA IN OCTOBER. PICTURED IN FRONT OF THE HERB BROOKS DISPLAY (FRONT ROW, L TO R) JOHN CRAWFORD ’74, BOBBY OWENS ’73 AND RIC DRILLMELLUM ’75 (BACK ROW, L TO R) PETER VAUGHAN ’74, JIM NORTON ’74, CHUCK RITCHIE ’57 AND ROD ANDERSON.
Nick Swaggert received a 2015 Veterans’ Voices Award, which honors Minnesotans who have honorably served and are making extraordinary contributions to their communities. A veteran of the Marine Corps, Nick served since 1999 as an infantryman and was deployed twice to Iraq. He currently works in corporate and government affairs for Occam Group, a firm dedicated to hiring veterans to solve cyber security issues for corporations and government entities. He has coached and mentored over 500 veterans and placed over 100 veterans in new jobs.
00
Jessica Hartstein and Chip McCann were married in Ireland in June. The two live in Houston, where Chip works for NASA and Jessica works at Certified Translators and Interpreters. Vahe Ohanyan is a filmmaker, producer and a creative entrepreneur based in New York and New Jersey. In 2010, he was nominated as a Young Laureate at the Rolex Awards for Enterprise and graduated from the EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) European Producers Workshop. From 2007 to 2012 he worked on the
SCOTT STRUTHERS ’78 AT BURNING MAN, AN ANNUAL EVENT HELD IN NEVADA’S BLACK ROCK DESERT
production of several documentaries and a short film, which were distributed by PBS, Al Jazeera International and NHK public TV in Tokyo, among others. The films traveled to festivals worldwide and received awards. Vahe writes, “I am still a member of the Armenian Federation of UNESCO Clubs, and I’m also the founding member of Theatre for Changes in Armenia. Besides my passion for films, traveling and meeting new people, I have served as account executive for National Geographic Traveler and had a crucial role in launching the local production of an internationally known TV show, the Voice, while working at PanArmenian Media Group.” REUNION
01
Maxine Kaye Bédat and Soraya Darabi, co-founders of online retailer Zady, were named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40: Women to Watch” list. In November, the duo was also honored as Blake’s 2015 Young Alumnae of the Year, and Maxine spoke at the November Breakfast at Blake. Find her presentation on Blake’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/ TheBlakeSchool.
LOREE BREN, DEREK MALMQUIST ’79, DAVE CRAWFORD ’79 (IN KAYAK), ANN SCHULZE, MARK SCHULZE ’79 AND JERRY BREN ’79 (PICTURED, L TO R) SPEND A SUMMER DAY PADDLEBOARDING AND KAYAKING ON LAKE OF THE ISLES IN MINNEAPOLIS.
Just To Give
When Mitch Goldstein ’79 fills up at the pump, he often spends more than the going price of fuel. For years, the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, surgeon has read the fliers posted in small town gas stations promoting fundraisers for local residents who have fallen on hard times. And he donates what he can to the cause. “I just always wanted to give more than what I could give because I knew these families needed more,” Goldstein says. “I have seen firsthand how some medical conditions can take a toll on patients and their families. I don’t think physicians, and in general people, ever consider all the dynamics that go along with a terrible life-changing event.” Enter the Just To Give Foundation, a nonprofit Goldstein established to help people through life’s unexpected hardships. To fund his project, Goldstein plans to open restaurants and bagel shops around the Midwest with 100 percent of the profits going to help those in need. He intends to build the first business in Fargo-Moorhead
and reinvest a percentage of its profits into building others. “I would love to be able to help people in every state and every county and then move on internationally,” Goldstein says. “But for the immediate time being I would like to open up businesses in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.” Goldstein, who has several years of experience in the restaurant business, is also consulting with industry experts. To launch the first restaurant, he has lined up a general manager who will be responsible for hiring the chefs, managers and staff as well as running the day-to-day operation. “I love being a surgeon and have no desire to stop practicing surgery,” Goldstein says. “This just happens to be an idea that came into my mind, and I want to see it through.” For more information on the Just to Give Foundation, visit thejtgfoundation.org. .
Winter 2016 23
