CLASS NOTES 2011. He came five weeks early at a whopping 4 lbs., 14.5 oz. Other than that, nothing too exciting for the summer. I hope this e-mail finds you well. Looking forward to catching up with everyone during our 2012 reunion.” Speaking of our reunion, it’s slated for the weekend of Oct. 6, though the Institute is under the misguided notion that 15 years will have elapsed since we graduated. I saw Will at Joey Klapatch’s wedding this fall. He writes that he and Kristen “got married in September 2010. Honeymoon was Orlando for five days, then Jackson Hole, WY, for seven days.” He’s now the “officer in charge of a U.S. Navy facility at the Royal Navy Headquarters in Northwood, UK, on the outskirts of London.” I got to see most of the same crew at the other Hassletine wedding in May. Also in attendance were Dan Hall, Keith Peterson and class agent emeritus John Duckworth. I spent a few hours the night of the wedding with Keith and his wife, Brooke, debating the merits of healthcare reform. Bryan Smith and I talked for some time about the rocks ahead as we raise our daughters in the 21st century. In early August, many of you received e-mails from me, specifically those of you in the first quarter of the alphabet, with active e-mail addresses at vmiaa.org. The responses formed a “gratifying spectacle” in my inbox and, unless otherwise noted, are the basis for most of the
rest of my newsfeed. Those of you in the next quarter of the alphabet can expect to hear from me around election day, so please make sure your e-mail address is up to date. If you’re in my half of the alphabet, feel free to go out of turn! Ed Bonham, whom I have been trying to catch up with during my trips to the Northern Neck, reports that he “was promoted to captain back in December [and is] currently the Operations captain and a fire investigator for Caroline County Fire Rescue. We haven’t had any children yet, but as of a year ago, we have taken in our 13-year-old nephew and are raising him as our own. I haven’t bumped into anyone in a while but was in San Francisco for a Homeland Security Conference a month ago and tried to get in touch with Tony Bobb. Although we did trade e-mails, I didn’t get to see him, because he is currently living in Guam.” Befitting a former S-5, Mike Belenky had a lot to say: “Blythe is very happy to have me home, as are the kids. Things are going great. Sarah (5) started kindergarten this week, and Emma (4) is back in Pre-K. Cooper (2) goes to PDO twice a week, so that gives Blythe some much needed and deserved time to herself. Blythe recently left her job at The Mommies Network and is using her new-found free time to start planning for our next PCS. We will move to the D.C. area next summer, as I
Class of 1997: Attending Joey Klapatch’s wedding were, from left, front row, Andy Staich, Daniel Owens, Donnie Hasseltine and Will Tong. Middle row: John Brodie, Honorary VMI Alumnus and ’92 Brother Rat; Dave Witherspoon; Kristen and Joey Klapatch; and David Zirkle. Back row: Greg Doltz, Ryan Doltz’s ’00 brother; Bryan Smith; Kevin Thomas ’98; and Walt Judd ’69.
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selected for a training with industry (TWI) program with the HQ, American Red Cross. It is a one-year program, and we may remain in D.C. after its completion, but that is still to be decided. I am currently the XO for the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The job keeps me busy, but at least I get to go home to my family at the end of the day. In other news, around the time I returned from Afghanistan, I found out that I was the recipient of the 2011 Capt. John R. Teal Leadership Award. This is a yearly award presented to one officer and one NCO in the Medical Plans and Operations career field for their performance that year. Capt. John Teal ’94 was the first Medical Service Corps officer killed in Iraq back in 2003, so this award has a special meaning to me. Maj. Lee Freeman ’96 was the recipient of this award two years ago. As far as running into people ... We see Garrett Field and his wife, Jada, and son, Greyson, every now and then. Garrett just returned from a year in Iraq. We just bid farewell to Brady Gallagher ’98, his wife, Amanda, and their three boys (Garrett, Luke and Noah). We’ve spent the last two years at Fort Campbell with them, and they are now off to Fort Bragg. Capt. Daniel Belzer ’04 is my battalion S4, and there are several BN CDRs on post that are VMI grads. The Alumni network in Clarksville, TN, is growing by the day.” Matt Coley wrote that he is “now working for Baker Distributing/WATSCO as regional vice president for the Mid-Atlantic region; moved from Ohio to Richmond, VA, first of August 2011; and had our third child, Joshua John Coley, on May 24, 2010.” Also reporting an expanded family was Charles Ayers who wrote, “I’ve had my hands full with a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. Henry Randolph Ayers was born on the 7th of June. His big brother, Charles the 4th, is really enjoying a little brother. We spent some time with Chris and Danielle Hobbs, Brett and Katherine Ogletree, and Jill and Tripp Costen several weeks ago. The Hobbs were in Richmond for the day. Good times. I took a new job last September with an engineering firm in town, Dunlap & Partners. I was previously with an A&E firm, since graduating from VMI. Crazy to think I’ve had two jobs in 14 years. Also, I’m working on a job down at Langley AFB, and the team includes David Tiller ’96.” Tyler Chase said that he “can’t wait for the reunion next October.” He wanted me to spread the word about the Class of ’97 Golf Classic. He wrote, “The 4-man scramble will be held on Friday morning at The Lexington C.C. with lunch to follow. Please have all interested parties contact me via e-mail (preferably with the names of the rest of their foursome), and I will happily be the host again. Last reunion we had about 20 guys. I hope we can double the
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