CLASS NOTES
’05
Timothy Johnson William Ray
Brother Rats, I apologize for failing in my duties to provide you with regular updates for the class in the May edition of the Alumni Review. It seems I have been much busier than expected this year, and with a change in the A.R. office on who to submit notes to, I did not get the notes in on time. I hope to atone for my past iniquities by getting the notes done and turned in on time going forward. Before I get into the notes, I am sure all of you are aware of our Brother Rat John Streetman’s passing. He was killed while riding his motorcycle in Mountain Springs, NV, on the evening of Sunday, April 28, 2013. His funeral service was held in his hometown of Rome, GA, on Sunday, May 5, 2013. His body was interred at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, GA. In lieu of flowers, the Streetman family is asking that donations be made to the VMI Foundation in John’s name. The first $2,500 raised will go towards his brick. There’s a lot of joy and excitement in being your class agent. I am privileged to be a witness to many happy times together – weddings, graduations and other momentous occasions in the lives of our Brother Rats. Since Tom Ferrara’s last update in 2009, he’s deployed twice, graduated the Air Force Weapons School as an intel weapons officer and moved to Abilene, Texas. On Oct. 6, 2012, he married Miss Susan Slopek of Midland, PA. Tom and Susan will reside in Las Vegas, NV, as Tom was transferred to Nellis AFB in June. Jim and Crystal Driggs are pleased to announce Jim’s graduation from the University of Richmond School of Law in May 2013. He will earn a special certification in intellectual property law, but hopes to represent clients in general practice areas of law such as estate planning, family law and small-time criminal matters. Jim still maintains a real estate broker’s license and actively sells residential and commercial property in Richmond, VA. As soon as he passes the bar in late July, he will have the ability to represent clients in legal matters as well. Jim and Crystal have gotten into Richmond’s adventure racing circuit and have recently placed among the top finishers in the Muddy Buddy and Project Athena Marathon Relay races. Jim finished his first marathon last November and felt so good during the race, he did a cartwheel
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at mile 22 to celebrate. Recently, Brother Rat Matt Dowdy was in Richmond celebrating his marriage, and Jim got to meet up with Matt for some cold drinks and VMI war stories. Needless to say, a good time was had, and Richmond is still recovering. Jim and Crystal send many thoughts and prayers to VMI class of 2005 for the loss of John Streetman. Jim said, “Streetman was one of the toughest guys I can remember (at the I). Gone, but never forgotten, brotha!” Greg Staat sends word that he and Maciek Kepka got together over the weekend of April 27. Maciek’s daughter, Alexandra, and Greg’s daughter, Carrington, got a chance to meet and play with each other. Maciek’s daughter, Alexandra Kepka, was born Nov. 25, 2012, and Greg’s daughter, Carrington Staat, was born on March 10, 2013.
know that you had an awesome time. The entire town knows you had an awesome time.” These pre-nuptial celebrations of bachelorhood were in preparation for the weddings of Ben Melton to Miss Courtney Horton and Brad Miller to Miss Joy Giglio. Courtney and Ben were married at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas. Many Brother Rats were in attendance this weekend that included: Jon Proctor (groomsman), Tim Johnson (groomsman), Josh Sullivan (groomsman), Jason Downs (groomsman), Ian Dunlap (groomsman), Andrew Troy (usher), Ryan Murphy (usher), Greg Van Pelt, Shore Stokes, Kirk Stokes, Danny Fields and Sean Moore. Will Ray was not in attendance. Now would be the part where I would tell you where the happy couple will reside, but as it always has been, Ben and Courtney have not had a normal relationship in a geographic sense. They were going to reside in Nashville, TN, but Ben was sent on a trip by the Army to places unknown a few days after the wedding. Upon his return, he was notified he would be serving as an aide-de-camp in Fayetteville, NC, at Fort Bragg starting in July 2013. Courtney will need to stay in Nashville through May 2014 to finish her fellowship at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital. To add on to the craziness, Ben and Courtney are expecting a son in November 2013, not long after you read this edition of the Alumni Review. Despite the hectic and crazy life, Ben and Courtney are adopting Gunny Sergeant Tom Highway’s motto, “Adapt. Overcome. Improvise.” and taking everything in stride. With a great set of loving family and friends, the Melton family will be ready and able to take on anything
Class of 2005: Jim and Crystal Driggs won first place in the 2013 Project Athena Marathon relay co-ed division in Richmond, Virginia. Josh Lyles and his wife, Jeanette, welcomed their first son, Joshua M. Lyles II, into the world on July 5, 2013. I hope to see him playing quarterback at Foster Stadium for the 2031 season. Wells Griffith left his position with the RNC and is running (or hopefully by now has run and won) for Congress in Alabama’s 1st congressional district. He is running against a large number of candidates in the primary, so here’s wishing him all the success in the world, and “may the Institute be heard from today.” As for myself, I have been quite busy the last several months with work, work and a few trips and mini-reunions. The months of February and March were very busy with two bachelor parties and two weddings. Rather than go into detail about the bachelor parties in a family publication, I’ll leave you with a quote from “Old School.” “I
Class of 2005: Jim Driggs finished his first marathon in November 2013 and did a cart wheel at mile 22 to celebrate.
VMI ALUMNI REVIEW