CLASS NOTES
Class of 1982: At U.S. Air Force Gen. Darren McDew’s promotion ceremony were, from left, Van Noah, Ron McCredy, Richard Moore, Gen. and Mrs. McDew, Chuck Kause, Darryl Horne and Joel Benefield. annual northern Virginia gathering and wine fest held at the Red Fox Inn. John Lewis sent a message that he and wife Nancy are in Winchester, Virginia. He is still working as the chief neuropsychologist at Winchester Rehabilitation Center helping folks with brain injuries, etc. Their oldest daughter, Sarah, is at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Rebecca, their second, is headed to the University of Virginia in the fall. Son Jacob is still in high school. Nancy works as a math teacher at Skyline High School in Front Royal, Virginia. John also stays busy on the side with his hobby as an apiarist. Did you figure out what John Lewis does? He is a beekeeper and sells honey. How many knew that without looking it up? Bob and Kathy Louthan’s trips to Lexington will continue for at least the next four years. Their youngest son, Mason, has been accepted into the next rat mass (2018?). He wanted the U.S. Air Force Academy, then VMI. He wants to fly, so the best route is Navy or Marines. Actually, VMI seats higher percentage as pilots than the academies. (This is coming from Bob, and I would not argue his knowledge on this.) They were keeping their fingers crossed hoping Blake ’14 makes it across the stage on time. Bob thinks this time around he will do a better job as a rat parent, because he knows what to expect. He says it is kind of funny listening to the questions parents ask, those previously unfamiliar. Funnier still are some of the responses from other parents who did not attend VMI but know everything about it. And for all of us Old Corps, Bob assures
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us the Rat Line is as difficult or more than it was in our day. Leslie Marangoni was keeping me straight on what Guy has been up to lately. Since retiring from the FBI, Guy works as a contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton. He’s an instructor teaching bureau employees how to use Excel and other computer stuff more effectively. Leslie says he’s a great teacher, but he works longer days now than before he retired! Leslie and I banter back and forth on Facebook about music and stuff, since she is a piano teacher and classical music enthusiast, neither of which I am. But we enjoy sharing musically themed videos, and there is an occasional link to her brothers, Curtis Nichols, Doug Nichols ’84 and Andy Nichols. I served in the Naval Reserve with Andy! Gen. Darren McDew got another star. That makes four. As in, four stars. Darren has risen to the top once again, which we all knew he would. Several BRs made the trip to witness the promotion and change of command ceremony. Joel Benefield, Darryl Horne, Chuck Kause, Ron McCredy, Dickie Moore and Van Noah all joined in as the general led with the Old Yell. This has become Darren’s tradition each time he has put on a star. Joel has retired from the military after 30 years of service and is now vice president for Stargates, a woman-owned small business in northern Virginia that provides innovative solutions to vexing problems suffered by a discrete (and discreet) clientele. Ron, ever the Googler, wore his Google Glass to Darren’s promotion. He was quite the hit with the information technology
savvy, and he even charmed the wife of the Air Force chief of staff into trying it on. If you go to our Facebook page, you will find plenty more great pictures of this event, and we have the bonus of Darren’s promotion. The Review allows only five photos per class section. Neal Rogers submitted a photo of his exploits on a spring cruise. As this goes to print, I am hoping he sends a larger format. Since he was easy to identify in the VMI ball cap and T-shirt, several members of Class of 2014 including Tyler Spadine, Logan Ridge, Billy Cheatham, Sean Fish, Christopher Jaronsky, Pierce McKean, Sam Gillespie and Sam Elliot wanted to show off with the older alumnus. Neal was seen holding a piece of Institute property that was “borrowed” for the cruise. Let us hope it was returned to its rightful place. Aside from his high seas shenanigans, Neal and Nancy are excited that they don’t have to pay for college for Collin, their youngest, because he has been accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. Their oldest, Sean Rogers ’13, graduated from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy in December 2013, and he is with the Arlington County Police Department. Last but not least, Morgan graduated from St. Michaels College in May 2014. Sometimes you get lucky and happen to catch a Facebook post that indicates a BR might be stuck somewhere, bored, drinking a beer and maybe, just maybe, willing to share some news. Like George and Annette Seiferth, who were sitting in the Detroit Airport waiting for a connection to Burlington, Vermont, to attend the graduation of their son, Rick, from Norwich University. George swore him in before he headed to Officer Candidate School. It was a short stay for the parents, because they returned to Germany soon after. Their daughter, Ann, graduated in June from Wiesbaden High School, and she’ll be attending George Mason University on a ROTC scholarship. They will be back in Virginia in August to drop her off at school. Future plans call for them to remain in Germany for at least another two years, but the good thing is that George will be able to visit Virginia more often. He hopes to stop by the “I” and see everyone who lives in the area. After retiring from the Army in June 2012 in Germany, George was fortunate to get a Department of the Army civilian job in Wiesbaden. He works in the Command Group of U.S. Army Headquarters assigning and monitoring all the tasks to the staff from Department of the Army and European Command. The best part is that he gets to work with all the same folks he was with while in the Army and lives in the Rheingau Region of Germany, which is the Riesling wine capital of the world, overlooking the Rheine River. He plans on doing that for a few years and will see what happens. Both kids
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