Class Notes and Avery. They just completed a family trip to the Bahamas. Brook is with PwC and lives in Arlington, Virginia, with Mary Katherine and his kids, Hadley Jane and Alden. He is looking for any excuse to get the family into the Westfalia for another adventure. I have recently joined the board for the Potomac River Chapter, and I look forward to continued service to VMI and our class. That’s all I’ve got for now. Keep on truckin’!
’99
William Steinbach
Brother Rats, Happy New Market Day! After a long, cold winter, it seems that, here in Virginia, we have jumped right into summer – totally bypassing spring. I got this note from Roger Hart: “Bill, hope this finds you well. I haven’t submitted anything for the Review in a while, so I figured this was a good excuse. I just returned from a 10 day trip to Greece where my Virginia Commonwealth University Master of Business Adminstration program had our international business trip. Also in my program are Matt Guise ’98 and Mike Moorman ’07. We spent five days in Athens and four in Mykonos. The attached picture is at our hotel on Mykonos. Pretty sick, eh? In other news, my family (Lisa and the three kids) and I are back in Richmond, Virginia, and I am now working for Biotronik, still selling pacemakers and defibrillators. I played golf recently with Jamie Meyer, Frazier Orgain and Jeff Holder at the VMI Club of Richmond tournament. We represented pretty well for the Class of ’99. I also talked to Hennigan not too long ago. He is living out in Abingdon now and sees Randy Eads quite a bit. I talk to Chris Reid (aka ‘Dirty’) pretty regularly, as well as Brannon Howle and Wes Barrow. Wes is building a house at a new golf course in southside Richmond and was just promoted at work. Brannon is now assistant vice president of information technology at the Federal Reserve. I also talk to Will Sarsfield regularly. He is married, has a daughter, lives in Richmond and is working hard for Atricure, a cardiac ablation company. Guess that’s it for now. Hope to see some of you at the football games this fall. Oh, I almost forgot ... Aaron Hamilton is living in the Phillipines, is getting married and has converted to Islam. I still can’t seem to wrap my head around the idea of a redneck Muslim.” Many are in shock about Aaron being engaged – myself included. Anxiously waiting to see if he actually goes through with it.
2015-Issue 3
Powell Harrison was married in France to the lovely Audrey Simonny. They held a reception for their friends and family in the United States at the Robinson Theatre Community Arts Center in Richmond, Virginia May 9. It sounds like it was a great event, and I am sorry I missed it. I thought I would take this time to share with you all the impact that Cliff Flournoy and his story are having on other people. I received notes from two people this past month from outside our class regarding Cliff’s scholarship. I have shared these below. I received this email from Worth Burns ’00: “Just donated to Cliff’s scholarship fund. In a couple of days, I will be seven years free from testicular cancer. Hearing of Cliff’s death almost 10 years ago is the only reason I caught mine early enough. Hope that you are doing well. If you are down the Greenville, South Carolina, way, holler for a beer. Take care. Hard core Alpha.” Thanks, Worth, and congratulations on beating cancer. I also received this from Lye Peters ’97: “Just a note that I saw Mike’s message about Cliff Flournoy’s scholarship in the Alumni Review. I was looking for a way to give back to the Institute, because I feel like it is becoming extremely cost prohibitive for almost anyone. For those of us who remember Cliff and his friendship fondly, this is an outstanding opportunity to help at least one cadet in need. The world has been a poorer place since Cliff died, and I really appreciate what the class is doing to keep his memory alive. I will pass the word along for other alumni looking to focus their giving. Thank you both. In the bonds and with my compliments, Lyle ‘Smoothy’ Peters ’97.” Much thanks to Lyle. As everyone can see, Cliff meant a lot to many people, not just of the Class of 1999. How to contribute: 1. Go to https://www.vmicampaign.org/scholarships. 2. Click the “Cadet Scholarships” button and type “Flournoy” in the search bar. 3. Click on the “R. Clifton “Cliff” Flournoy Class of 1999 Scholarship” and then click “Give Now,” and follow the instructions for a recurring donation. In the bonds, Bill
’00
Matthew McComas
Editor’s Note: We did not receive notes from the Class of 2000.
’01
Brandon Farris
Greetings, Brother Rats, I hope the summer is treating everyone well. My wife Lorin and I had our first child, Samantha Virginia Farris. Samantha was born May 1, 2015, at 16:16. Mother and daughter are doing great; dad hasn’t slept in a month. There was a memorial for Tony Conway March 6 at J.M. Hall. Thanks to all the BRs who came out. We were pretty well represented, with Joe Gunter, Brandon Farris, Jack Hagel, Drew Carbone, Brad Thompson, Chris Simpson, Parker Reeves, Will Felvey, Fred Hair, Dan Lieber, Tony’s wife Amanda, Melissa Adamski, Natasha Miller, Melissa Williams, Jason Whitaker and B.J. LaFon in attendance. I’m fairly sure there were more of us there I didn’t catch; my apologies if I missed you there. Tony’s family and Jack Hagel spoke, and we followed up the ceremony with Jack and Cokes at Moody Hall. Jack represented our class well. I am copying his speech here for those that missed it: “As I look around this room (Jackson Memorial Hall), a lot of great memories come to mind. Not about anything that was actually said here. In fact, I can’t really remember much that was said on this stage. Instead, I think back to all the times I sat in this building next to Tony Conway, trying not to laugh too loudly. “Tony always made mandatory meetings here more bearable – always by cracking the most perfectly timed jokes under his breath. We’re here today to celebrate that man, whose timing was so perfect but whose time with us was far too short. So many people were touched by Tony during his 36 years. He moved them with passion and loyalty, with humor and humility. He approached everything with deep curiosity, drive and grace. He did it selflessly and happily. He was simply magnetic. “Tony was the quintessential Renaissance man. He could just as deftly defend on the soccer pitch as he could quote Tennyson in regular conversation. He could swing a hammer as easily as he could draw a cartoon, design a webpage or capture a poignant moment through the shutter of his camera. He was a leader in the classroom, in the locker room and in life beyond. “And he could make us laugh with that wry wit and endless ribbing. Everybody was a target. Heaven help the man bold enough to order a chocolate martini in Tony’s presence, or the cadet who was too slow to evade his well-aimed snowballs.
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