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Class Notes 1962 Wilbraham 1 Great friends Richard Taylor and Bill MacKenzie, who attended Wilbraham in 1960–1961, finally reconnected. After conversing by phone and email, they got together in Seattle in September 2017 for a warm reunion. And it only took them 56 years!
1963 Monson Cary Brick and wife Janet have established the Cary and Janet Brick Riverside Foundation to create senior citizen programs at the public library in Clayton, N.Y., and to provide financial support to first readers, advancing their skills through continuing education. Cary, a former WMA Trustee, is a retired Congressional Chief of Staff and municipal court judge in Clayton. Janet is a retired school administrator and municipal court judge. They sold their Thousand Islands home in Clayton and are now in Sugar Land, Texas.
1964 Wilbraham 2 Wilber James and wife Janet met longtime friends of the Academy Pres and Helen Blake for lunch while they were in Florida in January.
1965 Monson 3 In August, classmates Bob Veit and Bruce Weiss got together in Washington, D.C., to watch an international soccer game between Barcelona and Manchester United at FedEx Field. Bob said, “We were, and still are, passionate about our enjoyment of soccer, and reminiscing about aspects of our life at Monson brought us to tears of laughter.”
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AC ADEMY WORLD SPRING 2018
4 Tom Crafts and wife Donna stopped by campus in September. They were up from Florida visiting family and friends and for Donna’s high school reunion.
1966 Monson 5 Michael Szklarz completed the Camino de Santiago in 2017. He walked 450 miles over the course of 40 days from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France over the Pyrenees, The Meseta and Galicia to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. The remaining 10 percent he did by taxi, horse and wagon, and horseback. Michael said, “It was a journey of a lifetime and was more physically challenging than Coach Cardone’s wrestling practices!”
1967 Wilbraham 6 Tony Gagliardi wrote: “While I could not make the reunion this year, Mike Stone and his wife, Tracy, did a quick detour on their way from the reunion to New York City. We met for a quick catch-up. I could not be more grateful. It was great! I hope to get to the campus in 2018. Best regards to all in the class of Wilbraham ’67 — and anyone else that was there during ’65–’67.”
1969 Wilbraham 7 David Kent was on a gratitude trip across the country, visiting the people and places that have played an instrumental part in making him who he is and saying thank you. David said the trip has taken him “across Canada, down the West Coast of the U.S., up to New Mexico and Colorado to visit children and friends, and then back to
L.A. I drove south, followed the Rio Grande and then crossed Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Had to leave my car in Atlanta for the winter . . . Then, this past April, began again up the East Coast to New England.” He was sure to visit beloved former faculty member Fred Watts. David was delighted that Mr. Watts remembered him as they shared stories. Roger Wallace retired in 2012 after 39 years of teaching elementary school, 38 of those at the Fort River School in Amherst, Massachusetts. In his honor, the Roger L. Wallace Excellence in Teaching Award was established to recognize instructors in the AmherstPelham elementary schools. The goal is to support teachers and to encourage excellence in the schools. An endowment provides the annual winner with a stipend. Roger has recently stepped out of retirement to teach math at Springfield Technical Community College.
1977 Jeff Sattler has been named Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending for Savings Institute Bank & Trust. Jeff will be responsible for managing and growing the bank’s commercial banking business, including lending, leasing and deposit accounts throughout the greater Springfield, Massachusetts, and Enfield, Connecticut, areas.
1984 8 Marilyn Clark is embarking on a new career venture as a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. Off the Plate (www.offtheplatehealth coach.com) works with clients to develop a personalized approach to achieving health and wellness goals through nutrition and lifestyle changes. Marilyn plans to fully transition from her career in California state government information technology to health coaching when she retires from the state later this year. 9 James Rubin and girlfriend Chely were in the area from Florida. They stopped by campus on Nov. 20, 2017, for a chilly visit.
1985 10 Congratulations to Jeff Cook on being named head coach of the Penn State men’s varsity soccer program! Jeff brings 27 years of coaching experience to the Nittany Lions from his time at Dartmouth College, the University of Cincinnati, and with the Philadelphia Union (MLS) and Bethlehem Steel FC (USL).
1986 11 James Griffin and Michael Sokol had a mini-reunion at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. They both had back surgery on the same day and were placed in the same room for recovery. Although we do not endorse this kind of WMA mini-reunion, they were both on the road to recovery as they shared stories and laughter!