Page 47 - fall2011

FALL 2011 . ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE 45
Cl as s Notes
few hundred bucks on SLU merchandise. I found
an SAE sticker in the back of the store, behind a
pillar, on the bottom row. A quick spin past the
old fraternity should have been the last stop, but
I swung through campus again and stopped at the
Quad, looked around, started and stopped the car
two more times, and remembered why it was so
hard to leave in 1981, and so easy to come back.
1982
Karen Helle Nemiah ’82
58 Oldfield Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
203-256-1171
karen.nemiah@gmail.com
Next Reunion: 35th, 2016
(cluster with ’80, ’81)
From a kick-off at Canaras, to a smooth sailing (er,
flying) charter fromWestchester to the highly cov-
eted fuzzy velour bathrobes in scarlet and brown,
Sarah Johnson Redlich and Alice Sher-
bow (and SLU staffers!) made sure the Class of
’82 was well cared for during Reunion last spring.
We had beautiful weather. We had the company of
some great classes (’56, ’80, ’81, ’86, and of course
you “other guys!”). We had theWedge. A lot. And
my weekend was made when an old friend came
up to me with a hug and said, “I’m SO glad to see
you.” THIS is what makes Reunion.
I did learn that while we love to catch up, we
love picking up and reveling in the present even
more. Mysteriously, a cloud of amnesia fell over
any I questioned for this column, leaving me cha-
grined to admit that yes, in fact I DO have to strut
around with pad and paper in hand and demand a
full accounting of everyone I see. Sigh.
The other “incident” that has compromised this
reporting is “the dog ate my homework.” Or
something equally dismal. The fact remains that
my already limited notes VANISHED. Evaporated.
Vamoosed. Leaving us with my memory of a fabu-
lous but poorly recorded weekend. So I apologize
straight away to anyone I missed, misrepresented
or otherwise disabused. It really was great to see
you.
Our reunion adventure began at Westchester
Airport, where we became a pack of 20-odd par-
ty-ready ’82ers (and a few underage hangers-on!)
on the Johnson Express flight (THANKS Sarah!),
delivering us to SLU without incident and in time
for Friday afternoon activities.
Beth Nicholas Bemis, Bob Bareika and
Brad Clough created a mini-Vienna program
reunion for me, joined later by Lisa Thorpe
Brown. Brad made the trek from Montana,
where he teaches Asian religions at the University
of Montana.
Dan Posener hopped out of NYC, where he
works the producing side of Broadway musicals.
Dan is the latest ’82er to join the Alumni Council,
so look to him for news from the front.
Bill Bergner and biz partner Rob McCarter
are test-driving a new joint business venture and
took this opportunity to assess the appeal of pri-
vate jet service for future endeavors. Bill’s daugh-
ter Elise, 9, helped with the assessment.
Dave Grogan, Greg Rodiger, Hal
Hawkey, David “Sherm” Potter, Karl
Woelflien, Steve Lazare, Dan Fish, Rich
“Rack” Ragold and Steve Boynton were
also on hand to engage in lots of catching-up and
general revelry. Nora Hill took a break from her
candy store duties in Ft Collins, Col., where she
owns a Kilwins store, to sample her candy goods
amongst the private jet clientele. We confirmed
that handmade chocolates and cashew brickle
complement cold beers nicely, especially at 10,000
feet.
Trish MacLaren , who is still a California
girl, brought her two kids, Arden and Craig, and
showed them a good time NYC-style before they
saw how we really rock in Canton! Trish noted
her kids really enjoyed staying with the 50th Re-
union class (apparently deemed a more appropri-
ate dwelling for young children than with the wild
likes of ’82ers without kids) as there were plenty
of golf carts at the kids‘ disposal.
A classy group, we even had this year’s Sol
Feinstone Humanitarian Awardee on our plane,
Kathryn Mayer. Her background in invest-
ment banking and consulting provides a platform
for her to specialize in micro-financing opportuni-
ties for women in developing nations. When not
being honored, she runs her own consulting busi-
ness, coaching business professionals.
Ric Miranda even joined us for the flight. It
seems Ric and I have been on parallel paths for the
last 32 years and finally met in June. Crazy. Ric
hails from Utah and is a principal at HoulihanValu-
ation Advisors, a valuation consulting firm, where
he’s been for the past seven years. Job perks in-
clude about 45 days at Alta each year, where he
gets to ski with Jock Danforth. With wife Lisa
of 20 years, they have two daughters, 5 and 13.
Once we arrived on campus, all who hadn’t been
in Canton for a spell oohed and ahhed. Natch, the
place looked fabulous. Even better from a golf cart
when luggage was involved. (The theory that all
needed to conserve energy for later frivolity was
also considered).
Steve and Heather Bow Schultz and their
two sons were on hand as they relocate them-
selves from Jackson Hole,Wyo., to the shores of
Rhode Island. Steve is trading in his time with the
non-profit world and heading back into corporate
marketing.
As the day rolled into evening, ’82ers were natu-
rally found rocking to the Flying Wedge (which
now has a FB group, BTW. Yeah. Join it!). Kim
Brown Morrow, Alice Sherbow, Jenny
Miles, Karen Muehlberg Kremer, Pam
Van Hoven Clark, Susan Holgate, Ju-
lie Palmer Knight, Chuck Schwer, Ron
Buell, Kevin Brooks and adopted class mem-
bersWalter Roll ’81 and Beth Hanggeli ’81 all took
Sullivan Student Center by storm and pressed the
Wedge to play into the wee hours of the morning,
causing Scott Brown ’72 to sternly clarify, “THIS
really IS our last song!” (Saturday night, thanks to
the magic of Rack’s purple blazer, Scott and the
band eclipsed their curfew again, sending us all to
bed, sore, tired and happy.)
We had a touching tribute to the life of Randy
Williams with a tree-planting ceremony in front
of Hulett Hall. Mark Westcott worked tire-
lessly to create an SLU scholarship in Randy’s name
(which counts as a regular SLU donation too; just
specify when you give) and this was an opportunity
for Randy’s friends and classmates to gather and
celebrate his life and impressive military career, cut
short by ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It was a
wonderful, soulful honor, complete with an acous-
ticWedge duet of “Ripple” and cans of beer shared
mitted that it helped to have a few current student
ringers participate too.
● Lisa Jolley, Carolyn Streett Simpson and
Amy had a Long Island Iced Tea at the University
Inn, just like the old days on Saturday afternoon.
● Jay Buchta was seen leaving the gym on Sat-
urday night right before the dinner was supposed
to begin. He explained that his wife encouraged
him to leave and come back after he changed from
his jean cutoff shorts to something a little less ca-
sual.
● Helen Marra Madden and Judy Wil-
liams Reddy organized housing at Delta for
several classmates, including Janice Wood-
cock, Mary Masters Opila, Anne Denni-
son Fleming and Betsy Moog Brooks. The
Delta kitchen was being renovated, so crisis struck
when they could not find a bottle opener late
on Saturday night. Leave it to Janice “MacGyver”
Woodcock to create an alternative.
Many thanks to Judy for creating and providing
a double CD of tunes for each classmate who at-
tended Reunion. The memories will linger every
time the CD is popped into our cars.
Mark your calendar: Our 35th Reunion will be
June 2-5, 2016, a cluster with the Classes of 1980
and 1982.
We have a photo gallery on the alumniWeb site.
You can add your own photos to an event! Go to
https://alumni.stlawu.edu/events/gallery and select
“submit your Saints Network Event Photos” and
you’ll be able to create and add photos to the Re-
union 2011 album.
Tom Goss wrote inApril,“Two wonderful boys
keep me busy: Eli, 14, and Ethan, 17 (thinking of
applying to SLU). I’ve enjoyed working as an el-
ementary school counselor for the last 13 years.
And Block Island is still my dream place to enjoy
with my family.Though living in Vermont has been
nice, nothing beats the salt air and sandy beach-
es.” He couldn’t make it to Reunion since Ken
Brownell was getting married that weekend.
Mark Lonnegren, his two brothers and he all
stood with Ken.
We fell shy of 50% of us when the annual gifts
were tallied for our class. Could have been higher!
There are plenty of reasons to not give back to
SLU and they all seem plausible – out of work,
other commitments … you name it. But at the
level most of us are able to give, it’s not about the
money ... it’s the participation that counts. Given
what I saw at Reunion, we ought to be the kind
of school that boasts participation numbers in the
70% region. Frankly, I am hard pressed to wonder
why it is not 100%. St. Lawrence thrives because
we come back and we give back. We all took
something from SLU that contributed to where
we are now, or helped develop the skills to do
something about it if we wanted to be in some
other place. I want to be one of those old guys
who at age 90 is able to make the walk to the front
of Gunnison Chapel at our 70th Reunion and act
like a kid again.
I woke on Sunday morning to the whispers of
people leaving early to make long trips home. Af-
ter breakfast at Dana (great food) and a quick walk
around campus, I, too, was ready to hit the road. I
got into the car and drove out Romoda Drive and
through the main entrance, but instead of turn-
ing right toward Vermont and home, I turned left
and drove through downtown Canton. The town
needs commerce, but it still has a charm to it.Then
I headed to Brewer Bookstore, where I dropped a