CLASS OF 1973 | 2015 | ISSUE 1
Jay Rose tells me his son, Adam Rose ’06, was married last October in Seattle. Among the guests were Peter Bernstein, Bill Gillespie, Tim Hinkle ’06, Kingsley Choi ’05, and Rebecca Rabison ’08.
John Spike says after living in Florence, Italy, since 1989, he accepted a post for three years at the College of William and Mary in Willamsburg, Va., where he is assistant director and chief curator at the Muscarelle Museum of Art. His wife Michele is adjunct professor at the Wythe School of Law, also at William and Mary. He says that every summer he returns to Florence, where his son Nicholas married Marcela last October.
David Feldman, aka David Harp, is extremely busy with his harmonica workshops. He just held a Harmonica-Based Mindfulness workshop in Lenox, Mass., in March. It was called “How to Reduce Stress, Increase Mindfulness and Blow Your Blues Away Instantly.” He is offering a one-day “Mindfulness and the Art of the Harmonica: Play Blues, Rock, Folk and Classical Music Today” at Manhattan’s New York Open Center on May 16th and a Harmonica Kirtan the night before. You can reach him at david@davidharp.com.
The intrepid Tom Kelly writes that he is splitting his time between Dallas and San Diego and became CEO of HealthSmart, a health benefits administrator last August. His first grandchild, Aurelia, was born last October. He also said that he and Michael McKenna are headed to the Rugby World Cup in Wales in October. I call Tom intrepid but he was and still is indefatigable. He would sometimes play two rugby games in a row during his time at Wesleyan.
And speaking of Mike McKenna, he writes, “I thought of Wesleyan this morning when I awoke to minus-11 degrees here in Vermont. Bracing but sunny, but made me remember there is no such thing as cold weather, only inappropriate clothes! Also had no less than eight male cardinals at the bird feeders. A veritable conclave! Really pretty against the snow and pine trees.”
Mike says he is sorry he missed our last Reunion but he has a newsy note.
“Writing from my office in our barn, the global HQ of James Farm Creative, a strategic communications consulting firm I started a few years ago, I am happy to report business has grown and we also opened an office in Boston under the name McKenna & Partners,” he says. “Doing some interesting work for a range of great clients and really enjoying it.”
He says 2014 was a good year. He and Lynn spent time in London and had some terrific visits with Peter Smith ’81 and Pete Eisenhardt ’80 and attended some Chelsea games at Stamford Bridge. The Smiths’ daughter is at Wesleyan and is playing varsity squash.
Mike’s “work travels” also brought him in touch with Claire Reade in D.C. and Tom Kelly in New York: “Both are thriving, no surprise there.”
He was also back on campus for the Amherst weekend and saw former soccer teammate Dr. Marion Stoj ’74 inducted into the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame. Soccer captain Kirk Adams was there, as well as Coach Terry Jackson. He said there was a “nice win over the Lord Jeffs.”
In Middletown, Mike also ran into Joshua Boger, who, he said, just did some “amazing photography during a dive off Fiji.” He thinks the photos will be on display in the science building. He also saw Joshua’s new Vertex offices in Boston. “Beautiful and, I’m told, has more square feet than the Prudential Tower,” says Mike.
“In my continuing efforts to become the worst golfer in history, I enjoyed some rounds with Tom Halsey ’72 and Rob Calhoun ’72, as well as Wendy Kravitz,” says Mike. He says his children are well and working in San Francisco. His son, Jake, got married last fall in Sonoma. Jake and his wife, Annie, asked him to officiate, so he got his Universal Life Minister certificate. “I’m finally ordained!” says Mike. “It was really meaningful—outdoors, perfect weather. After leaving Google, Jake joined a start-up digital communications firm and loves it.” After graduating from Middlebury, Mike’s daughter, Lee, became a ski instructor at Jackson Hole for a year and then followed her brother west, where she also is in digital advertising.
While Mike was in San Francisco, he had lunch and caught up with Harold Sogard ’74, who is CEO of an ad agency there. He had just returned from his Wesleyan Reunion and is yet another alumnus with a Cardinal daughter. Mike says he talks regularly with John Hoder, George Doran, and others in the class. “I continue to be amazed by what everyone is doing and realize how lucky I am to know them,” he says.
And what a positive way to wrap up these notes. Until next time,
PETER D’OENCH | Pgdo10@aol.com