Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2000 July/August

Class Notes, 2000 July/August

It's July by the time you are reading this, so it must be getting warmer, assuming you are in the northern hemisphere. It also means it is less than one year until our 10th Reunion. I have been told that the powers that be are already busy preparing for next year's reunion extravaganza. Can you believe it will be ten years since we were on the Hill? In 1991, most of us were struggling to find jobs as we were still in a recession. Fraternity parties had become catered affairs, at least for drinks. Carl Sagan was teaching an undergraduate course. The big hole in the ground on the Arts Quad was finally becoming the new library wing. The Gulf War happened earlier in the year. Our country was led by President George Bush. Actually, that last one may still be the case by next summer. Start making your plans now for a great time.

When last I left you, my submitted article had to be cut by the editors. I will start with that portion that was cut to make sure it makes it this time. Remember, if anything I write is outdated, please send updated information. Much of what I have is from last year's dues cards. Charleen S. King works as a sales and marketing consultant at Sibson & Co. in the Westwood, Los Angeles office. Ruth Ann Keene, JD '98, is an associate in intellectual property licensing and telecommunications at Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco. She sees classmate Ben Black, JD '97, often. Kelly Westbrooks Joyce is a pediatrician in the Cleveland area. Andrew Isikoff is vice president at Blackacre Capital in New York. He and wife Jennifer have son Elias Reid.

Just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of receiving over 700 e-mails in one day, which fried my saved e-mails from some of you. An e-mail I did salvage was from Eric Schneider, MBA '99. He writes that he and wife Susie (Curtis) both have new jobs. Eric works for Corning Incorporated and Susie is an associate director of admissions for Cornell. Chuck Kemper e-mailed that he was married in November 1998. He and Melissa moved to Houston, TX, a week after the wedding. Twin boys, Charles and Henry, came on January 7, '00. They also have daughter Hilary and son Wilson. Chuck is currently serving as human resources director for Kvaerner Engineering & Construction's Southwest US operations. He keeps in touch with Matt Elder, as well as Rob Hill and his wife Liz. Rob and Liz had a baby boy, Robbie Jr., in Feb. 2000. Chuck also heard from Marc Lawrence who is living in London, helping to start up an Internet consulting company and competing in full contact karate. Alex Espinosa wrote in from Germany. He is company commander of Team Bulldog and participated as part of the initial entry force of KFOR into Kosovo, Serbia. He and wife Carolyn Sheils have son Alexander Joseph. Alex reminds us that we have much to be thankful for as Americans.

I was sent an article that ran in the Times Herald-Record, a newspaper in the mid-Hudson Valley, about a classmate and his wife who have become "agri-preneurs." Kathryn (Anderson) '97 and Ron Khosla decided to start a community-supported agriculture project. Members pay $300 to $450 in the spring for weekly shares of hundreds of varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It is all grown organically. On January 16, Jenny Harris married David Faber. Jenny is the executive producer of "Moneyline News Hour" at CNN in New York. David is a reporter in Fort Lee, NJ, for financial news programs on CNBC, including "Faber Report" and "Squawk Box." He is a Tufts graduate. The ceremony was held at the famous Rainbow Room. Nathaniel Grant was married on Sept. 12, '99 to Amy Barnett. The ceremony was held at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture in Brooklyn, NY. Nathaniel is the high-yield bond portfolio manager for Valueline Asset Management in Manhattan. Amy is the deputy lifestyle editor at Essence magazine in Manhattan. She graduated from Brown U. and received a master's degree in creative writing from Columbia.

That was all my most recent offerings. Here are some older ones. Jon Erickson, PhD '97, is an assistant professor of economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. in Troy, NY. Kimberly Epstein, at last check, was with Calotta Levine Samuel LLP. Monte Edwards wrote that he had visited Cornell to present foundation checks on behalf of his company, GTE. While there, he saw Mark Tatum who is working for major league baseball. That makes sense since Mark played ball for the Big Red. Monte also wrote that Steven Brannum, BS Eng '92, is a graduate of U. Penn's Wharton Business School. Julie Breidigan Dombroski had a baby boy last March, Lucas Roark. Laura Hubbert DiCarlo had a boy last August, John David. John Clarke is a graduate of U. Penn also, but from the school of architecture. Thatcher Brown moved to Spain to assist his sister and brother-in-law in opening a café in Madrid called The Sports Café. Pete Boksanski is refinery plant engineer for Tesoro Hawaii Corp. Brian Davies, BS HE '92, MA HE '99, is an assistant professor in interior architecture at U. of Oregon. Sameer Desai is a physician in Fairfax County, VA. He spent six months volunteering in a rural health clinic in India and says to contact him if you have such ambition. Patrick Fagan is a math teacher at Loveland High School, where he is also defensive coordinator. He lives in Cincinnati with wife Tabatha and daughter Kaeley Ann.

In April I attended a weather conference in Nassau, Bahamas. I know, I know, "tough gig." Broadcasters from all over the country came together to discuss hurricane forecasting and television coverage. I ran into several Cornell meteorologists there. Hillary Andrews '92 was on-the-air with Orange County News in California. Fawn Boyd-Vigil '95 is a weather producer at WAGA, Fox 5 in Atlanta. David Price '87 is the morning weather anchor at WNYW, Fox 5 in NYC. It was great to talk to all of them. Other Cornell meteorologists can also be seen on television in several other markets, including Hartford, CT, and Rochester, NY. I have also been in touch with another meteorologist from our class, Simon Atkins. Simon is heading up a weather forecasting company in NYC called Advanced Forecasting Corp., AFC. You can check them out at www.advancedforecasting.com. The website describes the company in detail, but here is a little bit I copied from it: "AFC is a meteorological information technology company, specializing in high-precision global forecasting and weather risk management. We provide customized, reliable prognostications from any locale to any continent, serving many industry sectors, private and public companies, and individuals worldwide." This sounds like quite a large undertaking, and I am sure that Simon and company will be hugely successful.

I visited Mount Washington in January for a story I was producing for our newscast. It is an amazing experience in winter. Everything was covered in ice and the wind chill was an astounding 85 degrees below zero. I actually had ice forming on my face! Perhaps that will cool you off as you read this mid-summer. My family made the trip to Scarsdale, NY, from Boston in April to attend the first birthday celebration of Rebecca Feldman, daughter of Darin and Beth Feldman. Darin is working at Standard and Poor in New York. Until next time.&emdash;Kevin Lemanowicz, 25 Fox Dr., Dedham, MA 02027; e-mail, kpl6@cornell.edu; and Linda Moerck-Cisz, 264 Carpenter Ave., Sea Cliff, NY 11579; e-mail, cisz_mark@jpmorgan.com.