Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2008 March/April

Class Notes, 2008 March/April

March/April 2008

Has anyone else happened to notice how often our classmates are featured in the front two-thirds of Cornell Alumni Magazine? In recent issues, there have been feature articles about, and other stories mentioning, many of our classmates: Alan Rosen scored the cover story last fall! This serves as another example of how our class continually stands apart from the rest. Keep up the great work, Class of '91!

Congratulations to Sheri Wilner, who received a Bush Artist Fellowship in Playwriting. The Bush Artist Fellows Program awards $50,000 to each fellow to continue to develop his or her work. The fellows are selected from panels of nationally recognized artists and arts leaders who look for artists with a strong vision, creative energy, and evidence of perseverance. Sheri lives in New York City. According to the Fall 2007 issue of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News, Enjar Knudsen III was recently recognized by CALS with a Young Alumni Achievement Award. Enjar is a managing partner of Kruse Investment Company, a family investment office, and Craton Capital, a hedge fund focused on public and private investments. Enjar also finds time to give back to his community and Cornell. He founded a yearly fundraiser for a local college, raising more than $200,000, and he helped save a community service center at the Goshen School by having Western Milling purchase the facility. Enjar serves on the CALS Dean's Advisory Counsel and was a presenter at the Entrepreneurship@Cornell 2007 conference.

Chris Stuebner contributed an article in Realities of Foreign Service Life, Volume 2 (paperback) relating to seeking employment as a "trailing spouse." In this book, members of the US diplomatic community share their knowledge, research, personal perspectives, and candid insights into the Foreign Service lifestyle. Focusing on the "realities" faced by diplomats and their families outside the embassy or consulate walls, the authors explore topics such as schooling and housing abroad, intercultural marriage, medical evacuations, employment for accompanying partners, and the growing number of unaccompanied assignments.

Christina Moeder Shaul launched DavidsonREADs, a town-wide "one book, one community" reading program in Davidson, NC. She assembled a committee composed of local residents and representatives from the local library, local bookstore, and Department of Parks and Recreation to select a book for everyone in town to read. The committee then held many book-related events, including a kick-off, book discussions, a get-to-know-the-author night, a Halloween-themed event, and a tie-in with the Davidson Historical Society. "It has been a great way to get to know lots of people," says Christina, "and participation has been quite enthusiastic! I've had a great time working on this project, and we plan to do it again next year."

After years of work in accounting, Laurie Ceglowski Fronhofer is now teaching Spanish at the local junior high school in Salem, NY. This new role has been a great learning experience for Laurie, albeit incredibly challenging. The consummate professional, Laurie reports that she feels she is never done or fully satisfied, although that is quite typical in teaching, particularly during the first year. As for her students, Laurie says "they are so much fun, most days." She hadn't remembered how much boys of that age giggle. Laurie also coached the school's field hockey team last fall, which she had done previously. When not teaching or coaching, Laurie has her hands full with children Luke, 10, and Scout, 8. In news from other working moms, Stacy Stephans is at Emory U. in Atlanta, GA, as a senior associate director of programs in the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease. She and her husband have three sons, ages 5, 3, and 1. Earlier this year, Cathy Merrill Williams took over her family business, and she is now publisher of Washingtonian Magazine. She lives in D.C. with her husband Paul and their sons Wynne, 3, and Bryce, 1-1/2.

Our classmates continue to welcome new additions to their families. Fran Simon and her partner Anna welcomed Jeremy Benjamin in July 2007. Fran and Anna moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Denver in 2004 and had their wedding in 2005. Fran continues to work as an independent marketing research and analytics consultant. Denise Law LaGalia and husband Bob welcomed Catherine Marie on November 24, 2007. Denise reports that her son Matthew, 7, is a very loving big brother. On October 17, 2007, Jennifer Gray Moss and her husband Brian added their third baby, Draden Elizabeth, to the fold. Will, 5, and Emeline, 3-1/2, are captivated. "Sometimes I literally have to peel them off of her," reports Jen. On December 8, 2007, Eric Bluman and wife Trimble Augur welcomed second daughter Tenney. Big sister Adair, 1-1/2, is very happy with her new baby sister.

Britt Lacher welcomed Julien Lee on October 1, 2007. In November, Britt wrote that she was taking a long maternity leave from her career as an emergency medicine physician at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ, spending time at the beach "down south" with the baby. Britt was busy last fall visiting with many friends, including Jill Cohen Garcia, who flew up from her home in Florida to meet baby Julien. She would love to hear from Alisa Lefkowitz, Heather Lowry Cundey, and Lauryn Schmerl.

Meredith Clark Shachoy reports that she had an amazing time at RuthAnn Keene, JD '98's wedding in Crested Butte, CO, last September. It was a Cornell reunion, with many classmates in attendance, including Elizabeth Kuo Spokes, Steve '90 and Elleke Monster Haggerty, Hilary Morse '84, Jill Weisman Pflaum, MBA '97, Richard and Sabrina Strickland Fertig, and Jed Tukman '93. "The weekend was filled with Cornell memories, and we certainly added a few more to the collection," wrote Meredith. Not least of which was the spectacular rainbow that filled the sky on RuthAnn's wedding day.

Class President Bob Baca and his wife Stacey celebrated their fifth anniversary by taking a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and getting the "most amazing" pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli. If you live in NYC, this story may not sound like such a big deal, but Bob and Stacey live near Washington, DC, so a trip to New York for a sandwich is a trek. "As you can tell, we enjoy celebrating in non-traditional ways, and we had a great time," wrote Bob. Bob was recently promoted at the USDA and now heads a team that ensures that the USDA's plant pest control programs are in compliance with environmental laws. During 2007, his team was involved with new plant pests discovered in California, New York, Idaho, and Guam (though he was not lucky enough to take any business trips to Guam this year).

Did you know that because our class has so many duespaying members, we are entitled to longer columns in the Class Notes than many other classes? Please help us use all of our space by sending us news of your work, travels, awards, publications, successes, random musings, and any special vignettes that your classmates and the broader Cornell community might enjoy. You can submit news through a link on our class website (http://classof91.alumni.cornell.edu), directly to us via the e-mail addresses listed at the bottom of this column, or on the news form included in our class mailings and the University's fundraising mailings. Best regards to all--I hope your year is going well. Ariane Schreiber Horn, ams14@cornell.edu; Kathryn Kraus Bolks, klk22@cornell.edu; Sharlyn Carter Heslam, sheslam@berkshirepartners.com.