Class Notes - 2017 November/December, Cornell University Class of 1991

Class Notes, 2017 November/December

November/December 2017

The preparation and banter starts months in advance—it’s almost as fun as the event it¬ self. Simply called “Mecca,” it’s been an annual pilgrim¬ age of 15¬20 DKE Cornellians for nearly every summer since graduation. Michael “Cliffy” Clifford ’90 (Feeding Hills, MA) is one of the founding fathers. Cliffy is a sales manager for Champion Container Corp., “which delivers just in time packaging container solutions to companies of all sizes.” He and wife Lori have a son and daughter, 18 and 8. Cliffy’s most valuable “sale” outside of the company? That’s easy: convincing Carl Oronsky ’92, coordinator extraordinaire, to keep Mecca going all these years. More on that in a moment.

Writing to you today is classmate Joe Marraccino. Thanks to Tom Greenberg for his years of reporting and for passing the torch to me. Here’s my “Mecca” to date. Shortly after graduating from the Ag school, I joined the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where I spent 22 years in various senior roles in finance, operations, strategy, and risk. I owe a lot to the New York Fed, and dug deep to leave, but I did about three years ago to start a new-ish career. I leaped and landed on the wings of a small financial planning and investment firm. I now have my own wings, helping people see and manage their full financial picture. I enjoyed spending time with Darin Spilman ’90 at Mecca. He had a hunch years ago and introduced me to my now wife, Jen. We live in Nyack, NY, with our four children, two boys, 18 and 13, and two girls, 16 and 6. Our oldest, Justin, is off to college! His own Mecca begins at Roger Williams U.

Baseball enthusiasts Cliffy and Carl, one living on the East Coast the other on the West Coast, “were look¬ing for a central place to meet and reminisce. We chose Chicago and Wrigley Field, the Mecca of baseball,” Carl explained. That was the beginning. It’s grown in number ever since and expanded in some years to other cities like Denver, Milwaukee, and this year Philadelphia, where Seth Shapiro ’93 set us up with a nice suite. I got to see old friends Dale Galvin ’92, Glenn Haber ’92, Joe Iglesias ’92, Joe Gatto ’92, and Drew Ries ’92.

Good to talk to Bob Page ’90 about his career in finance and Andrew Stein ’90, whose son is also college-bound, to Cornell.

These past Mecca attendees (or wannabes) were missed this year. Don Barrick (Lloyd Harbor, NY) is starting to empty his own nest. “Our oldest, daughter Emily, is off to St. Lawrence U.,” Don said proudly, and toasted with his latest find, an Iron ¬Maiden ¬themed beer (it’s true, he sent me a picture). Don is owner and president of RMP Capital Corp. since 2003. His company “provides purchase order financing to small¬ and medium¬-sized businesses, domestic and international.” Don has also devoted ten years on the board of Life’s WORC, “an NYC/ LI ¬based nonprofit organization providing both residen¬tial and support services for over 1,500 developmen¬tally disabled and autistic individuals and their families.” On the Hill, Don had a brief stint in the Engineering college, but graduated a Hotelie. Don and wife Nancy have two other children, boys aged 15 and 11.

Chris “Whip” Dugan (Mount Sinai, NY), who recently relived his heavy metal/punk days with Don Barrick at an Iron Maiden concert, is a special education teacher for the Huntington School District in Central Long Island. Whip thinks every day about the advice given to him by his parents—“Work hard and try to make a difference”— and his peers describe him as someone who “has a special way with students who have special needs.” Whip studied Human Ecology. He and his wife, Joyce (Martir) ’90, have two children, 17 and 14, and spend most of their free time with them at the soccer field. Whip has also been keeping himself busy with his mountain bike and new fishing kayak.

More alt than heavy metal, I really hope that Jim Hamilton (Bethesda, MD) is not continuing to blast that same U2 song over and over again. Jim is managing director, head of US agency at Jellyfish Online Marketing. Jim, as part of this UK ¬based, full-service digital agency, is “responsible for revenue growth, profit and loss, and executing US expansion.” Jim studied engineering at Cornell. How did that prepare him for his current field? “Good question,” he quipped. He and wife Rebecca (Warme) spend most of their free time raising their two boys, 14 and 10.

“So, what does Mecca mean to you?” I asked Cliffy as the weekend drew to a close. He sat silently, snickered, and gave me a look from 25 ¬plus years ago. I knew exactly what he was saying . . . It’s about reliving old times while continuing the journey forward. And to Carl, who shows no signs of slowing down, “How long will you keep Mecca going?” Carl laughed, “It’s like herding cats every summer, but it’s become a labor of love. We’ve talked about expanding to our children when they reach 21.”

Now it’s your turn. What’s your "Mecca?" A career change, a child off to college, a gathering of classmates, moving to a new location . . . Text me—subject line: Mecca—at (845) 548¬2564 and I’ll contact you a.s.a.p. to hear your story! We’d love to hear from you about anything. Submit an online news form or contact one of us directly at: Joe Marraccino, Joe.Marraccino@wfafinet.com; Wendy Milks Coburn, wmilkscoburn@me.com; J. Tim Vanini, lavanooche@icloud.com; Lori Woodring, lori.woodring@yahoo.com.

Cornell Class of 1991

Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2017 November/December

Class Notes, 2017 November/December

November/December 2017

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