Jeff and Craig

Irm, Peg and Kate Party at Irm's
January 2006

Dear Classmates:

I was career military for 20 years. Got called back to active duty during the first desert storm. But due to the shortness of the war I did not see any action. Right after my first retirement from the military I work for Merrill Lynch for eight years. After that I worked as a contractor for the military. My jobs during this period have been with the Black Hawk Program Manager's Office and the Ground Base Missile Defense. Looking towards my final retirement which should be in the next few years.

Malcolm

Malcolm Brown and Family

Dear Classmates:
I am a very active home brewer. I am attaching a picture of my brewing system so that you can appreciate the scale of my operation.

I typically brew batches of beer of 6 to 12 gallons, sometimes two batches in a brew day (which is typically a Sunday). I have been blessed with some aptitude for the hobby - perhaps my German heritage or my love of great food, beers and wines. I brewed my first batch in June of 2002, and started building my whole grain brew system several months later, with the help of a friend who started MASH, the home brew club in Miami, then moved to Gainesville and joined the Hogtown Brewers, which I joined about the same time.

Together we managed to keep improving our system, winning the Hogtown Brewers BOTY (Brewer of the Year) trophy in 2004.

In 2005 I stepped this up a bit, becoming the Primary Fermentor (president of the club) and winning 8 gold medals (and a bunch of 2nds and 3rds) in homebrew competitions in Florida and Texas. And I managed to win the BOTY competition again, this time without much help from my "brewing partner" who now has a girlfriend, who he is training to appreciate the finer aspects of the world of beer.

I have MANY thoughts about starting yet another career as a commercial brewer, either with a brew-pub, or starting what would be the first (dream on) "world class" micro-brewery in Florida. But my wife keeps pointing to the low success rate for such ventures.

In case you are wondering, I still keep one foot in the old technology consulting business that I started in 1986 (Pcube Labs). I write a monthly column on emerging technologies for Broadcast Engineering magazine (http://broadcastengineering.com/beyond_the_headlines/). But most of my time is spent doing major remodeling construction work on older homes for clients. I am hoping to turn this into a more profitable business by buying, remodeling and reselling homes (i.e. flipping).

I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the re-union, not to mention getting to see some old friends for the first time in many years.

Craig Birkmaier

Craig getting a hug from a friend

Stan Biggs with his Barber Shop Quartet.
Stan writes: The quartet's name is Omega and the picture was taken this past Valentine's Day when barbershoppers around the country go out and deliver singing valentines. It's one of our major fund raisers. The lady is a colleague's mother. She's a HUGE barbershopper fan and this was her first singing valentine. The picture was taken in the cardiac therapy room of a local hospital where Ms. Busch was on the treadmill when we arrived. She was just too cute, all smiles.

Stan ( third from the left)

Lynn Allieri Bixler and husband Ken attended the wedding of their son, Eric and his new bride Staci on April 9. 2005. Congratulations !

Lynn, Staci, Eric and Ken

June 2006

Kerry Martin Maxwell

Having just retired from a 30 year career in corporate banking at the end of April, I am in the throws of change. Oddly enough, it is sort of like graduating - all those options out there; so much to see; so much to do! Whether this is true retirement or a sabbatical of sorts remains to be seen. I know I want to travel to some of my favorite places and seek some new adventures - then, who knows!

With all of the banking mergers, takeovers, and name changes my list of employers seems endless. Fortunately, I was generally with the acquirer, not the acquired. I thrive on managing change and that is what banking has been all about for the last 30 years so I did fairly well leaving Wachovia Bank as a Senior Vice President/Director. Most of my career was focused on high risk lending - leveraged buyouts, acquisition financing and large corporate bankruptcies so it was exciting, had its fun moments and was a pretty "safe" niche. No matter what the economy was doing, I had a place.

Somewhat of a corporate nomad, I have lived in Charlotte, Atlanta, Boston, Atlanta, again, Charlotte, also again, and managed to spend the last four years of my career in South Florida. It has changed so much from when we went to school here but, for now, I call it home.

My children are fantastic and a constant source of joy and support. Darren, 36, lives a little north of Atlanta. He and wife, Julie, have blessed me with three grandchildren-the boys, Jacob and Benjamin, are 6 and 5 and Anna is 3. My daughter, Kim is 33 and she and her fiancé, Bob, live in Charlotte.

I love to travel and plan to spend the next six months wandering to as many places as I can fit in. So far, the itinerary includes Alaska, a return trip to southern Africa and a couple of weeks in China. Family and friends keep track of where I am (or am supposed to be) and catch a picture or two of my travels on www.wild-eyed-cam.blogspot.com.

Attached is my "retirement photo" - note the big smile - and one of my favorite shots of the grandkids.

Kerry and Grandchildren

I am looking forward to the reunion and hope that the folks that don't make it back this time mark their calendars for our next get together.

Kerry

May 2006

Linda Ruffin Goldser

This is part of an email letter to Lynn Allieri Bixler from Linda

My life has been an adventure..... My family left Hollywood, Florida in February 1966 directly after my completion of the credits needed for graduation. I missed all graduation ceremonies, which I am sorry about. We were headed to Australia by way of California and I was going to go to the University of Queensland.

Our plan was to stay in Los Angeles until my younger sister, Louise, finished high school, which she did at the infamous Hollywood High. Well, one thing led to another and as some plans do, ours fell apart. We lived in Hollywood, California in the 60`s and as you have no doubt heard lots went on there during that time period. As far as my life went, shortly after moving there, I got thrown out of my house for hanging out with the lead singer of a long haired blues band so I moved in with the band and spent a few months traveling with them. After that I lived just a block off Sunset Strip near the Whiskey-a-go-go and spent many nights there and on the strip doing what all the teens were doing at that time.

I spent a few months in San Francisco and returned to L.A. where I met my future husband who worked at UCLA. We were married in September 1968 and I gave birth to my daughter in 1970. We moved to San Francisco when she was 6 weeks old and lived in the city for 1 year then moved to Berkeley for another year as my husband worked at UC Berkeley.

Being free spirits and tired of the "establishment" we then moved to the Hood River Valley in Oregon and bought 6 acres of beautiful land just 10 miles from Mount Hood. We lived there for four happy years before we decided to break up.

That is when my daughter and I moved to Portland where I have lived since then. I went to a business college and majored in accounting and fashion merchandising. After graduating I got a job with a major retail chain as a shoe buyer where I worked for 26 years. Three years ago they were bought out and moved their buying offices to Los Angeles. My choice was to move there and keep my job or not. So I decided to retire early. After doing some part time work for Reebok I decided to make my retirement a permanent thing.

Since then I have had the privilege of spending time with my grandson who is 7 at present and in the first grade. It is the best job I ever had and would not change it for anything. I walk him to the bus in the morning and work on homework with him in the afternoon and volunteer at his school one day a week.

I enjoy gardening, reading, writing, remodeling my home, cooking and all sorts of crafts. My great joys in life are my beautiful daughter, who I am so proud of and my grandson. I have never re-married. I have had a full life and enjoy every raindrop and ray of sun Mother Nature sends my way.

Well, that's me in a nutshell....seems like so many years to be put into just a few paragraphs....let me know how things go at the reunion.

Fred Scheidler

May 24, 2006

Fred Scheidler – After Nova

We were at Nova less than three years but it really shaped a lot of my next decade. Starting the year before Nova, I took an electronics class from Pete Smith’s father in Pompano. Here I met Ray Pinson, and the two of us came to Nova with our new radio amateur licenses and a thirst for more electronics. Ron Ort also had a ham license and I got Dave Shiplett started as well. In electronics class Craig Birkmaier, Dave and I built a high voltage generator and later Rick Price and I built a TV camera. Dave and I shared a business venture in later years and Ray and I have continued our friendship through the years. Add a senior year metallurgy class and my technical future was set.

College included a degree from Broward in electronics, with several more years at FAU in marketing and management. My first significant employment was in the defense industry working on weapons systems for the F-111, P-3 and F-14, and electronic analysis equipment for the Navy and other government agencies. When this market slowed down I worked on large computer systems for ModComp in Lauderdale. This led to a position based in Atlanta as a field service engineer installing and repairing CT brain scanners, body scanners, and assisting in the research labs for the first MRI systems. Next came servicing Hewlett Packard analysis equipment in industry, colleges and crime labs, Oak Ridge and Savannah River nuclear facilities. Less travel came with working on mainframe and network support for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office and the Department of Agriculture. My final eleven years were working on high resolution imaging with laser and optic systems in the south and east, Barbados and Puerto Rico.

Retirement in 2002 has allowed me to chase my other life long interests in archaeology. In the seventies I located and donated an ancient dugout to a Broward museum. I worked most weekends for three years with the Broward archaeologists at local dig sites but could not find a similar group in Georgia until recently. Currently I hold several offices in archaeological groups, attend conferences of interest, participate in field work and volunteer up to several days a week to either of two archaeology laboratories in local museums.

My wife Carol and I married in 1971. She was born in Syracuse, NY and her folks moved to Aruba when she was four. She grew up with the palms and lagoons until she went to the U of Arizona for her BSRN. Her career was in pediatric nursing and she retired in 2001. Our son is a senior network analyst for a large Atlanta law firm.

Chuck Partusch

April 17, 2006

Jeff,

Received a very nice letter from Lynn Bixler, and yes you have found another classmate. I've been to the website and enjoyed reading about the interesting lives of my fellow Nova grads of 1966. We grew up in a very interesting time in history, and it appears many of us have gone about the business of making a difference since we graduated from Nova.

Although I will not be able to join you for the 40th Reunion in Ft Lauderdale, I am interested in joining you in cyberspace.
My Story: Earned a Backelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Florida. Low draft number = enlisted in U.S. Navy. Discovered the Navy wasn't so bad and so I applied and was accepted as a Supply Corps Officer. The Navy has been a wonderful experience - I have literally seen the world as an enlisted member, an officer and a Navy civilian employee. I have enjoyed working as a logistician and as a program manager, which is what I currently do in Mechanicsburg, PA.managing an information technology automation program. My bride of 33 years is also a Navy civilian, where she is a public affairs officer. We have a wonderful and enriching life together. We were blessed with two daughters and eight grandchildren.

I was a very serious and quiet person back in my high school years, so not too many of our classmates will really remember me. My best friend from Nova was Ron Ort. If you have an email address for him, please let him know he can reach me at the email I have sent you. You and members of the Reunion Committee may use this same email address to contact me, but please do not publish or give my email address to anyone else.

Keep up your efforts to locate our fellow classmates. I do have fond memories of my Nova experiences. I have managed to ensure my Nova yearbook has always gone with me in over 29 different moves. I've got the website marked as a "Favorite," so it will be fun to check in every so often to see who else you have found as you prep for the 40th Celebration.

Thanks, Chuck (Partusch)

Gretchen Matzke Konas
April 13, 2006
Gretchen sent in the following biographical sketch.

Gretchen Konas (Matzke)
Director of Public Relations
Charter Board Member of FEED MY PEOPLE

Born in the Midwest in the late 40's, the seeds of a strong work ethic with perseverance flourished in through her family's nurturing. The eldest of three, she graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Nursing.

Her servant-heart matured during her childhood in Florida through church and school activities. With a heart yielded to God, she was able to adopt and raise two children, Amanda and Brian. Her 1996 marriage to Jason Konas , her soul-mate, grew her family to include another son, Clay. Today they make their home in Atlanta, Georgia. They have two grandchildren Caleb and Connor.

Her dedication to her Nursing career has lasted over thirty years. Today, that perseverance, drive and loyalty- combined with a desire and passion to help those in need- is what led her to become involved with Feed My People. She has worked with various civic and community groups including Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, The Methodists UMCOR and Wesley Walks, Royal Family Kid's camp for abused children, Samaritans Together and served in her church as Children's co-coordinator, teacher,and speaker. Professionally she has been active in her professional organization at a state and local level and was the first staff chairman for a hospital laddering program.

Her passions include gardening, camping, jogging and being "Grandma."Her ultimate ambition in life is to love the Lord with all of her heart and demonstrate this love to others by making a difference in her little corner of the world- one by one.

Bill Naiper

March 28, 2006

I guess we’re all sort of interested in what each other did for the last 40 years between Nova and now. I have enjoyed reading about you and this has been my great life to the present.

I met my bride, Linda, of 36 plus years at the University of South Florida. We graduated there, her to go into education and myself to take a shot at television. I was completing a Masters but she thought I would be happier in TV. She was correct. We had two children in Tampa, Rob, my oldest and Cheri. Both have done really well. Rob is a Computer Engineer for Cisco Systems and travels the world dealing with security issues for Cisco. Cheri is a Vice President for Wachovia Bank, located in Charlotte. Her goal was to make VP before 30. She did it. (I have GREAT kids.)

These are my two kids Linda raised so well in our backyard where we live in Belmont, NC, near Charlotte.

Cheri and Rob

After graduation from USF I worked at WTVT in Tampa doing television remotes, mostly sports, for CBS, ABC, and NBC ending up as the Assistant Chief Engineer for the station. In 1978 we moved to Charlotte with me taking a position as Technical Operations Manager for a television production company associated with a CBS television station. We did a lot of Sports remotes for ABC like Monday Night Football, Monday Night Baseball and national commercial work as well. One of the claims to fame is the “Tidy Bowl Man” commercial. Anyone remember that one?

I moved over to the TV station in 1984, WBTV the CBS station in Charlotte, as Director of Engineering and Operations. I ended up as Vice President, Operations for the TV station group before leaving in 1999. By then the company was called Jefferson-Pilot Communications. It was owned by the insurance company of the same name. In those 20 years I build TV stations, 2,000 foot TV towers and, with the help of a really great staff, built the first full power High Definition Television station in the US. I had a lot of fun working in Washington, DC with industry planning for this “HD TV thing.”

Here is a picture of me in 2004 at one of our reunions for WBTV, television. Yea, full time suit guy -

Bill

Someplace during all this time Linda decided that I should return to the one thing that always interested me – flying. So I became a pilot and got to fly for business and pleasure to many places. Linda said “flying was less expensive then a triple bypass heart operation.” She is always correct and for me it is very relaxing to fly airplanes.

In 1999 I was invited to join another TV, Radio and Cable Company headquartered in Charlotte where I am Senior Vice President for Engineering and Technology. I think the “Senior” part of the title is as much due to age as expertise. I continue to build TV and radio stations having now been doing this for money for some 40 years. Some may remember I worked for WCKT (now WSVN) in Miami while I was still at Nova. As you may have seen in another post, I also deal with computers. But who doesn’t now?

Linda now has an advanced education degree beyond the Masters; I’ve always called it a “Baby PhD.” She was in Media and Library work for years. But now she works full time with computers in the school system. She really enjoys it and that is probably where she will end her full time career.

Now the love and pride of our lives are the four grandchildren. Rob has three boys and Cheri one boy. As you all know who have grandkids, they are a treat. We think there may be one more from Cheri and Jonathan, her husband. Both have MBA’s so we figure they are “running the numbers” even as I type.

Here is some of the family at my Son’s house for the “second Christmas” for the grandkids who were at the “other” grandparents this year for Christmas day. Linda, my bride, more properly called Nana at this time, is in the red along with my son in-law, daughter in-law and three of the four boys.

Bill's Grandchildren

I trust all of you have had as great a 40 years span between Nova and now as I have been blessed to have received. I look forward to seeing old friends again in 2006.

Bill

R.W. (Bill) Napier
Senior Vice President Engineering & Technology
Bahakel Communication, Ltd.
bnapier@bellsouth.net

Beverly Sklarew Langley Stephens

February 21, 2006

My life like all of yours has taken a number of twists and turns. Let's break it down into four paths that then became a superhighway. First of all, I was married to Vic Langley for over thirty years. We had three great children and a great life together. Unfortunately, Vic died of cancer in his early fifties. Our children have given me five beautiful grandchildren.

In 1969, I became a nurse, received a Bachelor's Degree, a Master's of Science, and a Master's in Health Administration. I was an adjunct professor at Barry University and was an advisor for graduate students at Nova Southeastern University. I sat on the Advisory Board for Health Administration at Nova Southeastern University. A number of my research studies have been published in prominent medical journals, specifically in the area of trauma with an emphasis on pediatric trauma. During my career, I've spoken at a number of national conventions in the area of cardiovascular nursing and trauma as well as mental health issues and was part of the International Committee Teleconference on Mental Health Issues, chaired by Rosalind Carter.

My professional career was spent at the North Broward Hospital district, starting as an intensive care nurse and becoming a clinical nurse specialist in cardiovascular nursing. As a specialist, I managed the cardiac intensive care unit and the cardiac invasive care unit (open heart surgery). In 1985, I was appointed Director of Nursing for the Flagship Hospital in Broward County, overseeing the nursing care for seven hundred and fifty patients and managing over two thousand nurses. In the mid-nineties, I was promoted to Vice President of Clinical and Business Development for the hospital district, a position from which I ultimately retired in 2003.

The final path is the path that takes us to our responsibility within the community in which we live. For a number of years, I was appointed by the governor of Florida and chaired the Human Rights Advocacy Committee for Broward County. I was active in the Broward County health planning council, where I sat on the mental health committee, the trauma standards committee, and the substance abuse committee. I was active in the United Way as a member of the health care funding committee and finally represented over fifty frail mental health patients at South Florida State Hospital throughout the court system.

In 2003, I remarried, retired, and relocated to Lakeland, FL, where I now take care of my husband and volunteer at the local free clinic (free to the working poor). I also sit on the Board for Speak Up for Children, which is the board that oversees the guardian ad litem program in District 10 of Florida. Currently, I am a guardian to a two-year-old child, who is in protective custody. In the future, I plan to continue to be heavily involved in community activities as well as political agendas because now I have the time and the energy to do even more than I have in the past.

Sincerely,
Beverly Sklarew Langley Stephens

The picture attached is my husband and I at our soon-to-be home site in North Carolina.

Beverly Sklarew

Nancy Sterngold
April 2005
Nancy writes:

Hi Lynn-- Nancy Sterngold here. I have just spent some time enjoying the Titans website-- fun!

Here's a little bit about me:

I now live in Los Angeles, specifically in West Hollywood. It was a huge adjustment after living in New York City for over 20 years but I'm now adjusted and really like it here. I have become a Scrabble tournament player. Also, believe it or not, my parents saved the first issue of the NovaVue after all these years.

I would like to know the following:
Did John Batchelder ever go to California Institute of Technology?

Hellos to:
Beverly Sklarew, Jeff Smith, Rick Slevinksi and everyone!

Best wishes,
Nancy

Nancy Sterngold

"Chip" Schumm
April 2005
Chip Schumm our classmate in 10th and 11th grades wrote to Lynn.

Hey Lynn,

Yes I went to New River. Life has been good and mediocre at times. Did a tour in Vietnam from late 1966-late 1967. Marine Corps. I was a door gunner in a helicopter, so there has been excitement in the past for me. Been married more than once lets say. Had a lot of baggage from Vietnam that I have been getting help on from the VA for a few years now.

I have a small home repair business in the Chattanooga,TN area. MrHoney-Do.com. Was a Master Carpenter by trade and have been a General Contractor in Colorado, North Carolina and Florida. So, I am semi-retired, but my clients won't let me get much rest. I take care of a lot of widows and old people. Do pretty much what they need in and around the house. Then I have other clients that always have projects for me to do at their houses. I have checked out the web site and I like it. Glad to hear from you.

Take care,
Chip

Kate (Karen) Kennedy Butler
March 24, 2005
After Nova, a year of college in St. Petersburg - studying art during the day and gigging out in local clubs at night. Enjoyed the night work more, so gave up the higher education to make music full time. It brought me full circle back to Miami and the Grove Scene where I met and married young (read: young and stupid).

Had two sons: one born in Florida and the other in Vermont. I've lived in Vermont since 1969, making my living as a musician and a textile designer/fabricator. Became smarter and divorced in 1973. After what I felt to be far too many years on the craft show circuit, I moved on to landscape design about 20 years ago.

I've had a perennial plant nursery and a design/build landscape firm since 1985. The business is at my home: a conscientiously restored large Greek Revival house on an acre of land in the small Northeast Kingdom village of Glover (home of Bread and Puppet Theater). It took me 20 years to finish the restoration - primarily because I did nearly all of the work myself. There are botanical-garden-size interior plants everywhere (including guest rooms), many musical instruments and rooms full of books, a river out the back door, a fully commercial kitchen (complete with oak walk-in cooler), and stunning display gardens that are open to the public. The gardens and nursery have been featured in a number of books and magazines.

I travel South for a couple of months in the winter to work in the W.Palm Beach area.

Kate
kate@labouroflovelandscaping.com

Life without music would be a mistake - Nietzsche

Kate (Karen) Kennedy Butler

Mike Newton
February 2005
Mike wrote, "Yes, I did become one of Jehovah's Witnesses that last year I attended Nova High. I was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses on Nov 21, 1964, just a month prior to when my parents made there move back to their home town here in Alabama. My grandparents were getting up in age and my parents decided they wanted to get back home and spend time with them before their health was gone.

During my last year of high school, I became very active with the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. I entered into the full time ministry upon my graduation and was soon given an assignment to work some rural areas in Central Alabama in the Bible Education work of the Witnesses. I married in June 67, my wife to be was also in the full time ministry. We continued working the central Alabama area until our first child in 69 and we moved back to Huntsville, in northern Alabama and I went to work fulltime with BellSouth Telecommunications. Back then it was known as South Central Bell in Alabama.

I did 30 years with them, retired, started my own little telecommunication business as a certified dealer for Panasonic Business telephone systems. Partnered with a young 30 year old computer guru from India. He is more then a guru, actually a genius with computer networking. Our nitch is small and medium businesses who need help with both telecommunications and computer networking.

We raised 4 children, ages now are, 34,32,23,20. One girl, three boys. 34 year old daughter is Engineer with NASA, 32 year old son is Telecom Tech with Siemens in Atlanta, 23 year old is Graphic arts and Print shop tech, and the 20 year old has worked with me and my partner for several years and is excellent technician and now working with web design.

His most recent project, that is most unusual is www.neogentronyx.com He is the network marketing director and webdesigner for this project. He has been invited to join the creator/inventor of this Mecha exoskeleton to be flown to New York to be on the David Letterman show this coming May. The news of this project made front page news of the stars and stripes magazine Feb 2, the MidEast Edition. Go review the site, it was kinda wild. Carlos hopes to tour the 18' Mecha and profit from such. Only this week they have received offers from investors. Who would ever have believed it!!!

Wow, this was great hearing from you.

Keep me in the loop, and let me know what goes on.

Your Old School Chum,
Michael Newton

Mike and Peg on one of their first dates 8/1967 and on their 38th anniversary 2005

Pete Smith
January 2005
Pete wrote, " I am married for 32 years, with two kids (one of each) both graduated from state schools. I work for Cartoon Network in Atlanta."

>
Pete Smith

Bob Denham
December 2004
Bob has not yet submitted his mini bio, but Janice Hill Couch did send these photos in her Christmas card of Bob on the stage of Mac Beth in Atlanta ( October 2004). Hopefully Bob will write soon and tell us more about the pictures.

Bob on the Stage of Mac Beth

Bob Denham

Bob McCann
December 2004
Lynn I appreciate your efforts to keep us informed and find the rest of our former classmates and friends. My name has probably been on the list for some time. I follow the e-mails but haven’t communicated much since our 30 year reunion. So let me tell you a little about what I’ve been doing.

I am in my 21st year at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power and work as the manager responsible for construction services at Electrical Substation Construction. I will be married for 29 years to my wife, Minann, this coming May 16th and have two sons 26 and 23 (Michael & Matthew) years old who are still with us at home as well as my 84 year old mother-in-law ,Estelle, who we brought here after my father-in-law passed away 12 years ago. The remaining family member is my dog ‘Bud’. He is a mix between a Saluki and a Whippet and loves to play Frisbee, plays with stuffed animals and communicates all of his wants and needs verbally.

My favorite leisure time activity is saltwater sport fishing especially for tuna, dorado and yellowtail. I also have my own boat which I have taken down to Ensenada, Mexico and as far north as Morrow Bay, California.I am planning my retirement for just under 6 years from now and would like to have a condo or small home in Cabo San Lucas to be close to friends there as well as a place here in the states (somewhere warm and close to the ocean). Sorry about the rambling and poor grammar, it’s easier.

I copied Peggy because she had asked for my permission to transfer my bio and picture to the new Nova web site. I hope what’s above will suffice Peggy. You have my permission although I don’t think I ever did a bio or a picture at classmates. I have included a picture that you may also use.

Merry Christmas,
Bob McCann

Bob McCann

Sandy Dickey Smith
December 2004
Sandy writes: I have been living in Statesboro, Ga. since 1970. I graduated then and began teaching elementary school. I took some time off and am back again for hopefully five more years.

I am married to Randy Smith and he is a Statesboro native. He graduated from Emory and then from Medical College of Georgia and began practice here in Statesboro where we have been ever since. We have two children, Kelly (33) and Jackson (13). Kelly has a precious little boy (our only granchild) who is 4. We have had a pretty normal life and just are so thankful that we all have good health and family and friends. Don't get down to Fort Lauderdale since my Dad died in 1986 and then we moved my mother here in 1991. Hope all of my old Nova buddies are doing well. Have a joyous holiday season.
Sandy Smith

Sandy Dickey Smith

Skip Bowman
December 2004
Duane "Skip" Bowman writes Skip is ok. That way I'll know who is speaking to me. Either my wife or some very old friends.

I don't think folks would be as keenly interested in my life history after NOVA as I am, but I'm enjoying it and you have my permission to entertain them with it if you like - and freely edit wherever you want.

I'm truly impressed with the successes of that bunch of kids we went to school with! But - if you do a history of us and the success of that grand educational experiment NOVA, be sure you cite numbers of Docs, Attys. etc. I think you'd better not mention "and one damned farmer". I don't think the Ford Foundation would be at all impressed.

I don't have nearly as polished a history of my past as others have compiled but here's a stream of consciousness thumbnail as best I can recall it - You have to remember we DID graduate in the 60's.

After NOVA I went to Auburn University for 4 years (Engineering), protested a War, inhaled heartily (along with many of our finest politicians it seems), dropped out & bummed around Florida a bit, got into Carpenter's Union & built part of Port St. Lucie nuclear power plant & some duplexes in Vero Beach. Next I went back to the University of Florida and finished my engineering degree and took a job with General Electric and worked my way out to the San Francisco Bay area. Later I left GE for "high techology.">P> I married better than I deserved, worked at Bell Labs (Northern)and got into computers and networking when the Internet was really only for us geeks. I earned an MBA from a top 10 post- graduate business school and did business stuff for awhile (too boring to list).

We bought this land (around 50 acres) in 1990 and I started the vineyard in '91 with some very special pedigreed grape cuttings smuggled in from France (don't worry - statute of limitations & all!). We moved here from Boston in '94 and began bulldozing a hillside to get a flat place to build our home.

I built our home (Authentic Victorian except with indoor plumbing!) using carpenter skills I developed working my way through my undergraduate degree (I'm still building on it).

I built our winery (I'm still building on it) and began making commercial wine (Cricket Hill) with '01 harvest (sold grapes and made wine for family only before that). The wine is turning out as special as the grapes. It will become available in '05 - (but not in Florida where unconstitutional Laws prohibit people from obtaining fine wines)! I think you can find something more about Cricket Hill on the web at oregonwine.com.

I do try and fish some. We have some of the best fly fishing in the West out here in the Applegate, Rogue and Umpqua rivers. We also fish for trout (Browns, Rainbow, Cutthroat and Steelhead...Rainbow trout that have gone to sea and returned) and Salmon. I tie flies and try fly fishing, but not nearly often enough. Steelhead & Salmon can range from 6 - 30+ pounds so they're a gas on a fly rod. It seems my other jobs (farming, winemaking, home & winery construction, etc.) keep me far too busy to fish. Maybe some day I'll retire and can fish more (not likely).

I don't know what I'll do with the last 2/3 of my life, but I'm thinking of a few more careers I might try. Whatever it is, lets hope it's interesting.

Here are photos you might enjoy. House (Victorian, built myself & still building), Winery (built myself & still building), what I see when I wake up in the morning (California border on horizon) and yours truly.

I do see heaven from here.

Skip and View of the House and Land

Donna Newell Vercillo
October 26, 2004
Donna wrote the following email note to Lynn Allieri Bixler and we have gotten permission to print it here.
Hi,
Sorry I didn't take time to verify my E-Mail, I've been "swamped" with two hurricanes ...literally! Both hurricanes were direct hits on Ft. Pierce. All our damage is fixable, but it has been very bleak looking and depressing for a while. I think I'm finally seeing some headway, as the roofers are coming tomorrow. My school, St. Anastasia Catholic School, where I teach Pre-K, was also hit very hard. We spent hours and hours repairing and cleaning up. Anyway, enough about all that.

It is so nice to hear from you! Dave and I lived for a year in Issaquah, Washington back in 1988/89. Washington is such a beautiful state.

Life has been good, and I guess we will survive this little set back. I still love Florida! Dave and I are into kayaking in the Indian River. I have one married son, and one single son. Both our boys live in Ft. Pierce.

I asked Jeff if any of our classmates are retired, but I didn't get an answer! I'll be so jealous if they are. I look forward to the day we can retire, and I can fish and kayak whenever I want.

Thanks for all your efforts in the E-Mail list and towards the reunion. I look forward to seeing everyone.

Take Care.
Sincerely,
Donna Newell Vercillo

Donna Newell Vercillo

Sheldon Galkin
October 28, 2004
After reading all these autobiographies, here goes a book!
Upon completing two years of college, I joined the Navy (1968) ashore with a tour in Yokuska, Japan (1969-70) and then volunteered for Vietnam (too many John Wayne movies). I asked for Saigon and got DaNang (1971)!

In 1972, I continued my education at the University of South Florida, Tampa on the G.I. Bill completing my first B.A. in Marketing. Being a Yeoman 1st Class in the Active Ready Reserve, I switched Navy blue for Air Force blue (1974) to fly planes. I flew C-130 cargo planes as a Navigator out of Dyess AFB, Abilene, TX. In mid-assignment I was “ordered” to become a backseater (Weapons System Officer) in an F-4 Fighter out of Homestead AFB, Fl. I lasted one year pulling 7 G’s and being airsick beyond mention. I got myself out of the backseat and began a career flying a desk as a Squadron Section Commander at Homestead. (1976-78).

My next involuntary assignment (1978) was Kadena AFB, Okinawa as the Executive Officer for the Deputy Commander for Maintenance, 18th FTG. I stepped off the plane and chocked on the coral dust. This landed me in a Naval Hospital and recovery at Clark AFB, Philippines for 6 months. Diagnosed with asthma at 31, I was temporarily medically retired for up to 5 years.

Back to South Florida for more G.I. Bill, completing a degree in History (1979). I now had two B.A. and an M.A. in Human Resources Management from Pepperdine University, CA. (while at Homestead AFB). Ready to Intern for a B.S. in Elementary Education (loved that G.I. Bill) in Jan 1980, I was …….

Recalled back to active duty, I was assigned as the Squadron Section Commander of the Supply Squadron at Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, NM. I worked a mid-tour reassignment to Iraklion Air Station, Crete, Greece as Chief, Base Administration (1982-84).

Next, Bergstrom AFB, Austin, TX (Admin Officer) with temporary assignments as Chief of Protocol in the US Military Group, Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Contra Time) for 6 and 3 months. Returning to Austin from my second tour in Honduras (1986) preparing to be a civilian I met my wife . She had come from Quito, Ecuador to visit a sister.

Back to the University of South Florida to complete my Elementary Education Degree (1987, last of G.I. Bill) and fathered a baby boy (now 16 and a High School Junior on the varsity swim team). Being over-educated and worldly, it took a year to get a permanent teaching assignment at a 6th grade-learning center in Tampa (teaching Science and Health). All those principals were correct, “you can’t afford the pay”. I needed a pay increase.

Thus I began my Federal Government civilian tour of duty at Naval Air, Training System Center as a Logistician and Technical Writer (Simulators) for the past 16 years in Orlando, Fl. Whew, that was long!

Shelton Galkin

Chris Danielson
Sunday, October 17, 2004
I'm still married to the same woman, Susie, and we just celebrated our 36th anniversary. My daughter, Debbie,is married to a police officer, has 3 children, 1 boy and 2 girls, the oldest started high school this year. It is really making me feel old!!

My son Scott graduated from FSU just like his Dad, and is a Captain in the Marine Corps recently returned from Iraq, which was great news for us. The bad news is he is going back in February. He is married and they are expecting their 1st child, a boy, in January. He is now at Quantico undergoing new training and will be moving to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in December where they are in the process of purchasing their first home.

I am still working at Teletech, a worldwide customer service provider. I started here about the time of our 30th reunion so I was unable to attend, this is a second career [for me] after I retired from GTE, now Verizon after 23 years. I am a supervisor of 20 people and though I have been asked to take a promotion I keep saying no as I don 't need the stress and there is not much more money involved.

Still looking forward to the day when I can really retire and hit the rocking chair. Unfortunately I am too fond of spending money. Maybe someday it'll happen.

Well that's about it. Keep me informed on Nova happenings and give my regards to those alumni that I knew. I regret those who have already passed on, but it shows you never know what could happen - so enjoy life while you're here.Drop a line when you get a chance.

Chris Danielson
Gonoles71@AOL.com.

Chris Danielson

Rick Price
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Hi Everyone!
I was so glad to see that so many of our former classmates are alive and well! On the other hand I was sad to see that some were no longer with us. It is hard for me to believe that we are coming up on our 40th reunion so soon. It seems like only yesterday that Dr. Wolfe, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ken Platt, Patti Bennett, Irmgard Bocchino and I along with others were reading the morning announcements over the intercom system. This was before the TV system was installed.

I along with others was also a part of the committee to name the Titans as our namesake. That committee might have been the beginning of Student Government? That first year provided for many of us the opportunity to be a part of the future of Nova.

“Hello World” and the initial formation of Student Government has provided me with some of my fondest memories. I ran track for the 3 years we were there, Coach Bob Anderson and team mates Ken Goch, Lee Dugan, and Gene Carter among others bring back some great memories. Some of my favorite teachers were Max Kitson, (Pam Kitson’s Dad) and Don Jarrett. I had a lot of interaction with these gentlemen and will fondly remember them always. Who could ever forget Miss Blinco and her many suitors, so it seemed?

After high school I ended up in Illinois for 2 years living with my grandparents due to my parents divorce. I worked for AT&T at a major hub that bypassed Chicago phone calls in case of nuclear attack. (The Cold War). I started taking flying lessons from a friend and that was the beginning of a new career for me. I left AT&T went back to good ole Ft. Lauderdale and Broward Junior College. Two years later with an Associates degree in hand and as a Commercial Pilot I transferred to FAU in Boca Raton. While attending FAU my lottery draft number was coming up so instead of taking chances I joined the Marine Corps Officer program, with a flight contract, and was commissioned a 2nd LT. I went to Navy flight school, through the jet pipeline at Pensacola, Meridian, MS and Kingsville, TX. My fleet assignment after flight school was to an OV-10 squadron at Jacksonville, NC. I spent 13 months in Okinawa, Japan but never got to Vietnam. I guess I was lucky! My last tour as a Marine Corp Captain, before returning to civilian life, was at Pensacola as a flight instructor.

I also met my future wife at BJC, the former Lynn McCabe (1967 Fort Lauderdale High Graduate). Lynn and I were married while I was in flight school. Now 32 years later, with two grown children, and after dragging her to many destinations around the country and the world we are still together.

After the Marine Corps I was hired by ARMCO Steel Corporation as a member of one of their Corporate Flight Crews. We moved to Middletown, Ohio in 1976 from Pensacola. Both of our children were born and raised here but in 1993 due to a corporate merger we were transferred to Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh is a really great town! We lived there for 7 years and in 1999 due to another corporate merger were transferred back to Middletown, OH. While there my son attended the University of Pittsburgh and married a young lady also a graduate of PITT. He is now a 3rd generation Marine Flying Harriers, sometimes called the jump- jet,out of Cherry Point, NC. His wife recently graduated from Nova Southeastern University with her PHD.

After moving back to Middletown in 1999 my daughter transferred to Miami University, Oxford, OH from Shippensburg University, PA, and last year became a graduate of that fine institution. She currently is a membership coordinator and promotions person for a local country club. She is currently working on her Masters Degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati. We were truly blessed to have such wonderful children, even if sometimes we wondered if we would ever get them through the teenage years.

In 1994, while in Pittsburgh, I was named Manager and Chief Pilot, of the Aviation Department, for ARMCO, Inc. later and currently known now ( due to the merger in 1999) as AK Steel Corporation. Now with three more years until retirement, I travel to many far and distant places.

I look back at the years since graduation from Nova and wonder where the time has gone? I believe now that as you grow older the time in which years pass seem to approach the speed of light.

After retirement, Lynn and I are planning to relocate to either the Ocala, FL area or somewhere around the Dayton, TN, just north of Chattanooga, where her two sisters are currently living, also Ft. Lauderdale High School graduates.

I recently rekindled an old hobby of building and flying RC (radio control) airplanes and a climate such as Ocala would be more accommodating to this and my other lost hobbies of golf and fishing. Time, my continued good health, and the Stock Market over the next three years will probably provide the answers.

So that’s almost 40 years in brief. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone in 2006 at the reunion. Would love to here from any of you who would remember some of the great times we had together. After thumbing thru the only year book I have, 1964, I know there are many names and classmates I did not mention so please don’t think I don’t remember you and wouldn’t like to here from you.

Finally my hat goes off to Peggy, Laura, Lynn and the rest of the ad-hoc committee who took the time and effort to start the WEB site and all the information on it. It would be nice to have a secure page with the listing of all of those who have currently responded to your request with address, telephone and email contact points. Thanks again for contacting me.

Rick Price
armavia@sbcglobal.net

Rick and VIP Client President George Bush 9/04

Nicki Hullis Aronson
Nicki wrote I agree with some of our other classmates that my life at Nova had the greatest impact on my life than any other single source of experiences that I have had. Most of you don't know that my family moved a lot as I was growing up and I had changed schools approximately 21 times before I arrived at Nova. So, among other things, Nova provided me with a stable environment. I loved being there and being a part of such an important "experiment."

Since then, I have had three career lives, a marriage of 34 years, and one lovely daughter who has provided us with 2 wonderful, bright, and handsome grandsons. (I think I am objective!) Right after Nova, I became a dental hygienist and practiced in Miami Beach for about 8 years. During that time, I met my husband, Jack, who was from New York City and we were married shortly thereafter. We moved to NY for a short time and then back to Hollywood where Jacki was born in 1971. We lived there until 1977 when Jack accepted a transfer with his company to Atlanta. Jack was, and still is, in the insurance business and I continued to practice dental hygiene for a while longer in Atlanta.

In 1981, I embarked upon a new career in residential real estate. Wow! what a change. I really loved it! I truly believe that it was the most "fun" job that I had ever had. Uh oh - that might say something about my idea of having fun. Oh well, I might still be a "nerd". During that time, I met so many interesting people and learned so much more than I ever knew about Atlanta. It was something new and exciting everyday. And, I got paid just to make people happy!

In 1985, my sisters asked me if I would help them open a child care center. To make a long story short, I did, they lasted 3 weeks, walked out, and I found myself in the business. I began my new venture with my eyes tightly closed, knowing next to nothing about any of it. However, I was where I was, and things were what they were. As you probably know, Georgia is not known for its high educational standards and that goes for early childhood education as well. So, I accepted the opportunity with high expectations and hopes that I could participate in the statewide efforts to improve the quality of care and education for our young children.

I have spent the last 19 years developing and operating programs, consulting for new owners and operators, and advocating for our children in Georgia. At some point, my mom began helping me with some of the paper work. Soon after that I brought in a business partner who had been in the business of selling child care centers for several years. Then, several years later my daughter and son-in-law came on board. You would think that I would have learned something about mixing business with family. But, in this case it has been great, very rewarding and it keeps the most important people in my life close to me.

Together, we have designed and developed over 25 schools in the Atlanta metro area; we currently own and operate 4 company schools, have 4 franchised schools, and are continuing to grow. I am certain that my role is beginning to wane and I look forward to the day that it will be totally in their capable hands.

Jack and I love Florida. I don't think we could ever really get the sand out of our shoes. Because South Florida is so far away and we were looking for no more than a day's drive for a vacation home, we built a beach house called Tropical Tantrum in Seagrove Beach. That is located in the panhandle between Destin and Panama City. We spend lots of time there, walking on the beach, building sand castles, watching the sunset, cooking, and gardening. We feel truly blessed that we have the privilege of going there and building wonderful family memories with our grandsons. Alex, age 7, and Austin, age 5. They, of course, love to go to the beach with Papa Jack and Grand Nicki. They have learned to ride their bikes there, we celebrate every Thanksgiving there (along with about 20 guests), and they just experienced Halloween at the beach this year. They are both good swimmers, they play soccer, Alex belongs to the chess team and science club at school, and Austin is quite the athlete even for his age. They have even displayed some artistic talent when they recently attended some art classes at the beach. They amaze me daily and I cherish every moment I have with them.

All in all, I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. I couldn't have imagined that I would be so blessed with the wonderful life that I live. And I intend to continue to live it to its fullest. But, as I reflect, I realize that we are indeed a sum total of all our life's experiences and I recognize that the years with all of you at Nova gave me so much to help carry me through the years. For that I am grateful. Thank you my friends. I can't wait to see you all at the reunion.

Nicki Hullis Aronson

Nicki and husband Jack Aronson

Jeff Smith
Jeff writes I was born! Next thing I know, I have been out of high school for 40 years.

What a change from the first half of 1966 to the last. I went from being Class President Boy-of-the-Year and upperclassman for 4 years to one of 5000 freshman at the University of Florida.

The Army, courtesy of an R.O.T.C. Scholarship, paid my way to school, only requiring 8 years of my lfe in return. To my dismay, when I went in for my commissioning physical, I received a medical discharge. That opened up new doors theretofore unavailable to me.

A scholarship to Stetson in Gulfport, Florida and 3 years got me a law degree. I spent 4 years working for the State Attorney's Office in Broward as a prosecutor.

I went into private practice, specializing in criminal law, opening an office at the corner of 9th and Federal, just south of the New River Tunnel. 20 years later I realized I did't like dealing with criminals anymore, read the book "Bully" or rent the tape or DVD. It was about my last murder case. It shows the people I had to deal with and why I needed a change

I packed up, sold my practice , my boat and my bar and moved to Inverness, Florida. I am the juvenile and drug court prosecutor for the county. My blood pressure has dropped as has my consumption of Tums. I like what I do and I feel that I am actually making a difference.

Along the way , I met the former Tricia Forun, a grad of Stranahan's Class of '66 in Gainsville. She has been my wife and best friend for 33 years. We practiced for 7 years before starting a family and have two daugthers.

Some of my earliest memories are of my family hunting and participating in shooting activities, a tradition I have carried forth. I have never seen a gun I didn't like nor wild game not worthy of pursuit. One reason for moving here to the middle of no where was the forest land that was available for purchase. I now have land in the next county for a private hunting preserve. I am active in Ducks Unlimited, The Wild Turkey Federation and Safari Club International. Throw in big game fishing throughout Florida, the Islands and the Carribean and my life is summed up. Life is great and I wouldn't trade one moment of it!

Jeff with Kuda in Namibia 6/04

Stan Biggs
Stan writes Hmmmm...where to begin... After Nova, I attended Broward Junior for almost three terms. The third term was cut short because I dropped a class after it was too late to register for another which dropped me below the 12 credits to stay out of the draft. What possessed me to take German after three years of Spanish in high school I'll never know!

Being a human target for some Viet Cong didn't interest me so I quickly joined the Navy and became a Cryptologic Technician (CT). CTs were never popular with the "regular" Navy because we never went to sea. On the other hand, I thought it was rather nice, so I stayed for 20 glorious years and a month or two-never settng foot on a ship, except to maybe tour them. I suffered through arduous tours in Alaska, Germany, Virginia, Puerto Rico, The Azores and finally Pensacola, Florida where I retired in 1987 and currently live. It was a rough life but I somehow survived. Touring Europe in the 1960s and early 1970s when the dollar was still strong was just one of the many hardships I had to endure as a career sailor.

My first marriage survived from 1969 to 1976 but I did father two great kids, Jennifer and Jonathon, I married again in 1979 to Becky, a Navy WAVE and almost 26 years later she is still the love of my life. We never had kids because we got custody of mine shortly after we were married. The kids are now 31 and 34 years old and we have four granddaughters and one grandson.

I have two lifelong hobbies: taking college classes and singing barbershop harmony. I gots "enuff edukashun" for ten lives! After retiring from the Navy, I became a government contractor, desiging and developing educational software. For the past 10 years I have worked for Anteon Corporation (www.anteon.com) as the Director of Training and Documentation Development. My real love, though, is singing barbershop harmony. I've been a member of the local Barbershop Harmony Society Chapter for over 20 years where I've sung in competition with the chorus and in several quartets. What a joy! That's it in a nutshell. I truly hope I can make the 40th reunion because I've missed all the other ones. Thanks for putting together a great Website, Peggy, it looks wonderful. Regards, Stan

Stan Biggs

Pat Gaskell Kramer
Recently Pat wrote to Leane the following. I am now living in Ft. Lauderdale and have a great home just off the Intracoastal. I have had the opportunity to work as a social worker since I was in college and have been able to do that kind of work here in Florida, West Germany and Greece. I have also worked as a consultant for Boston University throughout the United States.
I am currently the Program Director for the Florida Department of Children and Families' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office in Broward County. It is a most rewarding job and I hope, in some small way, my work makes a difference for those individuals living in Broward who are experiencing mental health or substance abuse problems. As part of my office, I have a number of contracts with Nova Southeastern University and as such, pass by our Alma Mater every once in a while.
Most important than my profession are my three children. Jenna is also a social worker and will be starting classes toward her master's degree while Justin and Elyssa are both in college. They are a joy to me and I am most thankful for all of them being a part of my life.

Pat Gaskell Kramer

Dennis Dearborn
Dennis reports that after Nova he graduated from the University of Florida, majoring in foreign trade and transportation. The degree secured him a position with a shipping corporation in Port Everglades for several years and experience in the shipping industry. Next he went to work for Carnival Cruise lines and has been with them ever since. He is currently the Senior Hotel Director.

In Dennis' own words, " So basically I have been a sailor for just about 30 years! Still single of course...who wants a sailor? I live in Ormond Beach, Florida for a few months each year and the rest of the time I am traveling on different ships in the Caribean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska and Hawaiian fleets. I also get over to Europe at times to pick up new ships from the foreign shipyards." All the Best, Dennis

Dennis Dearborn

George Davis
When Leane inquired about what had been going on in George's life in the last 40 years, he summed it up in two words, "I cycle." she asked him to elaborate and he replied, "I work so I can eat enough to cycle." Actually, he really likes his day job as a Plant Pathologist at Dow AgroSciences, "trying to discover the next great fungicide for controlling diseases in cereals."

George graduated in 1971 with a BS in Forestry was awarded a Master of Science in Agronomy in 1981 from the University of Florida. He has worked at Dow Agro Sciences or one of its parent companies (Plant Science Division of Lilly Research Labs) since 1981 and is having way too much fun to think about retirement anytime soon.

George enjoys bike riding with a core group of 10-12 friends as part of the Central Indiana Bicycle Association in Indianapolis, where he lives. he also enjoys riding with cycling friends in various groups from south Florida on his trips to that area. George sent a picture of himself on his bike, and a cool bike it is. His other hobbies include relearning Spanish and studying Genealogy.

George Davis

Ken Schultz
On July 1, 2004 wrote the follow.I graduated with highest honors in Chemical Engineering in 1970 from Case Institute of Technology. I then entered the Navy, leaving the service three years later with a rank of Lt.(junior grade). I then graduated from the Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1975.

I soon began a career in investing. I started as an assistant portfolio manager for a Seattle Bank in 1979. Later I moved into the Trust Division. In 1988 I started Seattle Capital Management Company as an investment subsidiary of Seafirst/Bank of America. In 1994 I bought, along with two other partners, SeaCap from Bank of America. SeaCap is a boutique investment manager specialzing in fixed income investments with presently around $500 million under management. Our website is seacapinvests.com. I enjoy investing as it is highly analytical and mathematical, but tied closely to investor psychololgy and behavior.

My wife, Teresa and I enjoy traveling, hiking and gardening. Teresa had worked as a CPA, but currently has a retail store, Rocambole Garlic Shop, in our little tourist town of Poulsbo. She also has an online store at GarlicGal.com. We have one daughter who is just starting her second year of college. I also like to fish and hunt with my Vizsla, Rosie Quail Dancer.
Regards, Ken

Ken Schultz

Tullio Proni
Leane reports that our classmate Tullio Proni has been up to some extraterrestrial activities since we've seen him last. Author Tom Beck at http://www.strangenewworlds.com/issues/feature-08g.html gives us a heads-up on Tullio and his wife Amy's business.

"A private workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan produces 'The Finest Energy Weapons in the Know Universe,' or so claims Tullio and Amy Proni, proud partners in Isher Artifacts. This husband and wife team build a variety of truly beautiful rayguns, rifles and other toys.

Tullio Proni manufactures 'energy' weapons. Star Wars-like sabers and othe special orders for collectors, costumers and hobbyists. It is an absorbing career that has taken him far from his native Italy and his college degree in Industrial Psychology.

Tullio enjoys building futuristic weapons, but regrets that he can keep so little of what he manufactures. 'I've kept about a half-dozen really good pieces. I tried to buy back the first gun I made, but the guy wouldn't sell it to me.'

The name Isher Artifacts comes from A.E. Van Vogt's science fiction novel Weapon Shops of Isher 'When we first formed our partnership I had just read the book, so we decided to call our business Weapon Shop of Isher. People began to write to us ,thinking we were a real gun shop, so we changed the name to Isher Artifacts."

Tullio and Amy can be reached at www.Isherartifacts.com. Classmate Jeff Smith remembers all the war games at Tullio's home growing up along with Mrs. Proni's excellent cooking!

Tullio Mining for Copper

Carl "Pace" Worthy
Leane tracked Pace down on the Internet and received permission to post the following information from his website. Worklogix' President Carl Worthy is an international trainer, business/management writer and speaker on the effects of the information age on employee productivity and work style. Mr. Worthy has written four books published in Korea and Japan, where the author lived and superivsed Worklogix's Asian operations, headquartered in Toyko.

Fortifed with bachelor degrees in Psychology and Mass Communications from Florida State University and graduate work in Educational Psychology, Worthy focuses on individual effectiveness in today's business environment, and how the electronic communications revolution effects the individual in the workplace.

Pace's books, are all based on the term he coined "Human Information Technology" and addresses specifc workplace issues,including work flow in the information age, the problems attending to the shift from paper to Computer, applying HIT Techniques in the computer and effective human-focused office environment and layout. Pace's books are available in English on the publications area of his site.

Pace also wrote and reported that in the late 70's he went through " his star phase" and did some Japanese commercials and some episodes of Hawaii 50 and Magnum PI. We will need to find out which episodes so we can look for him in the reruns!

Carl Pace Worthy

James "Buddy" Swingle
11/27/04 James (Buddy) Swingle – Mini-Bio After graduating from Nova High School in 1966, Buddy attended the University of Florida. He received the Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 1972 and began a 30-year career with the University of California, working mainly at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in addition to several years on assignments in Washington and Geneva, Switzerland. This long stint with the University represented a wide variety of career challenges in high energy lasers, nuclear explosive design, strategic defense, arms control, and intelligence research.

Buddy has retired -- with Gail, his bride of 26 years -- to their mountain home on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. Issues of national defense have faded way back in the rear-view mirror, as they travel around the country in search of fly fishing water and the most eclectic quilt shops (the one with the most fabric wins!).

6/17/04 Buddy received the INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY SEAL MEDALLION during a ceremony held at the Central INtelligence Agency (CIA) Headquarter in Langley, He was then the executive secretary and acting chairman of the Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee and was cited for his "sustained superior performance" in producing foreign nuclear intelligence reports that "provided significant assistance to the intelligence and policy communities." During his long career Buddy worked on a variety of high-energy laser and nuclear weapons programs. Classmate Sam Tischler added "...I tracked Buddy down when I was implementing one of the first Medical Laser programs in Healthcare. Buddy at the time was working on some very interesting lasers (remember Star-Wars Defense), blasting holes through diamonds. When I asked him how he spent most of his time his reply was figuring out whether weapons systems were cost effective.

Buddy Swingle and Wife Gail

Patty Bennett-Forman
6/18/04 Patty's name was found in a 2002 Internet article. Teacher, Pat Bennett-Forman's statements to budget cuts and loss of personnel in a local school system in Washington (the state)were quoted. Pat said, "The loss of extra hands will be hard to cover, but the staff has come together to decide how to deal with it. It helps that preliminary results of the 2002 4th Grade WASL test show our school's scores have soared. There has been no discussion about the downers. We've been about celebrating our successes"

Pat continues, "Working in education often means using a positive attitute to overcome challenges-especialy to protect the students." The article when on to say that Ms Bennett-Forman tool a pay cut three years ago when she left school administration and re-entered the classroom at a local elementary school.The studetns are certainly lucky to have you as their teacher,Pat.

Patty Bennett-Forman

Irmgard Bocchino
6/23/04 Irmagard writes, "I love my current job as collegewide Director of the Honors Institute at Broward Community College." Irmgard earned her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1983 and most recently received a fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin to study with Dr. John Roueche in the Community College Leadership Program. She did an internship in Texas before returning to Florida to take her new post as Director. Irmgard's involvement with " Community Connection" a student staffed public affairs TV show can be found at http://www.broward.edu/observer/nov5/comm_connection.jsp

Irmgard Bocchino

Sam (Sandy) Liles
6/24/04Sam is a Research Associate with the Center of Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health (C-BEACH) in San Diego, CA. C-Beach is an extramurally supported research cente within the Graduate School of Public Health in the College of Health and Human Services at San Diego State University. The center is concerned with a wide range of public health issues, including tobacco prevention in youth and environmental tobacco exposure reduction in children, STDs, AIDS, pregnancy prevention in adolescents, general women's issues, divorce, nutrition, as well as violence and anger prevention. This group focuses on teh factors behind lifestyle practices related to morbidity and mortality. In addition, the Center's staff networks many disciplines in an effort to help define and control environmental health policies for underserved, high-risk populations. Additional information can be found at http://www.sci.sdsu.ed/c-beach/mission.html (as of 2004) and at http://wwwncth.contex.com/ncth/2002/techprogram/session_597.htm (as of 2002)

Sam (Sandy) Liles

Peg Dunn-Snow
6/24/04 Leane Roffey Line ( aka Laura Accomando) writes, "Curious about the initials , ATR-BC, after her name I asked Peg to point me to a link. I discovered that the letters stand for art therapist, registered-board certified and that " The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) is a national association dedicated to the belief that the creative process involved in the making of art is healing and life enhancing. Funded in 1969, AATA is a not-for-profit organization of approximately 4,750 professinals and students that has established standards for art therapy education, ethics and practice. AATA committees actively work on professional and educational development, national conferences, regional symposia, publications, governmental affairs, public awareness and research. The AATA link is at http://www.arttherapy.org and is well worth a read. Peg is currently serving as President -Elect of AATA

Tom and Peg November 2005

Martha Slater Lo Cicero, MD
6/24/04 Class of '66 salutatorian Martha recently celebrated her 33 wedding anniversary in June 2004 with husband, Dr. Joseph Lo Cicero. They met at Tulane Medical School and got married after freshman year. They have two grown sons, Joe IV,who is 30 and lives in Canada, working as a computer engineer. Their youngest son, John, 25, a nuclear medicine technician, is married and live with his wife, Autumn, an attorny, in Houston, Texas. Dr. Joseph is a cardiothoracic surgeon and is presently Chairman of Surgery at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Dr. Marthat practiced in the fields of dermatology and allergy before staying home to raise the couple's sons. At present Marthat is helping to edit her husband's textbooks on thoracic surgery and serves as president and member of several local charitable boards. The couple recently completed renovations on an 1898 Victorian home in the historic district of Mobile.

Dr. Martha Slater Lo Cicero

Jeanni Pesa Blume and Paul Blume
6/25/04 Leane writes, " Jeanni was my lab partner in Chemistry/Physics and I used to enjoy working with her. She has her own business as a bridge instructor. She is an ACBL Director, registered teacher and paid partner. Since 1982 she has held the title of Life Master in bridge, earning over 4,500 Masterpoints. This reflects a level of expertise and the kind of mind you just have to respect. I remembe Paul from our mechanical drafting class where he excelled.

During the 30th Nova High School Class reunion Jeanni and Paul were reunited, fell in love and married. Check out this savvy couple.

Jeanni Pesa Blume & Paul Blume