Hi everyone! Can you believe we’re coming up on our 15th reunion?! It feels like just yesterday we were freezing in the graduation tent waiting to receive our diplomas! So, let’s start off our 15th year with some good news!

First, a few new babies! Naomi Levine Levinthal writes that she and her husband Eli welcomed their third child, Vivienne Ella Levinthal, on September 16. Vivienne joins her big brother Joseph and big sister Ava.

Erica Buckley Wrightson and her husband Jim also welcomed a new little girl! Alaina Claire Wrightson was born on November 10. Alaina was also welcomed by her big siblings, Aidan, Ainsley, and Lexi.

JJ Bell-Godfrey has some exciting news, too!  After spending the last year as the Assistant Controller at Mattress Warehouse, she was promoted to Controller in November!   She’s responsible for the company’s financial statements, general ledger, cost accounting, payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and tax compliance – which is a pretty big job given how big the company is!

I think that’s it for this round – don’t forget to join the Hood College Class of 2003 group on Facebook, and even more importantly, don’t forget to put Reunion Weekend 2017 on your calendars!  Hope to see lots of you there!

Hello, hello! Thank you to all who heeded my cry for news. While life clips along at a quick yet humdrum pace in my household, our classmates cover an exciting gamut this round in their lives. Congrats to two 2001ers on recent professional moves: Lisa Zaleski Larsen finished a Cosmetic Surgical Dermatology Fellowship at Cosmetic Laser Dermatology in CA and changed jobs to West Dermatology at the Hillcrest office in San Diego, CA. In addition, Sarah Kistler Drabant started a new position at Fairview Elementary School in 2017. After three years on the Title 1 Literacy Team, she is now the Library and Media Specialist Assistant. Sarah says their boys keep them busy with robotics, music lessons, and Erie Junior Philharmonic rehearsals and concerts. Eliza Adams was also delighted to share both professional and personal accomplishments. She recently celebrated 15 years of teaching at the Bryn Mawr school in Baltimore where she was honored to be recognized with the Apgar Award for Teaching Excellence at their Founders Day ceremony, an event honoring Bryn Mawr’s four founders and where members of the faculty receive awards for their dedication to teaching. A former member of Hood’s Chorus and Chamber Choir, Eliza was proud to say she has continued singing ever since! She is currently a board member and soprano with Bach in Baltimore, a choir that mostly sings Bach cantatas in German and often sings works by other composers. Eliza serves as the soprano section leader in the choir. Kudos goes to Rachael Gingrich whose son, Wesley Gingrich, was born January 6, 2017; fellow classmate Lara Chuvala is Wesley’s godmother. Last but not least, bon voyage to Jen Stange Knieriem and husband Jason who tied the knot on May 27, 2017 with fellow classmates Elena Bush Leyendecker as matron of honor and Surbhi Kanotra joining the celebration. Jen and Jason honeymooned last November in South Africa, Italy and Greece. Congratulations to all our classmates and thank you to those who represented us at the last Reunion Weekend. Holly and I always enjoy hearing from all of you, so please keep it coming!

Sharia Barksdale recently passed her certification exam and is now a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) with the American Institute of Architects.

Victoria Idoni has taken a television job as a Multimedia Journalist and Traffic Anchor for WTOL in Toledo, Ohio.

Alison Peteranecz & husband Kit (who is on staff at Hood) welcomed their second son, Leo Albus Peteranecz, in May. Also, her rock star law firm, Antietam Law Group, was recently voted #1 law firm and she personally was voted #2 attorney in Hagerstown Magazine’s 2017 Hotlist.

Catrina Wiles moved to Charlotte, NC from McDermott, OH in March and now works for Entercom (A Radio Broadcasting company) as a Business Operations Manager…because she is the BOM!

On a gorgeous weekend in September, Ellen Bosek McMahon hosted a mini-reunion with Marcia Ritter Doiran, Lynda Strasser Brooks, Pricilla Munkenbeck Cherrin, Fran Vogler Groves, Laura Lee Hickman and Sharon Dahlstrom Cannon at her cottage in Haven Beach on Long Beach Island. The devastation caused by hurricane Sandy was no longer visible, with a beautiful, large beach and dunes. It was the perfect weekend for sun-bathing, good food, wine… and so much fun to catch up with second floor Memorial friend Sharon from freshman year! She lives in northern Virginia with her husband Carl. They missed Ann Shackleford Silva and Lisa Ohler Kennedy, but hope to do something similar next year with all in attendance!

Lynda Strasser Brooks and her husband Jay are semi-retired and have been living in Wilmington, NC for the past three years. They love the climate and coastal life style here. Their son Sean and his wife are living in Raleigh, only two hours away, which is great because they had a beautiful baby boy 11 months ago. Lynda and Jay go to Raleigh frequently to see our grandson!  Life is good! Anyone visiting the Cape Fear area is welcome to stop in!

Since Hood’s last Alumni Update, Cheryl Cuddeback went on a business trip to Cincinnati. Being a live long New Yorker, she thought it was really cool getting a different perspective of city living in a beautiful town. Cheryl learned that the predecessor of the Brooklyn Bridge was the Roebling Bridge, a bridge named after John Roebling that connects Kentucky to Ohio. It was like living in a mini-NYC. Cheryl wishes well to fellow Hoodlums and feels so blessed to build the memories we have.

Retired now, Barbara Baird Rogers is enjoying this new chapter in her life. Jim and Barbara are still a very happy twosome, with three daughters’’-in-love and seven grandchildren, between the ages of 1 and 7. Their two standard poodles keep them hopping. Deedee Gustafson Dohan lives nearby, and of course, they both wear our Hood rings proudly when they get together!  Wish I still had mine, but unfortunately it was stolen years ago.

 Anna Kluth vonLindenberg and Von have certainly been enjoying boating this year. They spend half of their time aboard their boat in Cambridge from May through October and then continued the great loop from Chicago down to Tampa last December. They just returned from a trip down the inland coastal water way to the quaint town of New Bern, NC. They plan to go by car to Hilton Head for a month this winter. Von and Anna are in good health, and she has been enjoying bike riding, yoga, Pilates, and water aerobics. Anna is involved in the environment, garden club, landscaping committee, social committee, book club, and local public issues. Their grandkids are ages 9, 7.5 and 6, and are adorable and thriving.

 Arlene Russo Bujeses’s inspiration for working as a fundraiser is generated by studies in Gerontology and Death and Dying at Hood. This year she chairs the 18^th Annual Boxart Auction for East End Hospice. As a Board member, she is privileged to see the importance of the great work being done on behalf of this great cause: end of life care, with love and dignity, open to all. Arlene has also become involved with Project Most, an after-school program for children of working parents.

Aldan Weinberg became a grandfather for the third time in September. Turner Allen Florance was born to his daughter Casey and husband Keith. His first name is Al’s middle name. His two granddaughters live in Pittsburgh with his son and his wife. Since retiring in 2015, he has been busy moving to a new house in Frederick with Connie and raising money to try to save the studio of famed local artist Helen Smith, also a former faculty member.

Thank you to everyone who shared with their fellow classmates. Hearing from you brings back such great memories. I continue to work for a firm marketing and designing the best retirement plans for small businesses. Since the ladies in my office are all crafty, we’ve been making wreaths and other decorative items along with having an occasional paint party. Hope everyone has a wonderful 2017. Wishing you, your families and friends the best! Debbie Page Rath

CLASS OF ’69 NEWS – Fall 2017

First to check in was Susie Holtzmann Richardson with the exciting news that after living the single life for 25 years, she’s getting married! She’s known Hal for over 40 years – his deceased wife was a dear friend of Susie’s. Sarah Jane Snyder Raffety and Clyde will welcome a new grandson in November. Their other grandchildren (ages 15 and 12) live far away, but this little guy will be considerably closer. Now that Marty Silcox Hankins has retired from teaching, she and Ken were finally able to travel in the fall, taking a 2-week, 2000 mile trip in a camper all through Nova Scotia. She keeps busy with Shiloh Pottery and “Master Gardening” in Carroll County, MD. Carolyn Cantagalli Dumaresq just acquired a new puppy to add to her pack of three Border Collies. Kip says she’s “fully involved in puppy potty boot camp.” She is paying it forward with four Doctoral candidates from Immaculata Univ. Kip wonders if anyone knows how to contact Leslie Van Backer? Margaret Dunkle’s most dramatic recent event revolved around attending the Association of Community College Trustees annual meeting in Las Vegas. She got to visit Hoover Dam and catch a couple of shows before heading back to Maryland – just 24 hours before the mass shooting! Her hotel was only 2 blocks away. She said “the event felt eerily like 9/11 when I was scheduled to fly from LAX to DC and got a call from the car service, saying they weren’t going to pick me up because the airports were closed.” The twin towers were being attacked. Betsy Seele Gotta celebrated turning 70 with a dinner party for several close friends in October. Then her square dance club surprised here with a dance/party attended by 120 dancers from all over New Jersey. Betsy and Roy recently visited Branson, MO, then stopped to see Jill Stanley and Adam in their new Indiana home. Speaking of turning 70, these girls did it right! Susan Taylor Shoch, Barbara Hoagland Ziegler and Rick, Betsy Rudolph Lustenader and Jim, Deborah Dick Holbert and Woody celebrated with a magical tour of Greece in late September. Their tour guide was Chrysanthe Papayani Koumas and George Manos. They visited Athens, the seaside village of Nafplio and cruised to Mykonos, Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes and Santorini. Betsy and Jim flew to Rome before heading back to Hanover, NJ. Susan stopped in VA to see Sue Korff Hammer and her Alpaca Farm. Susan, Barb, Deb and Chrysanthe all “winter” in Florida. Peggy Jackson Wyckhouse and her husband are still among the employed, primarily because they continue to support their 39 year-old medically disabled daughter. But Peggy has reduced her teaching load drastically. Last year’s spinal fusion still gives her problems. Pat Warren Carlson works part-time in the doctoral program in Educational Leadership at Delaware State University, chairing or co-chairing 17 committees – and graduating 17 doctoral student this year. Pat and Michael have 3 grandchildren – a grandson who is a freshman at Boston College, and 2 granddaughters, ages 4 and 8. They each share their grandmother’s love of golf. Pat won low net in both her overall and senior club championships. The Carlsons will celebrate their anniversary with their annual trip to Punta Cana in December. Carole Downing Staton and Roy welcomed granddaughter Quinlynn in June. She is little sister to 6 year-old Austin. After several years of planning the Statons took an Alaskan cruise in July. Words, Carole says, cannot describe the wonders of that part of the world. Life is about to take a drastic turn for Dave and me, Sayre Roney Steere. We’ve decided to chuck our idyllic Florida lifestyle and move to Seattle to be closer to our 2 daughters and 3 granddaughters. Our house is on the market and we’ve contracted to build a new home in a “55 and over” community about an hour south of the city. We’re aiming for a spring move. Meanwhile we continue to travel, spending 3 weeks in Seattle this summer, a week in Maine, another week in Branson, MO, and finally a 7-day Caribbean cruise, which got extended to 10 days thanks to Hurricane Irma. From day to day we had no idea which ports we were going to hit. After 25 years in one spot, Dave and I are definitely “needed” in many organizations. It will be hard to break ties – and seek out similarly rewarding “purposes” in our new life.