Sixty-fours traveled from all over the country, Canada and Romania to celebrate 70th birthdays together in San Francisco last September. Ed Gingras and his wife Jennifer Iams came from Seattle, Pete Benzian and Maryly left the beautiful weather of San Diego, Al Cotton and Carol Potter arrived from Cape Neddick, Maine, Barbara and Chuck Savoca ventured from Naples, Florida, Zoe and Alan Nadel tripped from Memphis, Susan and George Fesus took local transportation, Ellen and Ray Peters came from Ontario and the man who made the longest trip to the reunion is Larry Laster who came with his wife Maria from Piatra Neamt, Romania.
With all those lovely places to call home in North America, how did Larry and Maria come to live in the beautiful city of Piatra Neamt, Romania? Logically for a history major, Larry accepted a position in finance with General Electric Co. right out of Dartmouth. He was hired away by the largest steel company in Egypt, where he met his current wife, Maria, who is from Romania. During the unrest in 2011, they and her daughter made a fast exit to Maria's Romanian hometown. Larry used the San Francisco reunion as a reason to show her North America. They visited Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Washington, DC and naturally San Francisco. They recently purchased in Piatra Neamt and are renovating a vacation retreat that was formerly owned by the notorious Romanian dictator, Nicholae Ceau?escu. They are looking forward to our 50th and Larry is a member of the Organizing Committee.
John Fishel reminisced about the reunion in glowing terms. He enjoyed bending elbows with two high school friends, Chuck Savoca and Ken Lapine. He and freshman roommate Fred Rothenberg parried each other with snippets that only one remembered. John paid homage to two other high school classmates, Roger Aaron and Dick Leukart, then wondered where is Jack Shulman. In such good shape after walking San Francisco, John returned home to win Gold Medals in the 5000 and 1500 meter race walking events at the Oklahoma Senior Games.
Gerald Shaye recently received a 'Lifetime Achievement' award from the Tech Valley Global Business Network. He was recognized for his work with the Empire State Development Corporation promoting exports from New York State and foreign investment in New York. He is currently Executive in Residence at The Sage Colleges in Troy, New York and owns an international consulting firm.
Our next REUNION is the big one, the 50th in June 2014. The Reunion Committee is being chaired by Dave Hewitt. He has already received commitments to assist from Ron Schram, Bill Lewis, Roy Lewicki, Larry Laster, Phil Schaefer, Steve Ward, Bob Bartles, Keith Hartley and Hunt Whitacre. Dave is still recruiting, so contact him if you are able to assist. The Women's Reunion Committee has been formed to make sure that there will be events tuned to the ladies' interest. That group includes Amy DuRei, Louise McGinnes, Carlee Noecker, Suzanne Palmer and Carol Schram. The goal is to exceed the quality of our event in San Francisco.