1979

Just so there is no misunder standing, your attendance at our 25th reunion, June 17-20,2004, is mandatory. We plan to break all applicable reunion records, so no excuses!

I shamed Chris Whitney into giving an update. Chris has a law firm in Providence, Rhode Island. He, wife Andrea and four children reside in Cranston, Rhode Island. Alex, 13, is a Warhammer 40,000 fantasy game enthusiast; Gabrielle, 11, was just crowned school geography bee champion second year running; Colin-James, 9, is a Little League star; Grant, 4, surprise package who has brought great joy to the family, is a Game Cube addict. Andrea, who graduated high school with Steve Jonas and this writer, has turned her children toward her primary passion, theater. Recently, she and the three oldest constituted 75 percent of the Cratchit family in a community dinner theater rendition of A Christmas Carol.

The Whitneys keep contact with Paul Wetmore, George Stone, David Thomsson and Charlie Hatton. Paul, "Mr.California," moved to L.A.upon graduation. A big hitter at Merrill Lynch, he's training to participate in his third PBP bike race in a row (Paris-Brest-Paris, 720 miles, 96 hours, run every four years, older than the Tour de France). George lives and works in the Chicago area and has taken the family insurance business, Hill & Stone, to new heights. His three kids Jenny, Natalie and Andrew, are soccer superstars. David has a daughter, Katie, and has built his family-owned wood veneer import company, Brookside Veneers in New Jersey, into the nations largest. Charlie owns a precious-metals trading firm in N.Y.C. He's a true Renaissance man whose interests range from sailing to opera. He's turned his two children, Bridgette and Luke, into sailing enthusiasts. (Disclaimer: All children's names are spelled phonetically.)

Steve Schreiber was recently named dean of the School of Architecture and Community Design at the University of South Florida.He was director of the school since 2000, and has held faculty and administration positions at University of New Mexico, University of Miami and Boston Architectural Center.

Kurt Somerville organized the world indoor rowing championships in Boston. The event attracts over 1,800 athletes, who row on ergometers using computer screens to watch the boats race against each other. Kurt, a former member of both the U.S. National and Olympic teams, is a partner in the law firm of Hemenway & Barnes. He lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife and three sons.

Holy handcuffs, Batman! Dean Esserman was named the new chief of the Providence, Rhode Island, police pepartment. Called an innovator and a "cop's chief," Dean, a New Yorker with a law degree, began his law-enforcement career as a prosecutor in N.Y.C. Prior to his new position, Dean oversaw companies involved in the cleanup at Ground Zero and was chief in Stamford, Connecticut.

Co-newsletter editor Ben Riley was one of 25 attorneys in California to receive the 2002 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award from California Lawyer magazine. Ben is at Cooley Godward and was cited for pro bono work on a case arising from 20th-century discrimination laws. Kudos, BR.

Finally, Mark Connolly was named for his involvement in the $5.1 million settlement of Tyco with the state of New Hampshire. Fortunately, Mark was not on the Tyco side. He's director of the states Bureau of Securities Regulation. You may recall that Mark started his career in politics and state service when he was elected state representative in 1977, while a student at Dartmouth. Mark is single and lives in New Castle, New Hampshire. Keep 'em coming!

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