Class Note 1977
Joe Hoffman completed the Prouty Ultimate Challenge (200 miles) raising $4,100 for the Dartmouth Norris Cotton Cancer Center. There were only 97 Ultimate riders. The first day Joe faced 5,400 feet of vertical climbing in eastern Vermont, which he described as “tough but manageable for seasoned cyclists. It was inspiring to have seven or eight cancer survivors in our ranks.” The second day was easier, with only 4,000 vertical feet of climbing along foggy New Hampshire roads. Joe was proud to raise money to fight a group of diseases he despises.
Betty Stroock is involved with a Montana nonprofit that works on stream restoration projects. She is establishing a new kind of conservation easement known as a channel migration easement, focused primarily on the Yellowstone River. Betty also works with a local trails advocacy group building a bike path along a dangerous stretch of road between Bozeman and Belgrade, Montana.
Andy Rayburn has launched Buckeye Relief—a Level 1 marijuana cultivation and processing facility in Eastlake, Ohio—in order to provide medical marijuana to patients who might benefit from it. The company planted its first crop on July 31, 2018, and harvested it in early December. Andy has now harvested 12 times and finds that with each harvest he gets higher-quality plants. The company has recently been certified to extract and process marijuana and has introduced a lot of new products during the summer. Andy estimates that there are 200,000 patients in Ohio who could benefit from these products.
Nancy Parssinen Vespoli has become the president of the American Friends of Capodimonte, which promotes the Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, Italy. The group sponsors American post-doctorate fellows at the museum as well as trips to Naples. The first such trip occurred in June. Class president Dee Dee Granzow Simpson, husband David, and class secretary Robin Gosnell participated in the week-long expedition and offer rave reviews.
Susan Dentzer currently serves on three boards of directors: the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which assists refugees and displaced persons around the globe; Research!America, which advocates for strong federal support for biomedical and other health-related research; and the Public Health Institute, which generates and promotes research, leadership, and partnerships to build capacity for strong public health policy, programs, and practices in the United States and beyond. Founded in 1933 by Albert Einstein to aid people fleeing Nazi Germany, today the IRC operates in more than 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities. Susan joined the board of the IRC in 2004. She initially led the board’s health committee, which supervised the organization’s global health operations, and subsequently the program committee, which supervised all of the IRC’s world-wide activities. She is now focused on the group’s domestic resettlement activities. Susan sees her work in helping the IRC resettle refugees in the United States as fulfilling the Emma Lazarus poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty.
—Robin Gosnell, 31 Elm Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540; robins.nest@icloud.com; Eric Edmondson, Signal Hill Capital LLC, 425 California St., Suite 19, San Francisco, CA 94104; eweedmondson@gmail.com; Drew Kintzinger, 2400 M St. NW, Apt. 914, Washington, DC 20037; akintzinger@hunton.com
