Class Note 1985
Issue
March-April 2021
As you read this, it’s 2021, presumably much to the relief of everyone. How do you effectively describe 2020—challenging, thought provoking, enlightening? Whatever it meant to you, may this serve as a wish that 2021 brings you happiness, health, rewarding interactions, and whatever else you’re seeking.
I often think of many of you and wonder what/how you’re doing—thinking back to our last interaction or connection, thankfully mostly favorable. Is anyone else into sports officiating? Any standup comedians or skydivers among us? Maybe competitive eaters? Who has their own Wikipedia page? (FYI, only one of those applies to me.) Whatever you’ve done, I hope you’ll be back at our reunion June 17-20 to share your exploits.
Give a (quiet) rouse for our own Ken Kaliski—the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) honored Resource Systems Group (RSG) senior director Kenneth Kaliski with the William W. Lang Award for the Distinguished Noise Control Engineer. This award acknowledges Ken’s meaningful service to and enthusiastic support of INCE board certification, notable contributions to the field of wind turbine acoustics, and use of rigorous analytics and novel approaches to advance the field of noise control engineering. As the 12th recipient of this award, Ken joins an elite group of acousticians. A biology and environmental studies major at Dartmouth, Ken later received a degree in engineering from Thayer in 2002. He has been with RSG for more than 30 years, since its founding in 1986, and is a 15-year board member. His work at RSG focuses on community noise monitoring and modeling, architectural acoustics, transportation noise, and industrial noise control projects.
It is with sadness that I report the passing of our classmate Charla Tolbert McMillian. While I didn’t know Charla well, I felt we were connected since she (with a bright smile) was listed next to me in the Freshman Book. An English major and Kappa Kappa Gamma member, Charla earned the Gurdin prize for best directing in theater and was inducted into the Green Key Society and Fire & Skoal. She joined the U.S. Marine Corps officer candidate school in Quantico, Virginia, in 1986 and served as a specialist in Russian intelligence while stationed at Camp Pendleton, advancing to the rank of captain in 1989.
Charla earned her J.D. in 1993 at Boston University Law School and, in 1997, created and became owner and principal of FitBoot, a first-of-its-kind military-style fitness business. She trained hundreds of clients in Boston and in the Bay Area of California for more than a decade. The pioneering FitBoot program was featured in national media and emphasized teamwork, mental focus, nutrition, and physical performance. Charla was a certified national strength and conditioning specialist, a Kenpo karate competitor, and the author of several fitness books. Throughout her life Charla loved to sing, play, and compose music, leaving a collection of more than 300 original compositions and musical recordings.
Reach out and connect with someone you miss—you both will enjoy it.
—John MacManus, 188 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com; Leslie A. Davis Dahl, 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com
I often think of many of you and wonder what/how you’re doing—thinking back to our last interaction or connection, thankfully mostly favorable. Is anyone else into sports officiating? Any standup comedians or skydivers among us? Maybe competitive eaters? Who has their own Wikipedia page? (FYI, only one of those applies to me.) Whatever you’ve done, I hope you’ll be back at our reunion June 17-20 to share your exploits.
Give a (quiet) rouse for our own Ken Kaliski—the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) honored Resource Systems Group (RSG) senior director Kenneth Kaliski with the William W. Lang Award for the Distinguished Noise Control Engineer. This award acknowledges Ken’s meaningful service to and enthusiastic support of INCE board certification, notable contributions to the field of wind turbine acoustics, and use of rigorous analytics and novel approaches to advance the field of noise control engineering. As the 12th recipient of this award, Ken joins an elite group of acousticians. A biology and environmental studies major at Dartmouth, Ken later received a degree in engineering from Thayer in 2002. He has been with RSG for more than 30 years, since its founding in 1986, and is a 15-year board member. His work at RSG focuses on community noise monitoring and modeling, architectural acoustics, transportation noise, and industrial noise control projects.
It is with sadness that I report the passing of our classmate Charla Tolbert McMillian. While I didn’t know Charla well, I felt we were connected since she (with a bright smile) was listed next to me in the Freshman Book. An English major and Kappa Kappa Gamma member, Charla earned the Gurdin prize for best directing in theater and was inducted into the Green Key Society and Fire & Skoal. She joined the U.S. Marine Corps officer candidate school in Quantico, Virginia, in 1986 and served as a specialist in Russian intelligence while stationed at Camp Pendleton, advancing to the rank of captain in 1989.
Charla earned her J.D. in 1993 at Boston University Law School and, in 1997, created and became owner and principal of FitBoot, a first-of-its-kind military-style fitness business. She trained hundreds of clients in Boston and in the Bay Area of California for more than a decade. The pioneering FitBoot program was featured in national media and emphasized teamwork, mental focus, nutrition, and physical performance. Charla was a certified national strength and conditioning specialist, a Kenpo karate competitor, and the author of several fitness books. Throughout her life Charla loved to sing, play, and compose music, leaving a collection of more than 300 original compositions and musical recordings.
Reach out and connect with someone you miss—you both will enjoy it.
—John MacManus, 188 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com; Leslie A. Davis Dahl, 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com