Class Note 1989
Issue
November-December 2025
Class Note 1989. November has arrived. If you’re getting ready for a holiday break, let me inspire you with memories of summer. While some roamed ’round the girdled earth, others celebrated family, championed a cause, and reached celebrity status.
We begin the journey in Africa with Catherine Truman reporting from Uganda. No stranger to the continent, she had spent three weeks in West Africa last Christmas. For Memorial Day she was in a region in Nepal called Mustang, which until 2018 could be reached only on foot or horse.
Let’s jump from Asia to Europe, where Michael Ballard visited Berlin to participate in a rugby tournament. He shares that weeks later, missiles overhead triggered mobile red alert warnings all hours of the day and night back in Israel, where he resides. He is thankful that there were no direct impacts in his area. Greg Hawes and his family traveled to celebrate his eldest son’s college graduation. While the graduation was likely the high point, I’m sure the visits to Venice, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, St. Moritz, and Lake Maggiore did not disappoint. Greg says the hidden highlight was Ljubljana in Slovenia. For the last stop in Europe, J. Todd Timmerman took a 12-day trip to London, Belgium, and Norway with Chris Drew and his family, including a visit to Chris’s son, who works in the music industry in London. Back in the United States, Todd checked the Indy 500 off his bucket list with his dad and son. His son works at UBS in Nashville, and his daughter studies premed at the University of South Florida. Todd concluded his summer attending the Association of Corporate Counsel Symposium in Longboat Key, Florida. Heading north, Winnie DelliQuadri skied daily during the ski season in Steamboat, Colorado, and then thru-hiked the 300-mile Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota. Bridget Hust joined her for one day of the hike.
Graduation season brought Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members Tanya Crossley, Pamela Wheeler Streeter, and Vanessa Baird-Streeter together for a mini-reunion to celebrate Pam’s daughter’s high school graduation. Tanya shares it’s always a great time when best friends get together.
If you’re wondering which of us made the break into celebrity status, Chris Hildenbrand recommends Murder in Athens, IL, a new book by Ray Roentgen. It is the consummate page-turning murder mystery and exploration of small-town life, history, grief, professional commitment, growth, and healing. The protagonist, Ike Lowe, is a cancer doctor in Athens and if his description reminds you of someone, word on the street is that Mr. Roentgen is the nom de plume of none other than Mike Stutz. Congratulations, Mike!
Finally, Linda Swenberg is working diligently to fund breast cancer research. She completed a Susan G. Komen three-day, 60-mile walk in Denver during the summer. She plans to participate in her 10th walk in San Diego in November. Linda is captain of Pink on Top, a group of friends connected by family and community and united to work toward ending breast cancer forever. Thank you, Linda!
—Robin Byrd, P.O. Box 660563, Arcadia, CA 91066; robinwinters@msn.com; Candace Locklear, 5829 Colton Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611; (510) 292-8216; candace@mightypr.com
We begin the journey in Africa with Catherine Truman reporting from Uganda. No stranger to the continent, she had spent three weeks in West Africa last Christmas. For Memorial Day she was in a region in Nepal called Mustang, which until 2018 could be reached only on foot or horse.
Let’s jump from Asia to Europe, where Michael Ballard visited Berlin to participate in a rugby tournament. He shares that weeks later, missiles overhead triggered mobile red alert warnings all hours of the day and night back in Israel, where he resides. He is thankful that there were no direct impacts in his area. Greg Hawes and his family traveled to celebrate his eldest son’s college graduation. While the graduation was likely the high point, I’m sure the visits to Venice, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, St. Moritz, and Lake Maggiore did not disappoint. Greg says the hidden highlight was Ljubljana in Slovenia. For the last stop in Europe, J. Todd Timmerman took a 12-day trip to London, Belgium, and Norway with Chris Drew and his family, including a visit to Chris’s son, who works in the music industry in London. Back in the United States, Todd checked the Indy 500 off his bucket list with his dad and son. His son works at UBS in Nashville, and his daughter studies premed at the University of South Florida. Todd concluded his summer attending the Association of Corporate Counsel Symposium in Longboat Key, Florida. Heading north, Winnie DelliQuadri skied daily during the ski season in Steamboat, Colorado, and then thru-hiked the 300-mile Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota. Bridget Hust joined her for one day of the hike.
Graduation season brought Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members Tanya Crossley, Pamela Wheeler Streeter, and Vanessa Baird-Streeter together for a mini-reunion to celebrate Pam’s daughter’s high school graduation. Tanya shares it’s always a great time when best friends get together.
If you’re wondering which of us made the break into celebrity status, Chris Hildenbrand recommends Murder in Athens, IL, a new book by Ray Roentgen. It is the consummate page-turning murder mystery and exploration of small-town life, history, grief, professional commitment, growth, and healing. The protagonist, Ike Lowe, is a cancer doctor in Athens and if his description reminds you of someone, word on the street is that Mr. Roentgen is the nom de plume of none other than Mike Stutz. Congratulations, Mike!
Finally, Linda Swenberg is working diligently to fund breast cancer research. She completed a Susan G. Komen three-day, 60-mile walk in Denver during the summer. She plans to participate in her 10th walk in San Diego in November. Linda is captain of Pink on Top, a group of friends connected by family and community and united to work toward ending breast cancer forever. Thank you, Linda!
—Robin Byrd, P.O. Box 660563, Arcadia, CA 91066; robinwinters@msn.com; Candace Locklear, 5829 Colton Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611; (510) 292-8216; candace@mightypr.com