Class Note 1989. Smiles all around on “’89 Day.” Classmates gathered for mini-reunions on both coasts and in between. By far the most creative team was Evan Betzer and Marc Monplaisir, who met in San Diego to cheer on the Big Green at the Crew Classic and created our official ’89 hand sign. Instructions will be provided at the next mini-reunion.
The award for most in attendance goes to Boston with a total of 13: Bob Reetz, Steve Blank, Karin Wilinski, Kate Saunders Grove, Geoff Gilmartin, Ken Horton, Rebecca Mitchell, Martha Wadleigh, Laura Bordewieck Rippy, Walter Colsman, Lindsey Brace Martinez, Min Kocher, and Mich Dupre ’88. I hear since they had a quorum they voted on the next new dorm site.
Flowers and eclectic pottery were the backdrop for the Los Angeles gathering. Antonia Rutigliano Nedder, Joe Nedder, Andy Camp, and Patrick Munoz win the prize for the coziest setting. It is not at all surprising that the city of brotherly love hosted the most coordinated event.
The best dressed award goes to Philadelphia, where Tom Avril, Bob Noone and wife Gwen ’87, Beth Attig, and Dave Puerto, showed up proudly wearing their best Big Green swag. And the most likely to stay for vacation award goes to Tampa. Todd Timmerman, Tito Basu, and Lisa Gamell gathered against a relaxing backdrop at Hula Bay Club. If you have never been to a mini-reunion, make plans to attend the next one.
And for our break from monotony, I posed the following question to a few classmates to consider an alternative reality: If you could be a character in a John Hughes film, who would you be? I started the conversation with perhaps his funniest film, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. I would be the motorist on the right side of the freeway screaming, “You’re going the wrong way!” Greg Hawes chose the dad in Sixteen Candles—he means well but has no idea what’s going on. This is probably closer to our actual experience as parents of teens and young adults. Michael Ballard took advantage of the opportunity to dream big. He chose Ferris Bueller, “not because of the great day off but because I get to kiss the most beautiful girl in all of the John Hughes movies, Mia Sara, who played Sloane Peterson, his girlfriend in the movie.” Thank you for playing. Consider this to inspire the soon to be empty-nesters: If all things were possible what amazing feat would you take on—moon walk, climb Kilimanjaro, conduct a symphony? Drop me a line.
—Robin Byrd, P.O. Box 660563, Arcadia, CA 91066; robinwinters@msn.com; Candace Locklear, 5829 Colton Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611; (510) 292-8216; evilpip@gmail.com

90Mel (Schneeberger) Robbins—host of The Mel Robbins Podcast (which has about 10 million viewers and listeners per week); bestselling author (her latest book, The Let Them Theory, has sold more than 8 million copies), and uplifting, trusted social media voice (she has more than 30 million followers across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn)— was selected as one of Time magazine’s “15 Women of the Year.” Mel’s quote regarding the way she selects guests for her podcast illustrates why so many people look to her for guidance and inspiration: “What do you have to make a nurse’s or a teacher’s or a firefighter’s life better? If you can’t do that, you’re not on my show. It’s not about you, it’s about them.”
Kyle Blood reports that he’s opening a gallery, Kyle Timothy Fine Art, at 53 South Main Street in Hanover (in the Nugget Building, next to Molly’s). The gallery’s concept is to serve as a “home gallery” for alumni working in the fine and applied arts and to represent the work of international, national, and regional artists. In March a class of 1990 mini-reunion took place in Washington, D.C. Attendees included Amit Malhotra, Derek Symer, Laura Jackson, Jerry Casagrande, Lauren Waller Smith, John Kim, Cat Shrier, Jeff Buchsbaum, Trish Anthony Gershefski,and host Meg Sommerfeld.
Another class of 1990 mini-reunion took place in New York City in late April. Attendees included Hallie Brooks, Julie Urda, Beth LaFortune Gies, Cheryl Shepherd, Richard Morris, Miriam Schulman, Liz Courtney, Laurilyn Goettish Downing, Meg Sommerfeld, Scott Whelehan, John Aronsohn, Meg Devine, Liz Portland, Mara Leventhal, Susan Mooney, Rich Phelan, Julia Lazarus,and reunion hosts Steve Kong, Bernadine Wu,and Brad Drazen—whose oldest son, Noah ’22, also attended. And while we’re on the topic of Brad’s children: His youngest son, Max, whose artist name is “Benni,” just released an awesome new single on Spotify titled “Stayed Up.” Second Hand Jam plans to cover the song at our 40th reunion.
Mike Kennealy announced the suspension of his campaign for governor of Massachusetts after falling short of the necessary 15-percent threshold at the Massachusetts Republican Convention. The following message was posted at MikeKennealy.com on April 26: “Kennealy expressed deep thanks to his supporters, stating, ‘I am deeply grateful to those who supported me. Every meeting, every conversation, every story—I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It has been the honor of a lifetime to speak up on behalf of the people of Massachusetts and to highlight the challenges families across our Commonwealth are facing.’ While Kennealy will not be moving forward in the primary, he made clear that his commitment to the Republican Party and its candidates remains unwavering. ‘This campaign was always about something bigger than just me. The fight does not end until we elect Republicans across Massachusetts. I am committed to continuing that work.’ ”
—Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com