Flagg'd

It's complex, bitter yet almost sweet, warming yet abrasive, with a twist of acidity.  Chris Flagg's personality?  NO, the delicious beverage known as the Flagg Day* at  Porchlight Bar in NYC. (271 Eleventh Avenue - at the corner of 28th Street). Porchlight is housed in an 1890s warehouse containing 1.2 million square feet of space (consuming an entire city block) that Chris's company has owned for 25 years.  It used to just be a warehouse, but a rejuvenation in this lower west side area is making it an attractive place to live and work.

Always great to see a friendly face when traveling!

*FLAGG DAYRittenhouse Rye, Cardamaro and Homemade Orange Liqueur

We look like a tycoon and book editor don't we?

Congratulations Scott!

Congratulations to Scott Chesney on his recent marriage to Chris Lang!

Looks like it took place at the fantastic Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego.

Oct. 15 will be Flagg Day in NYC!

Knight is headed to NYC for a long weekend.  He'd like to start it off with the class signature cocktail, the Flagg Day*, served only at Porchlight Bar in NYC. (271 Eleventh Avenue - at the corner of 28th Street).  It's namesake has agreed to appear as well but we would love to get as many 83ers together as possible!

Shoot for 6 pm next Thursday - at Porchlight.  As long as Flagg is present, Knight will buy you the signature cocktail or a beverage of your choice!!!

*
FLAGG DAYRittenhouse Rye, Cardamaro and Homemade Orange Liqueur

Stylish Traditionalist

Chris Flagg knows how to dress and how to spot a piece of history! He was up visiting his daughter who is now a sophomore and was just passing through the trophy room. I guess DA figures nobody would want to steal it...(That's the Stanley Can of the IHL for those who do not remember)

Football Food

Congrats to Van Sullivan at UMass Amherst - for serving the most sushi on a college campus AND for taking it to the stadium!

http://www.masslive.com/umassfootball/index.ssf/2015/10/umass_serves_more_sushi_4000_r.html#incart_river_mobileshort_home

Positive energy

Leigh Guyer has always had a little something special in his personality.  Well, he'll get to use it some more even though he just had a heart attack and 5 stents put in (instead of open heart bypass surgery).  Congrats on a successful procedure and here's to many more days of smiles!

Just passing through...

The pope leaves traffic and undelivered packages in his wake, but Denison University President Adam Weinberg leaves only smiles!  Fairfield Country Day School Headmaster John Munro can attest to that...

Both are well read on education and both write on the topic.  Be sure to visit their websites to read more, or even Huffington Post to read more of Adam's musings.  Both are scholarship with character personified!

When you stay in touch....

you stay connected....

Harrington and Gottscho visited recently.

More on this story in a future post.

The epitome...

of a great family photo.  Stolen with pride from the FB feed of Chris Lotspeich.

It all counts...

Adam Feiges, currently of Iowa, wanted to remind us that peaks can be fun and more personal, especially with the family involved.

Not a peak but a workout nonetheless.
Horsethief Overlook, Fruita, Co.  Elevation unknown.

Chris Lynch rises to the occasion...literally!

Here he is last week:

Grand Teton (13,770)

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

What do these summit pictures say about our class?  

Do we like to hike? Are we into the natural world?

Do we see success where others see obstacle?

Will we do anything to to compete and achieve?

Is real life kinda boring otherwise?

I can take it...

Jeff Spadafora and son were not to be left out of the competition brewing on this blog. Another Coloradan, Jeff took his son for a walk and a little fishing before taking him to college. 14ers are all the rage in CO (for some) and Jeff and Neal topped out at a respectable 14, 036!

(Cue Julie Andrews singing "Climb every mountain...") As we listen to Julie sing - I wanted to remind all of you that this blog is about us - and any contributions by you, no matter how small, contribute to this community of classmates.  That said, if sending great pics on peaks much higher than mine makes you active, then keep it coming...I can take it!

Piling On

Dexter Wood went with his son's Scout Troop on a little jaunt this summer too...

To Mount Baldy summit - 12,441'…."And we hiked almost 4,000 of it!"

Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico.

Anything you can do...

Kudos to Don Hindman - our class outdoor enthusiast.  After seeing the Knight pic at 12,002 feet, Don tossed me this charmer at 14,433!  That's how we do it in Colorado!!!

Summer escapades?

Hiked* to 12,002 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park.  What have u been up to?

* the car got me to 11,900 btw...

Congrats!

Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Nash on his recent marriage to Aimee Brown.  The locations was beautiful too - Rainbow Bridge at Donner Pass.

August is National Make A Will Month

Apologies if this topic is annoying or if its repetition as a post seems overkill.  I spoke with another peer without an estate plan yesterday...I'll move on to colonoscopy messaging soon...

Legal Zoom reminded me that August is National Make A Will Month.  Figuring they were selling me something I went to find info from a source designed for people my age...AARP.

http://blog.aarp.org/2014/08/20/its-august-so-it-must-be-make-a-will-month/

So August is National Make-a-Will Month. Who knew?

Getting a will isn’t the most pleasant of tasks, and consequently, too few people do it. A recent survey of more than 2,000 people by the online legal service Rocket Lawyer found that 64 percent don’t have wills. The biggest reason cited by folks: They just never got around to it. Some said they didn’t want to think about death.

You might believe that only wealthier families need a will. You’d be wrong.

“Having a will is important for every family, regardless of how much money they have,” says Elisa Shevlin Rizzo, managing director and trust counsel at Fiduciary Trust Company International in New York, an investment management firm. “It provides some peace and certainty about how things will be handled after an individual has died.”

If you die without a will, the state could get involved in the costly job of trying to determine who in your family gets what. “It may not be what the individual intended and it becomes much more complicated,” Rizzo says.

It’s never too late to put your financial affairs in order. Here are a few tips to get you started, courtesy of Sally Hurme, a project adviser at AARP and author of The ABA Checklist for Family Heirs: A Guide to Family History, Financial Plans and Final Wishes:

• Make an inventory of your assets (bank accounts, investments, properties, jewelry, art collections and other personal items).

• Review whom you’ve named as beneficiaries of your life insurance, retirement funds or investment accounts. (An ex-spouse, for example, may inherit if these forms haven’t been updated.)

• If you’ve already drafted a plan, look it over every few years to make sure the executors are still the people you trust and are up to the task.

Reach out to a lawyer in your state of domicile if you want to create a will.

Another link - with a Checklist: http://www.avondalepartnersllc.com/blog/last-will/

The price you pay when the kids exceed expectations ....

Keep an eye on Encinitas Little League again this year folks!  Clearly Charlie Gagne has lost none of his youthful demeanor....Good luck coach!

Today is the day...

June 30 doesn't mean much to most, but to your favorite deserving nonprofit organizations, its typically the last day of the fiscal year.

Be counted this year by going online to the quick form for DA at: https://deerfield.edu/quick-gift/

Or postmark today (July 1 doesn't cut it usually) and mail to PO Box 306, Deerfield, MA 01342.

Our class participation is below 30%, so any little bit helps!

DEERFIELD magazine: Spring 2015

Another tremendous issue from DA.  Many retirements amongst the faculty (the shortest tenure of the group is 23 years) many of whom you will remember, TEDx and eradicating parasites in children are some of the additional topics discussed.  The Common Room (aka classnotes) is awesome, not just because the Class of 1983 crushes it once again with THREE full pages!  See why taking pictures is so important when you visit with classmates?

Read it online here: http://issuu.com/deerfield/docs/deerfield_magazine_spring2015_lr

Penance for Patton

Hopefully you can get to Ben Patton's article in the NY Post from Sunday...

http://nypost.com/2015/06/21/gen-george-pattons-grandson-helps-soldiers-coping-with-ptsd/

East One Still Rules!

Co-proctors on Plunkett East One in the infamous year of 1982-83 were reunited in Denver this week.  Sony Entertainment executive, Andrew Stewart, was in town with his family briefly but he made time for lunch with old hallmate, JK.

Andy runs a group that specializes in films for the "horror" and "african-american" audiences and he admits that the slow death of the DVD is impacting the movie business and its ability to generate lasting revenue from a film.  Now it seems that blockbusters are the only option and that's tricky for his group...

Regardless, we traded chuckles about classmates we had seen lately and many we had not seen in far too long.  Does anybody know how to get Rob Gulick on the radar?

Always great to see an old friend, and former co-proctor.  Any other proctor pairs, or teammates or hallmates keeping in touch these days?  Send photos!

WILL you?

I met a fellow parent today who mentioned she and her husband had just created their first will.  They wanted to get things in order before a trip out of the country.  The husband is a lawyer and a university professor and she is a nurse practitioner.  They are probably late forties.  I was surprised it took so long but proud of them for finally writing down their wishes and expectations around assets, Health Care Proxies and the like.

Then I read this:

If You're One of the 70% of Americans Without a Will, Read On. Do you have a will? Between half and two-thirds of American adults don't. Do you need one? Only if you answer yes to any of the questions below:

1. Do you care who gets your property if you die?
2. Do you care who gets your money if you die?
3. Do you care who is appointed guardian of your minor children if you die?

(http://financialplan.about.com/cs/doityourself/a/WhyYouNeedWill.htm)

I remember the impetus for creating my own estate plan - the fatal crash of a private plane that claimed the life of my mother's second husband.  He was a lawyer too, but had made the time to detail his wishes and thus the appropriate assets went into a trust for my mother.  Those funds are now providing for her care since she suffers from alzheimer's.

All of this to say, its time to make a will if you don't have one.

CNN says: "A will is a device that lets you tell the world whom you want to get your assets. Die without one, and the state decides who gets what, without regard to your wishes or your heirs' needs."

(http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson21/index3.htm)

LegalZoom.com can probably help you make a simple one, but seek a lawyer in your state of domicile if you have the time to meet in person.  It's not a difficult process, but its important.

Observing work...

Hank LeMieux travels a LOT.  Thankfully he is a curious and observant traveler, as any of you who follow him on Facebook can attest.  Now he's writing the stories down.

The Voice

Or search for Hank LeMieux on Medium

All caught up...

I did it!  I found the newest classmate in the octet known as the Colorado Eight!  Will Piersol in the red shirt, joined by nearest classmate Taylor Watts and me.  Sunny and 70 as usual at lunchtime...

Will had some great stories about his time in Singapore, Taiwan and Japan but the family decided the time was right to live back in the US. So great to have him nearby...

Will recalled how in 1978-79 he was touring schools as part of the admission process and visited DA during the winter term.  When he arrived on campus in the fall of 1979 to start 9th grade he asked, where are the girls?  Turns out his parents never mentioned that DA was all-male, and he assumed that since he saw girls on campus (Emma Willard exchange!) during his tour it was coed. Way to stick it out Will!!!

There are more ways than one to uphold a legacy...

Ben Patton interviewed on PRI about his work with I Was There: "Grandson of Ol' Blood and Guts makes film not war..."

Audio Story (5 mins)


Story Link
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-29/grandson-old-blood-and-guts-makes-film-not-war

Film made by soldiers-from I Was There (5:44)

Appalachian Spring snippet in new DA Concert Hall (Video)

Quick trip back to DA this weekend for the trustee dinner to honor David Pond on his retirement. David was Head of Alumni Affairs and Development for 34 years!  Featured are some shots of the renovated Memorial Building (now Hess Center for the Arts) and some of your old friends - former Business Manager Mike Sheridan '58, Victor Wright '84 (Supreme Court of California Judge - DA Trustee), Jeff Louis '81, Jay Morsman '55 and Eric Widmer '57.  Toward the end is a pic of David Koch '58 and Jay Morsman but couldn't get close enough to hear anything interesting...Special treat to see PB Weymouth and catch him sneaking a snort into the new concert hall, where we were treated to a performance of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" which was incredible. The Art Gallery and the Concert Hall are absolutely incredible.  The Arts teaching was always great at DA - the spaces have finally caught up.  (Next up - the FLB Library getting gutted to include more collaborative and iLab maker spaces etc. Then a field house and new hockey rink! DA Scroll has a master plan article: SCROLL

What? Another one?

So last week, as I'm getting ready to meet Tom Hammar (after nearly 32 years) for lunch and meet the final classmate in Colorado (6 for 6!) I glance at my email.

But more on that later.  Tom looked very happy and his 20 years in Denver have treated him well.  He didn't really like his two years at DA after having been sent from Chicagoland, so he doesn't really stay in touch with anyone from the class. It was great he made a point to have lunch with me, given all that background.

He went to CU-Boulder and had too much fun.   He spent some time in Estonia with the Peace Corps.
He has worked in retail but he has found a groove in the building trades.  2008 wasn't kind to his employer so Tom bought and flipped a house to keep himself busy.  Then the economy got back on track and now he is leading all building and renovation projects in the Rocky Mountains (32 stores) for Whole Foods.

He was excited to see the Global H2O presentation was part of the Denver Reception, because water is such an important issue - especially out here.  "If I had a kid who was malleable - I'd push them toward Law, specifically Water Law".

Back to that email.  It was a nice 50th birthday greeting from Will Piersol.  Last I knew he was in Singapore.  It ended with "We've settled in the Boulder area, so if you're ever up this way..."

I guess there are now 8 of us in Colorado and I'm only 6 for 7!  Boulder, here I come..

The Match-April 17-24

Still pondering a gift to Deerfield this fiscal year (by June30)?  The next seven days would be an excellent time because of The Match.

During the week of April 17-24, 2015, whenever a new or lapsed donor makes a gift of at least $10 to Deerfield, it will trigger a $500 gift from an anonymous donor! And for every 100 donors, an additional $100,000 gift will be added to the Match!

Ten bucks is a nice way to initiate $510 of impact for DA. 

Make a gift!

They are 50 too?

See what Carrot Top and Sarah Jessica Parker have in common with you and me!

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/05/showbiz/gallery/celebs-turning-50-in-2015/index.html

Effort

Thanks to RJ Harrington and Hank LeMieux for attending the recent Deerfield Reception in Denver!

RJ and his wife made it down from Boulder - where RJ has begun an renewable energy consulting firm but is so busy purchasing and installing car battery refueling stations that he hasn't built a website yet. More to come for sure...

Hank came in from San Francisco (he saw the invite because he is a subscriber to the DA Club of the Rockies blog: http://dacluboftherockies.blogspot.com) and didn't let a delayed flight or lost luggage deter his ability to attend.  Hank leads sales for new products at BloomReach (http://bloomreach.com) which optimizes web traffic.  He's obviously great at what he does too!

To keep up with DA Events in general go to: http://deerfield.edu/alumni/events/upcoming/
Looks like CHICAGO and NYC are up next!

And yes, this is 37 year DA science faculty member Andy Harcourt talking about the Global Water course he teaches at school.  Great event!

5th Annual Sioux City Curling Classic!

In case u missed it, Adam Feiges is a member of a team that participated in this event.  Will try to update final result at some point, or at least that no injuries were reported...

Design. Build. Test. Repeat.

Attached is a shot from last week doing dropsonde testing on the NASA DC-8 (based out of Palmdale, CA), while NASA Goddard scientists look on. While in the end we retrieved the high altitude wind data we were chasing after, it was a slightly frustrating day as only two of our  five prototypes performed as expected. What we learned on that flight should lead to success on an upcoming DC-8 mission over Iceland this May called "Icebridge" - see http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/icebridge/#.VQkS2I7F8fA

Curious fact: Greenland's one-to-two mile thick ice sheet, if completely melted, would raise worldwide sea level by a mind-numbing 24 feet.

Later this summer Navy will deploy our dropsondes over active Atlantic/gulf hurricanes via the NASA WB-57, flying at the staggering altitude of 60,000'. Our research is aimed at improving hurricane forecasting skill to the level where people have enough confidence to move out of harm's way before it hits.

- Mark Beaubien

A school man...

Condolences to Charlie "Chaz" Gagne on the passing of his father, who was a schoolman of the first order. 

"He afterwards taught at Brewster Academy and at the Hill School Camp, both in Wolfeboro, NH. Mr. Gagne taught at the Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA, from 1958 to 2000. He taught French, and English as a Second Language, and he was chair of the Language Department. Mr. Gagne also served as a dorm master in Waters House, in Sheedy Hall, and in Spaulding Hall; as a student advisor; as an advocate for the Winterim Program; and as a coach of lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, basketball, and golf." - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=174362946#sthash.bRGtUBjH.dpuf

Richard H Gagne: Educator, coach, advisor, friend and father who lived for 85 admirable years as a New England gentleman. Born in the heart of the Great Depression. During WWII attended the Exeter Academy that was shown to the world by John Knowles in ‘A Separate Peace’. Served in Germany in the US Army during the Korean Conflict, and taught prep school students during the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. His faith in humanity was unwavering throughout. He taught me, and hundreds of others, the importance of knowing, and acting on, the difference between right and wrong. May you rest in peace, Father, in the knowledge that you lived your life as a good man.

Be Honest...

From Jim Wareck:

"Raise your hand if you had Adam Weinberg as a college president in the Alumni pool". Great to see Adam even briefly, he promises next time in LA he will give more lead time and will gather all of '83 in LA.

50 Years ago...

The Atlantic has a photo essay on things that happened 50 years ago in 1965 - Adam Feiges sent it to me so you can be reminded of the additional greatness of that year.

http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/03/50-years-ago-a-look-back-at-1965/387493/

Third picture should be familiar to you....

In case you knew "Pops" Therien

Norm Therien, of Stock Room fame, wanted us to know that his dad passed away.

"he could be found attending numerous athletic events at Deerfield Academy, where he would encourage the student athletes in their endeavors in the absence of their parents and family.  As a result, he was affectionately known to many of the student athletes as “Pops”. "

http://mccarthyfuneralhomes.com/n/63/Robert-J-Therien

Spring Training

Hardie Jackson's company Evoshield makes protective gear for athletes.  Based on the discovery of an air hardening polymer, the products can be quickly custom fitted.  So Spring Training for Major League Baseball means lots of driving through the southern regions to fit each player on each team.  Follow Evoshield on FB if you want more trips through AZ and Florida and pics of Hardie at work...

Here are some Pirates, Braves and Tigers....

The "Flagg Day" cocktail is now a thing

From the WSJ:

"Messrs. Meyer and Mayard-Parisi both nod to the Flagg Day (Rittenhouse Rye, Cardamaro, orange liqueur) as one of their favorite drinks, because the drink is named after the building’s landlord, Chris Flagg, with whom they have a long business and personal relationship.

“I like that the drink evokes our affection for the landlord,” Mr. Meyer said. “If you have a porch in the South, the greatest day is Flag Day. We want this to be the greatest day for people who come here, or the greatest part of your day.”"

The full WSJ article: http://on.wsj.com/18nbJS7