Bahamian Fourth

This just in from the "aging better than most" files, Sean Nottage hosted John Sory recently in the Bahamas. Well done!

5 Guys walk into a restaurant in Worcester, and Knight moves...

 

Kudos to Jim Wareck for organizing a multi-state mini reunion!  Centrally located Worcester, MA (the heart of the Commonwealth) served as the meeting point for Eric Suher (W MA), Pete Crow (NH), and Nelse Clark and Will Wolf (Boston) to connect with Jim (New Haven CT) and catch up.  It may take months for the blog to uncover the stories that were shared last night...

Jim says he chose Worcester in honor of John Knight's move back to the east coast from Colorado.  John's wife took a new job in Providence, RI and the family will move to E Greenwich RI in June.  JK says he is grateful for the help of John Cianciolo and Peter Eleftherio in the house hunting and general understanding of all things RI. It's nice to have a network ready, willing and able to help.

At the time of the gathering in Worcester, JK was handing off the reins of the Deerfield Club of the Rockies to Chris Miller '84 and an appropriate dive bar on S Broadway in Denver.

Big day for DA83!

Chuck Demers R.I.P.

 

Sunderland, MA — Charles Oneil Demers, 91, died peacefully on April 29, 2021 after a long and accomplished life. He was born on October 29, 1929 in Chicopee, MA, the only child of Ovila and Juliette (Deroy) Demers.

Chuck attended Mt. Carmel Elementary in Willimansett and graduated from Holy Rosary High School in Holyoke in 1948. After completing a post graduate year at Suffield Academy in CT, he matriculated at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he was a member of the varsity football team and the ROTC. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and following graduation, and his marriage to Kathleen Wierciszewski, he began a three-year tour of duty at Camp Lejeune, NC. He retired at the rank of first lieutenant in 1956.

Chuck began what was to be his life-long career as a professional athletic trainer in 1956 in Minor League Baseball. He worked first for the New Orleans, LA Pelicans (a NY Yankee affiliate) and then with the Springfield, MA Giants (a San Francisco affiliate). He decided that a career in professional sports was not a good fit for his family and he accepted a position at his alma mater. After three years at UMass, he moved north to Deerfield Academy where he spent the next thirty-five years, retiring in 1999.

While at Deerfield, Chuck was fortunate to be able to take time away from the Academy, not only because of the school year schedule, but also because of the unwavering support of the school's administration, to pursue many professional development opportunities. He served as a trainer for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City. He was appointed to the 1980 Moscow Games, but the US boycotted that event. Chuck was the coordinator of medical staff at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid. He was also a host trainer at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Chuck spent many summers at NFL training camps, working with the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. After retiring from Deerfield, he was a volunteer football trainer for the University of New Hampshire's football team, where his grandsons Brian and Brent Barbato played, for seven years. Chuck came full circle in 2007, as the last group of athletes to benefit from his seasoned skills were the members of the UMass football team.

Chuck was a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) for over 60 years. He was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Athletic Trainers of MA Hall of Fame in 2010. Colleagues would attribute his success to his passion, tremendous work ethic, and commitment to professional development, as well as his devotion to the well -being of his charges, whether they were high school, college, Olympic or professional athletes. Chuck was humbled by the extraordinary opportunities and accolades afforded him and he commented often how fortunate he was to have a career he loved.

Chuck, a devout Catholic, was a communicant at the Holy Family Parish in South Deerfield, MA. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the South Deerfield Polish American Club, where he enjoyed participating in Pitch tournaments. Chuck was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics and fishing. He held the family record for catching the largest fish.

Chuck's greatest love was the one he felt for his family. He was a patient, kind, generous and caring patriarch and a wonderful example to his heirs. They loved his dry sense of humor and greatly appreciated his sage advice and unwavering support. Chuck is survived by his wife of 67 years, Kathleen, of Sunderland, MA. She was the love of his life, his best friend, a loyal supporter of his many adventures away from home, and a kind and patient caregiver during the last chapter of his life. He also leaves three daughters, Kathleen Barbato and husband, Dennis, of Plymouth, MA; Debra Dohrmann of Rockport, ME; and Lisa Wesolowski and husband, John, of Hampton, NH; his grandchildren, Brian Barbato and wife, Carly, of Deerfield, MA; Brent Barbato and wife, Julia, of Salisbury, CT; Bridgette Malinosky and husband, Tim, of Plymouth, MA; Benjamin Dohrmann and wife, Katherine, of Pasadena, CA; Anna McIver and husband, Matthew, of Rockport, ME ; Matthew Wesolowski and wife, Jennifer, of West Islip, NY and Jocelyn Wesolowski, of Manchester, NH; and his great-grandchildren, Charlie, Teddy, Blair, Bryn, Annika, Caleb, Alma, Benji, Sophia and Olivia. He was predeceased by an infant daughter, Julie Ann, and a son-in-law, Richard Dohrmann. He also leaves his special aunt and uncle, Doris and Roger Simard of Ludlow, MA and many cousins.

Funeral services will be private. Wrisley Funeral Home is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship fund in memory of Chuck Demers to be awarded to a student/athlete from Frontier Regional School through the South Deerfield Polish American Citizens Club, P.O. Box 154, South Deerfield, MA 01373.

Beantown Buddies

 

Two middle-aged guys ate some tasty barbecue and talked families, hockey, Boston, the good ol' days in JW and other sundries. Shouldn’t have waited this long to do it!

Great job to Bob Fitzpatrick and Whit Sheppard!

Just Can’t Get Enough!

Of Nelse Clark and his beautiful daughter. 

More & More - personified!

Two of the MOST social in the class held a strategy lunch then were stopped by the paparazzi for this photo outside their namesake on NYC. Schmidt and LeMieux in their natural habitat. 

Let's hope there is more of this to come for all classmates!

How big is YOUR chainsaw?

Congrats to Ed Goodson for cleaning up a fallen tree in his back 40!

CZUJ'S Throwback Thursday pic was AWESOME

 

Taking the Plunge

 Whit Sheppard sent this from Acapulco where he is on Spring Break with his daughter.  Enjoy!

One Deerfield!

I'm sure you'll be receiving plenty of email from DA about the giving day on Thursday - but let me be the first to encourage your participation with a video plea (which I can't get to load...) Links for the video and the GIVING page are below.  As seen on my Facebook page - I'll give DA $83 for every 10 classmates that make a gift by Thursday night.

The JK video plea: https://www.givecampus.com/n7aup3

The giving page: https://www.givecampus.com/nygx40

Dave Hagerman Obit

 https://rand-wilson.com/obit_view.php?id=457&placeholderpic&fbclid=IwAR04O469oGghnfO4swbOyM8Jto5_ThgtgF1-eqWOY021xj8nKTb47sY48KI

David S. Hagerman | February 11, 2021 | Obituary

David S. Hagerman age 75, son of Elizabeth (Eames) and Donald S. Hagerman, died on February 11, 2021, in Hanover, NH.

Born in Marion, MA on July 18, 1945, he was a graduate of Holderness School Class of 1963, Deerfield Academy Class of 1964, and The University of New Hampshire Class of 1968 where he was enrolled in ROTC. Having been commissioned as 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Germany and Vietnam. He returned home to his first of four daughters, Casey (Hagerman) Bobo.

David got his mentor wings as a teacher, coach, and dorm parent at Deerfield Academy where he served as Athletic Director for ten years. It was during the family's years at Deerfield when they welcomed their second daughter, Kulin (Hagerman) Reardon, and third daughter, Jamie (Hagerman) Phinney. With his growing family of females, David moved to the northwest corner of Connecticut where he was asked to join the leadership team at Salisbury School, serving as Associate Head of School, Assistant Hockey Coach, and Head Lacrosse Coach for the next thirteen years. It was during this time when his youngest daughter, Whitaker (Hagerman) Willocks joined the roster. With David’s trademark stern face, firm grip, and resolute mind, he would influence years of Salisbury graduates as they turned from boys to gentlemen. From there, he became Head of School at Pingree School in Hamilton, MA, and in his later years, he transitioned to fundraising at Cardigan Mountain School and Dartmouth College. Weekends were spent traveling back and forth to watch his children’s and grandchildren’s athletic contests, joined with mostly empty hunting expeditions, maple sugaring, reffing, and finally, his daily walks on those cold and sunny New Hampshire mornings.

Amidst the years on school campuses, David was happiest on the sidelines of games either as a coach or proud parent and grandparent, listening to the Red Sox inside his red barn sugar shack, and boating along the Maine coastline with his wife, Brooke Giddings Hagerman.

He is survived by his wife Brooke Giddings Hagerman of Lyme Center, NH; and his children, Casey H. Bobo, and her husband Mike of Concord, MA; Kully H. Reardon and her husband Tom of Cohasset, MA; Jamie H. Phinney and her husband Brian of Andover, MA; Whitaker H. Willocks and her husband James of Meriden, NH and their mother Parnell Patten Hagerman of Bailey Island, ME; and his grandchildren, Jake, Luke, Mac, Jack, Finn, Casey, Tommy, George, Charlie, Beau, and Lincoln; and his sisters, Judy H. Baldwin of Eugene, OR and Susie Hagerman of South Berwick, ME.

A future celebration of David’s life will be planned. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring David's legacy with a donation to Salisbury School. Please designate your gift to "Financial Aid in Memory of David Hagerman".

Donation in David’s honor to Salisbury School: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/15114/donations/new

Possible on the slopes especially

 

Kudos to Pete Townsend (R) who made the effort to seek out Adam Feiges (L) on the slopes of Colorado.  Adam has moved full time to CO from IA and Pete continues to live on the North Shore of Boston.  Great job guys!

It is possible...

 

Kudos to our intrepid Doug Schmidt who found a way to visit John Sory during his holiday sojourn in Florida.

Both are looking good and are hopeful for 2021.

Happy New Year to all in '83!

DA The Football Power?

These two stories caught me eye:

First, the DA senior who committed to play for Northwestern (Div 1, Big Ten!) without having played any football this fall - 

https://www.recorder.com/DA-NLI-Signings-football-Donnie-Gray-Grant-Jones-37853862

and

the redshirt junior at Boston College who is a top TE in the nation who has just declared for the NFL Draft.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/17/sports/bc-tight-end-hunter-long-declares-nfl-draft/

Great news all around...

The Morley Tree

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/dec/11/morley-quest-earn-olympic-berth/?fbclid=IwAR0qWhd4jWS89Ku4AhRCKB6GSf-qMkFlqgOCFVf_UBwQm6FFH4ELXexwbyk

Another apple has fallen right next to the Morley Tree.  One of our class Olympians, David Morley, swam for the Bahamas in the 1984 Olympics.

His daughter Emily was the first Bahamian rower to participate in the Olympics (2016).

Now daughter Laura is training night and day in Indiana to make the 2020 (2021) Olympics in the pool.

ARTICLE

GO LAURA GO!

Happy Holidays!

 Thomas Perry and his lovely wife always bring cheer to the holidays!

What Liberal Arts Colleges Can Do to Stay Relevant

Here's another stellar example of the depth of Denison President Adam Weinberg's thinking on the role of liberal arts colleges and the challenges they face.

I don't know how much editing there is in this podcast, but Adam doesn't miss a beat for 30 minutes straight! Rockstar level...

Denison University President Adam Weinberg talks with EAB’s Thomas Fringer about how the pandemic has impacted Denison and about what Dr. Weinberg believes liberal arts colleges can do to stay relevant. Despite their reputation for teaching students to examine ideas from multiple points of view, solve problems, adapt, and collaborate, liberal arts colleges face growing challenges. Increased demand for highly specialized degree programs, stackable credentials, and certificate programs are forcing virtually all colleges to adapt to some extent.

Dr. Weinberg shares how Denison has embraced change through innovations like their Denison Launch Lab, which offers students access to specialized boot camps and skill-building experiences to make them stronger job candidates. Finally, Thomas and Adam discuss the three most important areas of focus that all higher education institutions have to commit to regardless of their mission, to survive the present challenges.

https://soundcloud.com/officehours-with-eab/what-liberal-arts-colleges-must-do-to-stay-relevant

EAB · What Liberal Arts Colleges Can Do to Stay Relevant

Congrats Charles!

 https://www.wealthadviser.co/2020/10/27/291393/cambridge-associates-adds-private-client-practice

Cambridge Associates adds to Private Client Practice

SUBMITTED

27/10/2020 - 10:42AM

Global investment firm Cambridge Associates (CA) has added Charles B Grace III to its private client practice, who will serve as Managing Director of Family Enterprise Solutions. 

He will be based in New York and report to Mary Pang, the Head of the Global Private Client Practice.  

Family Enterprise Solutions is a dedicated team within Cambridge Associates’ private client practice which is devoted to supporting wealthy families in establishing family office strategy, goals, structure, governance and other considerations of importance. Grace will partner with investment teams and clients to develop the structural building blocks needed to best complement each family’s unique goals and long-term investment program with CA. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of engaging with CA throughout my career and have long admired the firm’s talent and strong commitment to the family office space,” says Grace. “I’m excited to be part of such an exceptional team, and I look forward to helping CA’s world-class clients prepare for generational wealth transfers, establish governance processes, and educate family members on how to preserve and grow their wealth.”

Grace has been active for 20 years in the family office community advising ultra-wealthy families and serving as a resource to multigenerational families and family offices. He joins CA from the Family Office Exchange (FOX). Prior to FOX, he spent almost 10 years working inside $1 billion multi-family and single-family offices.

“We’re delighted to welcome Charlie to the firm. His expertise, hands-on experience and thought leadership will be instrumental in helping our investment teams across the US, Europe and Asia to solve the distinct challenges of managing private wealth,” says Pang.

Nearly 40 years ago, Cambridge Associates began applying its endowment model to the intricacies of private wealth. Today, the firm serves 230+ wealthy individuals and families, working to help each realise their investment goals and fulfil their legacies. 

Hank's new podcast!

If the writing on Facebook wasn't vivid enough for you, then lament no longer.  Hank has just released his new podcast on Society and Culture.

Check it out!

Listen to "Hank LeMieux's podcast" on Spreaker.

Shuffling off...

From Jim Wareck: As I bring LA 1.0 to a close, in advance of a several month hiatus starting in Idaho, I went exploring and caught my first glimpse of the elusive Al Kerr in his natural habitat."

Then I did the same with Andy Stewart!

Good luck with your transition away from LA, Jim!

UPDATE: 9/9/20:

From Jim's FB post today:

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack. And you may find yourself living in another part of the world. If you find yourself in Boise this Fall....scenes from the drive. Snake River Canyon, ramp for Evel Knievel's failed attempt. The Golden Spike joining East and West .

More Madden! The interview...

Want to learn exactly how Dave Madden is going to change the console/PC gaming world?

Watch this for 8 minutes!

https://www.beet.tv/2020/08/console-games-are-ripe-for-tv-like-ads-simulmedias-dave-madden.html#.Xy1Vmt51VgI.linkedin

Or read this:

LOS ANGELES – TV-like advertising is starting to find a place in video games that people play on consoles like Sony PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox as the entertainment software industry undergoes a massive shift in the way games are distributed.

Pioneering the effort to put commercials into video games is Simulmedia, an advertising technology startup whose financial backers include venture capital funds and AT&T’s WarnerMedia. The company recently began testing video ad inserts in console games — one of the last vestiges of ad-free gaming — in a move that could revolutionize the way marketers reach target audiences who are elusive to other media channels like linear TV.

Dave Madden, who used to oversee in-game advertising and brand partnerships for video game giant EA, this summer joined Simulmedia to lead its push into console gaming advertising. In this conversation with Beet.TV, he describes how a growing number of gamers are willing to trade a few seconds of their time to watch a TV commercial for in-game rewards.

“That’s the big opportunity for video game publishers and advertisers to work together,” he said, describing console games as ripe for a more modernized business model that includes advertising. “Games are maybe the largest media format worldwide right now.”

Advertisers including credit-reporting company Experian, Unilever’s Dollar Shave Club and Turner Broadcasting have tested Simulmedia’s platform to connect with target audiences, The Wall Street Journal reported.

‘Scalable Model’ for Advertisers

Traditionally, console games have been ad-free, with video game publishers making almost all their money from sales of compact discs or downloads. As smartphones become gaming devices, video game publishers started to experiment with different revenue models including “freemium” games that were free to download, but charged money for in-game content.

They also started to experiment with ad formats like rewarded video, which asks players to watch a commercial in exchange for rewards like upgrades, vanity items and virtual currencies to help progress more quickly through the game. Simulmedia is bringing that revenue model to console games that are in millions of households.

“The big opportunity and area for brands to participate is building a scalable model around helping unlock all that valuable added content for free in exchange for engaging with a 15- or 30-second ad,” Madden said. Video ads also look much better on a bigger TV screen than on a smartphone, he said.

More than 214 million Americans play video games, and 73% of them own a game console, according to the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group for the gaming industry. Thirty-eight percent of gamers are ages 18-34, compared with about 23% of the general population, making them a key audience for advertisers.

Increasingly, those gamers are playing “live-service games” like “Fortnite,” the multiplayer battle royale game from Epic Games that has 350 million players worldwide. “Fortnite” has experimented with different kinds of advertising including sneak peaks of movies and an award-winning effort by burger chain Wendy’s, whose ad agency VMLY&R created a branded avatar in the game.

With so many people playing video games on consoles, phones, tablets and personal computers, they’re harder to reach through traditional media channels like linear TV — and that’s where Simulmedia sees opportunity.

Opt-In Audience

Simulmedia is mindful of the sensitivities of gamers who don’t want their gameplay to be interrupted with intrusive ads. That’s why its platform only shows ads to audiences who have opted-in to see them. The company found in a survey that 75% of console gamers would be willing to watch commercials in exchange for content.

“The difference with gaming in terms of an advertising medium is that it has to be permission-based,” he said. “If you were to insert an ad into a video game that was interruptive and the player didn’t expect it, by and large you would expect some pretty big backlash from the playing audience.”

Social

David Morley and his Bahamian commercial real estate company have been more prevalent on social media recently.  I thought this was a good shot of our classmate.  Keep on keepin' on David!

Happy Summer!

Here's Nelse Clark with his daugher exploring an eastern shore.  Hope your summer is as wonderful!  Thanks to Vivian Clark for posting on Facebook...

He IS the game...

Congratulations to Dave Madden on becoming the undisputed expert and leader of "in game advertising".  He was just poached from EA Sports to lead all in game ad development for Simulmedia.  Incredible stuff! Announced in a post by Simulmedia Founder & CEO...

https://www.simulmedia.com/blog/2020/07/27/video-game-ads-dave-madden/

Simulmedia to Integrate Premium Video Game Ads, Welcomes EA’s Dave Madden to Lead the Efforts

Dave Morgan

Founder & CEO

JUL 27, 2020

Simulmedia is excited to announce a strategic extension of our business and an exciting new hire to lead it. We are augmenting our linear TV ad platform to include the distribution of permissioned, video ads in premium console-driven video games. Dave Madden, EA’s longtime head of in-game advertising and brand partnerships, has joined Simulmedia as EVP/ Games & OTT.

While we have long led the market in providing advertisers with automated, data-driven buying across all of the top 115 national broadcast and cable TV networks in the US, our advertising clients have urged us to deliver performance and reach beyond the audiences that watch linear television. They also want high-reaching video streaming channels to be available on our platform, and premium video gaming represents an enormous opportunity to do just that.

Playing video games is one of the largest and fastest growing media activities for young adults and teens in almost every major market in the world. We know that integrating high quality video advertising into these environments will take a thoughtful approach, a deep understanding of gamer sentiment, and critical technology developments to ensure uncompromising privacy protection, frequency control and trusted audience measurements.

We have spent the past 10-plus years bringing a digital approach to TV advertising to solve similar challenges, and Dave Madden has more experience than any other executive in the world in introducing successful, gamer-friendly ad formats into premium video game environments.

Dave has been pioneering player friendly models for brands to interact with gamers for two decades, first with WildTangent, the company that invented Brand Boost, the “rewarded ad” for games, and then as the head of Electronic Arts advertising/sponsorship and brand partnerships. His teams have built cutting edge partnerships with global brands such as Coca Cola, Gatorade, McDonalds, Unilever, P&G, Adidas and Nike across games including EA Sports, FIFA, Battlefield and The Sims, as well as establishing industry leading eSports sponsorships, including the first ever virtual stadium in competitive gaming for Pizza Hut in the Madden 20 NFL Championship Series.

We believe that this could be a massive market opportunity. John Frelinghuysen of LEK Consulting projects that ads in premium video games could represent a $3-5 billion market in the US in five years.

So, what are we doing?

First, we are spending a lot of time talking and listening to advertisers, publishers, platforms and, most importantly, gamers to understand how to best accomplish the integration of TV advertising and premium video gaming.

Second, we have begun running pilot tests delivering opt-in, rewarded video ads within premium game environments to better understand how gamers will respond to them.

Third, we are working with Nielsen to incorporate their smart TV viewership data into our new metrics as a way to help advertisers and publishers better understand how video game audiences compare to TV.

And fourth, we have begun significant development efforts to build out the needed infrastructure to deliver high value advertising in premium gaming environments and to insure not only the protection of gamer privacy and publisher proprietary data, but to avoid many of the problems of today’s programmatic digital ad ecosystem, including receiving irrelevant, redundant ads, finding yourself retargeted, and turning over delivery decisions to bidders in an auction.

Here are what some of our clients and collaborators are saying:

“Experian is always interested in reaching more new customers in engaging, fun, premium media environments, especially younger audiences that are harder to reach on TV,” said Steve Hartmann, Head of Integrated Marketing at Experian. “We work with Simulmedia to help deliver our television advertising and are looking forward to supporting its new efforts to extend its platform, measurement and distribution to the enormous audiences playing Triple-A video games.”

“An emerging challenge for many advertisers is understanding how their video game audiences compare to those they reach on linear TV,” said Kelly Abcarian, general manager, Advanced Video Advertising, Nielsen. “With the addition of our smart TV viewership data into Simulmedia’s new premium video game ads metrics, we are helping build transparent and robust metrics for one of the media industry’s fastest-growing new markets. With this latest offering, Simulmedia is serving a specific market need by delivering advertisers a new, unique and verified ad inventory that connects with consumers wherever they are consuming content.”

I expect many of you reading may be asking, “When will this in-game inventory be available?” While we’re eager to scale it, for now we’re completely focused on delivering an experience that’s right for gamers, advertisers, studios, publishers and hardware manufacturers. A handful of them already have been working with us for months to help us build something that will work broadly. We’re so grateful for their support and commitment.

Rocky Mountain Highs

John Knight bumped into Don Hindman at a Denver restaurant recently.  Don explained that for photos with a mask on, your eyes need to be more expressive.  You can see the result.  John's daughter complained about her father's mask because "it looked like his underwear".  JK helped us confirm that suspicion.

Also in state briefly was Doug Cruikshank and family and JK took advantage to see his friend of 39 years.

ICYMI: Stay Strong Whit!

From July 11 - Facebook post:

I’ve given it quite a lot of thought and believe that the benefits of sharing this outweigh any cons:

So ... I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma (there’s no such thing as a non-cancerous melanoma) in late May after the removal of a seemingly innocuous mole on my back. I then had surgery to remove tissue around the mole site and to biopsy a few lymph nodes taken from under my armpit(s). That biopsy confirmed spread “promoting” me to the next stage of treatment, which included CT, PET and MRI scans (all of which came back negative for additional metastasis). I did have an anaphylactic reaction to some radioactive contrast dye during the MRI - got violently ill within 30 seconds of being injected, swollen eyes (Edema - no fun at all), hives, the works.

Drove down to Duke Univ. Hospital a few days ago for a 2nd opinion on treatment options. Managed to squeeze in 9 holes of after that visit, so it wasn’t all bad I start prophylactic (i.e. preventative) IV immunotherapy treatment on Wednesday, July 15, every six weeks for the next year. The treatment is designed to wipe out any lingering malevolent cells and to prevent any recurrence or further spread.

My oncologists at VCU Health say my prognosis is good and that I have every chance of living a long, productive life. My chances of that outcome are way better than if I’d been diagnosed even five years ago.

Perhaps you know someone who’s been affected by skin cancer, perhaps not. Mine likely resulted from the cumulative effects of UV radiation, e.g. sun exposure. If there’s one thing you can do for me, it’s simply to be smart and mindful about your time in the sun and vigilant about applying SPF30 or higher on yourselves and your kiddos.

I have excellent at-home support, as you can see below, and my daughter, her mom and my family have all been great throughout. A cancer diagnosis indeed brings occasion to “embrace the suck,” but in my case it has also brought some gifts in its wake. I’m focused on those positives and my own healing moving forward. And looking forward to a few restful weeks on Martha’s Vineyard in the wake of a challenging past couple of months. Blessings to all who read this Whit

POSTSCRIPT: Thank you, thank you everyone far & wide for the kind words/thoughts in response to the post. It reminds me that I’ve met special, caring people at each of my various stops.

Weekdays Make A Difference (DA83 HH#4)

Well worth the shift to a weekday, we were thrilled to be joined by first timers Spence Brown (CT), Tim Ehrhart (NJ), Drew Schiff (Long Island), Craig Pattee (VA) and John Munro (CT). John Cianciolo (RI), John Knight (MA), Eric Suher (MA), Chris Flagg (NY), Ben Patton (NY), Bob Kierstead (IL) and Jim Wareck (CA) rounded out the lineup.  We've got expertise on bottle feeding a steer, how soon a vaccine will appear and where to heli-ski in this class!  Stay tuned for our next event - probably mid July.

DA83 Happy Hour #4 is Wednesday at 8 pm et

Look for the invite in your email.  It's from "@du.edu".  Or email JK directly for the link at jgknight83 AT gmail.com.  (AT=@).

Will be fun to see some new faces!

Covid Contest?

Currently leading in the Hair category: Hank LeMieux!

Brian Steward interviewed by the Rivard Report in San Antonio

"I Could Have Been George Floyd": Black Professionals Share Stories of Racial Profiling

(Full Article HERE)

Brian Steward, Attorney, Ketterman, Rowland & Westlund

Brian Steward grew up on the near East Side in the 1960s and ’70s. He attended San Antonio Academy before transferring to the prestigious Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He then went to Duke University, earned his law degree at St. Mary’s University, and has gone on to have a successful career as an attorney. But in the Northwood neighborhood, Steward is afraid that one day, when he’s outside with his 5-year-old daughter, neighbors will mistake him for someone with ill intent.

“Whenever I walk with my daughter, I make a point of having her stand with me – not behind me or in front of me but with me. So that when other vehicles pass or we walk by homes, they will see that she is with me and comfortable with me as opposed to it looking like I’m stealing this fair-haired girl,” Steward said.

Steward is black, his wife is white, and their daughter, he said, “is very light, and if you – if you look quickly and couldn’t really see her features, you would probably think that she was a white child.”

Steward has had to navigate being a black man in a predominantly white environment for most of his life. For the seven years he was at San Antonio Academy, he was the only black student in his class. And when he’d return from prep school to hang out with his San Antonio Academy friends, he’d face experiences they didn’t, including being the only one stopped and questioned by Alamo Heights police despite being with other white kids. He always carefully navigated the drive from college in Durham, North Carolina, back home. So he understands all too well how quickly an opinion about a person or a situation can form.

“We make a point of waving to anyone and everyone, whether you’re in your yard, whether you’re in your car, we wave to you,” Steward said about walks with his daughter. “We also don’t walk after the sun goes down or before the sun comes up. We always want to be visible, we always want to comply with all traffic laws and be as wonderful and joyous as we possibly can when people see us. And I’ve told her that people are looking at us, but really, what they’re doing is they’re looking at you, and then they’re looking at me. And if they felt like there was anything happening or anything inappropriate going on with you, they are going to assume that I am the bad guy. I’m doing something wrong.

“And, you know, she’s just 5 and she doesn’t really understand that, but I think she’s starting to get it and see there’s a difference in the way people are treated.”

The ol' Vermont Pivot

Huge thanks to Jeff Silverman for making the most of his tools while his business is in a brief lull...

https://svhealthcare.org/COVID-19/3DPrinter/

Interview with Jeff Silverman: 3D Printer

Jeff Silverman is a Wilmington native, a volunteer firefighter, and a business owner. From an addition to his Whitingham, Vermont, farm house, his company, Inertia Unlimited, develops camera technology for broadcast television.

"We make them out of thin air," he says.

Actually, he uses a 3D printer to make prototypes and one-of-a-kind cameras for very specific purposes, including those that sit in the dirt in front of a batter during Major League Baseball games and the ones built into NASCAR racetracks.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeff has printed 463 face shields for first responders in the Deerfield Valley and healthcare workers at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and other places. He has delivered them free of charge.

When and how did you first become interested in printing shields for first responders?

In one day, every job we had disappeared. We went from having 20 – 30 jobs to zero in one day. Our first thought was that we would use the materials and talent we typically use to sew the pouches for our cameras to make masks. But we quickly found that the proper materials and techniques were not available to make effective masks. Plus so many other people were making them. They had it covered.

On Sunday, March 22, I read in the New York Times that a company in Syracuse, NY, had made a design to 3D print face shields available online. By noon that day I was printing. Since then the printer has not stopped.

How does it work?

The printer converts the design into a 3D object using filament that is the width of a human hair, adding layer by layer. The printer takes 2 hours to print one shield. I have produced 380 shields so far. That's 1000 hours of printing. I take from midnight to 5 a.m. off. We've done more 3D printing in the last month and a half than we had in the previous 5 years.

Describe the shields.

It was important to me to produce something that was good quality. Sometimes the ones you buy don’t clean up very well. These can survive UV light and other sterilization. They are rough and tough.

Where have you distributed them?

First I gave them to the firefighters in Wilmington and Whitingham, where I am a volunteer. Then I gave some to the Deerfield Valley Rescue. I have sent 324 to Southwestern Vermont Health Care, some to SVMC Deerfield Valley Campus; Golden Cross Ambulance Service and Sojourns Community Clinic, both in Westminster, VT; and Rescue Inc. in Brattleboro. I sent some to a dentist in Portland, ME, who asked, and 10 to North Central Bronx Hospital to a friend who works there.

What's your greatest accomplishment?

I went to Wilmington High School in the late 70s, and Dave Larson, who was the social studies teacher and former longtime VT state representative, had a video camera. He let me borrow it to film field hockey games. At the end of the season, they gave me a varsity letter for my film work. I have won Emmys since, but that varsity letter is special, because it represented the beginning.

What's next?

We look forward to reopening. For us, it's the easiest thing in the world. No client ever comes here. We didn't lay anybody off. We hired locals. All are full-time with benefits. We think Vermont is a great place for low-impact companies like ours, and we hope more companies discover Vermont and come here to provide well-paid jobs.

And I am really looking forward to turning the printer off.

On behalf of Southwestern Vermont Health Care's frontline staff, thank you to Jeff for his tireless efforts to provide vital equipment to our teams. We appreciate it!

DA83 Zoom HH#4 has been scheduled!

SAVE THE DATE: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 at 8 pm ET!

Some non-participants for whom Saturdays were challenging have asked for a weekday offering and we have delivered.  Invite will be mailed next week.

Supply Chain Thoughts

Nathan Blain with Korn Ferry (and colleagues) with an interesting article.  Well Done!

https://www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/unpaid-invoices-partnerships-coronavirus?utm_campaign=5-21-20-twil&utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=email

Not Paying Bills, Staying Friends?

The number of companies overdue on bills has risen by 50 percent, one estimate finds. Will business relationships become another victim of the pandemic?

The caller may try to strike a tone as corporately and politely as possible. But the gist still smacks of a
mob enforcer: You owe me money. When are you paying me?

With the pandemic continuing its brutal assault on top-line revenues, companies across the globe are
finding themselves in the awkward position of not paying up on bills with business partners and
vendors alike—and not promising when they will. The hope, of course, is that the delinquency ends as
soon as the pandemic fades, but that’s still tough on the partners and contractors, which have their own
bills to pay.

The financial impact is starting to make itself known. As the quarterly earnings season wraps up,
publicly traded companies from paint manufacturers to entertainment powerhouses have set aside
hundreds of millions of dollars more for uncollectible bills. But while they may have set aside the
money, there are thousands of conversations daily trying to work out payment. How those talks go
likely will determine not only when the bills are paid but whether the companies will do business
together in the future. “It’s a test of how strategic your business relationship is,” says Nathan Blain,
Korn Ferry’s global solution leader of organizational strategy.

Not paying bills on time isn’t new, of course; the debt collection industry is built on the fact that
individuals and companies sometimes are delinquent on invoices. But experts say the pandemic could
create an epidemic of delinquency. Already, Sidetrade, a payment software firm, says that nearly 31%
of the corporate invoices in western Europe it helps process have gone unpaid at least 10 days past
their due date. (Before the pandemic, the average was about 19%.)

Experts say the onus is on procurement officers to develop tight relationships with their counterparts at
suppliers and customers. In pre-pandemic times, that meant building relationships on flexibility and
collaboration, not just cost. Even as the coronavirus has disrupted business in China, some farsighted
procurement officers started looking to bring in cash quickly. Some airlines, for instance, worried about
a sharp decline in travel, told their debtors that if they paid half of what they owed immediately, the
airline would consider the debt paid, says James Day, leader of Korn Ferry’s Supply Chain, Operations;
Procurement Practice Centre of Expertise in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Now, procurement officers have to get very creative, giving some customers extra time to pay in
exchange for exclusive supply agreements, additional payments later, or other incentives. Payment
terms are being ripped up daily. “The people who are really good at this are worth their weight in gold,
” Blain says. For her part, Cheryl D'Cruz-Young, a Korn Ferry senior client partner who leads the firm's
 chief procurement officer practice, says that typically involves strong communication and compassion
skills. "Understanding the true situation a debtor is facing removes the wishful thinking and allows for
effective planning (i.e., when payment will actually arrive)," she says. 

How creative they get may depend on how critical the relationship is. If the debtor supplies a critical
service or product, a payee may be willing to negotiate. The whole situation gets more complicated
when a company is both a supplier and a customer to another organization. A tech software company,
for example, could be trying to collect payment from an automaker that uses its services,
but at the same time delaying payment to the same automaker for the cars it bought for its sales force.
“One pragmatic solution has been to align payment terms to 30/30 or 60/60 whereas previously they
may have been unequal," says D'Cruz-Young.

However, there are some companies that just won’t pay. Some retailers have told their clothing suppliers
 to take their clothes back because they won’t pay, Day says. It’s a strategy that could save cash for the
debtor now, but it could cost them in the long run. “Organizations that owe are taking a ruthless approach,”
says Day. “They are taking a chance that they’ll go out of business.”

AUTHORS

Nathan Blain

Senior Client Partner,
Global Leader, Organizational Strategy
& Digital Transformation

James Day

Practice Leader, Supply Chain, Operations & Procurement, Professional Search, Emea

Cheryl D’Cruz-Young

Senior Client Partner, Chief Procurement Officer, Coe