1900 Cool Spring Drive
Alexandria, VA 22308
Home: (703)549-5381
Work: (703)276-2221
huntert90@yahoo.com
Howdy BRs,
I hope everyone had a great summer! Even with everyone’s busy vacation
schedules, I managed to connect with a number of classmates over the last few
months.
Just after I submitted my last set of class notes I received a birth
announcement from Mark and Teresa McSwain, that their daughters Georgia
and Ellie were excited to introduce their new sister Caroline who was born at
the end of March.
Jeff Kaster checked in with me, and forwarded the announcement that the
Marine Corps had seen fit to promote him to Lt. Col., and that he had assumed
the duties of Deputy Staff Judge Advocate at the DoD Criminal Investigation Task
Force (CITF) at Ft. Belvoir. He was getting ready to start his Master's in
Strategic Intelligence at the Joint Military Intelligence College (JMIC), and
his wife Alison is due with their third child December.
Sam and Rita Stocks are expecting a third child to join their two boys
Mason (3) and Bo (1). They are still living in Richmond and enjoying it. Sam
runs into Glenn Thompson, Terrence Kerner, Coley Rice,
Ramil Ibanez, John Cabell and William Gaspar occasionally,
and he plays golf with Charles Plageman regularly. Everyone seems to be
doing well. Sam has been working at general contractor KBS for over six years
now, and is wrapping up his year as President of the Richmond Chapter of the
Alumni Association. He has enjoyed staying involved with VMI and meeting other
alumni, and is planning to go to New York for the West Point game in the fall.
And to fill out our baby-news segment, Bill Madison and his wife Coleen
welcomed Connor to their family in August. Bill’s been in touch with a number of
folks recently. Chris Whittaker and his family visited the Madisons
in July as they PCS’d from Germany to Italy. He recently had been in touch with
Mike Faunce, who has departed Boston and now lives in Connecticut. Bill
has been working in Cairo, Egypt as an engineering consultant for a contractor
performing construction projects in Afghanistan for the Army Corp of Engineers.
Brett Turner was taking a course at Ft. Belvoir in July and dropped by to
see me one evening. He and his family are moving from Korea to Germany as he
transitions into a position with EUCOM J4, so he was getting a little training
in international relations. Brett’s going to be helping to coordinate joint
operations with several U.S. allies. It’s a bit distant from his computer
science degree, but he’s looking forward to it.
I heard from Mike Manning who was heading to Camp Lejeune this summer,
where he was taking on the role of Operations Officer for 2nd Marine Regiment.
He’s one to be low-key about things, but was pretty pumped about this position.
Mike figured he’d be redeployed to Iraq this winter, and was looking forward to
his new job.
Bob Pedigo dropped me an email about a week before he relocated to
paradise. Booz Allen Hamilton has seen fit to move Bob to Hawaii permanently to
support the Air Force in support of their military family housing privatization
efforts. He had done something similar for BAH in New Mexico not too long ago,
and seems to have gained enough credibility to pull this one off. Bob claims he
plans to live in a thatched hut on the beach, sleep in a hammock (a la
Gilligan), bike to work, and never dress-up more than putting on a clean
Hawaiian shirt and his good sandals. I think I only believe about 1/2 that, but
it still sounds spectacular.
Bringing me news about Rob Oviatt was an e-mail from his wife of one
year, Myra. The Oviatts live in downtown Atlanta in a 100-year old home
with 3 cats and 2 dogs. Rob is a distribution manager for MedShare
International, which collects donated/surplus medical supplies and distributes
them to third world countries in need. Rob ships containers of hospital beds,
suture kits, and other items to countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Rob
keeps in touch with “Hawaii Bob” (see prior paragraph) and Doug Robinson
who's currently living in Zurich.
Tripp Anderson’s wife Jana dropped me a note to let me know that Tripp
was deployed at the moment, and due back in November. It’ll be their first
December together in 3 years. Their girls, Greyson and Emma, will turn 5 and 3
in December, Jana’s counting on him being home. Tripp is on the promotion list
for LTC and they expect to PCS next summer (odds are good for Tampa, FL). Tripp
recently was in touch with Scott Spellmeyer. Scott, his wife Babette, and
son Porter are back in the DC area after a year and a half or so abroad, and
expect to be there for another year or so. Tripp also had a recent email from
Brian Burchette who is near the end of his second year-long deployment to
Iraq. Brian plans to return stateside sometime in late summer/early fall and
will join his wife of two years, Erin, for his next assignment in D.C. At the
rate we’re getting class of ‘90 guys moving to DC, we’ll need to have a
mini-reunion here next spring!
John Lanzillotta and I exchange voicemails frequently to taunt each
other, and he sent me an email update because apparently I keep missing things
he tells me. In March, he was out at Fort Carson and Tim Haynie and his wife
graciously entertained him. John and Stacey went to a Pearl Jam concert with
Chip & Mary Chenery this spring and have gotten together with the
Schinstock clan from time to time. John went to one Nationals game with Mike
Mullori and another with Chip & Trey Wetsel early in the summer.
John has had a busy summer with a few trips to the beach and a visit to Chicago
to see family. He had business in Alaska, and his daughter Morgan tagged along.
They had a great time, dog sledding on a glacier near Seward, watching bears
catch salmon on the Brooks River, hiking through the Valley of 10,000 Smokes,
and rafting down the Twentymile River. After 9 days in Alaska with a 7 year old,
John needed a vacation when he got home (understandably).
Sean Carty checked in from Pipersville, PA where he’s flying out of NAS
Willow Grove, and starting to think about what comes after his last 2 years in
the Navy. Sean and his family recently moved just down the street into a house
in their same neighborhood. His wife Krista and their two kids are doing great.
This summer Doug Harper and his family made the move from Springfield, VA
to San Antonio, TX. He too was saying how amazing it is that so many guys are
just 4 years from having 20 years in the service. Doug will be working on the
construction projects to implement the recent base closure recommendations in
San Antonio. Doug said that if anyone is up for Tex-Mex, he’s happy to lead the
way for anyone traveling through the area.
Chuck Ellis dropped me a note from Texas to let me know that things were
busy in the Ellis household, with the new addition of Robert Clifford Ellis.
Chuck had run into Chris Barker and Mike Kimberly at an El Paso
Diablos baseball game. (which surprised them all). Mike is at Fort Bliss
attending the Captains Career Course. He left the Navy and is now with the VA
Army National Guard. Chris is the contracting squadron CO at Holloman AFB in NM.
Travis Mabrey called Chuck recently to catch up and was on his way to
Kosovo for a 18 month KFOR mission. Chuck also has been keeping up with Don
Roberts who is the CEO of his own company, Caracal-Sigma, in Detroit, MI,
where business is great.
Kelly Bledsoe let me know that things are going well with his family. He
and his wife Lynne have 2 kids -- Tyler (8) and Lauren (6). Tyler Bledsoe was
playing on a baseball team this summer with Carter Johnson, Barry Johnson’s
son. Kelly said that between Barry’s great coaching and Carter’s exceptional
skills, the team did great. He expects to see Carter on the VMI diamond about 10
years from now.
And lastly, in the “Believe it or Not” section of our notes, Fred Minnigerode
dropped me a note to let me know that Mike Morelock was getting married.
Amy and Mike tied the knot in mid-August, and a group of guys had a “last stand”
with Mike in Baltimore and Washington about a month before the glorious event.
Glen Thompson, Pete Mantz, Lee Usher, Pat Warner '92,
and George Inge '92 all got together for the weekend. There were no
casualties to speak of, and a good time was had by all.
That’s it for this set of notes guys. Thanks to all who answered my call for
contributions! Please let me know if I can ever provide you with information or
help reconnect you with anybody, and keep in touch,
Hunter Trumbo
Last Updated: October 22, 2009
Site Created by: Richard L. Neff II, '90 - Network Technologies Group