1985

Rep: Richard (Rich) M. Damisch
1067 E. Olde Virginia Road
Palatine, IL 60074
Tel: 847.202.3869
richard_damisch@hotmail.com

Leap Year, Election Year, This Year (which is The Last Year) – 2012 will prove to be interesting.

If you have anything interesting you want to share, please submit it to me for the next edition of Class Notes.

Rich Damisch was hired on full time in January as a profit management analyst in the finance department at Sysco Food Services in Des Plaines, Ill. (after temping there for the last nine months).

John Chester and Sanjiv Agrawal got together for the first time in 22 years. John and Laurie were in India for a wedding and visited Sanjiv and Niti at their home in Delhi. Sanjiv has retired from a career in automotive glass, and John and Laurie continue to be active in their art business, Wild Apple Graphics in Woodstock, Vermont.

Scott and Lisa Jenkins enjoyed a trip through Scotland, England and Wales in spring 2011. They hiked in the Cairngorms, Isle of Skye and Snowdonia, and explored plenty of castles and "drank in" the distilleries. Highlights included the Crannog Centre near Sterling (Scotland) and St. Fagan's National (outdoor) History Museum near Cardiff (Wales). The Jenkins' daughter, Marina, graduated from The Greer School in May 2011 and married Eric Dolan, a Marine based at Camp LeJeune and bound for Afghanistan in June. Their son, Tracy, will graduate from William and Mary this May with a combined major in anthropology and history. Then, Scott will take a six-month sabbatical from work so that he and Tracy can hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia from May to November. Lisa will be keeping her day job and holding down the fort, so if anyone wants to meet up with Scott along the way, let her know where, and she'll let you know when. Contact her at LisaTracyJenkins@gmail.com.

Bruce Polkes is excited about the national launch of his new company, IntellaCar, last fall. IntellaCar is the iPad solution for auto dealers that has proven to increase sales and improve the customer experience. It's especially thrilling since the firm was named one of the "Top 12 Companies to Watch in 2012" by AutoSuccess magazine. Bruce and Alysa are still loving living in L.A., and enjoyed being able to get together with David Grocer in Atlanta and Adnan Rukieh in Chicago last year.

Karen Keldgord Lanfranki switched industries and now manages a growing internet channel at Blue Shield. So any networking, job searches, partnering interests, feel free to reach out to her.

Paula Rhea is in field marketing responsible for lead generation at internet security firm Trend Micro. She is excited for her new role in government marketing (federal, education, state and local governments) and traveling more to Washington D.C. Paula lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and her office is about one mile from Dallas Cowboy stadium in Arlington, Texas. Her daughter Carlin is a freshman at University of Oklahoma and her son Nelson is a freshman in high school.

Kent Rapp and wife Jenny are doing very well as empty nesters. Their oldest son Alex lives in San Francisco and works for Google. Their younger son Andrew is finishing college in May and has accepted a job with Microsoft. Jenny has started her own business in interior design, which has taken off beautifully, and she has even needed to hire a few people. After spending the first part of his career in consumer products, Kent is now a partner at Grant Cooper & Associates, a national general practice and retained executive search firm, where he has been for the past 11 years. The majority of Kent's "headhunting" work is with the manufacturing and supply chain, business and financial services, and nonprofit organizations. When he is not working, Kent stays fit by doing triathlon racing, and he has signed up for his first half Ironman distance race this summer.

Dennis Canfield recently wrote and published a short Christmas story on the Kindle, Reverse Santa Claus, which received some very favorable reviews. He, his wife and their two daughters live in Western Springs, Ill.

David Schanzer is working hard to "reduce CO2 emissions to create a better world" and has created many new jobs with the construction of a new plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa. David is the CEO of Plumrose USA.

You can follow the travels of Jayant Kanitkar at jayant-trek-to-kailash.blogspot.com.

Andy Birol's transplanted business took root in Pittsburgh. By giving 25 speeches and appearing on NBC's "Our Region's Business Show," he generated his best year since the recession by helping his first eight Western Pennsylvania clients grow their businesses. He has started a new initiative on the Marcellus Shale, an alliance with Constant Contact, and has landed ongoing columns with Pittsburgh's TEQ and SNC's Dynamic Business magazines.

John Chester and Sanjiv Agrawal, both '85 got together for the first time in 22 years

Mary Mickleson Shwartz ’85 and family on vacation in Steamboat, Colo.