1994

Hi everyone! I have picked up the ball I dropped last go-around and have a mix of self-reported news, snippets from the press and info gleaned from holiday cards. In the future, do me a favor: If you send out a holiday letter, print another one and add me to your distribution list.

Let's start with congratulations to Amy Rose and her husband Allen Weinberg. Amy and Allen joyfully welcomed daughter Madeline Rose Weinberg in October. Madeline joins big brother Jack and her parents in New York City. Amy works for Avon in the U.S. fragrance group. Bill and Betsy (Day) Schmitt are another growing family. Their second daughter Amelia arrived last spring, joining big sis Hailey, lab Lucy and Mom and Dad in Redwood City, Calif.

Tibor Toth has this news to share: "My firm, Ascent Venture Partners (ascentvp.com), is a 20-year-old venture capital firm based in Boston. We recently completed raising our fourth venture capital fund, with total capital of $140 million. We provide growth capital and acquisition capital to information technology and industrial product/technology companies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. I love hearing from classmates so please contact me with ideas, questions and referrals."

Thanks to those who wrote directly to share their news. May there be more of you in the very near future, or I am going to have to start Googling people and I really don't have time for that. Marci Chapman writes that she was promoted to executive vice president of the marketplace division of FTD. This division sells floral supplies to florists and has a small greeting card company. Marci has been with FTD for eight 1/2 years and is excited about the challenge of running this division.

David Tatge and his wife Jennifer welcomed a second son, Mitchell Charles, in May 2004. They live in Danbury, Conn. In exciting and different news, David just published his first novel. To paraphrase his press release, David's debut novel, Playing By Ear, is "a darkly comic story of a man who, following the departure of his wife, embarks on a path littered with irrational infatuations with co-workers and impulse CD purchases." In the release, David says: "I was looking to explore the contours of the sometimes sad, sometimes creepy mind of the abandoned man. It's written for the muddy mass of those who have been, are being or will be dumped." The book was published by iUniverse in February and, among other places, you can find it at amazon.com or bn.com. Congratulations, David! Any other published or hoping-to-be-published authors out there that we should know about? I manage to find time to read, but often struggle to even put together this column. Of course, more fuel for the fire sure would be helpful ...

A few intriguing job and locale changes to report. Doug Gillespie has taken a new job in L.A. Doug and his wife Serena and their two kids left San Francisco in February, bound for Encino, Calif. Doug is running marketing for Munchkin — not munchkins of Duncan Donuts fame, but Munchkin, the small, private company that produces baby products — sippy cups, teethers and toys. If you are in L.A. or have people for Doug to connect with, let him know. Also departing beautiful San Francisco, but staying closer to home, Laura (Fink) Katter and her family have moved from the city, across the Bay Bridge to suburban Piedmont. Mike Axelrod left Kraft and returned to his roots, joining McCain Foods, a Canadian-based food company known for its French fries and snack foods. Mike's new role is vice president of Global Innovation, encompassing marketing and new product development. Though the company is headquartered in Canada, Mike will continue to be based in Chicago, where McCain has a large presence. He and his wife Lisa (Foltz) Axelrod live in Evanston with their two children.

After more than 10 years in Chicago, Milt and Kathleen Miller Liu departed in October for the colder climes of Minneapolis. (Why couldn't they have moved while I still lived there?) Milt has joined Target. I am a bit fuzzy on specifics, but I believe his new role involves the in-store restaurants/food service. Milt and Kathleen and their three boys, Jasper, 2, and twins Theo and Walker, 1, are living in Shorewood on a frozen lake. David Miller and his family have also been lured by Target to relocate to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It is a run on Minnesota!

Speaking of Minnesota, I recently got together with Dan Evarts and his wife Tray, who hosted a dinner for those in Boston who used to live in Minnesota. The Evarts live in beautiful Hingham, Mass., with their three kids, Sayle, 6; Tyler, 4; and Jack, 2. Dan commutes via water shuttle to work in downtown Boston (when not traveling), where he works for a turnaround consulting firm. Grace Han just narrowly missed our Minnesota reunion. After a few years in Boston with Adams, Harkness and Hill in healthcare investment banking, Grace departed Boston for Hartford, Conn., to join Aetna as director of business development. She says it is an interesting time in the health benefits industry, with the movement toward consumer-driven healthcare.

In more Boston news, I saw Lanny Thorndike in the fall. You may have, too. During the fifth game of the Red Sox-Yankees game, Lanny appeared on TV when the cameras panned the crowd. It was the bottom of the 14th inning, David Ortiz at bat, a few pitches away from his game-ending RBI single. When not at Fenway, Lanny is the chief investment officer for Century Capital Management and the lead portfolio manager for the Century Small Cap Select Fund. He is often quoted in financial news.

Alex Moot and his wife Nancy Roosa and kids hosted a big Halloween get-together. Every year they turn the 50-foot tunnel between their garage and house into a spooky Halloween sensation to entertain both kids and adults. We trekked the approximately 2 1/2 miles from our house to theirs for the fun. I think I actually may have accidentally absconded with an old sippy cup — perhaps Doug can offer a complimentary replacement? I very briefly connected with Eric and Elizabeth (Feng) Woo and their son Cody, who were enjoying the festivities.

Rudy Ruggles left the world of independent consulting to join Monitor Executive Development, part of the Monitor Group in Cambridge, Mass.

Some of you may have read in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere about the initiatives of Rick Smith. Rick spent time after Kellogg with Spencer Stuart and co-authored the best-selling book, The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers. Rick is the founder and CEO of World 50, a networking organization for C-level executives. Last year, the firm created Marketing 50, a network for chief marketing officers that allows only one member per industry to join and offers networking and opportunities for discussion among marketing executives. Rick lives in Atlanta.

Well, that is it for me and this is all I could pull together this time. As you have news to report — novels published, quotes in the major media, life changes, inspirational, professional or personal developments or anything you would like to share, please be in touch.