Class Notes

I’m happy to be your new class agent and hope to hear from more of you in the coming months.

My husband, Tom, and I have lived in Johns Creek, Ga., for more than five years and celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary in October. Our house is almost completely renovated, and our cats, Leo and Luna, will be glad when the construction is finished – and so will we. Tom and I vacationed in the Bahamas in November and December 2010. We went scuba diving over reefs and wrecks, played in poker tournaments, and danced in the Junkanoo street party parade. We spent the holidays with my family in Lexington, Va., with two dozen of us gathering at my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve. In May, we vacationed in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, touring the Mayan ruins of Tulum and scuba diving at the Taj Mahal cenote, a sinkhole caused by an underground water source. I recently was appointed social director for my community; I enjoyed planning a successful Memorial Day weekend pool party and have lots of ideas for a fun-filled year. Tom and I are becoming Atlanta Outdoor Club trip leaders. We’ve hiked and camped in several states and hope to organize a Costa Rican adventure. This summer, we enjoyed the beach at St. Simons Island, Ga., and whitewater rafting on Tennessee’s Ocoee River. Please email me or message me on Facebook and let me know what’s going on in your world.

Former Class Agent Kate Stanford McCown sends greetings to the Class of 1992 and wants everyone to know how much she enjoyed being class agent. Her family experienced huge but happy changes in January. Husband John took a job as international tax director for Walmart, so they moved from New Jersey to Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. One week later, Kate; John; Mary Ella, 8; and Jack, 6, welcomed Ashlyn Elizabeth. They love Arkansas but miss being near Kate’s family in Northern Virginia. Her sister and niece visited recently, and they spent three days at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri. “So, I’m starting over here, back to changing diapers and buying Gerber baby food …,” Kate said. “I hope everyone keeps sending updates to Courtney.”

Christine Harrison Grant, a certified life coach and nonprofit fundraising consultant, has been busy building her coaching and consulting company, Nonprofit Support Solutions, based in Raleigh, N.C. She started it early this year after more than 18 years as a professional fundraiser for nonprofits. She provides customized solutions for helping nonprofit boards and staffs raise significantly more money with ease. Christine is also a fundraising volunteer at Hospice of Wake County and COPE Eldercare, and she is a member of the Triangle chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Raleigh chapter of the International Coach Federation. She is looking forward to the 20th class reunion next year and hopes all our classmates will come and contribute to our reunion gift program!

Linda Kelly Hadley and Jeff, her husband of 15 years, of Apex, N.C., have children Anna, 8, who started third grade, and Will, 5, who is in kindergarten. They get to the beach as often as they can but otherwise can be found between soccer and baseball fields. Nellie L. King, a West Palm Beach attorney, was sworn in as president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL) at the association’s 24th annual meeting at Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach in June. FACDL is a 2,000-member organization, known as “Liberty’s Last Champion,” that strives to advance the knowledge of criminal defense practitioners, promote the proper administration of criminal justice, and encourage the integrity and independence of the criminal defense bar. Nellie is also past president and board member of the Palm Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a frequent lecturer on constitutional issues. (Read the Alumni Profile on Nellie.)

Andy Gustafson, wife Ivy, and children Max, 3, and Maggie, 1½, planned to move from Northern Virginia to Tampa, Fla., where they will miss friends and fellow alums, including Eric Stohr ’93 and Tamara Pfile-Stohr ’93, Rob Nevin and Sarah Cooke Nevin ’93, Gordon Dixon, John Van Vleet ’93, Newton Tiffany ’95, Joe Kruper, and Kent Ingram ’93. Mike Antonio, Kelly Walker Antonio ’94, and their three boys live in Kilmarnock, Va. Kelly teaches first grade, and Mike runs his own graphic design business, coaches, and likes to fish with the kids. He stays in touch with Todd Stayin, who, with wife Laura, finally joined the parenthood club this past year with baby Elle; Steve Wohleking ’91 of Herndon, Va., who is an aspiring singer/guitar player in the band Cameltosis; and Bernard Johnson ’94, who is married, has two daughters, and works for Pfizer in Pittsburgh. Mike’s brother-in-law, Chip Walker, is married, has two children, works for Wells Fargo in St. Louis, and still plays a lot of golf.

Marc Tate lives in Centreville, Va., with wife Cemmi and their two children, Marcus and Maddie. He is a principal with Booz Allen Hamilton, celebrated 11 years with the firm, and was recently quoted in NISH Workplace magazine highlighting the success of employing veterans with disabilities. Jay Mitchell of Atlanta, a consultant for the software development company Xpanxion, is married to Julie Isakson Mitchell, and they have children Cecilia, 4, and Hunter, 2.

Bob Franklin married Beth Johnston ’90 in April 2010. Chris Kilmartin, UMW psychology professor, was Bob’s best man, and Kevin Shirley ’90 and Todd Combs ’89 were ushers. Bob still works for the Virginia Department of Health, where he provides training and resources to professionals across the state on the prevention of sexual, domestic, and teen dating violence and statutory rape. He recently enjoyed an educational trip to Puerto Rico with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Kathleen Riopelle Roberts lives in Richmond with husband Matt and children Henry and Sophie. She is a librarian with Henrico County Public Schools and was last year’s Teacher of the Year at her school. Julie Lail Porter lives in Virginia Beach with husband Steve and children Jacob, 11, and Maura, 9. They have two Labrador retriever puppies and enjoy going to the beach whenever they can. Julie uses her UMW computer science degree as a business intelligence architect for Sentara Healthcare, where her department designs and builds data warehouses and analytical systems. Julie spent a weekend in Fredericksburg with Mary Ryan Cox, who lives in Fairfax with husband Allen and daughters Clare and Kate, and they were amazed and impressed by all the changes on campus.

Tevin Chaney of Fredericksburg sold his mini-golf business in Williamsburg in 2007 and spent three years (one at the College of William & Mary and two at UMW) getting a second bachelor’s degree, this one in environmental science, and a certificate in geospatial information science (GIS). He works in the GIS division for the City of Alexandria, is pursuing a master’s in GIS full time at the University of Maryland, College Park, and was to be done by spring. Tevin enjoyed hearing the Rabble Rousers play at the Otter House (formerly the Irish Brigade) at the Class of ’91’s 20th reunion weekend in June.

Tevin reports the following: Anne Thompson Mendez of Centreville, Va., works for the USPTO, is married, and has two children. Steve Lee, director of software development for Raytheon Solipsys, married Lindsay Mast, and they live in Alexandria and have two children. Barbara Elwell ’91 of Leesburg, Va., is married and a stay-at-home mom of two.