Class Notes

Sadly, we lost a fellow classmate in July 2014, Joanne Murcklen; my sympathy goes out to her family and friends. Looking back at my old yearbooks, I believe Joanne majored in Liberal Studies and Business Administration.

On a more cheerful note, this news came along with several updates from classmates such as Mary Sherley Fenimore, who is busy raising her three children in Wilmington, Delaware, where she runs a small public relations company. Mary recently participated in a girls’ weekend in Fredericksburg with Jody Hobbs Hesler, Stacy Warner Price, and Maggie Bassen Liefer McGary. The first stop after checking in at the hotel—Sammy T’s Restaurant! Some things never change.

Stacy Warner Price reports that she is living in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband Kevin, and their two daughters, Katy Rose, 13, and Posy, 10. Stacy enjoys her job as Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Richmond and accounts that she and her friends, listed above, have enjoyed their own unofficial Mary Washington reunions two years in a row, with many more to come. Stacy adds that she hoped to see everyone on campus in 2015—25 years later!

Tommy Firesheets is living in Georgia and is employed in Gwinnett County, working with its underrepresented Latino and Asian elementary gifted population. Tommy is an executive board member of the Georgia Association for Gifted Children and is active with the National Association for Gifted Children, working to advocate for gifted and talented learners across the nation. In December 2014, he married his partner of 14 years, Mike, in New York City. They tied the knot on Christmas Eve and then enjoyed the holiday with friends and family in the city. Congratulations, Tommy!

While working on his Ed.S. in 2009 at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Forrest Clift transferred to pursuing his doctorate in Educational Leadership at Eastern Michigan University. Forrest is currently working on his dissertation, Hidden Rainbow: The Search for LGBT Issues in a Teacher Education Program, and he anticipated completing his data collection in spring 2015 to finish his Ph.D. by summer 2015. Additionally, Forrest’s work at GVSU has led him to participate on a development team with Grand Rapids Public Schools to create the United States’ first International Baccalaureate primary years program elementary school, which will focus on the incorporation of the arts in the school instructional model. The projected start date for the school is September 2016.

Forrest’s second textbook chapter was published in December 2014 in the SAGE Publication, Proud Heritage: People, Issues, and Documents of the LGBT Experience.  His chapter, “Virginia,” examines the state’s LGBT history and laws from the pre-colonial period to modern day.

In his free time, Forrest enjoys traveling the U.S., officiating wedding ceremonies of close friends, taking long walks with his border collie, Peasley, and reading.

Last, but not least, Beth Johnston sent in a quick update just prior to the 2015 reunion weekend stating that she is now living in Spotsylvania and teaching in the area.

Hello, Class of 1991! I hope this finds you all well. There have been some changes regarding the publication of UMW Magazine. Due to the rise in printing costs, they have had to limit the number of pages devoted to Class Notes and shorten the news updates that are submitted. UMW Magazine will publish the unedited notes online, just as agents submit them, and will publish an edited, shorter, version here in the print edition. Here’s the latest news.

In December 2013, Heather Stevens Crampton completed a master’s degree in cybersecurity and recently completed an MBA, both from the University of Maryland. Heather has been in the IT industry for the past 22 years, and is currently working as a government contractor for the Department of State.  Heather lives in College Heights, close to Mary Washington’s campus, and has an 11-year-old daughter who attends Holy Cross Academy.

Christy Copper is finishing her 20th year as a chemistry professor at the U.S. Naval Academy.  She also serves as the Academy’s Faculty Athletics Representative, an on-campus liaison between academic and athletic entities. She has risen to the position of President-Elect of the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative Association and was recently chosen as the one faculty representative from all NCAA Division I schools to serve on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. In these positions, Christy works hard to keep the student in student-athlete, as is the case at Mary Washington.

In April of 2015 the UMW athletic department dedicated court number seven at the Edward Hegmann Jr. Tennis Complex after Christy, a two-time national champion and three-time All-American. The only athlete in MWC history to play on two national championship teams, Christy was the most decorated player in MWC tennis history. Christy was inducted into the UMW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 as a member of the 1991 NCAA Champion Women’s Tennis Team and then again in 2002 as an individual.

Please keep your updates coming! It’s always great to hear from you!

James Hilbert received a recent promotion. He is the new Assistant Principal at JFK Middle School in the Comsewogue, New York, school district where he has taught and was previously the Dean of Students. James and Nancy will be vacationing in Ireland and England this summer.

Mary Alice Coleman Zirkle is the Town Planner of Buchanan, Virginia, in Botetourt County. She and her husband also have a farm in Stewartsville where they raise Black Angus and are kept by a dog and several cats.

Lela “Lejai” Baldwin recently successfully defended her thesis for her Ed.D. in Educational Supervision and Administration from North Carolina State. Go Lejai!

Cindy Rush Reasoner is an elementary school principal in Amelia County, Virginia. Her sons are excelling at baseball and are all-around good citizens!

Lori and Chris Louden hosted a mini MWC reunion in the spring. Tracy Young Rowland, Allison Hight McCue, Katherine Ashby Rayburn, Matt Strickler, Allison Dieck Strickler, Jen Studt Schimmenti, and several other alums were in attendance and reported having a great time!

Stephen Covert is principal at the Pine View School in Sarasota, Florida. He is excited to attend the week-long principal leadership institute at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he was selected as a principal representative.

Cheryl Roberts Heuser and her husband recently celebrated the birthday of Andy Gustafson ’92 in Tampa with a mini bar crawl. Cheryl is now General Counsel at Sherloq Solutions in Tampa and enjoys living in Bradenton. Look her up if you’re in the area!

Ryan Preston and Katie O’Leary Preston welcomed their fourth son, Oliver, in February.

Robin Kozic McCann and her husband, Chris, welcomed their second child on March 10. Quinn Joseph and big brother Sage are keeping Mommy and Daddy very busy!

Aaron Zielinski and his wife, Lisa, celebrated 10 years of marriage in October. Their son Ben had a superb first grade school year and clearly gets his smarts from his mom. Aaron celebrated his second anniversary at Capital One in April, leading a team in the Digital Operations department. Also in April, Aaron took the lead as the Associate Engagement Manager for Capital One’s Chesapeake, Virginia, site.

Matt Paxton visited Minnesota for business in February, surviving below-zero temps and a trip down memory lane with me. I always enjoy catching up with classmates, and had a great time sharing both crazy stories and business ideas. If life ever brings you to the Twin Cities, please let me know!

Keeth Monta Apgar and his partner, Nala Walla, run a nationally acclaimed and Parents’ Choice Gold Award-winning children’s music band called The Harmonica Pocket. They’ve just released Sundrops, their third all-ages recording. The Harmonica Pocket is an active member of the acclaimed Seattle area Kindiependent collective of family-centric musicians. Their albums Ladybug One and Apple Apple won national acclaim, awards, and radio play. They recently performed with the Seattle Symphony, and they plan a full slate of spring and summer concerts around the Pacific Northwest.

Marcie Pierson Brandriff moved to New Jersey in September, where her husband Kevin is the Dean of Students at the American Boychoir School. Marcie is getting used to dorm life again, and her daughter Lily is enjoying having a bunch of big brothers around.

Jen Carter Tsimpris and her husband, Basil, are expecting a daughter later this year—perhaps before this issue goes to press! Their son John is VERY excited. Jen works at a retirement community in Richmond, Virginia, as the Resident Life Services Manager.

Tara McGintee Gibbs and her husband, Dave, welcomed their fourth baby boy, Declan Reilly, in September.

Jen Katz has published a children’s book titled Sparky & Squeaker. 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of her book are donated to the American Cancer Society. It’s available wherever books are sold, so please buy one for your kid, or for the kid of one of your Mary Wash classmates!

Adrien Snedeker Dickerson is also helping to fight cancer through her work at Conquer Cancer Foundation. While her husband, Adam, is guarding our coasts, Adrien guards the home front with her son Simon.

Caitlin Jenkins recently began work as a paper conservator at the Academy of Motion Pictures. She and her husband, Jason Losh, are living in Los Angeles with children Paul and Edith.

Joshua Bacigalupi will be in charge of 600 kids in a K-5 Elementary school just outside of Ithaca, New York. Good luck, Josh!

Justin Mink is in the midst of developing his tech company, Music Audience Exchange, which helps brands partner with musicians.

Erin Leigh Hicks-Rorrer Haithcock received the Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery Rising Star recommendation for her work with Kroger Mid-Atlantic. For her top essay on who inspires her she was awarded a Microsoft Surface. Erin has been a Kroger employee since 1994, working through college as a cashier. After graduation she was hired as a co-manager of the Cave Spring Kroger in Roanoke. She has worked in Human Resources, the Business Division of Kroger in Richmond, and now is head of Customer Care in Roanoke. Erin lives in Roanoke with her husband, Mike, and son Landon Brooks.