Class Notes

From Kim:

Agneta Dahl retired from the USCG and settled in Seattle 6 years ago. That is the longest she has lived anywhere since she was 14 and her family moved to the U.S. from Sweden. She is busy with a new career which recently took her to Hong King. While there, she had a chance to meet up with Miranda Yen. Agneta said that it didn’t feel like it was 30 years ago since they had seen each other!

Chris and Joanne Bartholomew Lamm, ’85 have a son who is a rising junior at Mary Wash majoring in Political Science and minoring in French. Their daughter is a 2013 alum of UMW who majored in International Affairs. Chris and Joanne’s middle child, a son, graduated from Virginia Tech in 2016 and is an officer in the U.S. Army. Chris is still employed with NASCO and Joanne is an Army civilian. Joanne recently lost both her parents.

Toni Moore Milbourne changed careers in March and left the newspaper industry after 20 years. She is now serving as Library Director for the Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Public Library. She says it’s a lot of fun and is a dream job surrounded by books. She is still writing freelance for the local papers since she just can’t get writing out of her blood! She is also applying to grad schools to earn a Masters in Library Science and is leaning toward the online program at the University of Syracuse. Another of her chicks has flown the nest as her third child, Maggie, graduated from high school in May and joined the U.S. Army. She shipped out to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO in June for basic training and then headed to Arizona for tech school focusing on Military Intelligence. Toni’s fourth child, Samantha, is now a senior in high school and Toni says that the time sure has flown since 1987!

Kathleen Henderson Allenbaugh joined Johns Hopkins Medicine in March, serving as senior director, consumer and physician engagement for the national capital region. She leads the development, management, implementation and measurement of marketing, digital media and social media initiatives that support the growth of clinical service lines across the National Capital Region, including product/service line and physician marketing. This includes Sibley Hospital in NW D.C., Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD and affiliated Johns Hopkins faculty physicians.  Kathleen has 30 years experience in marketing and communications.

As for me, Ken and I are in our 21^st year with our computer business, but we are burned out on IT and looking at other opportunities. My best friend and I just celebrated our 4^th anniversary owning our yoga studio and we were recently named one of the top 10 yoga studios in the state of Oklahoma. I love teaching more each day and sharing my passion for yoga with others. I continue to hike most weekends and to sharpen my photography skills, so maybe that can become a career some day.

Our 30^th reunion took place in June. I did not attend, but I saw lots of pictures and it looks like a fun time was had by all. Where has the time gone?! Keep those updates coming through email or Facebook.

Additional note:

First, my name is Mark A. O’Connell and I graduated in the class of 1987 at what was then Mary Washington College where I majored in History.

In 1990, I began a career with the Commonwealth of Virginia as an Adult Probation and Parole Officer and served for 25 years and retired on May 1, 2015.

Eight years into that profession, I added a part-time career in sports journalism and began working both as a freelance sports correspondent and as the play-by-play announcer for the local radio station which broadcast the local high school football games. In 2002, the owner of the radio station sold the business and he was offered the job as the station manager at Culpeper’s local television station. He asked me to join him there to continue our professional relationship which I did. Today, I am still employed by the station as the play-by-play announcer for both the high school football and lacrosse games that we broadcast.

Beginning in 2016, I had my first books published. Both are still listed on Amazon. Their titles are Criminal Minds in Real Time and Justice Denied.

My third book is in the publication process and will be titled The Team the Titans Remember. The movie made no mention of the real team that the Titans played in their 1971 Group AA state championship game. The movie portrays the Titans playing the Statesmen of George C. Marshall in a nail biter of a game decided on the last play. In reality, the Titans beat the Wolverines of Andrew Lewis (of Salem) by a score of 27-0. This book tells the history of the Wolverines.

I am working on a fourth book and it is a biography of an army chaplain.