Class Notes

Rob Hall and I continue our lives in Saltville, Va., where Rob is chief of police. I teach yoga classes. I have enjoyed reconnecting with high school and college friends since moving back to Virginia two years ago. Rob and I went to the 25th Virginia Film Festival, held in Charlottesville last November. We were guests of former Mary Washington education professor Jacki Vawter and husband Rod, and stayed at their cabin in Crozet.

Richard Arline was re-elected Nov. 6, 2012, to a three-year term on the Franklin Township School Board of Education in Somerset, N.J. Of five candidates vying to fill three seats, he received the most votes, 10,333.

Laura Baker and husband Geoff are living in Orlando, Fla. Laura is a photographer at the Magic Kingdom and has a blast creating magic memories for happy little vacationers. She and Geoff enjoy the simple life in their RV and travel mostly regionally. They also had a great time at our 35th reunion, with their rig parked at the Tennis Center.

Emily Alfriend Wilson, working for Telamon Corp. on the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, is finally able to put her graduate degrees (MSW and MBA) to work. She manages programs that help the homeless gain temporary housing while they learn skills to become self-sufficient. Emily and husband Mark celebrated their 35th anniversary this past June, and son Justin and his wife welcomed their first child in February. Son Alex is a student at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

Pat Seyller was in Oman for two weeks last November as costumer for La Bohème with the Castleton Festival, a new opera company in Rappahannock County, Va. The company performed at the Royal Opera in Muscat. She visited the desert and learned about a Bedouin lifestyle that has rapidly changed since the sultan Qaboos came into power in the 1970s. She saw much of the city of Muscat – the grand mosque, the sultan’s palace, ancient forts built to stop invaders, and the old market. She haggled for frankincense and myrrh, scarves and trinkets.

Emily Cole continues to work part time at her church and volunteers her gardening skills at a library in Alexandria, Va. She’s been studying tai chi, and she and husband Larry went to China last November for two weeks. Em’s nephew, Andy Cole, graduated from UMW with the Class of 2012.