It has either happened to you already or will be happening to you soon; time to admit that this is the year for us to turn 60! I can’t believe that I am saying that number out loud, but it’s definitely coming to us all. Since my daughter turns 30 this summer, I guess I need to admit that I am no longer a youngster. However, we certainly do not have to act like we are 60!
I am reminded that we are all getting to this age when I see an email from Martin McClanan along with photos of his 60th birthday party. Martin celebrated his birthday in Portland, Oregon, recently with Tom Gallo and Jenni Adams Gallo ’84, Paul Kinley ’86 and Ben Brake ’86. Looks like a kilt was even part of the birthday style! Martin has lived in Portland since 2007 with his wife, Liz, and remains active in the food and wine industries.
On April 18, W&M celebrated 10 years of One Tribe One Day, the university’s annual giving day. To mark the occasion, Mary Uhrig Phillips and Kevin Phillips ’84 launched a 10-to-1 match to the Fund for William & Mary for gifts made to any area of the university from first-time OTOD donors. It’s part of their new $1 million commitment that also supports scholarships and W&M Libraries.
In a column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Todd Stottlemyer and George Keith Martin explain the importance of scaling up internships, apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities in Virginia. Todd is treasurer of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and CEO of CNSI. He is vice chair of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity (GO Virginia) board and previously served as rector of William & Mary. George Keith Martin is secretary of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and a partner in McGuireWoods LLP. He previously served as rector of the University of Virginia.
In an example of “you never know when you’ll run into a fellow William & Mary graduate,” my husband and I went with our daughter and her best friend to Atlanta for the Taylor Swift concert in April (yes, after many hours online, my daughter procured the elusive tickets to the event of the century!). At the hotel breakfast area, my husband saw another dad there, and since he saw that he was wearing a William & Mary shirt, struck up a conversation with him. The next day at breakfast (hey, if you are going to Atlanta, you make a weekend of it!) I introduced myself to Brian McManus ’94, professor of industrial organization, empirical microeconomics and health economics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He was there with his wife and daughter for the weekend and, while they were at the concert, he was able to visit with Chris Anulewicz ’93. Not only is Brian a fellow alumnus, he also lives in the Triangle area like us! Small world, as they truly say.
That does it for me this time. Please send me an email to let me know how you are doing, how you celebrated turning 60, which classmates you are in touch with or what alumni you run into somewhere unexpectedly. I look forward to hearing from you. Valete, omnes!