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| Marie Abu-Dayyeh Woodard Ok...here is what I have been doing for the last 30 years. I am married and still working as a junior high school History teacher. I have traveled the world seeing the Great Wall in China and the Great Pyramids in Egypt. I've visited castles and cathedrals in Europe and absolutely LOVE Italy!! I have been in two play productions that have raised money for the American Cancer Society and have discovered that not only can I act, but I can sing as well. Quite a shocker, that one! I have raise two children. A daughter who is a sophomore at UCSD and a son that is graduating high school this year......ironically 30 years after I did! I am living in Bakersfield, CA (my husband is in the oil business and that is where it took us) and cannot believe that I will be turning 48 in July! UGH! Unfortunately I have not stayed in contact with any of my classmates. Sorry! |
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Nancy Alpert |
I'm off to Italy this summer to take a course in travel-writing, so I guess life is not too bad. I got through a divorce much easier than the 5.5 years of marriage, so I am happily single, with 2 cats and my much-loved daughter. I'd love to reconnect with you all, and plan to be at the reunion. Could Denise Berro, Nancy Bothwell, Debbie Albert, Rachel Suffin, Lexi Van Dyke, Katy Nikas, Carla Neasel email me? Hope everyone is well. We are definitely middle-aged, but probably nicer human beings than we were back when....
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Leif Anderson |
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Pat Adkisson |
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| Tammy Barile I still live in the area and work in downtown Los Angeles for AT&T for 26 years now. I have 2 girls Breeana, 17, who attends Renaissance High School for the Performing Arts Class of 2009 Majoring in Stage Crew. My youngest daughter, Felicia 12, will be in the Eighth Grade this year. We are volunteers for Long Beach Play House for Set Sunday's. I supply the volunteers with lunch after the sets have been completed. Breeana helps tear down the old sets, builds the new ones and is currently co-working the light board for Romeo & Juliet Together and Alive at Last. |
 We enjoy family vacations in Lake Havasu. A few times a year we go boating on the lake with our extended families, Aunts, Uncles Cousins and such. For the past 18 months, I have been on the reunion committee with a group of great friends. I can honestly say it has been a blast working with the rest of the committee members and look forward to seeing everyone soon. |
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Gary Berk OK I will give this a go….graduating CSULB, traveled, back to Cali, 1st real job (Department Store Retail Management. Hated that job.), went to work for one of my vendors and started my career in the Consumer Electronics Industry at Markman Co. I became a partner 1 year later. A year later we merged with another Manufactures Rep company (became Markman-Carter). A little while after that I sold my interest and went to work for Harman International in their consumer division (JBL). I was promoted to International Sales in 1992 and later to OEM in 1993. It was working in the OEM division that I had one of the greatest experiences of my professional career. It was 1994 and the Northridge earthquake struck. Our factory was (and still is) in Northridge. It was the day of the earthquake and I remember standing looking at our production line in shambles, standing near our CEO Dr. Sidney Harman and listening to a team of structural seismologists and engineers from TRW tell us that it was going to be months for us to be back online. This was a Monday. By Sunday we were back up and running with shipments resuming to General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. We all had tears in our eyes. In 1996, with a change of management I was offered a different position or a very generous severance package. I chose the later 1997 I was working for another manufactures rep, Western Sales and Marketing (www.wcemrktg.com) and in 2000 I became a partner in the company. At the end of 2005 I sold my interest in the company so I could focus on my next project in life. While traveling in Italy I met the fantastic people at Elettro Media (www.elettromedia.it) and they asked for my help in finding them a partner for North American distribution. I put them in contact with the great people at Advanced Marketing& Distribution (www.advancedmrktg.com). I also found time to help a friend of mine get his restaurant open (Aki's Sushi at 665 Redondo Ave in Long Beach where you can usually find me on a Friday nights ) and do some work for a company in the beverage industry that my Dad consults for (wingardusa.com) and help them launch Everglo (www.everglo.com) and V2 Vodka (www.v2vodka.com) in California. In 2007, the owners at Advanced Marketing finally persuaded me to work for them to help them manage their efforts in establishing and maintain the Elettro Media brands for now and in the near future. |
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| Alan Berro Nothing like having to put the last 30 years of your life into a couple of paragraphs. On the academic front, I graduated from UCLA in 1982 with a B.A. in Economics. I received my MBA from Harvard Business School in 1986. I also picked up both a CPA and a CFA along the way. Except for the period from 1984-1991 when I resided in Boston, I have lived in Southern California. I currently live in Beverly Hills in a house that was built in 1907. On the career front, I have been in the investment profession for 22 years. I spent the initial 5 years of my career at Fidelity Investments in Boston. In 1991, I was fortunate to get the opportunity to join the Capital Group in Los Angeles. I have been with Capital ever since. I am currently a portfolio manager in Capital’s mutual fund group (we manage the American Funds). On the personal front, I have a great son, Bailey, who is 13 ½ years old. Bailey will be entering 8th grade this fall. I was divorced in 2003 and am currently single. Bailey and I have 2 dogs—Lucky a 10 year old chocolate Labrador and Gigi a 1 ½ year old mutt. My interests outside of work and Bailey include participating in many sports, particularly triathlon—mostly Olympic and 70.3 (half-ironman) distances. I am also an avider skier and can be found at my house in Mammoth most winter weekends. I also like to fly fish (I guess you can call it a sport). And, I like to practice yoga when I can find the time. Other interests include travel (Bailey and I are gearing up for an African Safari in the summer of 2009), art and architecture. I also like fast cars, watches, wine and most other guy type things. On the Charitable front, I currently serve as Chairman of Inner City Arts (ICA)--www.inner-cityarts.org. ICA provides art education to at risk children in and around the skid row area of Los Angeles. I also collect photography and serve on the Photography Committee at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). I am excited to see everyone at the reunion and thank the reunion committee in advance for all of their work in bringing everyone together. |
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Ralph Buchanan
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| I consider myself pretty lucky in life. I have a devoted wife for over 30 years, two grown children, a wonderful home in Los Alamitos, a fantastic job with the Boeing Company right here in Seal Beach. (I ride my bike most days) and some really close great friends. No life is not all roses either and with this description of the highlights please consider the lowlights to make it all possible. The trips to Emergency rooms, school counselor visits, and the ever present protests from the children themselves, the challenges we all endured are there in my memories as well. As for high school I do have vague memories of it. I would imagine the same memories most of us share. The Bruins Den, Football games, the drummers in the auditorium, the new (at the time) Media Center, and those embarrassing moments we just won't talk about here. I'd like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to one of our fallen classmates. I don't know if many of you would remember him but he kept popping up in my life, after high school, at key moments until his death. I have known him since elementary school, he was always the oldest in the class. His name was Zach Hill and in looking back I can remember him popping up the day of my wedding. He wasn't even invited, he was driving down the street and saw me standing outside the church smoking a cigarette, he stopped just to say "good luck" and talk for a while or at the birth of my first child, he was being discharged from the hospital and saw me in the lobby. Our paths crossed alot over the years. Thanks Zach. So, I keep my eyes towards the future and have faith in my life, the best is yet to come. |
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Debbie Campanelli Simek |
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Dieguito Academy. He plays saxophone in the jazz band and is on the Varsity tennis team. Kelly is a freshman at La Costa Canyon High School. She is the feature twirler and takes ballet and jazz classes. My youngest, Jonathan, is a 5th grader; he plays the drums and races BMX. When I'm not working, I'm driving to my kids practices and performances or helping organize baton twirling competitions. We continue to hold the State and Regional Twirling Championships at LBCC! Last September Bob and I had a wonderful trip to Vienna visiting Janet (Darrow) Winter and her husband Doug. Along with an awesome time visiting with them, we were able to take in many of the sights and a quick side trip to Prague. ...One day we'll have time to travel more! |
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| Can't wait to see you this summer, and I hope you participate in all that we are planning! |
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I have been extremely blessed to be married to a great guy. I do not know how I got so lucky! I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion. |
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Dave Cannon |
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tough the job market was then?) and met my wife Joan who is from St. Louis. We were married (under the Arch in St. Louis) in 1986 and moved to Oakland when the progression of the first house, the dog, and the kids occurred. Despite all outside appearances, Oakland is actually a very nice place to live! We have 3 great kids, Kevin (18), Ellen (16) and Steven (14). We also have a Lab (#3...Joan must always have a black lab in the house!) and two cats. I am a commercial insurance broker www.saylorhill.com . It has been a good business that has allowed me to spent a lot of time with the kids coaching Little League and chasing them around to various sporting events, and to play an occasional (OK, maybe more than occasional) round of golf. I have also been able to pursue some interesting business opportunities, like helping to start a community bank in Oakland, www.altalliancebank.com and it certainly was an interesting time to do that! I still enjoy music very much and have dedicated my recent efforts to bluegrass and playing the Banjo. Our oldest, Kevin is heading to University of Oregon in a few weeks, so we are gearing up and looking forward to the upcoming empty nest years! But...with an 8th and 11th grader, we aren't quite there yet! Life is very good, and we have a lot to be thankful for. I look forward to re-connecting with some old mates from good old Long Beach! |
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| Larry Conkings Well thirty years after graduation I am still living in Long Beach with my wife Nikki. We have been married for 17 years and we have enjoyed a wonderful life together. Stepson Shane is 29 and working at Memorial Hospital here in Long Beach. Nikki is back to work in the non profit world for New Hope Grief Counseling here in town. My career path has taken me into the wonderful world of sales and marketing. For the past four years, I have worked in business development for Valley Crest Tree Company, specializing in relocating large trees for developers and home builders.Not the plans I had after I obtained my Master's in Public Policy from CSULB! Still involved with Wilson as I help run the annual invitational golf tournament every February. We have players from the 1930's to 2000's participating in our fundraiser for the athletic teams. Coach Rowland turned 80 last December and we used that occasion to raise $60,000 for the programs. Looking forward to the golf at Coyote Hills and hope to see all of you later that night. |
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| Angela DeAngelis I'm another one of those classmates most of you won't remember--I was the shy girl who sat in the back of the class and tried to be as unnoticed as possible. I had very much looked forward to attending the reunion but my son, a June high school grad, just received notification of his acceptance to a firefighting and rescue academy, and, of course, orientation is on the same day as our reunion. Since I'm on the subject of my children, I also have a 13 year old daughter who will be in the 8th grade. My kids are amazing: kind-hearted, funny, great company, healthy...everything I could ever ask for and more. I have been living in the Eastern Sierras near Mammoth for twenty-five years (and still miss the ocean very much); I've been teaching at our local high school for the last twenty years. In addition to being a classroom teacher, I also advise our travel club and have escorted a number of students through |
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| Europe. I am very active in CTA and serve as president of our chapter and State Council Rep for our region. My kids (the real ones, not the school ones) are collectively involved in 4-H, moto x, drill team, hunting and shooting, quad riding, animal collecting, snowboarding, and skiing--all the normal stuff rural kids do, and we are blessed to live in an area where they have had the freedom afforded those who live in small towns. Enjoy the reunion--hopefully my cousins Tammy Barile and Debbie Campanelli will take lots of pictures. If any of you would like to drop me a line, especially those of you who attended Buffum, I would love to hear from you. |
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Jeff Disney The last ten years have brought about a lot of change in my life. As I’m sure you can all appreciate, September 11, 2001, with the loss of thousands of American lives, brought me into the forefront of the fight on terrorism. As an ER Doc for the Navy, my orders took me back overseas for a brief time, and it wasn’t the white sand of some tropical beach. But alas, home safe in early 2002, I proceeded to submit my paperwork for formal separation from the Navy, and did so in April 2002. I accepted a position as a Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University here in Portland. I haven’t looked back since! I’ve got a beautiful home that backs up to a towering forest, complete with deer, eagles, and of course the omnipresent beavers in the creek. OHSU is an 800-bed large academic medical institution, Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, and a 60-bed Emergency Department. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the faculty, organizing the Simulation Center, and was chosen Outstanding Teacher of the Year several times. Recently however, I was offered yet another opportunity in Emergency Medicine, and now find myself as one of the founding members of Oregon Emergency Specialists. Myself and a cadre of fellow ER Docs, formed our own group and successfully negotiated a contract at a brand new hospital in one of the growing Portland suburbs. It’s a new experience being a partner, and learning the business side of Emergency Medicine. I’m enjoying more free time, and the monetary rewards are better – although it all seems to be going towards paying for gasoline now a days! |
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Steve Dowdy
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What a great night last night at Spags! Thanks to all that participated in making this event too much fun! Now I know why people posted their profiles on line: so you don't have to repeat what you've been doing for the past 30 years! |
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 The picture was taken last week in New York City on top of the Empire State Building at 11:30 at night. |
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I am blessed with loving friends and family, good health, a great job, and sanity (well, most of the time!). I have a love of a dog, Shadow (black lab/chow), that I rescued 12 years ago. Life is fun, life is good, life keeps getting better. As all you others, I really cannot believe that 30 years have gone by since we sat on Blair Field listening to our farewell speeches. We may have caused quite a bit of trouble back in those days (I know I did and probably still do!), but such memories we created. So many images that come into my head, too many to write about. May all of you continue to have many happy and healthy days to come. Hopefully all of you will continue to come to 40th, 50th, 60th, etc. reunions to come. Because it was such a joy and privilege to see all of you that attended. Love to all, Julie (aka: Jules) |
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Mark Fraser |
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| Carrie Frontino Hi graduating class of 1978. I wished i could be at the reunion. but other things taking place. as of september i will be traveling to africa for 2 weeks and had already made plans fo this.I have alot of fond memoreis of wilson wish I could be there. |
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Where has the time gone? I can't believe that it's been 30 years since we graduated! After leaving Wilson, I graduated from UCI with a degree in Computer Science, and have lived in Orange County ever since. While at UCI, I met my wife, Robin, while we were living on Balboa Island. She was living in the bottom half of a duplex and I was living in the top half.. We both ended up getting software engineering jobs at Hughes Aircraft in Irvine right out of college, and married a few years later. We'll be celebrating our 25th anniversary this September. I still work at Hughes, now named Thales Raytheon Systems, and moved to the Fullerton site. I've worked on a number of interesting programs throughout the years, and have done a little traveling for work along the way: Oslo, Paris, and Brussels. But, mostly we've been busy raising a family. Robin and I have 3 boys. Our oldest one, Ryan is 20, and just finished his second year at UCLA. Brandon is 18 and just finished his first year at UCSB. Our youngest is Nathan, 16, who is going to be a junior in high school. We've lived in Mission Viejo for the last 20 years. I don't get back to Long Beach too often, but have fond memories of growing up in Belmont Shore and going to Wilson. I haven't kept in contact with anyone back from those days, but I do run into Wilson grads every once in awhile. Curt Taucher and I graduated from UCI at the same time. I see Barbie Ridder all the time. She works in Mission Viejo. I once ran into Anne Dahlquist in a video store here in Mission Viejo. Laurie Karlin's husband was once the basketball coach for one of my sons. Katie Moore has a son who goes to the same high school as my youngest son. It's a small world! All of my sons play or played volleyball on the high school team. Wilson was always one of the teams that played in the tournament that we hosted. I would always glance over at the parents rooting for Wilson, wondering if by chance there would be someone who graduated with me who now has a son at Wilson. There may have been, but we all look a little different than we did back then! Looking forward to seeing everyone! |
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Dave Gardner My parents have moved to New Mexico. My siblings are scattered from West Covina to Texas. I have 6 nieces and nephews. |
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| Patricia Goesch Grüßt euch Bruins, wanted to say "HI" to everyone! Looked at the photo gallery and had a rough time recognizing anyone. Debbie and Tony Vaca yes, but Jeff Hoffmann (latin class!) not really. Well, it has been a couple of years since '78... I still live in Munich, but will be moving to Regensburg this year. If anyone, who still knows me, wants to contact me, please feel free to to so (aradia9@arcor.de). I'd be happy to hear from you! Grüße (greetings) from München (Munich), from the Bavarian girl |
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Lew Gordon |
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Senior Vice President of Human Resources for a worldwide construction company incharge of the Japanese and United States offices. My main hobby and love is my home and cars, but most importantly my dog Cocoa of sixteen years. I still keep in touch with a few high school classmates and even some from elementary school. I look forward to attending the reunion as I missed the 20th. |
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Dan Green |
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This is a pic of me at my ‘home’ break last winter. Hope to see you later THIS MONTH to catch up with more classmates. Jon Slone, Graham Stanley, and I are just now planning a beach morning for Saturday the 16th . We would love to have you join us at the jetties in Bolsa Chica. Please let me know if you’re interested. The only cost is getting there and getting into the park. Since I don’t play golf, is anyone interested in a Friday, the 15th surf session at Trestles or Sano? |
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click on my name to send me an email Hope to see you all soon! |
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| I'm in the skin care industry and am lucky to have a great schedule and to work close to home. We don't have any children but we're lucky to have nieces and nephews on both sides and I'm still very close with my sisters. Thanks to my Mom, I get updated on teachers and friends from Horace Mann, Jefferson and Wilson. I've been on the reunion committee since last June and I have to say I enjoy it more than I thought I would. It has been fun to reconnect with friends from the past and I'm looking forward to seeing all the rest of you at the reunion and/or other events of the weekend. Keep in touch 2mellu@gmail.com and I hope to see you in August. |
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| Brian Hall Hello Classmates! Here is the quick update. I am married to Kelly Starr (Wilson Class of 80) and we have three beautiful daughters Lexi –age 15 (named in honor of Lexi Van Dyke who will not be at the Reunion), Makenna – age 13, and Kylie – age 9. All are bright, competitive swimmers, and play soccer. Lexi and Makenna are boy crazy and world class text messengers. Kylie is into riding horses and art. Now that we have journeyed into the teenage years, I can blame them as the root cause of my bald, gray head. Regardless, I figure that if they do a fraction of what I was doing as a teenager (especially at Wilson) they should be OK. Somewhere along the way I went from being a reckless Wilson teenager to someone like my Dad. How did that happen? I can say that I’ve enjoyed my forties as much as any other time of my life. I believe that I am a better person and age has done me well. We have been living in Austin, Texas for 10 years. I couldn’t imagine a better city to live, work, raise kids, and enjoy a lively music scene (some things never get old). I am on the executive staff with an international HVAC company that has me traveling quite a bit. Life has treated me well. I have no complaints other than not seeing more of my best friends in life that I grew up with. See you all Friday and Saturday! |
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John Hall Lori and I will be unable to attend the 30th class reunion due to a
commitment on the east coast this summer. Regards, |
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| Tracy (Heynen) Hahn Hello there fellow classmates of 1978! Oh my God, I can't believe that I'm old enough to be going to a 30 YEAR REUNION! How did that happen?!!!   Right out of school I attended LBCC. Those years were so much fun. All I did was ski, sun, sail and play. In 1981 I married my high school sweetheart, Rick Trammell. In 1983, our beautiful daughter, Kristin was born. She's a blonde, but dies her hair red, as in the pictures above. The little red-headed boy is my nephew, Reed (Jim's clone at that age.). Some of you may re-call my younger brother, Jim Heynen (class of 1980), aka- "Jimmy" & "The Kid." He was quite the surfer. Now he's busy being Dad, Husband & the Big Guy at the office. He's still in L.B. On the other pic, I'm sandwiched between my mom & daughter. (Yes, I used to be a brunette in school.) |
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I was a stay-at-home-mom for at least a decade, and Kristin and I spent most of our time at the beach. I moved to East Highland Ranch in 1989 (near Redlands), thinking that I'd get back to the beach in a couple of years- hence the email address of: wishin4dabeach@aol.com Life changed- I became single, essentially for the first time since I was 15, and I returned to college. I received a Bachelor's in Human Services from CSUSB- San Bernardino, of all places, in 1996. Where's my beach?? It was very painful and awful to be away from 'the Shore,' which I still consider 'home.' My dad still lives at 101 Glendora, and I go down frequently. I worked for the S. B. Superior Courts for 3 years, and then in 1996 I took on a huge challenge and became a Social Worker for the Department of Children's Services- Child Protective Services. What was I thinking? I investigate allegations of abuse and neglect. I'm the one that goes into the worst neighborhoods knocking on doors, trying to get into severely abusive and neglectful homes. Our County Coroner knows what we see, and he's also our classmate- Rocky Shaw. Working in this capacity is a very tough job, yet very rewarding. Don't listen to the media!! They don't know what we do because no one is allowed to speak with the media. They're always bashing Social Services/Social Workers, and we're all dying to set the record straight, but we'd get fired for talking. I've worked the high desert, the Eastern end of the I.E., and now my office is based in Rancho Cucamonga, so I work the Western end of the Empire. Recently, I began a new business with NuSkin Enterprises. They have an amazing device that is fantastic and removes your wrinkles. Amazing, but true. Go to www.maxcast.com for that one! My daughter is amazing! There recently was a portrait painted of her called, "Kristin." It can be viewed by scrolling down and over through the art of Joseph Tordorovich and the Wendt Gallery. It's presently in the Laguna Beach gallery. http://wendtgallery.com/wendtgallery/artists/josephtodorovitch/ She's very artistic, creative and gifted. Most of her friends are the same way. Kristin graduated from UC Riverside in 2004, with a Bachelor's in History and a minor in Film- Artisy, remember? She's a private teacher and is finishing up her teaching credentials for mild to moderate special education from Cal Poly Pomona. She is my joy! We've both travelled a bit. She to Ireland, me to Germany, Austria, Hawaii, Canada, Alaska, other parts of the US and Mexico, and recently I spent two weeks of bliss in Belize. It was the best 2 weeks of my life! My daughter and I currently live in Rancho Cucamonga. I'm still wishin' for that beach. I haven't yet figured out if I'll make the reunion, or the Friday 8/15 events. I knew many of you that I see here on the WW '78 site, but the only person from school that I stay connected with is Teresa Boyd. She graduated early and headed off to college at that time. I regret not staying in touch with more of you. Mike Jackson!!! Thanks for calling me about the reunion! Please feel free to contact me if any of you are interested. (Email address above.) |
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| Karen Hitchcock Meacham Send Karen an email! |
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| Jeff Hoffman Hello Class of 78! It is hard to believe that it has been 30 years. I often drive by the campus and it seems like yesterday that we were at Wilson. I have such fond memories of our time at Wilson and of the people I met and friends that I made during the three years. After graduation I got a job at Disneyland selling rubber snakes and |
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shrunken heads in Adventureland. After college, I transferred to corporate headquarters at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and I have been there ever since. I am currently responsible for Disney's charitable outreach work and spend quite a bit of time traveling. I live in Long Beach, with my partner Bob, in the Belmont Shore area. In fact I never have left Long Beach! August will be here soon and I hope to see you at our Reunion activities. |
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| Chato Horsfield Regards to All: Santa Barbara, Colorado, Arizona (MBA) and then ‘South of the border’ until 2001. |
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See you all next weekend. Saludos, |
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Connor is a freshman at UCSB and Kelsey is junior at La Jolla High. They occasionally travel with me when I give lectures and have now surfed in France, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Hawaii, and Indonesia. We have a dog named Duke and all are very Happy Campers! Since Mike Morgan's premature death, we have organized an annual surf trip each Fall with Tom Still, Ken Cowan, David Black, Dusty Buck, Mike Jackson, Andy Dean, Steve Marsh, and Bill Reseigh. Our apologies for not being able to make the reunion, Steve, Lisa, Connor and Kelsey |
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Carol Howells I design handmade greeting cards and invitations. (sometimes for money; mostly for fun). I'm writing a book about my Long Beach neighborhood in the 1960's. We had some memorable characters living there! I don't have any children. Unfortunately, I lost a couple of babies to miscarriage. I am looking forward to the reunion. |
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Mike Jackson
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| Mike Jones Spielman After graduating in 1982 from CSULB with a double major in Political Science and Marketing, I was leaning toward a desire to find a way into working in the advertising industry. I took an internship in NewYork City in 1983 for a graphics company that specialized in making one of a kind packaging used specifically for advertising in TV commercials, Print Ads and other marketing purposes. I fell in love with the business and New York City which was quite a change from my life in Long Beach. My internship turned into a 7 year stay. I left and joined a similar company and eventually became a partner. We sold the company and I now work for the public company that owns us. I met Sara, my wife of 17 years at a health club in New York City in the late 1980's and we now have two great kids; Morgan is our 16 year old boy and Rachel our 12 year old. We have lived in Greenwich, Connecticut since 1994.
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| Emil Kakkis It's has been interesting to look back at the old names and people of so many years ago. Seems like another life after 30 years have passed. After Wilson, I finished Biology at Pomona College, and then an MD, PhD. combined degree at UCLA Medical School, and there met my wife Jenny, who was dissecting the adjacent cadaver in anatomy. Seems odd enough to be true. From UCLA, I went into research on developing a new treatment for a rare genetic disease working at Harbor-UCLA in Torrance as an assistant professor of Pediatrics. The work went well and in 5 years, we were treating the first kids with that disease called MPS I in a clinical trial. The therapy worked and we eventually got it FDA approved. That was a wild ride, and we got some press then with a segment on 60 minutes II and even a story in Reader's Digest. Early on in that development program, I realized that I would get far more resources to develop treatments while at the company rather than academia, and so I joined the biotechnology company (BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc) that was developing my research work. Since then, I have spent 10 years at the company, now as Chief Medical Officer. We now have 3 approved treatments for genetic diseases and 3 more in clinical studies and another 6 in early development. So it is busy but not too busy, so Jenny and I have 3 kids, a 14 year old, and boy and girl twins of 10 years. We live up in Novato, CA in Marin County. |
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Kristi Kucera Spent 6 years teaching first grade in inner city, then went into administration for 4 years but missed the kids, so am back in the classroom teaching 6th graders--was I that sassy when I was 11???!!!! |
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Go to Profiles L-Z |
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