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Wellness at Kinkaid
Parents or Alumni: If this publication is addressed to your child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Alumni Office of the new permanent mailing address.
Nurturing Mind and Body
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SLEEP
NUTRITION
Friday, April 21, 2017 | Greater Houston Gun Club
FITNESS
Jim Looke
MINDSET
honoring
COMPASSION
D A T E
RELATIONSHIPS
T H E
CONFIDENCE
S A V E
2/28/17 2:52 PM
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
REU NI ON W EEKEND 2017
From the Headmaster Dear Kinkaid Community,
H
appy New Year! We are in the midst of an excellent 2016-17 school year on campus at Kinkaid. The students, faculty and staff and visitors are taking full advantage of the new parking garage and Dining and Learning Center. Immediately to the south and west of the garage, construction work has begun on our “west campus.”
MARCH 31 & APRIL 1
We have completed the clearing phase and will focus on drainage infrastructure during the first half of the year. Should the construction schedule hold, students will have a new turf baseball field and eight tennis courts to enjoy by early 2018. I encourage you to drive to the top of the garage to get a bird’s-eye view of our progress! In the Upper School, students wrapped up another highly successful three-week Interim Term, one of Kinkaid’s signature programs. Twelfth graders explored professional internships both in Houston and across the country while underclassmen had the opportunity to take a wide variety of unique courses that were of special interest to faculty members. We also offered a trip to China and home-stays in France and Spain, experiences enjoyed by a total of about 45 students. I got to see first-hand how beneficial Interim Term could be; my 11th grade daughter Belle travelled to Grenoble, France, where she spent two weeks living with a host family, attending school and visiting neighboring cities. It was a true cultural and language immersion for her. On the alumni front, I continue to be struck by the passion and commitment of Kinkaidians. Over the past few months, I had the pleasure of visiting with Kinkaid graduates at alumni events in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. Approximately 100 alumni attended these events! East Coast alumni should be on the lookout for upcoming gatherings in Washington D.C. and New York City in early May. The main theme for this issue is “wellness.” We have made strides as a school both to increase and to coordinate our school-wide wellness programming. It is of great importance that we focus on our students’ social and emotional well-being in addition to their academic, artistic and athletic development. Under the able and thoughtful leadership of Cheryl Mitchell, Kinkaid Director of Wellness, we are exploring more and different ways to support our students— and faculty and staff—and to foster balance in all aspects of the Kinkaid experience.
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In fact, the theme of our recently unveiled strategic plan is Balanced Excellence. Beginning with parent, faculty and staff surveys that preceded the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) reaccreditation visit in 2015, we engaged in a multi-year planning process. This inclusive process resulted in the creation of a Board of Trustees vision statement for Kinkaid and the development of four strategic imperatives: One Kinkaid, Performance Excellence, Unparalleled Student Experience and Commitment to Balance. The imperatives build on the School’s unchanging mission and core values, which serve as our educational foundation now and in the years ahead. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to learn more about our wellness programs, strategic planning, construction or any other happenings at Kinkaid. Thank you very much for your continued strong support, and best wishes for a wonderful and healthy 2017! Regards,
Headmaster Andy Martire with Zoya ‘18, Asha, Faraz ‘17, and Farid Virani at the dedication of new scoreboards donated by the Virani family in memory of Faris Virani, “Our Forever Falcon” See page 2.
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kinkaid.org/reunionweekend
3rd Annual Beer
Boots
Live Music
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 • • KINKAID CAMPUS Following Distinguished Alumni Awards Program Kinkaid.org/alumnibbq
2/28/17 2:52 PM
WINTER/SPRING 2017
WINTER/SPRING 2017
Contents Features
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2 Faris Virani Tribute 6 Balanced Excellence — Strategic Plan Update 15 Wellness at Kinkaid — Nurturing Mind and Body 28 2017 Distinguished Alumni
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Departments 5 Around Campus 5
Building Together Leadership Circle Dinner
8
19th Annual Zack Semander Memorial Golf Tournament
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The AJ Carothers Visiting Artist Series
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Book Fair 2016
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Falcon Family Feast
12
Third Grade Grandparents’ Day
13
Retired Faculty and Staff Holiday Luncheon
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Coaches Mack & Mac – A Winning Combination
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20 Athletics 24 Fine Arts 28 Class Notes & Alumni News 36
Alumnus Profile – Dr. Darrell Bock ’71
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Alumni Profile – John Davis ’72 and Heidi Davis Barnes ’80
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Alumnus Profile – Franco Silva ’09
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Alumni Leadership Day
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Milestones
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THE KINKAID MAGAZINE IS A PUBLICATION OF THE ADVANCEMENT OFFICE OF THE KINKAID SCHOOL Tom Moore Director of Advancement tom.moore@kinkaid.org
Alexa Leach ’09 Manager of Alumni Activities alexa.leach@kinkaid.org
Cameron Whitaker Assistant Communications Manager cameron.whitaker@kinkaid.org
Kate DeWitt Manager of Special Events kate.dewitt@kinkaid.org
Georgia Piazza Manager of Communications & Special Events georgia.piazza@kinkaid.org
Photography contributed by: David Shutts ’74 David Shutts Photography, Inc.
Blair Burke Foster ’06 Manager of KIinkaid Fund blair.foster@kinkaid.org Andrea Ibarra Gift Records Manager andrea.ibarra@kinkaid.org
Tiffany Smith Parent Liaison & Volunteer Coordinator tiffany.smith@kinkaid.org Cindy van Keppel Advancement Assistant cindy.vankeppel@kinkaid.org
Design contributed by: Michael Clarke Blue C Studios
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
I Did My Best
A Lesson by Our Forever Falcon, Faris D. Virani By Meredith Kottler, Kinkaid Lower School Teacher
“Ok Faris, we’ve been working for an hour,” I said to him, “do you want to take a break?” I was hoping he’d say yes but I already knew the answer. “No,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t want a break. I want to work. But, my watch says it’s time to get up and move. And I’m still competing for steps on my Fitbit. We can keep working if we walk around, too.” He stood up, his trademark shining grin beaming at me. During this sweltering summer of 2015, I was helping Faris prepare for fourth grade since he’d missed so much school because of his cancer treatments. Our long study sessions were interrupted only by reminders from his watch, telling us to get up and move, and plentiful sweet treat deliveries from Faris’ intuitive and loving mother, Asha. Two and a half years after his initial diagnosis of Stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma, a rare childhood disease, Faris, age 9, was facing the battle for his life for a second time. Enduring daily, powerful chemotherapy was just one part of his summer routine. While his parents and I, his third grade (and former Kinder-
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garten) teacher, would rather have seen him focus on rest, play and summer fun, Faris insisted he work every week day during the summer so he could make up so many of the lessons he had missed during his third grade year in preparation for fourth grade. He was resolute to have nothing stop him from being in fourth grade and being with his friends in the school he so cherished. The treatment regimen and difficult side effects were enough to exhaust any normal adult for weeks, but Faris was driven to learn as much as he could, and something like cancer and its treatments were certainly not going to get in his way of living the best and fullest life. His incredible energy, willpower and determination, along with that gleaming, trademark smile convinced us. We negotiated down to four days of academics. He also devoted one day a week to his passion for artwork, and incredibly, he also kept up with his Fitbit challenges. So for much of that sum-
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mer, we sat together in the space that he meticulously organized, reading, talking, writing and plowing through an incredible amount of third grade curriculum. I witnessed miracles that summer, his beautiful and tender spirit, and incredible strength. I was in awe of his capacity and him. As I planned and readied myself to teach him, I quickly realized that I was really the student and he was my greatest teacher. Like many who were fortunate enough to be in his presence or follow his journey through the Caring Bridge website, Faris became our teacher. His curriculum included: accepting the moment, giving abundantly, practicing gratitude and loving fiercely. He understood Grace and lived faithfully with no fear. Before physical illness, Faris knew his gifts. As a most intuitive kindergartener, he once shared, “I have so much love to give, I’m smart and I can make people laugh.” As cancer tried to diminish him, his capacity to think of others and his desire to make those around him happy amplified. His light radiated ever more, and he shared his joy and trust for the moment by guiding his family to “go with the FLOW.” After the initial diagnosis at age six, Faris spent many months at Texas Children’s Hospital to receive chemo and radiation. During the days he felt well enough, he would walk around visiting other patients and families on his floor. Each time he was asked by friends and family if he wanted or needed anything, he would just smile, shake his head and suggest that they bring gifts for the other children on his floor. Faris collected these gifts, packaged them nicely and made deliveries to all the children on his floor. When approached by the Make a Wish Foundation, Faris was able to be granted any wish …being the avid basketball fan and player he was, meeting legendary NBA Players and traveling to NBA games were among the most enticing. Faris’ wish challenged the NBA. He wanted the NBA to “go gold”, the color for childhood cancer awareness, like the NFL goes pink for breast cancer awareness. He had witnessed the support of “going pink” in so many different ways and he was baffled why September was not recognized by the community and society at large as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and why few recognized the color gold for the ribbon. If he couldn’t get that, he didn’t want anything. Make a Wish couldn’t grant this wish, and Faris turned down every other offer made to him, even visits from some of his favorite NBA stars. He was true to his ideal, and did not compromise on his wish. Again, he was thinking beyond himself.
As Faris continued to learn of others with his disease, he never once complained through all the treatments and medical challenges nor asked why. He bravely told his mother, “I got Ewing Sarcoma so I can cure it.” He believed in his own power to help others, even when he so desperately needed a miracle for himself. It turns out he was the miracle.
His light radiated ever more, and he shared his joy and trust for the moment by guiding his family to “go with the FLOW.” Once he uttered that radical proclamation, his parents, Asha and Farid, followed his lead (as they always did) to establish a center at Texas Children’s Hospital in his name. And where did the initial donation to launch the research center begin? Faris’ piggy bank, of course! Now a second grader, he carried his green piggy bank, with “Save, Spend, Invest, Donate” printed on the sides, to the ribbon cutting ceremony. Unknown even to his family, Faris had always put all the money he had made by his entrepreneurial ventures and money he had collected from holidays and birthdays into the Donate part of his piggy bank. He approached them and insisted on giving all of it ($1,000) as the initial installment for the center invested in research to cure this disease for those who would follow him. Currently, The Faris D. Virani Ewing Sarcoma Center has grown to a team of 22 researchers and staff and is the only center in the world dedicated to understanding this elusive disease.
Go with the Flow
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
The opening of the Center coincided with a huge celebration: the news that there was no active cancer in Faris’ body in his second grade year. For a magical year, he was cancer free. He returned to school, celebrated his eighth birthday, traveled, continued his art and relished in every day with his family. Our prayers had worked. Then, the unimaginable. Just a month into third grade, the next round of scans showed the cancer growing again. Faris never complained. “I have to do what I have to do,” he told his parents. “Let’s go with the flow.” And so he did just that. He came to school when he could, accepted more chemotherapy, side effects and requested to continue school at home so he could return to his classmates the following year. He never doubted that he would return. Faris’ love for Kinkaid and his desire to go to Middle School to follow the footsteps of brother Faraz and sister Zoya renewed his strength that summer before fourth grade. And he made it! As the semester began, Faris walked into fourth grade teacher Lisa Curry’s classroom (the biggest Longhorn fan imaginable) wearing Longhorn Nikes. Was he a big Longhorn fan? We don’t think so. But he knew how passionate Ms. Curry was about her university and team, so he
bought the shoes with her in mind. That’s the kind of person he was, always sensitive and responsive to others. Faris loved being back at school with his friends and teachers. The insidious cancer seemed to be responding to therapies and lay low for a time but then, returned. While Faris was in and out of Texas Children’s that fall, food deliveries from lower school teachers began arriving at his house. Faris said, “Mommy, we’re fine. We don’t need the food. We need to give to those who need it.”
Let’s follow his lead and be better so that we can also say as he did, “I did my best.”
Again, Faris ignited action. Lower School Principal Krista Babine learned about his response and seized the opportunity to take Faris’ challenge to serve others. The fourth graders traveled to the Houston Food Bank and documented their progress to show Faris how he had inspired them to follow his lead. Our Forever Falcon became a full time angel on January 8, 2016, three years to the day of his initial diagnosis. While we can no longer bask in his physical presence, marvel at new paintings and art projects, or watch him dance with absolute abandon, Faris is still leading the way. His leadership inspired the Faris Strong Giving Campaign, ongoing and growing today. This year’s fourth graders connected with Brighter Bites and KIPP SHINE to package nutritious, fresh meals for families in need as well as Books Between Kids, an organization serving Houston’s at-risk children by providing them with books to build their own home libraries. Operation Shine Box, also with KIPP SHINE School, provided 150 KIPP students, who would have gone without Christmas gifts, tailored presents for them to open this past December. Cancer remains the leading cause of non-accidental death in children. Faris desperately wanted greater awareness of childhood cancer so advances in research can help spare the most innocent and vulnerable among us. While he did not see his “Go Gold” wish come true, Faris’ family succeeded this year in getting Texas Children’s Hospital and City Hall to “Go Gold” this past September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Faris painting Kinkaid Spirit
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Faris’ glorious memory and his legacy now reside in our hands. Now it’s our turn to follow his lead, to give generously to others, to love fiercely and live fearlessly and, through it all, to keep joy and faith in the journey. That’s what Faris would want. If we can do these things, we’ll honor our teacher, Faris, and he’ll see he’s taught us well. Let’s follow his lead and be better so that we can also say as he did, “I did my best.”
AROUND CAMPUS
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
Building Together Leadership Circle Dinner Evan Katz ‘82 (fs), Billy McCartney, Abbott Sprague
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his past August, about 100 major donors to the Building Together Capital Campaign and key school volunteer leaders came together for a special evening. The event celebrated the completion of the two-year campaign to raise funds to construct the new Dining & Learning Center and Parking Garage. The evening began with a cocktail hour on the second floor of the DLC, with a champagne toast from Campaign Committee Chairs Bill Montgomery and Pam Fullenweider. An elegant dinner prepared by Executive Chef Mark Harris followed, with remarks from Headmaster Andy Martire, Building Committee Chair Gene Werlin and Board Chair Linda Andrews.
Kelly and Bill Montgomery, Board Chair Linda Andrews
Chris Pappas, Paula and Dennis Clark, Danica and Allston Marble
Barbara Moses Robertson ‘65 and Corby Robertson
Dr. Martire said it best when he noted, “These incredible additions to our School would not have been possible without our strong volunteer base and the great generosity of our donors. We see the positive impact of these buildings every day, as the parking garage has brought improved safety and traffic flow on campus, and the Dining & Learning Center has made possible new exciting learning spaces for middle school students and a broader range of delicious and nutritious food options for the School community.”
Annalee and Andy Waite with Laura and Bill Wheless
Pam and Keith Fullenweider ‘81 5
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Balanced Excellence: New Strategic Plan Unveiled
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n overview of Balanced Excellence, the School’s new strategic plan, was introduced by Chair of Kinkaid’s Board of Trustees Dr. Linda Andrews and Headmaster Dr. Andy Martire at a series of presentations attended by over 600 parents, faculty and staff. This plan, the first such undertaking at Kinkaid since 1999, is the end result of an intensive, highly collaborative effort initiated by the Board of Trustees with major input and involvement from across the school community and beyond.
The planning started 18 months ago following Kinkaid’s Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) reaccreditation site visit and report. Such reaccreditation reviews for independent schools occur every ten years. The process involved the Board setting its vision for the School for the next three to five years, the School’s leadership team and faculty determining actions needed to make progress towards achieving the Board’s vision and establishing ways to measure when success has been achieved. Input from parents, faculty and staff was gathered via surveys and meetings combined with feedback received from more than 20 leading preparatory school leaders from across the region as part of the ISAS reaccreditation process. The Board reviewed this input and detailed reports, as well as additional assessments completed by trustees, faculty and staff, in multiple sessions during the summer and fall of 2015 to create, refine and ultimately approve the Board’s vision statement in January 2016 to set the course for the School. Kinkaid’s vision: To be a premier, nationally recognized Pre-K through 12th grade school; to deliver an unparalleled student experience through a balanced education, exceptional faculty and staff, world-class campus and long-held core values; to achieve performance excellence in all facets of operations. Dr. Andrews notes, “Our vision is about identifying ways that we can and must improve for our children and their future. At the same time, the vision is centered on protecting what is central, enduring and distinct about our school. Our longstanding signature traditions, our core values and our mission are not changing.”
Here’s a brief explanation of some of the key phrases in the vision. Premier: Kinkaid aspires to be one of the highest performers among a small
group of similarly focused, prestigious schools in the country. Part of being a premier institution includes leading, while also having an absolute focus on excelling at what we believe is best for our school.
Nationally Recognized: By way of achievements across a broad spectrum
of academic and curricular activities, Kinkaid students, alumni, faculty and the School will garner positive attention on a national scale. The School will seek excellence in a variety of areas, which include programmatic and curricular successes as well as in-state and out-of-state collegiate selections, to validate performance and help drive recognition.
Pre-K through 12th Grade: Kinkaid’s pre-K through 12th grade compo-
sition is an important distinction that drives a sense of community, which places the School among a smaller subset of schools and helps to foster pride and school spirit.
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WIDESPREAD INPUT
150+
people involved in vision and strategy
100+ meetings and discussions
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involved participants
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collective hours
AROUND CAMPUS
The Board charged the administration and school leadership to create a strategic implementation plan based on the Board’s vision. The administrative leadership team, over a nine month period, gathered additional input from faculty and staff across all three divisions and held numerous meetings to review the findings. This process led to the development of the strategic implementation plan, Balanced Excellence, with four pillars - called Strategic Imperatives - to accomplish the Board’s vision in the coming years. In September 2016, the Board of Trustees approved the imperatives: Unparalleled Student Experience, Performance Excellence, One Kinkaid and Commitment to Balance. Dr. Martire explains, “Balanced Excellence describes what the strategic plan really is all about: making our school the best school we can be for our students and balancing so many of the needs and challenges our students face and will face during their time at Kinkaid and beyond. This is an important statement to our students, our faculty and staff and our parents of both the balance and excellence that we expect at Kinkaid.”
Here is a short summary of what each imperative means. Unparalleled Student Experience begins with students being at
the center of everything that the School does. It also describes how Kinkaid will provide each student with a breadth and depth of exceptional opportunities in academics, athletics and the arts. The School will continue to create an environment for every student to explore learning while stretching their minds and pushing their personal growth.
Performance Excellence describes the standards set for high quality work and the goals for which all faculty, staff and administrators will be responsible. This imperative is how engagement, effectiveness, collaboration and creativity will be measured and how operating systems will be improved. It also involves furthering an institution-wide commitment to faculty/staff professional development that is linked to departmental and divisional goals. One Kinkaid is the embodiment of students having a unifying school experience at Kinkaid. It describes the School’s approach to improving the alignment of curriculum and programs, improving transitions for students and families from one division to the next, regularly embracing the four core values of honesty, respect, responsibility and kindness and strengthening our school community.
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
Commitment to Balance means Kinkaid will place a special emphasis on balance as it relates to the health and well being of students, faculty and staff, such as providing counseling for each student around “total load”. It also speaks to how school operations will be managed and to the approach taken to integrate academics, athletics and arts. An intentional focus on balance will positively affect each of the other imperatives. Dr. Martire believes a focus on balance is critically important. “We understand it is increasingly hard for students to do it all, particularly to do it all at a high level. We must find ways and strategies to help foster a balance, not only for our students, but for our departments, academic divisions and the whole school.” Dr. Andrews is very pleased with the extensive planning process. “The vision and strategic implementation plan provide a long-range direction that the School will aspire to achieve every day. The vision also requires a commitment to continuous improvement because our students deserve it and their futures require it. It will not be easy to achieve and there are no shortcuts. We understand that we must honor and build upon but cannot rest on who we are today or yesterday’s accomplishments or reputation.” Dr. Martire looks forward to providing updates on Balanced Excellence in the months ahead through publications and electronic communication. Please contact Andy Martirie at andy. martire@kinkaid.org with any questions or for further information.
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
19th Annual Zack Semander Memorial Golf Tournament It was a beautiful day on October 17 at BraeBurn Country Club for the 19th Annual Zack Semander Memorial Golf Tournament. 125 Kinkaid alumni, parents and friends came out to play and together raised over $70,000 for the John Germann Endowed Scholarship. Many thanks to tournament chair Adam Altsuler ’92 and co-chair Bruce Bilger ’00 for helping to make this event another success!
Mike Maggi, John Chapoton ‘84 (fs), David Wynne, Billy McCartney
Lauren Taft ‘97, Katherine George, Lauren Epley, Allison Crosswell ‘92
Holden Burrow ‘87, Diego Ouchic, John Reckling, Paul Daily ‘88
Louis Pearce ‘95, Forrest Wynn ‘95 8
Chuck Helms ‘04, Brian Kaplan ‘04, Jim Thomson ‘05, John Bell ‘04
Mark Breeding ‘74
Frank Verducci, David Leiman ‘99
AROUND CAMPUS
Jeff Martin ‘78, Christopher Carothers, Eric Ladin ‘97
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
Christopher Carothers, Caryl Carothers, Jeff
The AJ Carothers Visiting Artist Series This past August we welcomed our second AJ Carothers Visiting Artist — this time with TWO incredibly talented alumni! Comedy writer Jeff Martin ’78 and actor Eric Ladin ’97 returned to Kinkaid for two eventful days to share their experiences throughout their careers in Hollywood. Christopher Carothers, son of AJ Carothers ’50, served as our moderator for the opening event which attracted a capacity crowd of parents, students, alumni and friends in the Black Box Theatre. Later that evening, a Tex-Mex dinner in honor of our wonderful guests was held at the home of Marjory and Jim Nigro. The following day, Jeff, Eric and Christopher returned to campus to bring their knowledge of showbiz to some of the upper school fine arts classes.
Eric and Jeff with Patty Edwards
Ladin Strauss ‘24, Scott Altsuler ‘22 as Bart Simpson, Daryn Mehling ‘21 as Marge Simpson, Cameron Dillon ‘26
The AJ Carothers ’50 Visiting Artist Series brings distinguished guest artists to Kinkaid to share their expertise and experiences with the Kinkaid Community. AJ was a talented and prolific writer for film, television and theatre who returned often to Kinkaid, giving generously of his time and creative talents. Many thanks to the Nigros and all of our donors for supporting this wonderful event!
Jeff, Marjory Nigro, Elizabeth Bratton ‘78 9
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Book Fair 2016
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nce again, Book Fair was a huge success for Kinkaid’s libraries and students, with two gyms completely transformed for two days into a bookworm’s paradise. And Gurple, our bespectacled Book Fair mascot, was on hand to prove it! In its 66th year, Book Fair hosted four visiting authors, six Kinkaid community authors and served 800 Family Night diners, with catering by Pappas Bar-B-Que, while shoppers drank over 400 cups of coffee and perused more than 3,800 titles. Heartfelt thanks to our Book Fair Chairs Joy Randall 2016, Kristen Buck 2017 and Kay Lobb 2018 and their dedicated team of 300+ volunteers, Underwriters, Friends of the Libraries, shoppers and facilities staff for making Book Fair 2016 a best-seller!
Book Fair Chairs Kay Lobb 2018, Joy Randall 2016, Kristen Buck 2017
Elizabeth Nevins ‘23, Lauren Byrd ‘23, Claire Wexler ‘23, Hope Haynes ‘23
Coach Steve Maas, Maddie Maas ‘25
Julia Gregg DeWalch ‘81, visiting author Grace Terry Gorgeson ‘81, Emily McKay Sullivan ‘81
Miriam Meyers and Gabriel Meyers ‘23
Blake Davidson ‘26, Davis McMayon ‘26, George Hemingway ‘26
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Lucy Knauth ‘23, visiting author Johnny Carrabba, Gurple, Jordan Grace Mumphrey ‘23, Rosie Carrabba
AROUND CAMPUS
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
Falcon Family Feast
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he annual Falcon Family Feast and Kinkaid versus St. John’s football game on October 28 was one for the books! With record attendance, over 2,500 families tailgated with Fuddruckers burgers, a DJ, face paint and lots of Falcon spirit! Many thanks to the feast chairs Mequet Werlin and Allison Wise for their hard work in making the event such a success! We’ll see all you Falcon Fans for the 2017 Feast on November 3!
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Third Grade Grandparents’ Day On November 18, third grade students showed their gratitude just in time for Thanksgiving with their Grandparents’ Day program, Give Thanks! Grandparents and special friends were treated to a Musical Celebration of Life’s Many Joys and were interviewed by their favorite cub reporters with hard hitting questions like “What’s the best thing about being a grandparent?” Grandparents’ Day, of course!
Evan Rohde ‘26 and Thomas Baudat
Greg Jones, Harper Brown ‘26, Kathryn Jones
Jimmy Frankel ‘69, Millie Frankel ‘26, Carol Frankel, Kristina Frankel
Laine Wise ‘26 and Robert Wise
Joan McFarland, Christian McCleary’26, Sandra McBride
Van Fadulu, Jacqueline Fadulu, Andre Fadulu ‘26, Sunday Fadulu, Sr.
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Leslie Ballard Hull ‘93, Katherine Hull ‘26, Mark Hull ‘94 (fs), Jennie and Ralph Hull
AROUND CAMPUS
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
Retired Faculty and Staff Holiday Luncheon
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etired Kinkaid faculty and staff were welcomed back to campus on December 7 to reminisce and indulge in a holiday luncheon with friends and former colleagues. Attendees were amazed by a tour of the new dining center and parking garage and shared lots of hugs, good conversation and holiday cheer!
Jim Hunter, Burr Furlong, Cynthia Furlong
Linda Case, Susan Little, Cindy Holubec
Harriett Semander and JoAnna Semander Nicoloau ’84
Standing Back Row: L – R Burr Furlong, Fred Fischer, Sally Horrigan, Barbara Graham Williams, Jane Di Paolo, Linda Case, Martha Lein, Maria Lacy, Joan Seale, Katie Wagner, Herman Keith, Lynn Locher, Barbara Cooney, Brenda Meyer, Martin Caylor, Harriett Semander Seated Back Row: L – R Jackie Martinson, Bettie Hankamer, Sue Silvey, Susan Little, Gloria Fishman, Ruth Ereli, Chris Gehrman Seated Front Row: L – R Bill Glick, Jim Hunter, Peter Pickett, Lynn Meyer Fort ’68, Bill McKinley, Jeanne Alsup, Nancy Eason
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Mack Brown and Kay English
Coaches Mack & Mac — A Winning Combination
John Hrncir, Garrett Hrncir ‘95 (fs), Betty Hrncir, Mack Brown, Garry McMillan, Trent Hrncir ‘99
Mack Brown, former head football coach for the University of Texas, was our 2017 McMillan Character Education Speaker. On Wednesday, January 25, Coach Brown came to campus for an exciting day of activities. He joined members of the athletic staff for lunch before speaking to the Upper School during Assembly. Coach Brown discussed the importance of leadership, making the right decisions and how to be successful. Later that evening, trustees and other special guests of the Hrncir family had the opportunity to mingle with Mack and take photos. The evening ended with over 450 members of the Kinkaid community hearing an incredible Q&A session between Coach Brown and local sports anchor Matt Musil from Channel 11 News. The McMillan Character Education Speaker Series is funded by the Hrncir family and welcomes speakers to Kinkaid to promote character development, integrity, enthusiasm, love of youth and athletics. In 2010 the series was named in honor of Coach Garry McMillan, who embodies all the aspects that the Hrncir family envisioned this series would be about. Thank you to Coach Mack Brown and to Betty and John Hrnicir for an incredible day!
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John Adkins, Jr. ‘12, Cynthia Adkins, Mack Brown, John Adkins, Sr.
Mack Brown and “Coach Mac” Garry McMillan
Matt Musil and Mack Brown
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Wellness at Kinkaid Nurturing Mind and Body
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Interim Term Foundations of Yoga Class
W
hile the overall well-being of Kinkaid students has been a top priority for the School since the earliest days of Mrs. Kinkaid’s oneroom classroom, over time the increasing need for a more structured wellness program became evident. The genesis of a formal wellness program began seven years ago when Kinkaid faculty, administrators and coaches met to discuss their concerns about overall student wellness. The initial conversations were about sleep, stress, over-scheduling and what the School could do to support the overall health of its students. They learned that the School already had many initiatives related to wellness — an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life, including physical, emotional and social well-being — but they felt that these initiatives needed a school-wide direction and organization.
Tyler Higby ‘15 & Dr. Simpson talk to Kindergartners about persistence
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This group’s dedication and concern for students led to the creation of The Kinkaid Wellness Committee in 2010 to increase
emphasis and coordination of wellness activities. Today, Director of Wellness Cheryl Mitchell leads these efforts, with the strong support of Headmaster Andy Martire and Assistant Headmaster Ed Trusty. The following is an overview of Kinkaid’s multi-faceted approach to providing a healthy, balanced experience for all students. The foundations of wellness begin in the Lower School, where Pre-K through first grade students participate in MindUP, a curriculum that teaches the key parts of the brain and the science behind how the brain influences their thinking, emotions and behavior. Students also learn about mindfulness and its techniques to better pay attention to their thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations. Growth mindset traits of optimism, resilience,
WINTER/SPRING 2017
8th grade peer mentors work on team building with 6th graders
flexibility, persistence and empathy are taught to Pre-K through fourth grade students through classroom read-alouds and conversations. Additionally, wellness topics such as healthy eating, importance of sleep, healthy friendships and kindness are woven into a variety of lessons taught each day in lower school classrooms. Through daily physical education, students work on fitness, strength and teamwork and have the opportunity to discuss and practice the traits of empathy, grit and optimism. These lessons are further reinforced during a weekly spot on KLS News by Lower School Counselor Dr. Nancy Simpson and Lower School Wellness Director Molly Higby.
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ellness in the Middle School reinforces concepts learned in Lower School and introduces mentoring programs and wellness assemblies. Seventh graders get an extra dose of wellness education through a Human Development class focusing on stress management, healthy eating, the importance of sleep, building healthy relationships and mindfulness. Learning from positive role models is an important part of wellness education. In the Middle School Peer Mentor Program, seventh and eighth grade students provide mentorship to aid fifth and sixth grade students in
their transition to Middle School. Interested students apply for peer mentor positions and work in teams with their advisory groups throughout the year. They design and lead a series of activities and discussions on team-building, social relationships, cybercitizenship and academic skills. The Upper School to Middle School Peer Counseling Program (US2MS) was created by a Kinkaid upper school student who remembered the challenges of middle school and wanted to serve as a role model and mentor to middle school students. Upper and middle school counselors Dr. Laura Lomax-Bream and Dr. Jay Glynn train a small group of upper school students who attend seventh and eighth grade class meetings to discuss issues such as bullying, body image, social media, healthy friendships and stress, while serving as positive role models. Two middle school assemblies each school year are dedicated to wellness. This fall, students heard from sports dietitian and consultant to Kinkaid Athletics, Roberta Anding, R.D., about the importance of healthy nutrition, hydration and the Kinkaid Healthy Plate, which she developed to teach students how to make healthier choices when choosing foods in the new dining center. The spring assembly will focus on the importance of sleep.
“Kinkaid is committed to creating a safe, welcoming and joyful place to learn where every child’s well-being is important.” Director of Wellness Cheryl Mitchell
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Senior peer mentors mix it up with freshmen at the Freshman Retreat
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n the Upper School, mentoring among students continues with advisory groups and the Upper School Peer Mentor Program. Peer mentors are a select group of seniors who mentor freshmen during the school year. The peer mentors plan and implement the programming for Freshman Orientation and the Freshman Retreat. Additionally, they hold bi-weekly lunch meetings with their advisory groups. Topics covered include tips for managing academic workload, the importance of sleep, navigating friendships, peer pressure, social media health and safety, stress and any questions or the worries the freshmen want to discuss. Peer mentors also plan Wellness Week, which offers students fun, interactive activities and dress-up days to focus attention on wellness. Decisions, a semester long course for ninth graders, provides research based curriculum, weekly mindfulness study and opportunities for students to study and discuss topics such as healthy relationships, navigating social media, goal setting, depression and resiliency, study strategies, stress and stress management, alcohol and other drug education and healthy sexuality. These discussions are reinforced in advisory groups comprised of one faculty member and 10-12 students. Advisory groups, which remain together through graduation, meet weekly and strive to build
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connections and create a safe space to discuss wellness related issues. Most students start driving during their sophomore year, making it a pivotal year for the booster classes provided by Sophomore Health and Wellness Day covering alcohol awareness, skills to counter negative peer pressure, healthy relationships and tools for stress management. The Transitions program in the spring teaches seniors tools for their transition to college life with topics such as alcohol, nutrition in the dining hall, dating, working through roommate issues and staying safe on campus. As many middle and upper school students play competitive sports, Kinkaid athletics plays a big role in student life and acts as an extension of the wellness classroom where students learn the importance of hard work, cooperation with teammates, respect for opponents, competing with heart and learning to win or lose with dignity. Kinkaid Director of Sport Psychology John Couture meets with coaches, teams and individual players about positive mindsets, goal setting, tools to be a supportive teammate, tools to control the “controllables” and the definition of success. Roberta Anding returned to Kinkaid in February to speak to spring sport athletes and their parents about hydration and proper nutrition for athletes.
Interim Term Kale & Kickboxing Class
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Kinkaid faculty and staff participated in wellness activities this year, too. The Faculty Mindfulness Study Group, led by upper school teacher Christa Forster, meets once a month to practice mindfulness and study its benefits. The Faculty and Staff Fitness Challenge encourages health and fitness while honoring former Kinkaid parents, Dawn and Antonio Armstrong (see sidebar). The Wellness Committee also supports wellness education opportunities for parents. During her fall visit to the Middle School, Roberta Anding was joined by Betsy King, R.D. to present to the parent community about nutrition and the healthy features of the new dining center. The Kinkaid parent community also heard from Dr. Leonard Sax, MD, PhD, bestselling author of parenting books including his most recent, The Collapse of Parenting. Prevention specialists from Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD), a global, non-profit substance abuse prevention organization, spoke with middle and upper school students, as well as parents, about keeping healthy teens healthy.
Kinkaid strives for excellence for its students in all areas, and balance is no exception. Over the last seven years, the Kinkaid wellness program has made great strides toward its original goal of helping students Pre-K through grade 12 to be emotionally, physically and socially healthy individuals. Its efforts are timed perfectly for a world where demands on students’ time and attention continue to create new and greater obstacles to keeping a Students demonstrate that supportive friends matter at Sophomore healthy balance. Lessons Health & Wellness Day learned through wellness education will support students during their years at Kinkaid and provide them with the tools to navigate challenges as they transition into future phases of life so that nurturing kids, mind and body, may translate into healthy, well-balanced adults.
Faculty and Staff Fitness Challenge in Honor of Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Cheryl met with Headmaster Andy Martire over the summer, and he had the idea of starting a fitness challenge to honor Dawn and Antonio, their deep commitment to health and fitness and their joy of life. This past fall, randomly assigned teams of two faculty/staff tracked their individual and collective minutes of exercise for ten weeks. The three pairs with the highest total minutes of exercise completed won prizes, as well as an increased level of fitness!
Congratulations to the fall winners! Mr. Dennis Kliza and Ms. Lisa Curry Mrs. Mariana Schneller and Ms. Marina Barros Ms. Tatum Branaman and Mrs. Lauri Anderson
Dawn and Antonio Armstrong were vibrant, well-loved members of the Kinkaid community, and their untimely passing left a void in many hearts. Their absence can still be felt keenly, particularly around the courts and playing fields where they were commonly found cheering on their own children and other Kinkaid teams or encouraging members of the Kinkaid faculty and staff through morning workouts. Cheryl Mitchell, Kinkaid Wellness Director, coach and faculty member, joined the morning workout group Antonio led last school year and says, “He was truly one of the most inspirational, generous and kind human beings I have ever had the privilege to know. Antonio had a special talent for demanding excellence and hard work, but he did it in such a loving and encouraging way that the experience was powerful and positive. I always talked to Dawn at Kinkaid games and events - she was also a loving, caring and positive person. They both made health and wellness a way of life each and every day and encouraged others to live life to the fullest.” It is in the Armstrong’s honor that the Kinkaid Faculty and Staff Fitness Challenge was created.
The Challenge is a win-win as entry fees each fall and spring will be donated in Dawn and Antonio’s honor to a charity of the Armstrong family’s choice, with $500 going to a holiday toy drive this past December. The spring Challenge kicked off in January and is well underway with teams of three tracking their progress on a measurable fitness goal such as number of steps taken each week, number of minutes exercised, number of pounds lost or number of fitness classes attended over the next ten weeks. Each individual determines a personal fitness/ health goal, and the team will help encourage and inspire each other as Dawn and Antonio inspired them. Team Beccarol — Becca Hobbs, Carol Baumgarth
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Athletics Review Boys Cross Country
Boys Volleyball
South Zone Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3rd Place
Overall Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3–15
SPC Tournament Finish . . . . . . . . . .6th Place
Conference Record . . . . . . . . . . . . .2–12
All South Zone: 2nd Place – Dz Zavitsanos ’18
SPC Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5th Place in South Zone
4th Place – Socs Zavitsanos ’18 14th Place – Andres Melendez ’18 15th Place – Oscar Melendez ’17
All South Zone: Alex Frumovitz ’19 All SPC: Brian Xu ’20
All SPC: 3rd Place – Dz Zavitsanos ’18 – 16:31.3
Girls Volleyball Girls Cross Country
Overall Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13–21
South Zone Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1st Place
Conference Record . . . . . . . . . . . . .1–5
SPC Tournament Finish . . . . . . . . .1st Place – SPC Champions All South Zone: 1st Place – Camila Vicens ’20 3rd Place – Ali Ammons ’18
SPC Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7th Place in South Zone All South Zone: Onuchi Ndee ’19 All SPC: Chinaza Ndee ’17
6th Place – Alexandra Blake ’20 7th Place – Caroline Keller ’19 9th Place – Lindsey Ho ’19 All SPC: 2nd Place – Camila Vicens ’20 – 18:29.6 6th Place – Mikela McCauley ’19 – 19:18.9 9th Place – Alexandra Blake ’20 – 19:47.7 10th Place – Ali Ammons ’18 – 19:59.5
HJPC Finishes Boys MS Cross Country – 8th Place Girls MS Cross Country – 4th Place 1st Place: Alison Zhang ’21 – 13:57, 8th Grade Girls HJPC Cross–Country Champion 6th Place: Victoria Gonzalez ’22 7th Place: Zoe Price ’21
Field Hockey Overall Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19–4 Conference Record . . . . . . . . . . . . .4–1 SPC Tournament Finish . . . . . . . . . .6th Place All South Zone: Ellie Bolin ’18, Belle Martire ’18 All SPC: Caroline Hanan ’18, Belle Martire ’18
Football Overall Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7–3 Conference Record . . . . . . . . . . . . .4–2 SPC Tournament Finish . . . . . . . . . .3rd Place in 4A Division All South Zone: Kirby Cravens ’17, Adam Harter ’18, Pierce Johnson ’17, Rob Lahourcade ’17 All SPC: Marquis Hubbard ’18, Ben Padon ’17, Johnathon Thomas ’18, Josh Williams ’19
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8th Grade Field Hockey – 3rd Place; 2 seed in tournament, lost 1–0 to St. John’s in the Semi–finals on the last play of the game 8th Grade Football – 3rd Place; 4 seed going into the Consolation game, beat St. Francis 12–8 Boys MS Volleyball – 3rd Place; 3 seed in tournament, lost 2–0 to St. John’s in the Semi–finals Girls MS Volleyball – 2nd Place; 11–2 conference record, 2 seed in tournament, lost to St. Francis in the Championship game
AT H L E T I C S
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
Kinkaid Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) At the end of the last school year, the Athletics Department established a new leadership group to give student athletes, who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to Kinkaid Athletics, the opportunity to have a voice and develop the leadership qualities that will help them be successful on and off the field/court. Modeling the organization of the same name established at the collegiate level, Kinkaid unveiled its own Student Athlete Advisory Committee. The mission of the Kinkaid Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is to enhance the Kinkaid student athlete experience by teaching and cultivating leadership opportunities, promoting awareness of Kinkaid athletics, providing insight to the student athlete experience and contributing feedback for athletics policies, programs and culture. SAAC is sponsored by the Athletics Department under the direction of Stacey Marshall and Steve Maas. It is comprised of 12 students (six male and six female) in grades 10-12. The selected students participated in leadership training sessions over the summer to help organize and establish their purpose, goals and objectives. In its inaugural year, the group elected to establish three sub-committees centered on community service, school spirit and character/leadership. The Community Service Committee is composed of Farise Cravens ’19, Andrew
Committee members Katherine Berman ‘18, Farise Cravens ‘19, Julia Lasater ‘18, Marquis Hubbard ‘18
Deutser ’19, Katherine Jacobe ’19 and Ford Young ’17. Sub-committee members have been partnering with the Community Service Council to set up team community service opportunities with the winter and spring sports. Katherine Berman ’18, Sarah Fullenweider ’17, Oscar Melendez ’17 and Mitchell Roberts ’18 make up the Spirit Committee and were heavily involved in assisting with an additional pep rally in the fall and the Fall SPC send off. The Leadership Committee members are Nia Caldwell ’18, Marquis Hubbard ’18 Julia Lasater ’18 and Michael McKean ’18. They have promoted leadership through skits on KLS News and are currently in the process of working with the win-
ter programs to set up a buddy system between the middle and upper school athletic programs. All 12 SAAC members began the year by making an inspirational video about what it means to be a Falcon. The video was shared with the students during an assembly, with the parents during Back to School Night and used as the centerpiece for the Athletics table at the Admission Open House. The future looks bright for Kinkaid’s SAAC as they continue to foster the skills necessary to lead their teammates and fellow student body as ambassadors for the Athletic Department and create new ways for student athletes to connect with multiple facets of the school and community.
SPC Champs! The Kinkaid Varsity Girls Cross Country Team raced to a first place finish at the 2016 SPC Girls Cross Country Championship held at St. Andrew’s School in Austin! Pictured are teammates: Front Row L-R: Lindsey Ho ‘19, Alexandra Blake ‘20, Ali Ammons ‘18, Mikela McCauley ‘19, Camila Vicens ‘20, AnaClare Solé ‘19, Margaret Durning ‘17 Back Row L-R: Jordan Jafarnia ‘19, Caroline Keller ‘19, Mitali Sharma ‘17, Sophia Solé ‘17, Whitney Burke ‘17, Rebecca Noel ‘17, Marie Parra ‘17, Audrey Ho ‘19
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Athletics Review
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AT H L E T I C S
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING
FA L L
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Fine Arts Review Fall Fine Arts Review
T
he fall season of the Arts provided our students with numerous opportunities to showcase the creativity, ingenuity and excellence we have come to expect from our Falcon Artists. Some of the Arts highlights include:
Visual Arts: Our galleries in each the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools are filled to the brim with student art. Kinkaid student submissions to competitions are being met with exuberant responses as our students hear back from competitions that recognize them on the local, state and national levels. August: Lower, middle and upper school students through acting, song and dance proved to the new-to-Kinkaid parents that our students “Can’t Stop the Beat” of all the opportunities that Kinkaid offers in academics, arts and athletics. September: The AJ Carothers Visiting Artist series allowed students the opportunity to hear from Kinkaid alums, Eric Ladin ’97 and Jeff Martin ’78, as they explored the relationship between the Actor and the Writer. October: The Theatre Company’s production of You Can’t Take it With You reminded us all of the importance of living in the moment. Our technical theatre students produced a set for that show that would rival any theatre in the city! The Dance Company explored ballet, modern, jazz, tap and hip-hop in a fall show that culminated in an amazing 15 minute Bob Fosse piece.
November: The middle and upper school choirs proved we are ushering in an impressive new era of choral music at Kinkaid. Kinkaid’s esteemed Children’s Theatre program presented an immersive production of Alice in Wonderland that included a tea party with the characters. The upper school band, which had been playing weekly cheering our football team on, joined with the middle school bands to explore a variety of different musical styles. The staggering numbers of students involved in our orchestra program filled the Brown Auditorium with the sounds of some of music history’s greatest composers. Creative Writing students had their largest audience ever as they filled the Commons for a night of readings, and Encore presented a rousing show featuring opening numbers from some of musical theatre’s most famous shows. December: The Margaret Kinkaid Holiday Concert allowed almost 200 of our music students to showcase their talents while heralding in the holiday season.
You Can’t Take It With You
Dance Company —That’s Dancin’
Margaret Kinkaid Holiday Concert
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Alice in Wonderland
FINE ARTS
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
Fine Arts Leadership Board members: Back L – R: Ashton Lambert ’18, Willy DuCharme ’17, Ryan Vu ’17, Evan Rosen ’17 Middle L – R: Tommy Ereli ’17, Robin Kate Davis ’17, Crafton Deal ’18, Front L – R: Lauren Rice ’18, Halle Baerenstecher ’18, Kelley Orr ’18, Chelsea Collmer ’17
Hannah Chambers ’17 – Overlooking
Fine Arts Leadership Board Established two years ago, the Fine Arts Leadership Board, according to its mission statement, “aims to nourish awareness and understanding of the arts in all their forms in our school community. By supporting events sponsored by the Fine Arts Department and making recommendations concerning school policies, programs and the use of our facilities, we hope to encourage participation and promote the success of Kinkaid’s visual and performing arts courses and extra-curricular activities.” The Board is comprised of juniors and seniors who apply and are selected by the entire Fine Arts faculty. Student leaders this year are: Halle Baerenstecher ’18, Chelsea Collmer ’17, Robin Kate Davis ’17, Crafton Deal ’18, Willy DuCharme ’17, Tommy Ereli ’17, Ashton Lambert ’18, Brock Looser ’17, Ella Rose Morgan ’17, Kelley Orr ’18, Lauren Rice ’18, Evan Rosen ’17, Ryan Vu ’17 and Kristine Yang ’17. Last year’s Board hosted the school’s first Coffeehouse, an event that brought students from grades 9-12 together to share vocal performances, spoken word and acting scenes. Almost 200 students came to support the event last year, and Senior Willy DuCharme remarked that he wanted to “make this year’s Coffeehouse even better than last year’s.” Additionally, students this year were excited to be involved in the selection of the new Director of Visual and Performing Arts and are hoping to create more opportunities where the arts can be front and center in our community. Senior Chelsea Collmer hopes that through her work on this year’s Board she can, “make a lasting impact for the grades below to help build the arts.” Finally, students on the Board recognize the importance of the arts in our community and hope to spread that message to other students. Senior Brock Looser sums it up best: “I can express myself through art. I also love telling stories and hope that I can impact someone’s life the way art has impacted me through opening minds, warming hearts and changing perspectives.”
Fall Choir Concert
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Fine Arts Review
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FINE ARTS
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE
2017 Distinguished Alumni
Distinguished Honorary Alumna Harriett Vatsures Semander Harriett Vatsures Semander was born in 1933, the youngest of four children, to Greek Orthodox immigrant parents. Throughout high school, she received four National Scholastic League Art Awards and was inducted into the National Honor Society. She graduated in 1950 and was awarded a PTA scholarship to study art at Southern Methodist University. Later, Harriett began a business career at Texaco Oil Company but still enjoyed sketching portraits as a hobby. Before she married and moved to Houston in 1960, Harriett lived in Europe for four months and toured the Scandinavian countries. In 1973, Harriett joined Kinkaid’s Lower School as a fourth grade aide. In addition, she assisted in the business office during the summer months and eventually secured the position of Middle School Registrar/Secretary and School Nurse under Principal Arthur Goddard. As the part-time nurse, Harriett realized the importance of a school healthcare program and successfully advocated for Kinkaid to hire a full time RN and construct an infirmary for the students. In addition, Harriett was at the forefront of appealing to the School to computerize report cards and grading. After a personal tragedy, Harriett organized a crime victims awareness community service project to educate and sensitize middle school students to the violence in our city. This project won the Becky Reed Award from The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children and was made available for other schools to use nationwide. Harriett’s volunteer work as an advocate for crime victims’ rights in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) 28
and via legislation was unmatched. From 1982-2005, she served on several crime victims committees and boards including: TDCJ Victims Advisory Committee, Parents of Murdered Children, Justice For All and Mayoral Task Forces on Crime. It was Harriett’s efforts that ultimately led to the creation of a separate crime victim’s division within the TDCJ. Furthermore, Harriett represented victims and testified before the State Legislature to change important laws, especially the mandatory early release law of violent offenders. In 2005, in recognition of her contributions to uphold victims’ rights, Harriett received the national Paul H. Chapman Award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice and the Leon Goldstein Award from Houston Crime Stoppers. Houston Mayor Bill White proclaimed March 1, 2005 as Harriett Semander Day. She also participated in two Crime Victim/Inmate mediation programs at Jester II Prison (Sycamore Tree and Bridges To Life). Harriett is the widow of former Kinkaid math teacher Zahari (Zack) Semander. They have four children: Elena Semander ’79, Maria Semander Crawford ’82, JoAnna Semander Nicolaou ’84, John Semander ’88 and five grandsons: Ace Nicolaou ’17, Zack Nicolaou ’20 and Pete Nicolaou ’23, and Daniels and Zane Crawford who live in California. Harriett has retired as a spokesperson for victims’ rights and currently spends her time ministering to widows and foster children. She is grateful for the blessings in her life and gives thanks to the Grace of God for her strength and courage over the years.
Outstanding Alumni Service Award Dunbar N. Chambers, Jr. ’53 Dunbar N. Chambers, Jr., was born on November 4, 1934 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He moved to Houston in 1945 and attended Kinkaid when the school’s campus was still located on Richmond Avenue. Dunbar graduated from Kinkaid in 1953, and he subsequently attended Georgia Tech University and the University of Texas. Following college, Dunbar joined the Farnsworth and Chambers Company as an estimator. F&C was a multistate construction firm founded by his father, Dunbar Chambers, Sr. Dunbar’s father was a member of the Kinkaid Board of Trustees from 1949 – 1954 and held the position of Board Chair during the 1953-54 school year. Dunbar, Sr. was also part of the committee that made the decision to move Kinkaid to its current campus in Memorial. From 1957 to 1978, Dunbar focused his efforts on construction and commercial real estate development in Houston, while simultaneously operating both a construction company in Honduras working on major infra-structure and road projects in that country, as well as running a Caterpillar machinery dealership. In 1978, Dunbar started an aggregates extraction and mining operation west of Houston, which has serviced the greater Houston metro area for the last 43 years. In addition to graduating from Kinkaid, Mr. Chambers has been a very involved Falcon for many years. He has served Kinkaid in several capacities, including being one of the founding members of the Kinkaid Alumni Association Board and serving as Board Chair during the 1991-92 school year. Dunbar is also one of the remaining members of the Kinkaid Richmond Guard. Dunbar’s brother, John Chambers (fs), attended Kinkaid, and his sisters Erminie Chambers Chapman ’49 and Ruth Chambers Lewis ’47 both graduated from Kinkaid. Three of Mr. Chambers’ children (Dunbar “Trey” Chambers III ’77 (Joanna Gol ’77), Clayton Chambers ’78 and Patti Chambers Kohler ’81), as well as three grandchildren (Andrew Chambers ’05, David Chambers ’09 and Alexandra Gol-Chambers ’10), along with several nieces, nephews and other relatives have all graduated from Kinkaid. Dunbar is married to Trish Chambers whose son Brett Lum ’86 also graduated from Kinkaid. Dunbar’s youngest son Craig, as well as Trish’s other two sons, Brady and Mark, all attended St. John’s.
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Distinguished Alumna Erika Green Swafford ’90
Distinguished Young Alumnus Casey Paul Kaplan ’94
Erika Green Swafford is currently a Co-Executive Producer on ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. The television series has garnered Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice nominations as well as an historic Emmy win for its show’s lead, Viola Davis. In 2015, Erika won a prestigious NAACP Image Award for writing in a TV Drama and was nominated for another award in the same category in 2016. Previously, she worked on The Mentalist for CBS where she spent six seasons on the writing staff of the highly rated show after completing the Warner Bros. Writer’s Workshop. During her rise at The Mentalist, she was a part of the WGA’s inaugural Writer’s Access Project and participated in the CBS Women Writer’s Showcase.
Casey Paul Kaplan is an Assistant General Counsel and Director with Nike, Inc., in Beaverton, Oregon. At Nike, Casey manages global litigation and arbitration and conducts internal investigations for the company. Previously, he served as an attorney in the Division of Enforcement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Fort Worth, Texas, where he investigated allegations of accounting fraud, stock market manipulation and foreign bribery by publicly traded companies. Prior to his government service, Casey was an attorney with the international law firm of K&L Gates LLP, serving as a member of the government enforcement and commercial litigation practice groups.
Erika began her career not in entertainment but in the hospitality industry after graduating from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, where she lettered in Track and Field and was a part of the team that won the Indoor Heptagonal Championships her freshman year. She went on to earn an MBA at the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and used the degree to transition into entertainment.
While at K&L Gates, Casey worked on a case that was pivotal to his career. From 2011 until 2013, he managed the habeas corpus litigation on behalf of Texas Death Row inmate Alfred Dewayne Brown. Mr. Brown spent 10 years on Death Row for a crime he did not commit. While managing the case, Casey and his colleagues uncovered the critical piece of evidence that led to the exoneration of Mr. Brown and to his freedom – a phone record that was never turned over by the Harris County District Attorney and which supported Mr. Brown’s alibi. Casey personally negotiated an agreement with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office whereby the DA recommended that Mr. Brown have his conviction overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. It was the first instance of agreed relief in a capital murder case – without DNA evidence – by the Harris County DA in decades.
After graduate school, Erika joined Oxygen Cable Network before its launch, working on the production side before becoming an executive in their Acquisitions and Co-productions department. The department was responsible for bringing shows like Snapped, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson and the reboot of Absolutely Fabulous to air, as well as creating the network’s movie block and documentary shows. In addition to writing for television, Erika has written and performed multiple pieces on stage and has had several of her works included in the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, 15 Minutes of Femme, the All Girl Revue and Write Club. Born in Washington D.C., Erika spent her formative years in Houston where she developed her enduring love of theatre arts at the Kinkaid School. Her sister, Jessica Swafford Marcella ’98, is also a Kinkaid graduate. In her spare time, Erika teaches cooking classes, participates in philanthropy through Angelenos 4 LA, Step Up Los Angeles, mentors young women and girls of color and is involved in other civic endeavors focused on the betterment of the lives of minorities in the greater Los Angeles area.
During his years at Kinkaid, Casey was a varsity wrestler and was involved in the arts, specifically drama, as well as the Latin and Culture Clubs. Casey attended the University of Mary Washington and then Houston Baptist University, graduating in 1999 with a B.A. in English & Marketing. He later attended the University of Texas School of Law and graduated in 2007 with honors. He is married to Dr. Amanda Russell-Kaplan of Bakersfield, California, and, together, they have two children, Crawford and Isla. Casey and his family reside in Portland, Oregon.
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Class Notes & Alumni News 1930 – 1949
Jane Hoffert Moore ’46 Houston, TX 713-529-9700
1950 – 1957 Need Volunteers
1958
Linda Beeley Denison Houston, TX lindabdenison@comcast.net When I attended the lovely Alumni Holiday Party it was fun to see the amazing new Dining Center and the upstairs classrooms and great space for entertaining. I am convinced that our campus is second to no other High School in the country and it will be fascinating to watch the further expansion. Some in our class of ‘58 have grandchildren graduating from Kinkaid this year, including J.D. Dyer ’17 (Tami Baird Dyer) and Lawson Lamme ’17 (Lucy Lee Lamme). Carol Cockrell Curran and her husband Dick have purchased a new residence in Houston, which means they will spend more time here than in Austin. This is happy news for her Houston family and friends. We get to see Sally Eastham Chapoton occasionally when she comes to see her son and grandchildren who live here. Our classmates feel blessed to experience such exciting times in our country and it is a real joy to know that Kinkaid continues to excel in all areas of education. One Lucky Alum, Linda Beeley Denison
1959
Bob Cronin was in town visiting his older brother Tom ’54 and his younger sister Anne ’65. He is retired, living in the San Francisco Bay Area and putting a lot of miles on his bike. Peggy White Everhart and her husband Michael came from North Carolina to visit family in Texas. They are enjoying retirement as they travel the country in their Winnebago Motor Coach visiting children, grandchildren and places they have never been. Ann Gardner Arens (fs) and husband Jim drove in from their ranch near Brenham, where Ann manages their cattle operation. They relocated from a ranch near Durango, Colorado a couple of years ago. Ann is an acclaimed sculptor and plans to return to her art in a 120-year-old studio building on their property. Skip Hamilton came from New Braunfels where he has relocated away from the Guadalupe River after three devastating floods in the past year. Skip suffered a stroke a year ago and reports that recovery has led him to a more healthful diet and exercise routines (but that he does not recommend that route to an “aha moment”). Fred Knapp attended after a harrowing year that included spinal surgery, a life-threatening infection that kept him bed-ridden for months and a long period of physical therapy to regain his mobility. Despite it all, Freddy, a retired lawyer and avid sportsman, says he is “very blessed.” Sassy English Stanton and husband Bill Pinckard are brokers specializing in farm and ranch sales. Sassy’s two sons Troy ’89 and Austin ’92 (fs) Stanton have their own entrepreneurial businesses and maintain their respective offices with Sassy and Bill, which she describes as “a blessing.”
John Hagerman The Woodlands, TX johndhagerman@hotmail.com
Stuart Davis Blackshear and husband Gus have three grandchildren married and another engaged, plus a year-old great grandson.
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Also in attendance at the December lunch were: Kurth Brown, Richard Doehring ’61, David Frederking, Dale Gentry Schlatter, Suzanne Terry Smith and Skip Vaughan.
Allan Port Houston, TX allan.port@att.net Sassy English Stanton Houston, TX sassy@stanton-pinckard.com A couple of classmates were visiting family in Houston before Christmas
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and a group gathered for lunch at Memorial Park.
Virginia Howe Kincaid has been acting in community theatre for more than 45 years and has recently performed several roles in succession, including Lady Bird Johnson in the West Coast premiere of “Tea for Three” (with a 30-minute monologue) and Jessie in the comedy “Calendar Girls”. When not on stage, she enjoys retirement from a legal career,
loves living in the Pacific Northwest and dotes on her eight grandchildren. Susan Sneed Barksdale and husband John ’62 had a summer safari in Tanzania with Susan’s daughter Stacey Gillman Wimbish ’85 and her two children, which was “a long-time dream come true.” Harvey Kincaid works with a contract research organization in Indiana. He and Nancy spent three weeks in Europe with their two grandsons, ages 14 and 16. They were the youngest on the tour and were quickly adopted by the senior citizens, although separating them from their iPhones to see the castles was a “constant challenge.” As for your scribe, Allan Port: I am a retired lawyer living in Houston with wife Peggy (an artist) and am busy with athletics and board service with Scenic Houston and Scenic Texas, which promote the aesthetic environment. Son Hunter (fs) is a lawyer and daughter Maggie (fs) is pursuing her third master’s degree. Our class maintains a group e-mail chain and we pass around humor, news and nostalgia. Classmates who are not included should contact allan.port@att.net.
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Samuel Crocker Houston, TX samuelcrockerlaw@gmail.com The paltry response to pleas for updates makes me fear that more of our classmates have died than we knew about. Sleepers, wake! I learned sadly of the passing of Judy Foreman Slay, a dear friend to us all. Kenny Knapp, wife Mary Virginia and assorted kin have more time to enjoy the serenity of their two (not just one) cabins in Glacier National Park, a magical world. He made fellow carpenters out of Chuck Kennedy (deceased), Edward Baird (deceased) and Allan Klein ’62 who joined him in the construction efforts. Rita Johnson Wilder sent a great update! She and Gary remain active in real estate and banking. They downsized in Newport Beach, CA to an ocean-side condominium looking out on eternity. When they tire of the view, Key Biscayne beckons. Rita’s son Mark is a producer of surfing films and has one son. Rita’s daughter Nicole is a professional photographer specializing in publicity stills for the broadcast industry. Around the holidays, Nicole sends out captivating portraits of her handsome two
sons and dashing husband, Mark Shattuck. Her husband is a co-producer of Mad Men and other TV series that you get hooked on after episode #1. Fay Tiller Alexander found the ideal home for her math/tech smarts in a productive career at IBM. Upon retirement she headed for another admirable goal: teaching Computer Science full time at the College of the Mainland, preparing kids for the jobs of the future. She feeds the spiritual needs of her flock as a pianist at church and their temporal needs as an excellent cook, and for fun they sail forth on Galveston Bay. We longer-term Kinkaidians recall fondly the photogenic and melodious trio of Andrea Dixon Walker (fs), Margo Whitley Salmonsen (fs), and Donna Burton Hart singing “Blue Moon” in the auditorium of the “old school”. Sadly, Donna is no longer with us after a full life in Little Rock. Andrea moved to Savannah in 1970 where she worked for American Express until the local office closed in the wake of 9/11. She has two sons by her first marriage and another by Jim, to whom she has been married for 38 years. The recent arrival of “the” grandson makes her “the oldest first time grandmother in America.” She and Jim live in a restored period house in the lovely Historic District and they have set up a small B&B on the ground floor and welcome guests. KHS grads get free breakfasts! Andrea just departed Houston for home with her 102-yearold mother in tow. Inspiring! Margo’s husband Paul is the ophthalmologist of choice for many discriminating Houstonians, including many of us and other fellow Kinkaidians. After a very successful long ride as a nationally acclaimed equestrian her daughter Kate ’00 (fs) transformed herself into a successful lawyer (who in his/her right mind would dismount to become a lawyer?). Are we all still sharp? Do you remember whether you were Purple or Gold at Field Day? I am running low on updates so I have saved a paltry few for the next edition in case I need them. Prove that ’61 is alive, kicking and sharp.
1962
Adrian Turner Ross Houston, TX adrian@rexross.com Dear 1962 Classmates, Welcome to 2017. It is hard to believe that it has been 55 years since our
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graduation! Kinkaid will be celebrating all of the classes with increments of five or 10 years at the upcoming reunion weekend beginning on March 31st. Randi Fay Yocum, Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton (fs), Toni Walsh Duperier, Donna K. Donelson and John Barksdale are assisting the Kinkaid Advancement Office with the planning for our class dinner which will be held at The Forest Club on Saturday evening, April 1st. Stand by for more details! Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton (fs) is happy to report the birth of her fourth grandchild. In addition to that news, she continues to travel, most recently to Yucatan and England. Carolyn Ferguson Means and her husband Hal recently returned from a conference in New Orleans where she took a 15-hour exam to qualify to be a Certified Educational Planner. She says that she is thrilled to be done! They are currently planning a trip to Spain and France. Bill Blattner recently retired as Co-Founder of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland after 20 years. He is now living in Saint Augustine, Florida. He operates Salt Run Global Health and Research as a consulting firm where he continues to advise his colleagues in Nigeria in their work. Bill is definitely one of our classmates who has really made a difference in the world. Congratulations, Bill! I hope to see many of you in the spring during our 55th reunion weekend! Best wishes to everyone, Adrian Turner Ross
1963
Calanne Koenig Choate Pearland, TX mayamom@hotmail.com Hello, Class of 1963! I really enjoy reading your messages. The years are passing way too quickly! As always, I’ve enjoyed hearing from you. It takes me back to those wonderful times that we shared together. So here goes.... Ronnie Hankamer (fs) and his wife Kathy spent almost four months at their home in Beaver Creek, Colorado. He quipped that as old folks they can no longer handle the Houston weather. I certainly agree, don’t you? They are now back in Houston and enjoying the grandkids, three of whom are at Kinkaid. Our beloved Mary Nell Jeffers Lovett says: “This decade is moving along faster than any of us would prefer! Malcolm ’62 (fs) and I have enjoyed
time in France and Colorado this past spring and fall and are planning a “See America First” Southern coast road trip later this spring: Houston (with several stops along the way) to Charleston, SC and then through the North Carolina mountains back home. Any backseat driving survival tips are welcome. We spent Thanksgiving at our younger daughter’s (Kate Lovett Searls ’93) Round Top country home and Christmas in Telluride at our older daughter’s (Mary Eliza Lovett Shaper ’88) mountain home with both girls and their families. Oldest granddaughter Nell ’17 (fs) graduates from Choate in May so my next update may include her college choice! Cheers to all!” Thanks Mary Nell for all this wonderful news! Arnold Hebert reports: “Sharon and I are alive in the Paradise of Scottsdale. We ventured up to Buffalo to spend Christmas with our daughter and her family. Luckily, Buffalo did not have seven feet of snow while we were there. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and wish all a most happy and healthy New Year. Thanks for staying in touch.” Sounds like lots of fun, Arnold! Art Beane says: “I am excited to report my first paperback book Waitin’ for Her at the Station was published by Outskirts Press in Denver, CO. I’ve given complimentary copies to a couple of well known blues recording artists, Massachusetts libraries and family and friends, of course. Singing at local Open Mic Nights and learning how to play guitar continues to fill me with unexpected happiness. I’ve begun putting together a dozen or so tunes from my book to be on my first CD, which I hope can be ready to distribute by June 15, 2017. My four children and three stepchildren are healthy, employed and therefore, have successfully avoided any prison time! Moving forward with best wishes for my 1963 classmates.” Art sent me a fantastic press release for his book. I’ll be happy to send it to anyone who asks for it. Ab Fay (fs) says: “Nice to hear from you.” He includes contact info for us. I’ll send it to you personally if you request it! Dave Shaver and Debbie are indeed alive and well, thankfully. During the last week of October they traveled to Grand Canyon National Park and hiked. They trekked down (and up!) Bright Angel Trail, the South Kaibab Trail, the Rim Trail and Grandview Trail. The hiking was excellent and the views were mind-blowing, as if the earth was revealing itself. No photographs could do justice to the vistas. Dave sent me wonderful
pictures that I’ll be happy to send to anybody who requests them! Bill Griffin says: “Thanks for the message – everything is fine.” It’s good to hear from Bill! Joe Conlon says: “Per your request, I am alive and well. Do you have contact information for Hap Happel and Bill Alexander? I am retired five years and all is well. Spouse, boys and grandkids are all doing well. As usual in the fall we are chasing middle son Jim’s soccer team.” I hope Hap and Bill will contact Joe! Monique Moser-Verrey reports: “Just a note to tell you I am fine at last and keep fond memories of my AFS year at Kinkaid. Born in Switzerland, I lived with the Colliers and am still in touch with Vivian Collier Pinard and her family. Montreal has been my home since 1974. Our three children have given us nine grandchildren who are all Canadian of course. Best wishes to you and our 1963 class.” In addition to all this great news, I can tell you that I see Kari McGuirt Seger and Jane Wadsworth Mason on a fairly regular basis. We have Mexican lunch and visit for hours. We’d love to have any company who might care to join us! I am finding my 70’s to be too swift, but it’s good to be with my family. My grandkids are awesome, as I’m sure yours are too! Between driving for Uber and staying with the grands, I stay very busy! My cataracts will go away this spring, as will my glasses! My very best to all of the Class of 1963. Isn’t it about time for us to reconvene for a party? Love to each and every one of you! Calanne
1964
Claire Andreae Murray Silver Spring, MD claire.murray@verizon.net The good news is that we have made it through another tumultuous winter and the bad news is that it is soon to be drought and mosquito time. Hopefully retirement is sending our diehard classmates to more temperate environs to romp and rest their youthful bones. I personally am tootling about the planet seeking such a locale so do share if you come upon Geriatric Mecca. Speaking of gallivanting about the universe, Cindy Bambeck Smith shares: “We went to Spain in October to celebrate our 50th Anniversary (next July). Three weeks of planes, trains and automobiles...and GPS. We traveled all over Spain and
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
I frequently sang praises for Mrs. Beutell. (If this sounds repetitious, it is because we were in Barcelona for a few days last spring, but other than that, this was our first trip to Spain). Crested Butte for Christmas and New Years with kids and grandkids.” Wonderful news from Rocky McAshan on multiple levels as he shares: “I am writing from a motel room in Cedar Park, TX (just NW of Austin). After a very rewarding 35-year career, I retired from Frost Bank on Halloween. We are looking for apartments or houses to rent in this area while we build our new home on a hill in Leander. We will be close to my son and three granddaughters. My back surgery was successful. No more pain. My broken leg was healed by July 1. I am now recovering from kidney failure due to over prescribed NSAIDs. To celebrate we met the whole family at the Renfest campground for a cookout on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.” I think I speak for most hoping that more share about this most intriguing transition to a whole new stage of life. I know why they call it a second childhood as the last time we were all as carefree was in High School. Who knew graduation would lead to a life of…with so many chapters yet to unfold.
1965
Tami Fox Brau Austin, TX tazmazan@yahoo.com Georgia Hinkle Akers retired from the court as Associate Judge of Harris County Probate Court 3 and is in private practice specializing in probate and conducting mediations. She is with Harold “Hap” May PC. She is still teaching one class at UH Law School in Administration of Estates and Guardianship. Georgia says that she and her husband Sam get to travel more and “life is good.” Rod Everett (fs), a retired banker, is involved in many local organizations and stays active with his business interests. He’s the former President of the Jackson Hole Shrine Club and has been a prime organizer of its signature fundraising winter projects, the Cutter and Ski Joring Races. The two races bookend a full week in Jackson Hole. In between, there are lots of fun winter activities, including: skiing, a snow coach ride into Yellowstone National Park to Old Faithful and a sleigh ride into the world’s largest elk herd on the National Elk Refuge. Rod invites Kinkaidians to come for a vacation to beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Welcome to Dallas Event for SMU Students August 31 at Bandito’s Tex Mex Cantina
Caroline Stevenson ‘13, Mary Caroline Scofield ‘16, Hallie Wilson ‘16
David Wheless ‘06, Tracy Konig Bateman ‘08, Ban and Kathleen Hazelhurst Bywaters ‘69, Ellen Rothermel Stuart ‘59
Lauren Herring ‘16, Ellen Scofield ‘13, Emily Robinson ‘13
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Rod says he is not a travel agent; he just wants to share the winter wonderland of Wyoming with those in Houston and others who have not experienced or seen snow or the beautiful Tetons. If you are planning a visit, Rod will be glad to assist – just ask (307) 413-1034.
As for me, Tami Fox Brau: I am settling into my new home in Georgetown and hope to have all my boxes unpacked before spring.
Susan Fantle (fs) reports that James was going to retire last January and finally gave notice in October. They celebrated with their very first cruise ever. It was from Miami to San Diego through the Panama Canal, which they always wanted to see. It’s been over 100 years since that canal was built and the only thing that’s been replaced since it was built are the engines that run along the sides of the canal to guide the ships through (called mules). Susan writes: “It’s strange to be home going from fourcourse dinners and endless champagne to TV dinners and tap water. James will now have more time to work on our boat and get it ready for us to live aboard during the summer after we move to Tucson.”
Pat Kidson Fogle Cavanagh Houston, TX pat.cavanagh@kinkaid.org
Madeline Maxwell is still directing certificate programs in peace and conflict at The University of Texas – Austin and working on a book about negotiation and discussion in schools and society. She says: “feeling more and more need for it after this election!” Her UT Project on Conflict Resolution hosts a Summer Symposium on Global Ethics and Conflict Resolution for High School students in June. She takes two trips each year to help on environmental projects. Madeline writes: “Last year I did the most strenuous hiking I’ve ever done going up and down in the Pyrenees for monitoring changes from climate warming and went into the Amazon on an old riverboat to count freshwater dolphins, birds, caimans and so forth. Before Christmas, I went to Trinidad to help with a project monitoring ocelots, counting them and seeing what they prey on.” Tommy O’Dowd writes from California that he is still building houses and doing various real estate transactions and his wife Vivian is over-working herself at her Family Law Practice. Their oldest daughter Katie got married two years ago and lives in Rocklin, CA which is near Sacramento and not too far away. Stephanie is in her third year of law school in San Francisco. Son Connor has been living in Buenos Aires and traveling throughout South America since January 2016 and plans to start medical school upon his return. I heard from Roy Flukinger and Don McGuirt. Even though neither had anything exciting to report, it’s always nice to hear from them. I also had a great chat with Johnetta Baker Scheh who is doing well and keeping herself quite busy.
1966
Thanks to all of you who sent news. It’s really nice to stay in touch through this beautiful magazine. John Diffey reports, “Just stepping into retirement after a very satisfying 40-year career. Spent the first month enjoying golf and chamber music in the relative cool of the Virginia Mountains. Writing today from Chicago after watching the Eagles thump the Bears at Soldier Field last night. Two nights earlier, Martha and I saw Macan Wilson ’13 haul in three passes as his Northwestern Wildcats beat my Blue Devils. Off to the Botanic Garden today, the Shedd Aquarium tomorrow and the Chicago Symphony Thursday night--all a part of a nice anniversary weekend and a refreshing start on this next chapter of life. Thanks again to you, Pat, for continuing to keep us connected, to Steve Lasher and wife Janiece Longoria for hosting reunion-’66ers in their beautiful home and to Dick Respess and wife Liz for hosting the gathering Sunday at their island-retreat in Galveston. Warm greetings and best wishes, fellow classmates.” Bubba Koenig and wife Linda recently returned from a trip out West. Stops included: Durango and the narrow gauge RR; Rocky Mtn. National Park; Cody, WY and the Buffalo Bill museum; Yellowstone for four days; and finally Jackson Hole. Temps in the 30’s to the 60’s were a welcome relief from the triple digit days in Austin this summer (19 days total). The Koenigs will be out next spring for a Mediterranean cruise and will attend the Monaco F1 Grand Prix race in Monte Carlo. Tua Smith Burke went to the Memorial High School 50th reunion and had fun with Milton and Dorothy Amerman Allen. Tua and Dorothy were the only Kinkaid people, but they knew so many there – it was really fantastic. Tua was glad she got to go since she missed our 50th reunion...boo hoo! Tua is now working on Nutcracker Market. She volunteers every year and has so much fun. Diane Martin Tomlinson welcomed two new grandsons on July 31, 2016, making a total of five grandchildren in the same household. Her oldest daughter Sarah Easterling and husband Carson are the proud parents of the whole “team” ranging in age from seven down to three months. They live in Houston, which makes grandparents Didi and Papa T very happy as they get to see them often. Diane
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recently planned the wedding of her youngest daughter Amanda, which occurred right before Thanksgiving. Having already one wonderful sonin-law in their midst, they couldn’t be more excited to add another terrific young man into their lives and family. It has been a busy year and Diane has loved every minute of it.
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Elizabeth Topper Nash San Marcos, TX enash@grandecom.net
1969
David Boldrick says that things are good in Dallas and that he hopes all of the Falcons are doing well. He just bought a new/old sailboat – an Islander 30, which needs a lot of work. Since basically being retired, this is the next three months of fun for him. David joined Bess and Rob Wilson in Cabo over Thanksgiving, which included a lot of fishing, drinking and the usual fun with Killer. He sees a lot of Liz and Dick Respess, mostly at church. It seems in older age he really likes that church stuff – needs all the good deeds he can accumulate to offset the previous part of life! David has seven grandkids all doing great things; “as we all say they are the world’s greatest young people.” David gives his best to all in the greatest class in Kinkaid history!
Hello to all Falcons and my heartfelt thanks to my five Sixty-Niner classmates who sent in news for these Class Notes. In my three years on this job I’m sad to see a decline in ‘69er participation. Is it our advancing age or just typical human apathy? I reject the cynical notion that “old age” kills the impulse to be friendly! Even if your personal news is routine or boring, at least it’s a warm hello to us all. Please, let’s be friends (again) and as the legendary rock band War sang in 1975, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” Send me your news (events, comments or views); be my Muse; light my fuse. On to the news...
Jimmy Tang was recently up in Dallas with Dick Respess for a Christian Union dinner at the Dallas Country Club. And from the Cavanagh family: Craig and I joyfully hosted all children and grandchildren for a fun Thanksgiving week in Houston. All 15 of us did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. A trip to the mini-Ninja warrior gym for the kids was a highlight!
1967
Steve Adger Houston, TX sadger@yahoo.com
Austin Alumni Party November 3 at Z’Tejas Grill
Annie Owen Houston, TX anniedowen@me.com
Maria Whitmore Klein also has some happy family news. She was recently awarded a grandbaby! Clara Rose Papetti was born August 2, 2016 to her daughter Katie and husband Ryan.
Margaret Frederking Barton and husband Richard loved seeing many from the Class of ’66 last April…a big thank you to Steve and Janiece Lasher for hosting! They just recently returned from daughter Travis’ wedding to Andre in Lisbon. It was beautiful and fun – all the things a wedding should be! Once there, it seemed reasonable to stay a while. They spent four glorious weeks visiting museums, cathedrals and a castle or two in Spain, Portugal and Italy – even a truffle festival. They walked for miles along rivers and the occasional boulevard but often along narrow streets, alleys or canals. And, yes, they ate well, too – though no truffles.
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Don Pickels Houston, TX donwayne69@gmail.com
Esteemed friend Dr. Rick Frachtman reports attending more great oldies concerts with his wife Anne. In the past few months they’ve rocked out to Motown stars The Temptations along with The Four Tops. They also got to see Franki Valli (The Four Seasons) and attended the same excellent free Johnny Rivers show I saw at Miller Outdoor Theater. Rivers sang and played guitar incredibly for a 74-year-old; he blew the roof off with hits “Summer Rain,” “Baby I Need Your Lovin’” and “Secret Agent Man”. Rick also mentioned that his daughter Lindsey got married and the wedding was “a huge success”. Now he and Anne are in recovery phase. I’m surprised at his lack of wedding details, but I will conclude that the family had a roaring-good time even though none of us were invited! Rick and I enjoy talking sports and he’s my free consultant on the mysteries of Medicare (shudder). A wedding I did get invited to (“it was huge!”) was the Joffre Cross, III marriage to lovely Brittany in October. Proud parents Elise and Jeff Cross had us meet downtown at the stately Magnolia Hotel where on one floor they had the wedding, then downstairs was the reception party with a grade-A deejay spinning classic 60s records certified by Old Man Cross. Since Jeff and Elise attend dance classes, they led the rocking “line dance” that had me and others stumbling, but reminded me of 1969 Saturday nights at Houston’s Third Ward Cinder Club. Jeff threatened to relive that past by “gatoring” when the wedding deejay played “Shout”
Carlton Carl ‘63, Tom Moore, Maurice Adams ‘56 and wife Barbara
Class of 2012 - Kirby Gilbert, Will Fullenweider, Catherine Frank, Madeline Brown, Campbell Cravens, Katherine Heyne, Maddy Gould, Reed Hash
Johnny Sutton ‘79 and Carolyn Lasater Hodges ‘85
Sarah Atnipp ‘08, Bowe Partin ‘07, Nelson Monteith ‘07, John Beckworth ‘07
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Wrabel Concert & Alumni Gathering October 26 at Revention Music Center
(from Animal House) but we forcibly held him above the floor and got his mind off the spectacle. He had reputedly last “gatored” in 2014 at Shearn’s Restaurant in Galveston. It was amazing to have seen Jeff at his own ancient wedding where he behaved respectfully, then see him go wild at his son’s wedding! Now he’s beaming and gleaming, looking ahead to grandkids and quality golf. Here’s a quick additional newsflash from Jeff, phoned in at my deadline. He just saw classmate Jimmy Frankel driving a hot vintage 1969 Mustang Shelby on Fountain View Dr! Jeff asked if it was Kristy Liedtke’s famous Shelby muscle car from our senior year. Jim said “no,’’ admitting his Shelby was a year younger and not as fast!
Caitlin Bailey ‘07, Katie Knapp ‘07, Maddy Foxx Moffitt ‘06, Stephen Wrabel ‘07, Ellie Thompson ‘06, Lexi Sakowitz ‘07
Katie Bernell ‘07 and Stephen Wrabel ‘07
Andrew Schulte ‘07 and Stephen Wrabel ‘07
Wrabel ‘07 performing at Revention Music Center in Houston
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Our Pittsburgh classmate Peggy Whitmore Douglass kindly reports that her daughter Jill ’03 (fs) is happily married in Pittsburgh and working as an Associate Manager at Star-Kist. I wonder how we might cater our next ‘69er party with free premium tuna fish, ha ha. Peggy’s son Rob ’01 (fs) is a lawyer in Tampa, representing Citigroup. Ms. Peggy herself donates time to Therapy-Dog Volunteers and enters equestrian events with her two horses. At this year’s Penn Nationals her horse-team placed third on Hunt Night. Her husband Jim (whom I met at the Kinkaid Christmas party in 2014) is, according to Peggy, “enjoying early retirement by working more than ever.” I shamed good old Murphy Lents into this column by threatening to grab Marcy and go visit his Twisted Rose Farm in Kerrville. Some old dreams never die for a New Man. Murphy reports he is shunning retirement by running the roofing/siding group at Headwaters, Inc. He and wife Dianne are still raising superb horses. They won two reserve national championships in “gentlemen’s pleasure driving” and in “gentlemen’s western pleasure.” I will try to resist the impulse to ask Murphy if he’s actually showcasing horsies or running a closet Hill Country strip enterprise? Check back on those events he’s competing in! Murphy is feeling some senior financial pain over school tuitions, but happily mentions he’ll soon be free. His youngest daughter Emily ’13 (fs) soon graduates from Denver University, while son John ’05 should graduate from the University of North Carolina MBA program this spring. Murphy says it will be the first time since 1985 he hasn’t been paying college tuition, “and it’s a good thing, too, because I have a bunch of four-legged dependents that need new shoes.” I was lucky to see Gary “EZ Rider” Wilkerson and his girlfriend Dorothy on a couple of recent concert trips through Houston. They each own big tricked-out Harley Davidson motorcycles (his: red; hers: blue) that they
Gary “EZ Rider” Wilkerson ‘69 with his red Harley Davidson
annually ride to Sturgis, SD for the largest bike-confab in America. Gary sends me quick texts containing live video clips of national music acts they see like Foreigner, ZZ Topp, Don Henley, Steppenwolf, etc. He sees more music concerts than anybody I know. Kudos to your energy and love of music, Gary! Like many folks, Gary wears a heart pacemaker, which he just recently upgraded to a newer model. I asked if long road trips on a motorcycle might wear him down or make his pacemaker skip a beat… He smiled and said “No, I’m feeling all right; feelin’ real good myself; I got my music, my mama, and my Harley.” Thanks, Gary! I couldn’t help but hear some Joe Cocker in there. Back in July we set up a Kinkaid lunch at Ciao Bello Restaurant combining our Class with the Class of 1970. Malcolm Waddell did the organizing and I was gratified to share lunch with classmates Martha Adger Madget, Jim Frankel, Rick Frachtman, Dr. Mark Bing, Jeff Cross, and Judy Neun who showed up near the end. Jeff gossiped ‘69er stuff with Martha, while Frankel and Bing solved the current housing and railroad crises. Rick continued to offer smart advice on Medicare and how to tiptoe through it as cheaply as possible! As for me, Don Pickels: I’ll share a briny tale of terror in which I nearly drowned at 3:00 am in Galveston Bay last October under that full-orange Harvest moon. My kayak-friend Stewart Hoffer had fashioned me a new more comfortable kayak seat, but I failed to notice it sat five inches higher than my old flat Hobie seat. We launched near Galveston’s Sea Isle and pedaled out to green canal lights to fish for speckled trout, redfish and flounder. We explored two different canals, about a mile apart, but in touch through a marine radio. I casted into a pod of nervous mullet, felt my plastic lure get yanked, then set the hook on a five-pound redfish that started swimming straight at me and then under my kayak. In the heat of battle, I bent over too far and fell out of the cockpit into bay water about twelve-feet deep. Because of the new seat, I could not get back atop the kayak, so had to instantly decide whether to swim about 80 yards to
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the nearest pier OR try to grab the yak and swim it and myself to that pier. I’m not a good swimmer, but wanted to keep my kayak, so I swam fifteen of the hardest minutes of my life holding the 12-foot kayak with one hand and swimming with the other. Almost did me in. I kept trying to rest, but inhaled about a pint of saltwater, then finally grabbed the pier’s edge at the limit of my depleted endurance. For about five minutes I had to get my breath to even lift myself upon the pier. Somehow I grabbed the marine radio and called Stewart over. He compressed my chest and expelled the saltwater. I gave thanks for being alive, fished another four hours and am feeling that great old Kinkaid spirit! It’s usually best to get back up on that horse if you get thrown. Right, horse people? Finally, I’ve tried diligently to hunt down former ‘69er studs Kenny Meyer and Billy Liedtke but they are hiding in some “Safe Space” or are too busy to share their strange lives with the rest of us. How can your lives be any stranger than mine? I’m an open book; y’all are no news knuckleheads! Let us tell and hear our wondrous stories! Life is a precious gift; no one is an island. Go Falcons!
SUMA, ‘69!
-- Capt. Don Pickels, Esq.
1970
Malcolm Waddell Houston, TX mwaddell@sba-skincare.com Happy New Year to my classmates! 2017 marks the 47th anniversary of our graduation from Kinkaid and our countdown to our 50th reunion celebration, now just three years away. We will be planning another blowout like our legendary 40th with our fellow classmates from 1969. So make a mental note, wait better write it down, to plan and make a special effort to be with us in the spring of 2020. And while I’m on the subject of the Class of 1969, Capt. Don Pickels ’69, class correspondent and rebel rouser, and I hosted another joint lunch bunch this past fall, which included John Brock (fs), Carl Detering (fs) and Larry Jacobs and a good turnout from the 1969’ers at Ciao Bello. By the time you read this column (unless you get it via email because you are on my Class of 1970 email list), we will have had our first joint lunch event of 2017. There will be more, and Don and I hope you’ll join us for our Spring Fling luncheon to be announced soon. Carroll Robertson Ray (fs) who was with us for only one year was my first responder to my news request this go round, and she writes: “No news for my family, but also I was only in the class through kindergarten. Feel out of place as a graduate!” Well, Car-
roll was the only classmate in Mrs. Schultz’s class that I didn’t recognize when Tom Hale and I first met up for the 25th reunion planning many moons ago. At that breakfast at House of Pancakes on I-10 he showed me the picture of our kindergarten class. Of course, Tom knew who Carroll was, and I have had the privilege of getting to know and work with her over the past 10 years or so as a dedicated fellow committee member of the J. Barry Moss Distinguished Lecture Series. So that more than qualifies Carroll as a distinguished member of our class. Bonnie Robbins Coburn was next to step up with news as she was preparing to leave her hometown of Port Neches, TX. “Husband Mickey and I are on our way to Galveston to leave on a cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We just said goodbye to son Keith on his way back to Florida with his wife and our granddaughter. He only has three more years in the Navy and will retire with full retirement. Our daughter Janette is still here in this area. So too are Mickey’s twin boys. We now have eight grandkids scattered around and with me only working two days a week and Mickey fully retired, we spend a lot of time traveling. Life has treated us well and it’s great to be able to relax now. We both worked long and hard for this and wouldn’t trade our life for anything else.” Sam Collins, #3 to answer my plea, checked in from either Houston or their second home in North Carolina. He says, “Our daughter Emily ’02 got engaged to Lance Blau, who is currently doing his surgical residency in Ohio. Emily has been there with him for two years. Everyone’s happy, especially Emily’s mom. Son Jordan ’00 is still in DC with his own renewable energy consulting firm. We spent three weeks at our home in Asheville in October. It was an especially beautiful, intense and colorful fall foliage this year. We always do Thanksgiving and it was a large group this year, which included the future in-laws and close friends whose children were out of state. Wife Andi is busy planning for the May wedding. We went to Costa Rica in December for a friend’s son’s wedding and made a week trip out of it. Other than that, it’s work, yoga, work, yoga. Hi to all.” Betsy Mickley Sheets, one of our most faithful column contributors, was next and shares: “Not much going on; I’m just waiting for my Medicare card. They think I’ll be 65 In January! Imagine that!! Me??? That old??? I’ve been in New Mexico a while. As far as my boys, son Kelly is getting married New Year’s Eve in Austin so I am looking forward to that! He lives in Houston and works for Air Products selling industrial gasses/chemicals (whatever that is!!!). Older son Shawn lives in San Antonio and is
no longer in the restaurant management business. He is now Director at Southwest Food Services; school districts contract them out to do all food. No more working on holidays for him!” Next came a great note from Californian classmate Spencer Clark (fs). “The Clark family’s 2016 was filled with marriages, new careers and business success. This year after a two-and-a-half year engagement, our daughter Amizetta got married in June here at the winery to her beautiful, amazing partner Isabel Carlton. It was a very charming Napa Valley wedding on top of the mountain with a hundred and twenty people in attendance. During the year, they both finished their medical studies, became doctors and started their careers as surgeons at the Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, NC. Amizetta is on her way to being a cardiothoracic surgeon and Isabel, an orthopedic surgeon. Our first son Spencer Jr. married his gorgeous longtime girlfriend Tara Blum in Sayulita, Mexico, just outside of Puerto Vallarta in November. It was a stunning setting at a beachfront home overlooking the Pacific Ocean with 80 people attending and it involved some amazing food followed by a ton of fun, including a midnight bonfire on the beach. This year (wife) Amizetta and I were also privileged to witness two of our one-year-old grandsons, Sawyer and Wiley, both take their first steps and begin to raucously take to the streets and cause havoc. Here we go again! Here at home, Amizetta Winery has continued retooling our business plan from distributor-based representation to a more retail and wine club direct sales-based operation. The wine club surpassed one thousand members this year and we hired two additional tour docents to cover the increased tours here at the winery. In the vineyards, our new four-acre grape planting which was replanted in 2013 finally came on line and we had our first harvest of Petite Syrah grapes, which will be a welcome addition to our ‘Complexity’ Estate Bordeaux Blend. No complaints from here as it has definitely been a bountiful and blessed year for all of the Clark family.” Bob Frachtman followed Spencer with his update: “I really enjoyed the recent Kinkaid Alumni event in Austin. It was great meeting Dr. Andy Martire, who seems to be a great selection as Headmaster. I am still practicing gastroenterology full time in Austin with no timetable for retiring (‘Why are my patients asking me?’), as I love what I do. My group is now up to 35 gastroenterologists, attempting to keep up with the incredible growth in central Texas. I expect to be joining the faculty of the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine. I
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will be helping teach the first freshman class this spring in the Mechanisms of Disease course, but I will still be 99% private practice. I also spend time lobbying in Washington, D.C. for AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) as a member of its national council and being on the University of Texas Hillel board of trustees. Our classmate Jim Sud (fs), who attended Kinkaid through Lower School and Middle School, is the president of the board. (Wife) Sherrie is stepping down as a board member for Austin Caritas, an Austin non-profit that helps the homeless get back on their feet. She will be joining the board of trustees of KLRU (think KUHT) next year. Julian, our oldest, has moved back from the Bay Area (via Tel Aviv). He works for a Tel Aviv software company. He is also engaged to a great young lady, Leah, from the Bay Area. Brandon is working for Schlosser Development Corporation in commercial real estate development. The company developed the downtown Whole Foods store and corporate headquarters here in Austin. Daughter Adrienne is in her second year in her master’s program of Speech Pathology at UT Dallas.” Bob also had a sighting he wants to share, “I saw Joanne Hankamer on the Lady Bird Johnson hike-and-bike trail. She looked fine although we didn’t stop and chat.” Fellow Austinite Ellen Wadsworth (fs) has some good news: “I’m happy to report the first grandchild for the Wadsworth family! My niece Hayley Dickson ’01 had her first daughter, Isla Jacqueline Dorn (pronounced Eye-la) this past February. We just had a wonderful Thanksgiving together with her and her family at her father’s vineyard, La Cruz de Comal, near Canyon Lake. What a treat! Hayley is the daughter of my older sister, Jane Wadsworth Mason ’63.” Like Betsy and Bob above, Phil Salvador is a welcomed regular contributor to this column. Phil was brief with his note this time around. “Not much change here. Our son Lucas is doing well at Georgia Tech. Our daughter Carla plans to go to Blinn College in Bryan when she graduates this coming spring. Christiane and I stay busy.” Sally Dudley Kent (fs) reminded me, “Just remember: no news is good news. Nothing new at the Kent’s. We are in New Braunfels pretty much all the time right now. (Husband) Bob goes back and forth to the office in Houston, but we have been building an addition here at the river and it is taking forever. If we leave, they screw something up. It seems like we haven’t even taken a trip in a year. However we’re almost done and will never take on another construction project. I’m getting ready to have to get that dreadful Medicare card that
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r. Darrell Bock ’71, acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Breaking the da Vinci Code, returned to Kinkaid this past December for the first time in many years and was struck by how different the campus appears.
While the look of the campus has indeed changed dramatically since 1971, Dr. Bock’s recollections insist that some things about Kinkaid have remained constant. In the physical sense, he fondly remembers endless hours of pick-up basketball on the same concrete courts that today entertain current students. And in the ways that Kinkaid prepared him for his future career, Kinkaid remains true to the tradition of excellence in education. Dr. Bock is the Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, one of the leading conservative seminaries in the world. While many people may not be inspired in the direction of their careers until college, Dr. Bock says his inspirations go all the way back to the deep humanities background he received as early as the second grade at Kinkaid Lower School, where the example was set for the treatment of differing cultures and languages. The diversity and education offered at Kinkaid gave him a strong background in cultural differences and an understanding of the great religions, which are both paramount to his current position as Executive Director of Cultural Engagement. Dr. Bock explains, “Cultural Engagement is the intersection of life and theology on everyday topics such as immigration, social injustice, domestic violence and, also, more traditional religious topics. It is the application of religious core values to everyday life and tensions.” Dr. Bock believes his Kinkaid background, combined with growing up during the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement, prepared him well for the religious and cultural diversity in the real world. His general complaint about education is that spiritual values are often a missing piece of the puzzle, but Kinkaid instilled in him most of the core values necessary to be sensitive to a variety of differing people and positions.
Dr. Bock’s love of teaching, which developed into an ongoing career spanning 35+ years, has great roots in his experiences at Kinkaid as well, particularly to the stellar teachers and administration, who he considers models for his own teaching techniques. He remembers very affirming teachers, particularly Celina Kilpatrick, Edith Carroll and Leo Cheney, who gave him “confidence that was life-changing”. Dr. Bock went on to say, “The ability to chisel at the edges
Dr. Bock and his wife, Sally, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with their family
but keep the core is the essence of good teaching, and that model is what I took from Kinkaid and use every day.” At times, the quality of teaching at Kinkaid even surpassed what he experienced at the collegiate level, which he appreciated much more once he began his own teaching career. Although Dr. Bock does not have much time for leisure outside of his busy career, which takes him around the globe for speaking engagements and panel discussions on topics of Christian faith, his incurable passion for Houston sports remains unchanged. The self-proclaimed “Houstonian exile in Dallas” manages to follow and root for Houston teams from all over the world! He is also quick to smile at the thought of Field Day and the senior Tug of War. “Go Gold!” He cherishes the lifelong friendships he made at Kinkaid and the memories of the buzzer beater that sealed the 1971 SPC Basketball Championship for Kinkaid with classmates, teammates and life-long friends, Danny Carroll ’71 and Milton West ’71. That season the Falcons went 21-4 with only 5 home games. As a Kinkaid student, Dr. Bock also participated in Cross Country and Photography, with his work featured in his senior yearbook. Dr. Bock’s list of professional achievements is nothing short of impressive. He is notably author of 40 books, a Humboldt Scholar, awarded from the German government for three one-year sabbaticals at Tübingen, one of the world’s leading universities in Theology, media consultant and expert on religious background for movies and TV, including The Passion and ABC News, research professor, blogger, podcast host, pastor, consulting editor and theological consultant. Despite Dr. Bock’s many successes, the accomplishments that he is most proud of are his roles as husband, father to his two daughters and son, and grandfather.
Dr. Bock teaching in Chiang Mai, Thailand 36
ALUMNI NEWS
I always tease Bob about having to carry with him. God we are old.” Sally, who had this correspondent job right before me, had some classmate news to share as well. “I did run into Chita (a/k/a Cecilia Haas Barnes) at her brother’s daughter’s wedding. I didn’t even know she was back in Houston and had lived almost down the street from me for a year or more. I was amazed that I hadn’t run into her at the grocery store. We had a nice visit.” While we’re on the subject of New Braunfels and building homes, one of my Facebook friends and our classmate Sheryl Lynn Coles Mays is building a new home there and at last post, the foundation was being poured. Sheryl is retired (and goes by her middle name Lynn; she only went by Sheryl when she was at Kinkaid) and is always traveling. She posts great pictures of her trips. She also shared recently a wonderful picture of her mom who still lives here in Houston. When we were growing up and dating, I loved (and still love) her mom and was glad to hear she was doing well. From Canyon Lake country, Katherine Thompson Jordan (fs) had family news: “Our youngest Caroline graduated in May from Texas Lutheran University where she enjoyed being mascot for four years. She moved into an apartment in August with a friend and found a job in Austin. She is currently considering working on a cruise ship as videographer...I can see myself on a cruise with her! Our oldest daughter Katie has opened her own child/adolescent psychiatry office in New Braunfels while still working at the county mental health facility. She and her husband are expecting another boy in February! Our son Chris is living with us at the moment and studying for the Texas Bar in February. He wants to open his own law office. As for us, I was looking after our two grandsons until October 2016 when I twisted my back. I still suffer from a herniated disc with pinched nerve. I don’t wish this on anyone! I’m very thankful to have (husband) Roy to look after me!” And our French Connection, Pierre Huguet (fs) writes, “More than a year has gone by since the pleasure to see you, share warm souvenirs with the Perwien family (with whom Pierre lived during his senior year as an AFS student with us) and walk around Kinkaid. I got back to Paris for a brand new retired life and got involved in teaching computer sciences in middle school and afterschool programs around Paris in what your teachers call “free lunch areas”. I love it. We use tools that some of you may know: Scratch and App Inventor. I needed some training myself and I attended a Massive Online Open Course, which ended up in Boston early 2016 and then I went back to the U.S. that summer as a teaching assistant in San Francis-
co. It has been a great experience. I am now trying to build a small group to translate and adjust the U.S. approach (Mobile CSP with App Inventor) to the French background. The general idea is to help teachers build computer science projects in their classes. My wife Martine is also very busy with teaching and practicing Origami, so the living room at home looks like an office. Anyone around is welcome to visit.” Last but certainly not least, word comes from Ron Bernell, my best man 36 years ago. He also has good news: “Aubrey Francis Bernell was born February 25, 2016 to son Brent ’03 and wife Kaitlin, who live in Austin, TX where Kaitlin works for the UT Law School Development Office and Brent practices corporate law with DLA Piper. Katie Bernell ’07 (who I, your editor, was informed is now going by “Katherine”) is attending Northwestern University where she is in the midst of earning a combined MBA from its Kellogg School of Business and a MMM (Master in Design Innovation) from its McCormick Engineering School’s Segal Design Institute.” 2016 was a very exciting and busy year in our family. This past year saw me go from Director of Business Development at Suzanne Bruce and Associates to, as one of our staffers introduced me at last weekend’s company holiday party at the Houston Zoo, the Director of Everything. I think at our age that’s headed in the wrong direction, but actually like Bob F, I love to work and love working with Suzanne and our whole team. 2017 will mark our 20th year in business. That scenario was never in the original plan back in 1981 when we wed. Older daughter Julianne loves her job as well. She is in charge of the adult volunteer team and does education development work for the Denver Zoo. She works hard but she has her ski pass and like the 2016 ski season, will be spending a fair amount of weekends and days off on the slopes again this year. Younger daughter Amanda ’06 is in her 7th year of living and working in Japan. She works so she can stay on the Island. Her passion is managing, arranging the tours and performing in an avant-garde all-Japanese theatre company (except for her) called Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker. Her troupe performed in Australia, Germany, Poland and London in 2016. China and Israel right now are on the group’s dance card for 2017. By the time this appears in the Kinkaid Magazine, we will have spent time with her in NYC where she’ll be attending a festival theatre management’s convention. Then the following weekend we’re back there to see Hamilton for Suzanne’s birthday. Thanks again to all of our contributors; I couldn’t do it without you. If I missed any notes, it’s because I’m 64. And that reminds me. Congrat-
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KYPO Happy Hour with Episcopal and St. John’s September 22 at Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Parker Lee ‘07, Wells Childress ‘09, Rob Davis ‘08, Matthew Crandell ‘09
Reagan Corbett ‘12 (SJS), Clemmie Pierce ‘12, AnnaCatherine Wilson ‘12, Hannah Fred ‘12
Stuart Grady ‘10, Daniel Tepper ‘10, William Campbell ‘10, Matthew Crandell ‘09
Madison Deal ‘11, Lindsey Phillips ‘11, Christine Sangalis ‘11
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Siblings Share Novel Thoughts
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ohn Davis and Heidi Davis Barnes are members of the Class of 1972 and the Class of 1980, respectively. John is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and works now as an emergency room physician in Houston, Texas. Heidi worked as a realtor in Vancouver, BC before moving to Los Angeles to write full-time. come across will have an effect upon your writing. I fondly remember Jim Pitts and Barry Moss, in particular, who were my two English teachers at Kinkaid. They wanted you to learn as much as you could and be as best as you could, yet they were so tolerant. I’m very appreciative of them. But yes, we have all traveled around the world. Our dad was a submariner, so we principally grew up in the Hawaiian Islands, but with travels in Europe and Asia as well. And it’s been a wonderful experience.
Heidi, you’re writing a sequel, yes? This past year John and Heidi each published their first novels: Crisis: Blue and The Bellman. They talk to one another about their experience:
John: Crisis: Blue was my commitment to issue a wake up call to the United States of America. My great concern is that terrorism is going to return to our shores, and I’m specifically concerned about nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. The scenario I envision is one in which the east and west
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Heidi: I always knew I wanted to write, from a very early age, probably around the age of seven. But I have to attribute quite a great influence to the teachers at Kinkaid, because they were superb. They really stressed the importance of proper English in both writing and speaking. And they taught the art of a good story in creative writing. I can remember teachers as far back as grade four that influenced me.
Heidi: I do have a sequel coming and I know you do too! And I’ll talk about that, I just wanted to add one more thing: The Bellman takes place in our family summer home-turned-grand luxury inn, which after university I ran for seven years. In The Bellman, I wanted to remember the types of stories and the exciting environment that I knew so well. The book is written from the bellman’s point of view because in a small hotel, the bellman wears many hats, he sees everyone and everything that’s going on. All young men want to run away and join the circus. For Stanley Douglas, a naive but determined young man, the closest he could find is The Maycliff…
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Heidi: Absolutely. My book The Bellman takes place in the late ‘80s on the majestic coast of Maine. The protagonist Stanley has just graduated high school and he’s filled with dreams and ambitions when he stumbles into a chaotic environment as a bellman in a luxury inn, working amongst eccentric guests and odd staff as he struggles to figure out his world. I started this book about twenty-five years ago and I’m quite passionate about it. And Crisis: Blue?
Heidi, what influenced you in writing your novel The Bellman?
a novel by
John: We greatly appreciate this opportunity to speak to our other Kinkaid Falcons. We’re both graduates of The Kinkaid School and have the fondest memories of that school—in fact, oddly enough, we actually lived on Kinkaid School Drive. Heidi, can you speak and talk about The Bellman?
coasts are rendered uninhabitable, driving Americans inward and our great nation into obscurity. This could play out in a matter of weeks. So again, Crisis: Blue is a wake up call to the United States.
And then of course I’ve lived all over the world, in many countries, and that has influenced my writing. And you? John: I came at it from a different point. I was mesmerized when I learned as a 12-year-old that our father had written a novel called Shadow of Peril. Doubleday published it and it was very successful, it was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 12 weeks I believe. So I think that was the primary influence, the challenge, but I also think you’re absolutely right, every educational experience and person that you
I’m thrilled about the sequel as well, I love a couple of new characters I’ve introduced and I have my HEIDI BARNES older characters, so I’m having a lot of fun with it. How is your sequel going? I think you’re further along than I am. a novel by
John: Yes, my sequel is entitled Crisis: Black and it really continues with the characters of Crisis: Blue. The novel has been written and is being edited now. I couldn’t be more excited about Rare Bird publishing and getting that baby launched. Heidi: John and I are greatly appreciative of all the support for both our novels, thank you so much and have a wonderful New Year!
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ulations to Nancy and Erik Littlejohn. Their daughter and equestrian extraordinaire, Isabel, and her horse Splendid have won many honors this past year. The most recent was 1st place in the Small Jr’s 15 and under, under saddle division at the CP National Horse Show in Lexington, KY. I also had the privilege of having lunch with Walter Browne Baker III on his 64th birthday with mutual friend and Lamar High School Class of 1970 correspondent John Adkins. Keep the notes and Facebook posts coming and have a great New Year!
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Claudia Wilson Frost Houston, TX cfrost@orrick.com Darrell Bock writes that all is well in Dallas at the Seminary where he continues to teach and lead a weekly podcast called the Table (www. dts.edu/thetable). He hopes to see everyone at our 46th reunion where we hope to attend an Astros game and spend the day together (yes, our class is breaking tradition). Darrell published three books this last year: two on Jesus, one on the election. You can understand why they are separate topics! I am pleased that he is featured in an alumni profile on page 36 of this issue of the Kinkaid Magazine.
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Sandy Howard Turner Houston, TX sandy@mochimabay.com I begin with news from John Knight mainly because he is so prompt in replying to my request for news! He, too, enjoys hearing from classmates and isn’t that what the newsletter is supposed to accomplish?! John wrote that there is very little change in his life. He is still quite content and living well in Tucson, Arizona. His wife Susan retired at year’s-end so they are looking forward to new travel horizons. John has a big question for our classmates: “What secrets have you learned for enjoying life, despite the aches and pains of aging?” It’s been a big topic on his mind lately, as probably for most of us. My approach is to keep exercising, everything in moderation and count my blessings. Sam Siegler signs in with news that he and his wife Kelly headed to Philadelphia for the recent Thanksgiving holiday to visit their daughter Samantha ’11. Samantha decided on Penn Law instead of Texas Law and sat for her 1st set of law school finals in December. Daughter Kelsey sat for her last exams at St. Andrews University in Scotland in December. Kelly started filming Season 5 of her TV series Cold Justice earlier in November, which will air on an NBC affiliate in July 2017. As for Sam, he firmly believes that the “Salt Mines of American Medicine” might get a reprieve from The Donald... Ah, politics! Scott West gladly writes that his daughter Alexa ’10 is graduating from Cooper Union this spring. Son Zachary ’06 is now in the Masters program for Marketing at Texas A&M. Zachary’s wife Linda Cummins West ’06 is in her final year of veterinary school at A&M.
Milton West ‘71 and Dr. Darrell Bock ‘71 during Darrell’s visit to Kinkaid on December 8.
Mark Perwien and wife Laurie Goodman are the proud grandparents of Frederick Arnold Perwien born July 8, 2016 and Maya Lena Perwien born October 31, 2016. As for me, Claudia Wilson Frost, I am one of the founding partners of the Houston office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, which we opened in February 2016. I continue to try lawsuits and handle complex litigation for energy and technology companies, primarily.
1972 Need Volunteer
Mac McClure was full of fun news! Last September during the 15th 9/11 Anniversary, Mac and wife Rachael spent a long weekend in New Jersey with David Hessel ’72, his wife Laura, and their senior in high school, Max, who is a super young man. If only they could have convinced him of how cool they were! They all had a great time catching up. Mac insists that Dave is still every bit as hysterical as he always was. The group spent a day aboard David’s “boat” (read: yacht) motoring (read: zooming) up the Hudson River past West Point. That night they docked at a nearby place, Van Gogh’s Ear, where David and his jazz quartet had booked a gig. Mac says, “Anyone who ever spent any time with Dave back in the day will recall that he was never more than arm’s length from his guitar. It is amazing how good he has become after playing for only 50 years or so! Seriously, he is quite the accomplished jazz musician, has cut several CDs and is well
respected in the jazz circles in and around NYC. He just owns a lot more guitars nowadays.” Mac and Rachael have been spending as much time as possible visiting their daughter Elizabeth and her husband Jett Smith, who just bought their first home and have put down roots in Stephenville, where Jett is the only, and is, therefore, the “First Assistant District Attorney” of Erath County. Erath County had some international prominence for being the venue for the trial of Eddie Ray Routh for the murder of Chris Kyle, “The American Sniper”. The McClures especially enjoy time visiting with their grandson Henry (2 ½). Elizabeth has her Master’s degree in early childhood education, teaches at a local private school and spends the rest of her time raising Henry. She’s a great mom both by education and heredity. Henry is very bright, talkative, cute and intelligent. In Mac’s quoted words, “Clearly he has turned out well, despite any contribution I made to his genetic assortment!” Elizabeth made the mistake of teaching Rachael how to FaceTime so now hardly a week goes by without an appointment to FaceTime with Henry. The family enjoyed their visit during Thanksgiving. Mac’s son William recently relocated from the DC area to California with his significant other who is attending graduate studies at Stanford. William still works for AT&T but has revisited an earlier thought he had entertained about going to law school. He is waiting to hear from several schools before making a final decision but it will be hard not to ultimately decide to go to Georgetown since he was notified on his birthday of his acceptance by a handwritten note from the Dean of Admissions: “Happy Birthday…and Congratulations on being accepted for the class of 2020, starting in the fall of 2017.” Again quoted from Mac, “He has done exceedingly well, despite my contribution to his genetic makeup as well. Henry was wait-listed...” Rachael and Mac continue battling for Truth, Justice and the American Way, doing that thing that seems to so dominate their free time: work. Every night they come home and spend the evenings with a 13-year-old puppy of a dog, a Maltese named “Patton”, “Mr. Patton” a/k/a “The General” or “Mr. P”. Mac never thought he would like having a small dog but he is a convert! The Maltese is a fiercely loyal, very loving and intelligent breed and as Rachael points out, he doesn’t shed and he’s hypoallergenic! William calls him “a cat that does tricks”. That’s about it from Big D. Pam Dilworth Kissiah reports, “Gary and I are in year two of exploring NYC. We spend our time going back and forth between Houston (where my mom still lives independently and just celebrated her 89th birthday) and NYC (where both of our kids live). Our son Clark is taking a break from management consulting and has embarked on a start-up
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venture headquartered in a Brooklyn loft. He works long hours and makes no money so we see him a LOT for meals. Our daughter Annie is in her senior year at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. We have already started sending out good vibrations that she lands a job in the music industry! Her program is the Clive Davis School of Recorded Music, emphasizing music production in case anyone has any leads! Other than enjoying family time, I am a college application essay coach and I have enjoyed expanding my business into Houston this year. I have caught up with Chuck Blanton on recent Houston trips and I got to have dinner with the Staub twins (Jane Staub Towler) in NYC recently. I plan to go to DC on January 21st (and hoping my daughter will join me) for the Million Women March – and fully expect to catch glimpses of Janet Weingarten Battista, Lisa Bernell Rostad and Jane Staub Towler along the way!” When contacting our classmates for news I often send an email that reads, “Give me any news. Three bullet points. I’ll edit”. Liz Jacobs Labanowski took it to heart with her response: “One husband. Six kids. Last one now in college. Empty nester. YAY!!!!!” Gotta love it. Cline Young did the same: “I got nothin’...so boring. Saw Chuck Blanton and his dog didn’t bite me...that’s it.” And Chuck Blanton: Cline Young came over while in town and my dog didn’t bite him. Onie Doggett Swanson has a new grandson Jacob Swanson born on March 30, 2016. Joining his older brother Ezra Swanson who was born on August 13, 2014. Her son Jonathan Plummer ’07 is engaged and due to marry in June 2017. Onie and her husband Jim are still hanging in Houston and hoping to at least begin to retire...maybe. The Swansons may be on the right track. Dana Lyon remains busy with six grandchildren. For Thanksgiving the whole family went to her son’s ranch in Pearsall, Texas. Son Luke and his wife and three children; “Little” Dana, her husband and their triplets; and grandma Dana were all in attendance. I bet it took four cars to load the group and the necessities… Marion Perryman Liedtke and Cadell Liedtke are still in Midland and report that the Permian Basin is a very exciting place to be in the oil business. Several old Houston friends have contacted them about their children moving to Midland! (Our son William contacted them. Even stayed with them!) Marion and Cadell spent last summer cooling off in their log cabin on the Taylor River. Their four daughters, each of the husbands, and the 13 grandchildren (soon to be 14) popped in and out during the summer. All enjoyed great fishing.
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KYPO Holiday Party December 21 at Kirby Ice House
Reed Hash ‘12, Kate Beeler ‘12, Maddy Gould ‘12
Anita Naik ‘11, Mary Leigh Meyer ‘11, Jehan Madhani ‘11, Avery Suber ‘11
Taylor Brown ‘06, Madison Brown ‘09, Julia Wood ‘08, David Chambers ‘09 with Allison Reid, Kirby Allison ‘08, Katie Skarke ‘08, Frances Smith ‘08
Thomas Duncan ‘11, William Case ‘11, Taylor Mattingly ‘10
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Marion said that a few fellow Falcons came by including Susu Zimmerman Meyer and Fred Meyer as well as George Hover and wife Anne. The Lietdke’s four Fertitta (Leslie and Michael) grandchildren are all attending Kinkaid. They are so proud of them. Their daughter Bessie and husband Will Doffermyre are in D.C. Two of their daughters are in Dallas: Wynne and husband Lewis Brown and Claire and husband Bates Arnot. Big family and they love spending time with all of them! Rene Bell remains a Facebook voyeur. He enjoys seeing posts from several of our classmates but is sorry to say that he rarely “does or thinks anything that merits a post.” In celebration of her father’s 90th birthday, Terry and Rene, joined by Terry’s four siblings and their spouses (which includes Nan and Bob Franklin) cruised the Caribbean with him for a week. Despite a nearby hurricane, the seas were smooth and all had a great time. Rene stated, “However, Sandy, I’m more mystified than ever as to how you remain sane after spending so many years sailing the seas!” (Years ago Bill and I spent eight years aboard our sailboat sailing the great blue ocean.) Rene closes with letting me know he is looking forward to our next reunion (45th!). Anyone volunteering to arrange? Chris Jones posts that he finished another annual Friday Thanksgiving golf outing with Bob Orkin ’72, John Hopper ’72 and Tom Wynne ’72. The guys report that Hopper lost but never paid! Chris is still in a private equity business with Scott Jones and both of his kids are graduating from college this year. Chris is under the impression that his payroll expenses are about to go down dramatically! Wait…what does he know that I don’t know? Lisa Bernell Rostad had both of her kids with her for Thanksgiving. Her son Marcus came in from NY (he works at LinkedIn) and her daughter Laura is a senior at Tulane. The Rostads spent a great Thanksgiving at Janet Weingarten Battista’s with her husband Tom and their three kids. She points out that the kids rooted for the Redskins, not the Cowboys… Lisa continues to work in construction management and supervision. Janet Weingarten Battista wrote: “I promised Sandy I would submit something even though life in Bethesda has been pretty uneventful for the Battista family. We have reached the age of no-news-is-good-news and this past Thanksgiving I was very grateful for no news. Among many other things though I am grateful to Sandy for representing 1973 in the Kinkaid newsletter. As my husband Tom is entering semi-retirement we are finally getting to experience some vacations lasting longer than a few days. Our first such trip was to Rome, Tuscany and Florence – wow! Then a visit to daughter Lauren in Denver,
combined with hiking in Aspen and Crested Butte. No injuries, too many photos. Again, gratitude!” And from me, Sandy Howard Turner: I report that 2016 brought many changes, challenges and many blessings. I start each day with a prayer and end each day with thanks. I traveled a little bit, within the U.S. and usually with friends. I love to do “older people things” such as cook, go to musicals and gather a few friends to go sit on the hill at Miller Outdoor Theater to see whatever/whoever is on stage. Gadzooks, I even took ballroom dance lessons. I continue to ride my bike, walk the Rice campus and spend time at the bay when possible. The best of news is that my oldest son William is engaged to a fabulous young lady named Kathleen Long. A wedding date is planned for late October. I am taking “how to be a good mother-inlaw” classes at St. Martin’s! So, John Knight, old age does bring aches, pains and a new look on what is really important in life. I would say that family, friends and laughter are on the top of my list…Stay in touch everyone.
1974
Madeleine Topper Sheehy Houston, TX madtop5@sbcglobal.net
1975
Judy Levin Houston, TX jude118@aol.com
1976
Laura Byrd Herring Houston, TX laurabherring@gmail.com Hello Class of ’76! Meredith Parsons Grisebaum reports that her son Andrew is currently living in Austin. Her daughter Brooke ’07 married Preston Powell in April 2016. Brooke and Preston live in Houston and Brooke works for an interior design firm, Talbot Cooley. Nanette Cooper-McGuinness reports that 2016 has been a great year! Here’s the latest news from her: Her son got married in May and he and his wife honeymooned in Japan and Thailand. Nanette’s chamber music group, Ensemble for These Times (E4TT), toured to Krakow Culture Festival this summer. While there, they performed a concert at the Galicia Jewish Museum, a lecture-recital and a workshop at the JCC Krakow. Her new critically acclaimed CD on Centaur Records with E4TT “Surviving: Women’s Words” was reviewed as “fascinating,” “compelling,”
WINTER/SPRING 2017
“passionate,” “extremely well done” and “recommended” and won a Silver Medal in the 2016 Global Music Awards and has been submitted for the 59th Grammy Awards. Nanette’s graphic novel translations published in 2016 were: Disney Parodies: Mickey’s Inferno; Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novels #17: The Mystery of the Pirate Ship; Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novels #18: First to the Last Place on Earth; Thea Stilton Graphic Novels #6: The Mystery at Sea; and Thea Stilton Graphic Novels #5: The Secret of the Waterfall in the Woods. Upcoming in 2017 (for children) are: Sea Creatures #1: Reef Madness and Sea Creatures #2: Armed & Dangerous and Thea Stilton Graphic Novels #7: A Song for the Thea Sisters. Upcoming in 2017 (for adults) is: California Dreamin’: Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas. E4TT’s first-ever Call for Scores received 275 scores; they chose 56 to perform over the next two seasons for their new series, 56x54, the first of which took place in October. They also commissioned and premiered works by four women composers this year. E4TT was written up in the press (in SF Classical Voice) a couple of weeks ago. E4TT’s next performs for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, followed by their newest commission and program, “The Guernica Project,” commenting on the Picasso painting and commemorating the bombing that inspired it. Nancy Warfield Stevens reports that she and Mike Baker (fs) have been building a life together for quite a while. They wanted to come to the reunion and let everyone know but other things got in the way; they’re sorry they missed it. Nancy and Mike are living in Katy and enjoying the grandchildren (Mike’s daughter, Mary’s children) Mariah (5) and Miya (1). They are also enjoying preparing their country acreage for living there full time in a few years. Mike was exactly what Nancy needed after the sudden unexpected death of her late husband Bill. Christa Chapman Trammell reports that she has two grandchildren, a granddaughter (3) and a grandson (1). She is so happy to be a grandmother! Cris is proud to announce that her daughter Ruthie has graduated from law school and has passed the bar exam in Tennessee. Congratulations to Ruthie and Cris! I am pleased to announce that Homoiselle Sadler Bujosa has volunteered to be the Class Correspondent for the Class of ’76. Please send your news for the next magazine to Homoiselle at hbujosa@att.net. I have enjoyed keeping up with the Class of ’76 and all of your activities and accomplishments. Cheers! Laura Byrd Herring
1977 Need Volunteer
Austin Young Alumni Party November 3 at TAP 24
From the Advancement Office: Clark Ervin, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs who previously served as inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, was appointed to lead the independent monitoring team for the city of Ferguson this past July.
1978
Sarah Deal Frankenfeld Austin, TX sarahf422@me.com Class of 1978! Hope you are well. In this Winter Edition of the Magazine, we are not only covering news but also decided to take a different approach and relive Kinkaid Interim Term. Credit goes to John Heyne for the great idea! I’ve also included a list of those whose emails have bounced or that I don’t have. I feel like I am going backwards – I think I had more emails when I started this job. If you are on the list at the end of this article, please drop me an email! Our 40th Reunion will be here before we know it and I want to make sure everyone is included in the festivities!! Scott Lucy reports that he doesn’t have anything about Interim Term but that he got engaged (may even be married by print date). He was elated that his best friend Sherrie Thompson said yes! Congrats Scott! Mike Littman’s Interim story involves he and Jeff Martin. Mike’s dad’s ad agency, GDL&W, provided an Interim Term opportunity to experience life in an ad agency. Two people participated, Mike and Jeff Martin. Since Mike had grown up hanging out in the halls of the agency since he was seven, he knew he had this one under control. Advertising was his destiny and he was ready. He and Jeff show up and the agency asked them what they would like to do. Jeff probably said “I’d like to try my hand writing.” Mike probably said “Hey, that girl is cute, can I sit by her?” So, Mike spent his Interim Term making copies and Jeff, being as talented as he is, ended up writing radio spots for paying clients which Mike is certain were better than the spots that the ‘professionals’ on staff created. Mike can still make a helluva copy. Lesson learned: talent trumps privilege. Second lesson learned: girls can lead a man’s thoughts astray. Lori Moore Bynum writes that she has been very busy with weddings! One of her daughters was married last October and another daughter will be married in May. Thankfully her third daughter does not have any plans to wed in the near future! As
Paul Langford ‘13, Carolyn Dyer ‘13, Laura Rathmell ‘13, Ellen Thanheiser ‘13, Barrett Mize ‘13, Carter DeWalch ‘13
for Interim Term: Lori remembers that the France and Spain trips were combined during junior year Interim Term. The group was chaperoned by Mrs. Twiford and Mr. Victory. Around 25 students travelled all over Europe in a bus called BOVO. They had a tour guide and a bus driver who constantly played an ABBA tape, because ABBA was very popular in Europe at the time. The hotels they stayed at were dumps! They were accused of stealing towels from one hotel. The Moulin Rouge was a night to remember! They went snow skiing in the French Alps and took lessons from French instructors. They got in trouble for giving back massages on the bus! They had so many adventures on that trip but the ole’ memory doesn’t remember them all anymore (maybe that is a good thing)! One thing Lori does remember – it was a lot of fun! (John Heyne will share some more memories of this trip below!) Heather Fichter Cassidy shares that her father passed away in November 2016, one month short of his 92nd birthday. He had a successful bladder cancer surgery but suffered a catastrophic stroke the following morning and died a few days later. Even though the print of this magazine is much later than when Heather sent this news to me, I did want everyone to know. Our thoughts are with you Heather! Jennifer Tuttle Arnold reports that her freshman year Interim Term was beyond amazing. In G’Ann Boyd’s class, they pretty much danced all day, every day. She was a gifted teacher and so much fun! This class was just the beginning of many hours spent in the theater and dance studio. At the other end of the spectrum, senior year was spent at The Methodist Hospital. She spent time with Dr. DeBakey’s team in open-heart surgery,
the cardiovascular research dog lab and physical therapy. She reports that she is so thankful for that experience because she decided NOT to pursue a pre-med program in college. Also during Interim Term, Jennifer’s family hosted Mary McHugh, a student from Rochester, NY, on a private school exchange program. As January came to a close, the Tuttle girls thought it would be fun to throw a party in Mary’s honor, of course. And wouldn’t you know…it synced up perfectly with Dr. & Mrs. Tuttle on an out-of-town ski trip. Epic party at Chevy Chase until someone parked in the neighbor’s driveway at 11:30 pm. Party over! Marvel Wilkerson Layman recalls spending one month in the British Isles for Interim Term. Lots of history with John Germann and amazing sites that she has returned to three more times. Most important was learning more about classmates and a great night spent with Liz Bratton at the Headmaster’s house at Eaton (yes, where Prince Charles went). They had a fabulous breakfast while everyone else in the dorms had beans! Marvel and family have been living in Las Vegas now for four years. She says that she will see everyone on The Strip! Irene Sallee Herring says that when she read that the issue was to be dedicated to our most memorable Interim Term experiences, she knew it would be easy because she had a unique Interim Term. Senior year she did an Interim Term at Beverly Hills High School studying television production. BHHS ran their own PBS station, largely, she is sure, because of the “industry” kids who attended the high school. Irene was definitely star-struck, meeting and seeing many movie stars while she was there. She didn’t realize until later how much she actually learned about market-
41
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
San Antonio Alumni Party January 12 at Hotel Emma
Tom Moore with Hutch and Beth Blackbird Bryan ‘81.
Amy Knight Miller ‘87 and Courtney Dreyer Beauchamp ‘93
Retired Teacher Gene Festa and Rob Devlin ‘86
Mike and Suzie Dyer Bacon ‘90 with Lisa Kaplan Rosenzweig ‘00, Josh Zeller ‘91
ing, TV production and broadcast. Interim Term gave her an opportunity to be herself and she returned to Kinkaid a more confident person. She is forever grateful for the experience. As far as personal info – Irene loves being a grandmother (“Marmee”) to four beautiful grandkids, to be five in 2017. Irene works in communications (so that Interim Term experience really did pay off) and her husband is a lead pastor with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (that’s the name of the denomination, a little confusing if people aren’t familiar with it). Life is good!! John Heyne describes his best Interim Term experience as the Don Quixote Tour ’77 – where 20 sophomores and juniors (lightly chaperoned by Victery and Twiford) conquered Eu-
42
rope, alas not with swords on horseback, rather with cameras on tour bus. Museums, castles and cathedrals by day, but come nightfall, they were out slaying windmills, liberating Paris and running red light districts. Jimmy Carter had just become President and the insidious songs of Abba were omnipresent. With only one eye open, they wandered the Old World, from the Tower of London to the Lido cabaret. It was January; it was cold, but we were young, and it was fun. A blur for sure, but a real good blur. Mimi Topper Stinson wants to remind everyone that she is still in NYC and loving that she has been able to see so many classmates when they are in NYC. Makes it more fun! Call her up if you are in town!
Steve Brooks didn’t have anything on Interim Term but remembers “Geometry on a Pool Table” in Mr. Penn’s shop class. No good story to go with it but just thought it was cool that we could play pool at school…can’t even remember what grade that class was in…
Alice Berry Houston, TX missformicadinette@yahoo.com
Lisa Gruy Brandt says her favorite Interim Term memory was going to London with the beloved Mr. Pitts! Cindy Osborne Beckham, Andrea Turtur, Maidie Rutherford (fs), Clayton Chambers and several others were also on the trip. Highlights were having afternoon tea at their “home away from home” at the Park Lane Hotel, castle romping in the countryside (as Mr. Pitts called it), screaming through Rocky Horror Picture show, learning to ride the Tube, burgers and milkshakes at Hard Rock Cafe, developing a lifelong love of Wheatabix and After Eight thin mints, shopping at Harrods and of course all the other famous attractions, museums, cathedrals in London and the surrounding area. Mr. Pitts had a way of making everything in history come alive and made sure they experienced everything to the fullest. To this day, this remains one of Lisa’s most memorable and favorite high school experiences!
Need Volunteer
As for me, Sarah Deal Frankenfeld, Interim Term was spent bowling (not sure of the educational value in this class), volunteering with the teenagers at the Harris County Retardation Center with sweet Katherine Schweppe and at Methodist Hospital where I can remember vividly watching Dr. Debakey’s team perform open-heart surgery (and whenever I watch the Seinfeld episode I am reminded of this). Unlike Jennifer, I never was considering a pre-med program! However, this was an amazing experience that I am so thankful I had. I hope you have enjoyed reading these great stories. Fun to think back on them! Take care everyone. Enjoy these days! Would love to find these classmates correct email addresses! Some I used to have, but they have changed. Email me at sarahf422@ me.com. Stephanie Barrett, Maria Antonellos Bassa, Paul Bing, Jennifer Justice Bowen, Frank Bryan, Hal Coley, Susan Cummins, Mamie Goebel Hale, Michele Rowland Hanlon, Todd Hibbert, Charlie Horton, Randy Kaufhold, Joyce McCarter, Preston Moore, Johnny Parker, Carl Paschetag, Tricia Barrett Tschetter, Andrea Turtur, Karen Sahol Wohlschlegel.
1980 1981
John McReynolds Houston, TX j-mcr@comcast.net
1982
Maria Semander Crawford Redondo Beach, CA msemander@yahoo.com “Hey all you Falcon Fans, stand up and clap your hands”...because it’s Reunion Time! By the time this magazine comes out you will have gotten an official invite and we will be just weeks away from our 35th (OUCH) year reunion. Crazy how time flies when you’re having fun...and graduating from college, getting married, starting a career, having kids and grandkids and planning retirement! Yep, it’s been 35 years since we “walked the stage” at Kinkaid and sang “Down The Road,” a song written just for our class by Sam Adams and Mike Curran. I can still remember some of the lyrics (at least I think these are right): “…down the road, we’re gonna see the sun, and though we’ve come a long, long way, our journey’s just begun. Our future lies ahead of us, the past is all we’ll see. The goals we’ll set, they will be met as long as God’s above.” Now here we are in 2017 and we can look back and realize how young we were and how our journey really had just begun. I hope everyone not only met the goals they set, but surpassed them and conquered the world. We are no longer teenagers but this is a great time in our lives to enjoy the fruits of our labor (the rewards of our hard work). And what better way to do it than with a reunion of everyone who began that journey with you.
1979
The Class of ’82 unofficial reunion committee (Emily Wynne Bolin, Carol Attwell Bourne, Maria Semander Crawford, Vince Elliott, Marilyn Taylor Phillips, Michelle Rogers Rogers) has been busy planning a great weekend for all of us and we hope to see each and every one of you there!
Evans Attwell Houston, TX eattwell@gmail.com
So, if you haven’t done it already, pull out your calendar RIGHT NOW and mark down the REUNION WEEKEND from Friday, March 31 to Sunday, April 2. The Class of 1982 will join graduates from 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002,
Steven Arnold Houston, TX sda@3lmc.com
WINTER/SPRING 2017
2007 and 2012 for a fun filled weekend. All alumni are invited to the Distinguished Alumni Awards and the 3rd Alumni BBQ on Friday, March 31. The Alumni BBQ is held on campus and features a live band and delicious BBQ. Our official reunion party will be Saturday night and is sure to be a blast! You won’t want to miss the fun and I’m taking bets on whether Dewey Gaedcke will be able to flip Fay Monsen Kirby on the dance floor without throwing his back out? Looking forward to seeing everyone!!!
1983
Anthony Brown The Woodlands, TX abrowntex@gmail.com
1984
Jackie Fair Houston, TX jfair36900@aol.com
1985
Carolyn Lasater Hodges Dripping Springs, TX mkcarolynhodges@gmail.com Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. and hoping all your dreams and goals are met in 2017. So, I kinda, sorta feel I need to write something because our ’85 spot is regularly blank. Please feel free to send me updates and I will happily submit for the next newsletter. I have been assuming that those who want to stay connected are already doing so on various social media platforms and those who are not on social media are connecting in other ways because “news” is not being submitted. So no hard feelings on my end... it totally makes sense, because everyone knows how “tight” our class was/is! However, in memory of 6th grade English with Mrs. Kilpatrick, I shouldn’t “assume” because that makes an “ass of u and me”...so to avoid making that mistake, send me something to post about you and your family... otherwise the “silence” is the deafening answer.
Class of ‘84 at the Alumni Holiday Party - Tracy Gaedcke Smith, Claire Cummins Lorenz, Anne Chmielewski Kushwaha, Jackie Fair, Susan Westmoreland McConkey, Shayna Goldstein Andrews, Mallory McKay Callaway
Hugs to all and see you on FB or Insta!
1986
Julie Templin Berman Houston, TX julie@thelimogeslady.com From the Advancement Office: This past September Catherine Cornelius
Smith, CEO and Founder of True Blue Inclusion, led a two-day gathering of academic, non-profit and business leaders committed to recruit, retain and reward women in engineering and technology. Following the forum, “Writing the W into Engineering Business,” a Blueprint for Action was published to transform the playing field for women and offer solutions
Alumni Holiday Party
December 1 in the Dining & Learning Center
Cindy Hide ‘75, Holly Hibbert ‘74, Maggie Warren Brown ‘74, Madeleine Topper Sheehy’ 74
Lynn Meyer Fort ‘68, Madeleine Topper Sheehy ‘74, Mary Dee Neal ‘64, Maggie Warren Brown ‘74
Doug George ‘94 and Brian Dinerstein ‘95
John and Elizabeth Moore Elder ‘87, Susie Peake ‘79, Marshall ‘80 and Kim Adkins
James and Iman Houston Farrior ‘01, Brittiany and Ashton Mossy ‘00, Richard Sanborn ‘02, Ed Trusty
Steve and Marie Fay Evnochides ‘59
Alec and Tara Crooker Mize ‘74 with Rick Jeter and Emily Catherine Jeter Riggs ‘04
Lauren Roemer Morgan ‘96, Ed Trusty, Sandy Selber Sturm ‘91, Leslie Roemer Labanowski ‘02 43
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
for achieving gender balance in these fields. Growing up, Catherine always had big dreams of helping others reach their own goals and measure of success and she comes from a family of educators. Catherine worked in the White House for President Clinton, and then for NBCUniversal, General Electric, and iVillage. These life experiences empowered Catherine to found True Blue Inclusion, the driving force behind this forum. Her company now advises more than 28 companies and their executives on change management, realizing their potential, diversity, and inclusion throughout the workforce.
1987
Doug Rosenzweig Houston, TX dougrosez@aol.com Here is the latest from some of our classmates as we approach our 30th reunion: Jed Brown says Laredo is still his home of the past 25 years. He is developing and constructing apartments with his brothers Doak ’92 and Wil ’95 along with their father. He and his wife are empty nesters; their son Walker is a sophomore at Stanford. Jed and his wife enjoy trips to Palo Alto to visit their son, as the northern California weather is so nice. Jed recently started flying and hopes to have his pilot’s license real soon. Mary Claire Chung has been living in Shanghai for the past three years. She is working as the General Manager of the YOOX Net-a-Porter Group and bringing all of their websites and business into the China market. Her daughter Isabel-Beatrice is attending the American school in Shanghai and hopes to go back to the States for college. Mary Claire recently remarried and her husband Rui is Portuguese. Nicole Domercq Zarr has two children in high school at Kinkaid, a junior and a freshman. She is still doing interior design through her own company, Triangle Interiors. Stephen Eubank has been at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for 12 years as Senior Counsel for Labor, Employment and Benefits. His wife Kelley and he have two sons – Ben (5) and Alex (2). Kelley continues her dermatology practice in the Galleria area. Chad Gnam is currently living in Jackson, Mississippi where he is an OB/ Gyn. He is married to Dawn and they have two children. Their daughter Ashley (20) is a junior at Vanderbilt University hoping to go to medical school. Their son Jack (16) is a junior in high school and has committed to play golf at the University of Mississippi. Margaret Hatfield Totz reports that she is doing great, nothing too excit-
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ing. She is doing as much volunteer work as she can. Her son Samuel is a freshman at TCU and her daughter Caroline ’19 is a sophomore at Kinkaid. Mary Moreland lives in Houston with her two children Henry ’22 (12) and James ’24 (10) – both Kinkaidians. She works for Quanta Services, Inc. where she is the Director of Strategic Planning – Latin America. Dee Dee Munson Kayser is the Director of Marketing for Raptor Technologies, a school safety technologies company. Her daughter Anna is in the 5th grade and loves soccer and drama. Alan Owens lives in Europe and is picking stocks for a living, trying to get an agent for his novel and traveling throughout the continent. Peter Raspler has been in LA the past 19 years working in music management. For the past five years he has been at Red Light Management, where they represent over 200 artists across all genres of music (Dave Matthews Band, Slash, Phish, Tiesto, Chris Stapleton, Stone Temple Pilots, Ben Harper etc.), but his main focus still being 311. His recent getaways are Sweden in late summer, Mexico for Thanksgiving and skiing in Tahoe in the spring. Leila Wheless is teaching English at the ArtSpace Charter School in Asheville, North Carolina. She reports: “If I didn’t laugh about it, I’d cry. That’s for dang sure. (North Carolina is 49th out of 50 states for teacher pay. Arrrrgh. Anyone else shop at Goodwill besides me?) On the bright side are the intangibles. I live knowing that if Callie Law were alive right now and sitting in my classroom, she would see incredible student artwork on the walls depicting all the characters from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which we’re reading right now; and she would hear the most profoundly moving student discussions on racism, child abuse, hypocrisy, dialect, humor and more as we move through Twain’s work. I think Callie Law would be proud and I think she would jump right in to the discussion with a good-natured laugh. Asheville is alive with fall color right now and the temperatures are in the 30’s at night. Come on up for a visit!” Lyssa Williams Waters is a 10th grade English (World Lit) teacher. Her oldest son Collin is engaged to a woman with two children so she is an instant grandma! Her youngest son Bowen (14) is attending the small Christian school where she teaches. A few quick hitters from/about our classmates: Robby Sale reports in from Houston and is doing well. Ditto for Nazey Azimpoor. I also recently saw Bill Christian (Austin), Tom Chmielewski (Austin), Stuart Rockoff (Jackson, MS), Elyse Spector Kalmans (Houston) and
Andy Edison (Houston) at a recent party in Houston. All are doing well.
eight peaks, six alpine lakes and two ski resorts.
As for your class correspondent, Doug Rosenzweig: Jennifer Jones Rosenzweig and I live in Houston with our two boys Zachary (10) and Jacob (8). Because my poker pursuits aren’t yet paying for the kids’ education, I am still plugging away as the Editorial Director at O’Connor’s Publishing. Jennifer is doing bookkeeping and is the office manager for a summer camp based in Wimberley.
Life is good for Jill Peterson Sisler, who enjoys spending time with her dogs, horse and husband. (I like the listed order.) And although her work at Total E&P is super hectic, she finds it interesting and filled with some great people.
1988
Erin Street Baber lives in Houston and along with her husband, hosts some great gatherings for our classmates. Kelly Smith Eckert lives in Pittsburgh and has founded the Persephone Center for Shamanic Energy Medicine.
Kim McGaw Houston, TX Km35@rice.edu
Samantha Schnee is living in the UK and is Founding Editor of the online magazine Words Without Borders.
Let’s start this one off on a high note: Laura Richardson Escalona and her husband Salvador are celebrating Laura’s recent diagnosis of NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. After 15 months of chemotherapy, six weeks of daily radiation, and four surgeries, she is cancer free! She has fought a long, hard battle against a very aggressive, never seen before at MDA, Stage 3 breast cancer. Laura is asking for everyone to get their yearly mammograms and please let her know; she loves to know she has made a difference in someone’s life. If the results aren’t what you are wishing for, she is now an expert and would love to help you or a loved one.
Staci Goldberg Watson is an attorney and national jury consultant in Houston. She’s married and her daughter Alex ’22 is having a blast as a Kinkaid Middle School cheerleader. She says it has been fun seeing our classmates and their children on campus.
Margaret Kinkaid Alumna Award recipient and Wisteria Co-Founder Shannon Bristow Newsom is the keynote speaker for the Second Kinkaid Alumnae & Friends Luncheon on Friday, March 3, 2017 at The Omni Hotel. Hope our class represents well for Shannon! Chad Muir reports that he and William Kelsey are both involved with the board of the San Jacinto Museum of History. One of their perks is being able to provide friends with “behind the scenes” access. Some of us now have kids in or about to go to college (!), but for anyone with 4th or 7th graders (they focus on Texas history in both grades now), let either of them know if they can help with tours or a connection to the museum’s librarian for that extra something to include in a class history paper or project! Page Shaper Haun has been living in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 10 years now. She has three kids – nine, seven and five years old. She and her husband spend much of their time working and driving kids to the next activity, squeezing in time here and there to exercise and travel. BTW, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her dad who sure perks up our school’s advisory board meetings. Brad Wiemer has enjoyed his first year living in Boulder, CO. He checked off
After three years of living in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Park City, UT, Jennifer Phillips Potter and her family have relocated back to Texas and are getting settled in Southlake, halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth. According to Jennifer it’s definitely much flatter topography, but still beautiful and it’s wonderful to have all the amenities of big city living, but in a pastoral setting. Juliet Evans Peterson has been a culinary arts instructor for SBISD in Houston for the last seven years. Her two sons Austin and Andrew both attend Memorial High School. Austin will graduate this spring and go to either UT or A&M for Engineering. Andrew is a freshman and is playing basketball. Anuj Shah lives in Houston, is an attorney and a proud vegan. John Semander is over the moon about his new baby cousin who was born on the same day and named after his sister Elena ’79. Elise Chapman is still in San Francisco, still working in FX at Wells Fargo and still playing golf as much as she can. She looks forward to hopefully seeing many members of our class at the Alumnae & Friends Luncheon in March. Best of all, she’s still celebrating the Cubs winning the World Series – Go Cubs Go!!! John Johnson works at BG and is still Managing Partner of “Man Town” at Casa Johnson. Mike Edwards is married and lives in Santa Cruz, California. Bettina Yang splits her time between New York, DC and China. She has discovered a true passion for art. After taking art history classes at Christie’s
ALUMNI NEWS
and Sotheby’s, she has begun painting.
LLP. And our two boys are growing up too fast!”
As for me, Kim McGaw: I attended Freddie Mercury’s 70th birthday in Montreux, Switzerland. (My enthusiasm for Queen may rival John Johnson’s for KISS.) I was named a “disruptor in higher ed” and consider it a badge of honor. Recently, I have been delivering humorous keynotes around millennials, teaching creativity/innovation courses and facilitating LEGO® Serious Play® workshops at Rice University. Feeling excited to have just launched the school’s first leadership coaching program for the public, in partnership with the Doerr Institute for New Leaders.
Lynn Rothermel Neligan: “This past May, I married David Neligan in Boston. David is an antiques and fine arts dealer and we’ve just returned from Venice. Life really is sure full of treasures!”
1989
Elizabeth Oxford Pagan Houston, TX elizabethpagan@me.com Hello all! The Class of 1989 is blessed with a lot of happy and fun news in this New Year! There are new jobs, new cities, new homes, a new marriage and even a new baby… Bronwyn Burke Tilton: “I am still practicing law as a litigator, but am now with a national firm, Litchfield Cavo,
Laney Vaughan Pitstick: “After nine years in Wisconsin, we moved to Denver this summer for Tom’s new job, bringing us closer to my brother in Boulder and sister in Durango. We’ve been enjoying all the hiking and outdoor activities and look forward to figuring out the winter sports soon! Our girls have gained a lot of empathy for “the new kids” having to start out new in 5th and 8th grades. Luckily, everyone seems to be settling in well and we’ve had lots of visitors to keep us busy!” Amy Cox Vitt: “After five years in Houston, we moved to Tucson, AZ where we could be in the mountains and enjoy more cycling and hiking.” Walter Weathers: “Baby #3 due in March. Crazy…” Congratulations!! I hope the rest of our ’89 crew is doing well and I hope you all have a great 2017!
1990
Aimee Ford Byrd Phoenix, AZ aimeebyrd1@yahoo.com As our crew ages, we only get more interesting. It was over two years ago we met for our 25th reunion at Peter Tropoli’s house, then later at Katie Mattingly Brass’ house for donuts and a DJ. We are always keeping it classy. I think it is time for another round of donuts friends, as we approach our next Kinkaid reunion milestone. Much love to all as we march through our crazy and beautiful lives. Matthew Colangelo, the ever-conscientious one, was concerned if he missed the deadline, the entire alumni newsletter would end. Well, nope. Stephanie Limb is currently Vice President of Advocacy Communications at the Texas Hospital Association in Austin where she lives with her husband and two daughters, ages 15 and 11. She celebrated her 44th birthday at the Guns ‘n’ Roses reunion concert in Houston in August with Aimee Iglesias Cronfel and Shayne Hurst Newell. Time truly stands still. Heather Hankamer Consoli thinks herself a bore – however, we know different. And…her three Kinkaidians have yet to be left at school. Her youngest
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
(Anna ’25) is in Lower School, and her older two (Kate ’23 and Harrison ’21) are in Middle School at Kinkaid. All are in sports so they have to recruit Heather’s parents to cheer at the several games per week. Chris Colthart married his longtime partner Lara Bank last November and they welcomed their first child, a girl, in February. After a career of Internet, graphic design and communications, Colthart has finally achieved his goal of teaching fulltime this fall. He now teaches Middle School History at Sequoyah School in South Pasadena, a small progressive school a few miles from his house in Highland Park, Los Angeles. He hopes to finish mixing his fourth album of self-produced psychedelic rock before getting heavily into the diaper-changing scene. Mandy Smith Johnston is teaching First Grade at Tanglewood Elementary in Fort Worth and is currently Kappa Alum Club President. Her girls are at TVS (Trinity Valley School); Louise is a junior and Martha is in 7th grade. She and her husband Fred are loving their busy lives in Fort Worth! Nancy Turner is living in Houston and works at Huntsman Chemical Corporation in The Woodlands as Head of Public Affairs for one of their divisions.
You Can’t Take It With You Alumni Acting Company Event October 15
Brock Looser ‘17 with Michel Miller Mullett ‘00
Matthew Kirkwood ‘19 with David Fossas ‘00
Former cast members (and guests) from the 1999 production of You Can’t Take It With You along with Tom Moore and Kate and Scott Lambert
Evan Rosen ‘17 with Michael Hanson ‘00
Eloise Detmering ‘17 with Lauren Manford Gauthreaux ‘00
Caroline Moseley ‘19 with Justin Levine ‘02 45
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Class of ‘90 get together at RSK fine jewelry in Austin - Robin Kayem Hancock, Sarah Wheless Murrin, Jennifer Pruitt Toomey, Heather Hankamer Consoli, Christine Bain Williams, Katie Mattingly Brass, Evie Dyer Rawlinson
Evie Dyer Rawlinson’s three children Cortland, Jax and Dyer are all in high school...very fun, but very busy times. She is still doing her organizing business and having fun! Palmer Letzerich and his wife Aynsley are in Houston and their daughters Annabelle ’24 and Caroline ’26 both attend Kinkaid. Still in San Antonio, Suzie Dyer Bacon and her husband took a new job at Trinity University in the summer of 2015. They moved over onto its beautiful campus that fall. (Evie Dyer Rawlinson’s daughter Cortland will hopefully be a freshman there next fall!) Suzie’s boys Max (almost 10) and Dyer (8) have sadly eclipsed her Mrs. Hartley Spanish with their dual language schooling. Wells (9) and Parker Grace (5) are settling beautifully into Ruthie Stephenson Emrick’s new life north of New York City. They moved to Larchmont, a quintessential walking town by the water. Ruthie and her husband Craig are still involved in Young Life and are helping to launch a new area where they live. Michelle Martinez McKane is working three days a week, has four kids and a busy husband. They travel much and she is so appreciative of her healthy children and family. She couldn’t ask for more! Allison Allbritton Dwyer’s life with four adolescents girls...is truly lovely! Think I caught her on a good day! Jokes aside, she is blessed and thankful. Mostly day-to-day, she keeps them off the street…so far, so good. On the side, she keeps busy with mental health advocacy work in the schools and also works to improve quality early childhood education for all. It’s all good! Allison hopes all of our KHS comrades are doing well! Eileen Baird Askew is still living in Seattle with her husband Rick and is staying busy with her 10-year-old twin daughters. Eileen is currently taking a hiatus from working and
46
is volunteering plenty at the kids’ school.
Bank. Katie & A.J. plan to ride the MS 150 bike ride to Austin this April.
Raising teenagers is keeping Blake and Christine Bain Williams busy. All at Kinkaid, Georgia ’18 is a junior, Bain ’20 is a freshman and Mary Blake ’22 is in 7th grade. They are busy with all sorts of activities in and out of school. Christine is looking forward to serving as Co-President of the Kinkaid Parent’s Association in 2017-2018.
As for me, Aimee Ford Byrd, my husband Chris, my daughter Barlow (11) and I are still living in Phoenix and are embracing the sun and serene surroundings. Never one to miss a trip to Texas – we keep our roots deep in Austin, Houston and Midland. I am an executive recruiter for a local search firm; getting in trouble for talking in high school has worked well in this industry.
Keith Gendel and his wife Liz are living in Houston with their son Owen (2.5). Keith is working in the family business at Harry Gendel Architects. Liz is a Clinical Trials Regulatory Specialist at UT Health. Owen’s got a little drum kit and ukulele and the jam sessions are intense. Keith’s band, Papas Fritas, just celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first album release. Keith sent me the link to a really thorough oral history that was published on Popdose.com. If anyone is interested in reading the article, email me and I will send you the direct link. Katrin Muir Lau has two Kinkaid Middle Schoolers – Paysan ’23 in 6th grade and Prescott ’22 in 7th grade. She is still working as an Independent Educational Consultant and she and her mom’s book about applying to college, Finding Your U, has been recently published. They were also invited to do a local NPR talk that some people actually said they heard (it’s still on their website!). With the kids on the purple team, Katrin’s wardrobe has made a major shift from gold – but she will still cheer for both sides at Field Day! Sarah Wheless Murrin is living in Fort Worth with her husband Philip and their three children. Philip (fs) is a junior, Mary a freshman and Carolina started middle school this year at Fort Worth Country Day. Robin Kayem Hancock opened her new shop with Tiny Boxwoods in the newly renovated Kerbey Lane Village in Austin. Robin was featured on the KXAN local news station for her jewelry line, RSK Fine Jewelry. During her segment, she showed viewers what to look for in jewelry and how to make the best selections. The video and article “Tips on Choosing Antique Jewelry” is posted on the KXAN.com if you’d like to check it out. Robin’s daughter Lucille (13) is going to St. Stephen’s School and her son William is in 5th grade. Her husband just started with a recently acquired bank charter and his bank will be called Anchor Bank. Katie Mattingly Brass and husband, A.J. are busy raising their two daughters Hallie ’22 (13) and Joycie ’23 (11), both of whom attend Kinkaid Middle School. Katie is active with the National MS Society & University of Texas raising funds to battle MS. Katie is on the board of Camp Aranzazu and is active with the Houston Food
To our ever evolving Class of 1990, sending you all love and much joy in 2017! Special Note: Greg Ferris passed away July 19, 2016 after a challenging 16-year battle fighting complications from the treatment of leukemia. He worked as an investment banker, began a film production company, volunteered as a patient advocate, and worked in the family real estate business. He is survived by his wife Sarah, his daughter Arden, his mother Madeleine, his sister Katie Ferris Zindler ’93 and brother-in-law Scott and five nieces and a nephew. Greg is best remembered for his inspiring and unbreakable spirit, as a treasured friend and pillar of his family; his humor, counsel, kindness and love will be greatly missed. His appreciation for the beauty of life and belief in the vitalness of hope live on in all who knew and loved him. He cherished the time he had and lived and loved fully every minute. We all miss him deeply. His obituary is included in the “In Memory” section at the back of the magazine. Thank you, Katie Ferris Zindler ’93
1991
Lane Alexander Houston, TX lanealexander@yahoo.com Anthony Gonzalez returned from Afghanistan in May and has spent his time since then at the Pentagon in the National Military Command Center working on the watch floor seeing world events unfold. In January, he returned to Fort Polk in Louisiana for some Army training – it is kind of like going to adult summer camp to bond with your team, get some exercise and shoot your weapons for proficiency. He then has to return to DC for a few months and in July will go back to Afghanistan for his last tour there. Anthony’s wife and pup are doing fine in Fredericksburg – she is working hard with her real estate job and is always so supportive when I am gone. Anthony hopes everyone is doing well and is looking forward to reading the different posts and get-
ting caught up on where everyone has been and what they’re doing!
Class of ‘91 classmates at the Kinkaid field hockey tournament cheering on their daughters - Stewart Jones, Elizabeth Litton Hogan, Kelly Pearce Stouse, Courtney Marinis Swanson and Amy Manford Murchison
Elizabeth Litton Hogan is enjoying life in Houston and keeping busy with all three of her girls (ages 11, 14 and 16) at Kinkaid. As for me, Lane Alexander: Leslie and I just celebrated our 13th anniversary with a fun trip to Playa del Carmen. We moved back from the Bay Area over the summer so that I could take a new Finance Manager role in Chevron’s Houston office. We’ve settled in nicely in Memorial and are looking forward to catching up with friends. Our children Haley (9) and Jacob (5) are very active with school and sports and are thrilled to be closer to their grandparents and cousins.
1992
Jennifer Wilson Brown Houston, TX jenniferwilsonbrown@yahoo.com Billy Forney Houston, TX billy@f4interests.com Amy Stuyck Watson Houston, TX amyswatson@hotmail.com
1993
Courtney Dreyer Beauchamp San Antonio, TX courtbeauch@gmail.com Wendie Seale Childress Houston, TX wchildress@yettercoleman.com Ashley Morgan Hanna Houston, TX ashleymhanna@gmail.com Alex Alviar is enjoying life in Seattlwith his wife and three kids, where they are preparing for civil disobedience and a sanctuary state should the Trump administration pass their version of the Nuremburg Laws. Wendie Seale Childress continues to practice law with Yetter Coleman, LLP, a commercial litigation and appeals boutique. She and husband
ALUMNI NEWS
Matthew are having fun and are busy with their kids, Chloe ’25 (10) and Jack ’28 (6), who both attend Kinkaid. Lauren Dunwoody Collins, husband Porter and kids Porter, Caroline and Greta have left busy city life and made their way to the “burbs” otherwise known as Darien, CT. Erin and Mark McDannald, along with big sister Isla (8), added a son Oliver Thomas to their family in September. Stephen Plauche is Managing Director at Deutsche Bank where he oversees the transportation sector. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife Alexis and three kids Scarlett (6), Mackenzie (4) and son Parker (2). Stephen has a lot of seniority with all of the major US airlines as he racks up the air miles while traveling for work. He is super excited that Trump won and cannot wait until America starts winning again. He may even take the family to DC for the inauguration. After seeing her boys eating habits change after doing a weekly produce co-op, Lisa Helfman started the non-profit Brighter Bites four years ago to bring fresh produce and nutrition education to children through school co-ops in underserved communities. Starting with one KIPP School in Houston, she now serves over 20,000 families in over 106 locations in Houston, Dallas and Austin. As of November, she has distributed 10 million pounds of produce and is creating communities of health through fresh food. She is now looking to replicate the concept nationally!
1994
Courtney Domercq Daily Houston, TX cdomercq@hotmail.com
1995
Meredith Riddle Chastang Houston, TX meredithchastang@gmail.com Mary Sommers Burger Pyne Houston, TX marysommers@yahoo.com New from out West: Michael Kuntz’s solar venture, Simusolar, is growing rapidly. Simusolar works to improve the quality of life for millions of Africans through the distribution of high quality, affordable and clean energy solutions. For more information, go to www.simusolar.com. On the personal front, Michael also became a father on November 12, 2016 to a baby daughter, Hattie Paloma Biringer Kuntz. Congratulations! Katherine Howe and her husband Louis have moved from Ithaca to NYC, where they are looking forward to
Class of ‘95 enjoying a Falcon home football game this past fall - Jennifer Chapman Wizel, Lindsay Wadler Hyman, Monica Bailey Bickers with Bailey Bickers ‘30, Leisa Ladin Dillon, Kate Marinis Walters, Mary McFall Groves with Khaki Groves ‘29
catching up with other Kinkaidians in the city. Kate is working on completing a new novel that is set in Jean Laffite’s pirate camp on Galveston circa 1818. Kate has offered anybody who comes up with a killer title, name recognition in the acknowledgements and dinner on her! Lindsay Dunlop Griffin celebrated her 40th birthday in August by moving to a new house in Charlotte. In September, her husband Tripp surprised her with a fantastic trip to Italy, and the traveling didn’t stop there. In November, she joined her church mission trip to El Salvador, where her Spanish classes came in handy. Sounds like a great start to your forties, Lindsay! John Barksdale reports that all is well in Austin. Little Johnny is now six and loves playing baseball and golf. Isla Skye is four and plays soccer. Both kids love to fish! The Barksdales are living on the Eastside of Austin while they remodel their home on the West Campus. The Barksdale family will also be packing their bags a lot in the coming year: San Diego over Christmas, Belize for Spring Break 2017 and Ireland and Scotland for Summer of 2017. Safe travels! As the Founder and Executive Artistic Director of Houston’s Classical Theatre Company, JJ Johnston was recently honored by the American Theatre Wing (the organization that runs the Tony Awards), as CTC was one of seven theatre companies in the country to be first-time recipients of the prestigious National Theatre Company Grant Award. As a winner, he was flown to New York City to participate in a day of knowledge sharing and to receive the award at the reception held at the Viacom Building in Times Square. Congratulations, JJ! What an amazing honor and very well deserved, indeed. Dejon (DJ) Banks married Darrin Hawthorne in August of 2016. Carvana Hicks Cloud, the bride’s best friend since her Middle School years at Kinkaid, remains by her side and served as the Matron of Honor in the intimate and joyous ceremony. Pas-
tor Ray Reason, a family friend and member of the Kinkaid community, officiated the wedding. Represent, Falcons!! The couple married at First Presbyterian Church, a location sentimental to Dejon because of her role on the school’s administration for numerous years. The celebration and festivities continued to Four Seasons Hotel - Houston. Darrin, a native of New Jersey, possesses a kindred spirit for traveling and a passion for education. He relocated to Texas and the happy Hawthorne family resides in Pearland. Dejon continues to THRIVE with her work in education and she looks forward to continuing her voyages around the globe in celebration of her upcoming 40th birthday. Best Wishes, Mrs. Hawthorne! Macari Coleman Potter and her husband Neil have three children: Kendall (6), a Kindergartener, Mary Langham (4.5), a Pre-Ker, and baby James who has the house to himself (most of the time). James turned one in January. Macari continues to work for Hess Corporation. Meredith Riddle Chastang continues to fundraise for the Houston community. This past fall, she chaired a gala benefitting University of Houston. She has also been on the job move and has recently assumed the role of Digital Account Director for Texas Monthly. Carvana Hicks Cloud is busy being a “mommy mogul”. Affectionately known as her pink and blue heartbeats, Princess Courtland (7) and Prince Willie (3) are developing into amazing little people and Se Hablan Espanol just like their mom! Carvana was busy this election season working to “Turn Texas Blue,” an organization she leads which was instrumental in electing Harris County’s newest Democratic judges and District Attorney Elect. Following the election, she joined the D.A.’s Office as an Assistant D.A. and Family Criminal Law Unit Chief. Always an advocate for public service, Carvana worked to register thousands of voters and empower and inspire all Houstonians to be engaged in the political process by exercising their right to vote! Carvana and Willie plan to travel quite a bit this coming year. Forrest Wynn has been spending most of his time with his family and starting a new law firm. Last June, he partnered up with two long-time friends and colleagues to open Hicks Davis Wynn, P.C. He reports things are going great on both fronts. As for me, Mary Sommers Burger Pyne, I’ve recently returned from a short trip to San Francisco where I was able to spend the morning with fellow classmate Kathryn Wolf Krischer walking, talking and taking in the local sites. We are all so lucky to have friends near and far! Stay in touch
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
and use the alumni portal to find friends in your next destination.
1996
Erin Jones Brown Houston, Texas erinjonesbrown@gmail.com Emily Mitchell Covey Houston, TX emily.covey@gmail.com Greetings, Class of 1996! It was so wonderful to see so many of you at our 20-year reunion this past April – our class is doing great things! And thanks again to Brad and Lauren Roemer Morgan for hosting our shindig! For those of you who weren’t able to make it, you were missed! Here’s what’s been happening with our classmates lately: Reagan Mabray Barry lives in Houston and opened Meridian Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine – a small acupuncture clinic with three licensed acupuncturists specializing in women’s health and pain management in the Spring Branch/Spring Valley area – eight months ago. Reagan’s husband Kirby changed jobs and is now working for Bank of Texas as a Mortgage Banker. Their son Asher (3) attends the Oaks at Briargrove and is growing fast! Reagan continues to ride dressage horses and teach dressage lessons once a week. She reports that it’s been a good year full of changes and they are looking forward to 2017! Debbie Blumberg moved back to Houston from New York with her husband and two daughters Sadie (3) and Lilah (14 months) in September. They are loving the weather, extra space and that there are parking spots everywhere they go! Debbie continues to build her writing, editing and content strategy business. Her clients include global corporations and organizations – many based in New York – in finance, real estate and healthcare, and she’s working on adding more Houston-based clients. Debbie is also working on her first book and is looking forward to catching up with everyone at Houston alumni events! Brandt Bowden and his wife Mary Kay are both enjoying living in Houston with four little ones: Russell (6), Annabelle (5), Blye (3) and Mayfair (2 months). Russell ’28 and Annabelle ’30 are enjoying school life at Kinkaid. The Bowden household became a little more chaotic with the arrival of baby number four, Mayfair Kay, in December. Congrats, Bowdens! Harris Brodsky is doing well and is living and working in Austin, TX. Kelli Roosth Cooney and her husband Jim are still living and working in
47
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
NYC. Their daughter Olivia is in second grade and son Jamie is in his last year of preschool. Kelli and Jim still love hanging out with all of the Kinkaidians in the Big Apple!
ni Sahni often. Who would have thought after meeting 30 years ago in Mr. Scherrib’s 4th grade class that they’d still be meeting for dinner in NYC every month!
Cameron Cureton, his wife Laura and their three boys are doing well and living in Houston, where Cameron is still in commercial real estate. Cameron and Laura’s two older boys are in 1st grade (Wyatt ’28) and Pre-K (Payne ’30) at Kinkaid. The Curetons moved to a new home this year and Cameron and Laura celebrated 10 years of marriage in December. Congrats, Curetons!
Alex and Kara Kearney Elsik recently welcomed their daughter Ava to the world. Congratulations, Alex and Kara! Alex is still running a small energy hedge fund, Geosol Capital, and Kara is going to be a full-time mom for now.
Jen Cunningham Desautels’ ‘96 son Charlie and Rohini Sahni’s ‘96 daughter Mia
Jen Cunningham Desautels is still in Alexandria, VA and is now working as Director of Communications at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School where her daughter Elliot (10) and son Charlie (8.5) have been in school the last six years. She traveled to Zimbabwe on safari in the Save Conservancy this past summer with her entire family and had the trip of a lifetime! How special to see Jen’s love for Africa reflected in her children’s eyes. As for life as a parent...the biggest surprise she has encountered in the last few years is her prowess at being a superb “Soccer Mom”. Elliot and Charlie both play in competitive travel soccer leagues and Jen has perfected the art of tailgating at 7am games in the freezing cold, and she finds herself channeling her mom as she cheers them on! Fellow classmate Rohini Sahni and her two children Mia and Blake even came to watch the kids play earlier this year.
Canaan Factor, wife Bethany Boyd Factor ’97 and their family have had a busy 2016. Sadly, Bethany’s mother Theresa Boyd passed away this summer after a brave battle with cancer – she is dearly missed by all. The Factor kids: Canaan and Sloane (3rd grade), Major (1st grade) and Baron (Pre-K) enrolled in Bunker Hill Elementary after many years of enjoying St. Francis Episcopal. However, there is now another change as the Factors moved to Fort Worth in December. Canaan accepted a new position as President of SPN Well Services, a Division of Superior Energy Services. The Factors are looking forward to getting settled in, the new opportunity and getting to know DFW area alumni! Kathryn Floyd left Austin for San Francisco, which she reports is a big, but lovely change. She still works remotely as Editorial Director for an art start-up out of Austin called Twyla, creating all of their content for the site, campaigns and the online magazine. Betsy LaFuze Gill moved to Knoxville, TN in June 2015 as her husband now works as the Director of International Programs for the Agricultural Institute at The University of Tennessee. Betsy works PRN as a speech therapist. Betsy and Tom have two children: Lissy (7) and Joshua (4). Kathleen Deaton Lalor is happily living in Dallas with her husband and two little boys. They welcomed Brooks Deaton Lalor on March 28, 2016! Melissa Liebling-Goldberg and her husband recently bought an apartment in NYC on the Upper East Side with their pug puppy Moxie. Melissa is now the VP of Editorial at Spring (shopspring.com). Kristin Kirk Nelson and her husband recently moved back to Houston with their son Jack (2.5) and daughter Annabelle (8 months). Kristin still practices oil and gas law.
Lauren DiPaolo ‘96, Anita Patil ‘96 and Rohini Sahni ‘96 meeting for their monthly dinner in NYC
Lauren DiPaolo is happily living and working in New York City. She sees classmates Anita Patil and Rohi-
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Travis Rea is still living in the Bay Area with his wife Ana and their son John (18 months). Travis is currently Director of Product Innovation and Sourcing for NatureBox, an e-commerce food company based in Silicon Valley. The Reas bought a house in Alameda, CA in July and are enjoying their new neighborhood in the East Bay. Travis took a trip with classmates Cullen Powell and Richard Schudy to New Mexico in September
and still sees some other ‘96 classmates too. David Rench enjoys living in Dallas with his wife Missy and three daughters Allison (8), Lauren (5) and Brooklyn (2). Life is full of work, coaching Pre-K soccer, Adventure Princesses and dance recitals…it’s definitely “Team Pink” in the Rench household! Christie Barksdale Ross and her husband Newton welcomed their third baby in June 2016 – Baker Thomas Ross. Congrats, Ross family! Christie “retired” early from her PA job at MD Anderson last September and is enjoying her new full-time job as a stay-at-home mom. Emily George Seiders, her husband and son Gray (8) are still living in Austin. Emily stays busy with her growing interior design business and reports that Gray’s best buddy is Jim Withers’ son J.B.! Bobby Stillwell and his wife Alex are enjoying having their oldest child Charlotte ’30 in Kinkaid’s Pre-K class. Charlotte’s grade is full of Kinkaid alumni, so Bobby reports that it’s been fun reconnecting and getting back on the Kinkaid campus. Their son Bo is three-years-old and is very focused on being the world’s next great fireman. The Stillwells are expecting their third child, a girl, due in May. Maya Buryakovsky Pomroy and her family live in Houston. Maya is also enjoying being back on campus as a “Kinkaid Mom” to their Pre-K daughter Emma ’30. Maya finds herself being a “Drama Mama” to their oldest daughter Madelyn who is a part of Main Street Theater. The Pomroys look forward to traveling to Israel for the holidays! Mark Thiessen is working hard to free the wrongfully accused around the State of Texas! Mark says, “You wouldn’t believe how many ‘huge misunderstandings’ people have with the police.” Mark got engaged to a fellow attorney Taly Jacobs in Machu Picchu in September 2016 and they are planning on a Halloween 2017 wedding. Congrats, Mark! He and Taly are working together to expand his law firm to include family law and personal injury. Mark’s children are doing great and are keeping him healthy! Anne Marie Vollero Thompson and her husband Beau are enjoying life in Houston with their daughters Sofia (almost 5) and Charlotte (3). Anne Marie is still working part time as a Health Educator at Texas Children’s Hospital. Anne Marie loves that Kinkaid classmates Nina Mahendra Pilson, Alice Watson Ahuero and Kristin Kirk Nelson all live within blocks of the Thompsons in West U! Andy Wayne is now in his 12th year at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, serving as Director of Communica-
tions and Engagement. He is also now wrapping up over two years as President of PEP-RJ, Program and Engagement Professionals of Reform Judaism, and continues to look for ways to impact his community in Baltimore. Andy’s wife Lauren was recently promoted to Controller of her company, Continental Realty, and their boys Brendan (4) and Evan (2) constantly keep them entertained. Jim Withers and his wife Ashley are still living in Austin with their children J.B. (8), Cooper (6) and Ellie (2). Jim reports that life with three little ones is a handful, but a blast! Jim had a great time seeing everyone at our 20-year reunion and looks forward to our next reunion! As for me, Erin Jones Brown, I am still living in Houston with my husband Wil ’95 and our children Harper ’26 (9) and Hutton ’28 (7), who are in third and first grades, respectively, at Kinkaid. Life is super busy with school, sports and trying to find time to keep up with my law practice, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! It was such fun seeing so many friends at our reunion…20 years went by in a blink! And as for me, Emily Mitchell Covey, I am also still in Houston. 2016 was definitely a hectic one for me, juggling a new baby girl Isabel, born on New Year’s Day, her big sister Elena (4.5) who is a ball of energy and love, a major remodel to our 1920s home in Montrose and a few real estate deals in between, including helping our head cheerleader Mary Kristen Plumhoff Valentine and her husband David move to Memorial. While I didn’t have much time to be social, I did make time for the reunion at the Morgans. From my arrival in a pedi-cab to the late-night Whataburger courtesy of David Werlin, oh and with the dance moves by Emily George Seiders and my newborn at home, it really was a night to remember. Erin is right…our 30th will be here before we know it!
1997
Christina Wilson Altenau Houston, TX Christina.altenau@gmail.com Daniel Jenkins Houston, TX Danieljenkinsiv@gmail.com
1998
Amy Parker Beeson Houston, TX amyparkerbeeson@gmail.com
ALUMNI NEWS
1999
Kinghorn Driver Hough & Co. where he originates commercial mortgages.
unteer with the Junior League of Washington.
Tricia Garrison Murray lives in Larchmont, NY with her husband and two kids. She began working with the campaign for Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt in June 2014 and looks forward to an exciting race in 2018. Her daughter Caroline turns eight in May 2017 and Bobby turned five in October 2016. She and Vinnie will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary this year on St. Patrick’s Day.
Congratulations to Nick Ducoff and his wife Elizabeth who celebrated their five-year wedding anniversary. Their son Charlie recently turned 18 months old as well. Nick has now been in his role as Vice President at Northeastern University for two and a half years. He was recently included in HP’s “Innovator’s Index” and Bostinno’s “50 on Fire”. Another honor came when he was invited to the White House by the Department of Education for a convening on Higher Education Innovation. Way to go, Nick!
Kristen Tiner is now Kristen Brearey! She and Guy were married in July in New York City after moving back to New York from Hong Kong in June. Kristen is working at Thomson Reuters as Global Business Director and Guy is pursuing his MBA at NYU Stern.
Elizabeth Evans Mann Houston, TX elizabeth.e.mann@gmail.com
Holly Veselka recently made the big move back to Texas! She is now an Assistant Professor at Texas State University in the college of Art and Design. She teaches Art Foundations and we are sure she is loving being back in her home state! Courtney Wilson McGregor continues to love life down under in Sydney, Australia. She recently left her job of 10 years to start a new role as a lecturer at the French Culinary School, Le Cordon Bleu, in Sydney. Her new role involves training students to be gourmet chefs and restaurant managers as well as focus on their industries’ impact on the environment. On the home front, she has traded city life to raise her sons – Lachlan (5) and William (3) with her husband on a farm outside of Sydney! She is taking this opportunity to “practice what she preaches.” Last year, Kamil Walji moved to the Big Apple! He is working at Teachers College, Columbia University in special event planning and designing. He is concurrently enrolled in a Sports Management Master Program also at Columbia. Damian Horan is still making a name for himself in the film industry as a cinematographer! He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Emily and their two sons Hudson (4) and Townes (1). Earlier this year, he shot the quirky romantic comedy Pottersville starring Michael Shannon, Christina Hendricks and many other notable actors. Along with being featured in Variety’s 2016 “Below the Line Impact Report,” he has shot spots for HBO, Netflix, Starz and TBS. While still in shock that our 20-year reunion is only a couple of years away, Chris Weekley is married with five kids (ages six months to nine years)! He is working for David Weekley Homes and continues to try to find that elusive work/life balance. Travis Fite and his wife Jennifer have welcomed a new baby boy, Landon Walker Fite. He was born on October 8, 2016 and joins big brother Logan (2). Travis continues his role at Q10
2000
Spencer English Houston, TX spencer.english@gmail.com Alyssa Gardner Kilpatrick Houston, TX alyssakilpatrick@hotmail.com Michel Miller Mullett Houston, TX michelmullett@hotmail.com
2001
Catherine Gutermuth San Francisco, CA cgutermuth@gmail.com
2002
Ariana Nizza Chapman Houston, TX Ariananizzachapman@gmail.com Leslie Roemer Labanowski Houston, TX leslielabanowski@gmail.com
2003
Anne Tropoli Kahle Houston, TX anne.tropoli@gmail.com The Class of 2003 is busy working, traveling, getting married and having babies! Mary Beth Tyler lives in Washington, DC (just over six years now!). Recently promoted to Technology Consulting Senior Manager with Accenture, she supports her federal clients as the deputy program manager with assessing technical security risks and financial advising. Outside of work, Mary Beth continues to vol-
After finishing grad school at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Bonnie Turtur founded MASTERS Magazine in association with SVA. MASTERS is an annual print publication showcasing photography and the history of it within the fashion industry. Their first issue launched in February 2014 and honored Juergen Teller with an interview by NY Times fashion critic Kathy Horyn. For their second issue, they featured Gosta Peterson in conversation with Linda Rodin and received some lovely press by Women’s Wear Daily and the NY Observer about their launch event, which TURN Gallery hosted. They plan to launch a third issue in February along with launching a website. Bonnie is also a photographer working in New York for brands including Monique Lhuiller, Ann Taylor and Barneys, and lives in Williamsburg with Pino and their adopted white German shepherd puppy, Bowie. In 2013 after graduating with an MBA from Michigan, Robert Gondo moved to Seattle. He works for Amazon and became engaged to Jaewon Kang in September. His fiancé works at Facebook and they have a ridiculously cute Corgi named Muffin. Sara Cain received her M.F.A. in Painting in New York in 2011 and her Certificate of Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Art through New York University and the Appraisers Association of America. She moved back to Houston in 2013 and after working at a local art management company for three years, she started her own firm, Cain Fine Art, in May of 2016. Cain Fine Art is a full-service art appraisal and advisory firm specializing in paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and photography for 20th Century art and 19th Century American and European art. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Jarrett Golding moved to Los Angeles and earned his M.F.A. in Writing for Screen and Television from USC in 2009. Jarrett has spent the past decade (!) working in the entertainment industry and has written several independent films. He is currently an affiliated professor teaching screenwriting at UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine University. Jarrett married his wife Sarah, a kindergarten teacher and native Californian, in 2013; they are expecting their first child in June. Rachael Jones Berry and her husband Jimmy had a son, James Doyle Berry
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
IV, on August 3, 2016 and celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in October. Rachael works for Nicole Zarr ’87 at Triangle Interiors, a full-service residential design firm in Houston. Michael Short and his wife Ana live in Houston in Briargrove with their son Sebastian (3) and daughter Scarlett (1). After eight years with Bain & Company, Michael left the consulting world last year and is now EVP & COO of Servitas, a student housing development and property management company. Frank Vargas is still working for the Defense Department and living in Italy with his wife Rachael and their son Felix (2). They’re enjoying the travel, history, culture and food, while slowly learning to speak Italian. Upon finishing her PhD in Organizational Psychology from Rice University, Christina Upchurch Zimmer joined ExxonMobil, working as an Organizational Effectiveness Consultant and Global HR Advisor. After briefly living in the DC area to help close its Fairfax office, she is glad to be back in Houston permanently! She and her husband Andrew welcomed a daughter, Caroline Hayden, into the world on October 10, 2016 and celebrated their three-year anniversary last fall. They are enjoying parenthood! Lizzie Heaney Ziccardi reports Max Lents and Ian Newton started a Rye whiskey distillery in Baltimore called The Baltimore Whiskey Company. Check it out! www.thebaltimorewhiskeycompany.com Hanly Banks Callahan and her husband Bill are living on an avocado grove near Santa Barbara, CA with their son Bass (almost 2). She is in the process of becoming a licensed Jungian psychotherapist and Bill is working on an album. And I, Anne Tropoli Kahle, live in Houston with my husband Walker and our son Augie (1). We escaped Houston over New Years to spend a week in Florida with family.
2004
Jordan Allison Boyce Houston, TX jordan.boyce67@gmail.com Emily Catherine Jeter Riggs Houston, TX ecjriggs@gmail.com
2005
Grace Lee Hofer Fort Worth, TX lee.gracep@gmail.com Erica Roggen Akerman is working for Champion Energy Services as In-
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
P
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Franco Silva ’09 is Playing for Something Bigger
S
ince Franco was young, he has always wanted to build a career that gives back to people. He graduated from Tufts University in 2013 with a B.A. in Social Psychology and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Philosophy.
With a pre-med future in sight, Franco believed this diversified array of undergrad disciplines would help him become a well-rounded physician who understood his patients – a career in medicine would be his outlet to giving back. While at Tufts University, Franco was a member of its Division III soccer team. Soccer was a huge part of his life and he couldn’t imagine ever leaving it. However, one month before graduating, Franco suffered a major leg injury that spun his life into chaos. As a result, his career plans shifted. After reading Start Something That Matters by TOMs Founder Blake Mycoskie, Franco realized that he could help people without being a doctor; he could help through business and social entrepreneurship. Why not combine his two passions – giving back and soccer – together? The entrepreneurial concepts of self-determination and dictating your future appealed to Franco, thanks in part to his schooling at Kinkaid and his family’s entrepreneurial background. He didn’t want to be a part of someone’s vision, he wanted to build his own. After graduating, Franco was recovering from surgery and tutoring Kinkaid upper school students, while researching how to launch his business. In September 2014, Kizazi was formally launched. Kizazi sells four different types of soccer balls. Every time a ball is purchased, 15% of the profits are allocated to the Kizazi Fund, which aids those in impoverished communities through microloans. Once the loans are repaid, the Kizazi Fund and the power to fight poverty grow. “[Kizazi] does not give people things. We give people the opportunity to create their own wealth, to bring themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty.” Why leverage soccer to give back to those in poverty? Poverty as a humanitarian crisis is intrinsically tied to soccer, as soccer is known as the poor man’s sport. Anyone can play soccer; all you need is a spherical object. Secondly, the soccer fan base is immense. “Over 2 billion people live in poverty, a massive undertaking, but 3.5 billion people love the game of soccer. It is time to fight a giant with a giant.” Kizazi is currently run by Franco, his co-founder and two interns from Rice. Franco has had many interns over the past few years, many being Kinkaid soccer players or juniors and seniors that attended “The Apprentice” Interim Term class that Franco has spoken at the past two years. His brothers are both involved as well. Enrico ’13 is currently a senior at Savannah College of Art and Design and has been vital to Kizazi’s branding and marketing. Paolo ’16 is currently a freshman at Northeastern University and has focused on the business development side. Kizazi has already had some major milestones. In June 2016, COPA America, a giant worldwide soccer tournament that had never taken place in the US, held a tournament in Houston. Kizazi was able to partner and collaborate with the event; COPA America’s validation and attraction were huge for Franco’s company. COPA America’s Legacy Project puts money back into host cities to help underprivileged communities through soccer. Kizazi became a sponsor
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of the Legacy Project and donated soccer balls and helped build soccer fields around Houston. Kizazi was also a finalist in the 2016 Sustainable Brands event, a large social-business plan competition in San Diego. Franco pitched his company on stage in front of a few thousand people, and found the whole experience exhilarating. Throughout Franco’s time at Kinkaid, he was a top athlete in the soccer program, but he really started to shine academically once he got to Upper School. Freshman year, Franco was in Ms. Katherine Leathem’s AP Biology class, and for the first time, he excelled in a very rigorous class, showing himself that if he worked hard enough, he could succeed. This was the catalyst for his constant desire to challenge himself. “As an entrepreneur, you create your own life. Your output depends upon your input. Kinkaid taught me that if you work hard enough, reward will follow.” Franco focused on science classes, as he was originally hoping to become a doctor, but he credits Kinkaid with exposing him to many different disciplines, all with great teachers that stirred up his curiosity. Having this foundation helped him as he transitioned from medicine to entrepreneurship. Franco’s family has a history of entrepreneurship, as his grandfather and father both built multiple companies. In addition to running Kizazi, Franco is currently helping his father develop his oil & gas technology company into the international market, taking it to new regions of the world. Although this is a different industry than Kizazi, the entrepreneurial skill set is the same. Franco still plays soccer in his spare time and is engaged to fellow Kinkaid graduate Amy Chapman ’10. To learn more about Kizazi or purchase soccer balls, visit www.kizazi.com/.
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House Counsel. She is going on five and a half years with this company. She also completed her first half marathon in January! Kate Beasley Brock and her husband Michael welcomed their baby girl Norah Mae on November 21, 2016. Both mom and baby are doing great! Hilary Sealy Burch got married on September 24, 2016 to Patrick Burch in Houston. Becky Blades Gregg and her husband Justin welcomed their first baby in late December! They are enjoying their last year in Nashville and plan to move to Houston in July when Justin begins his fellowship in Urologic Oncology at M.D. Anderson. Becky is still working as a Vice President at Brentwood Capital Advisors. Brian Hensley is enjoying being in Houston and working at Intrepid Financial Partners. Abby Lestin reports that she is very busy as Director of Catering and Events for Dish Society Restaurants in Houston. Dish Society has two locations and a third under construction, which will open in Spring 2017 in the Memorial area. In her spare time, Abby volunteers for multiple charities including K94Cops, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She recently spoke at the 11th Annual Kinkaid Alumni Leadership Day. Alice Gutermuth Lodge is enjoying being a new mom to her precious baby boy Will. They recently celebrated his first birthday in January. Meg McGuire resides in Los Angeles and was recently promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Modern Luxury Angeleno Magazine and Modern Luxury San Diego Magazine. She also holds the position of National Entertainment & Bookings Editor at Modern Luxury Media.
Alumni Cheer Event October 28
Blake Mackay ‘05 and wife Paige at their wedding this past summer
and will then continue with her PhD in African and African American Studies at Harvard. She was also a TedX Yale speaker and a Fellow at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. Julia Atnipp Stellar and her husband Adam are enjoying living in Chicago with their two children Hattie and Clay. They look forward to exploring the Midwest and visiting Texas often! Will Thanheiser and Haley Robinson got engaged during Thanksgiving weekend. Haley is currently working as a nurse at Texas Children›s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and Will is an Associate at Bracewell LLP in Houston. They are extremely excited to be getting married this fall!
Alexa Leach ‘09, Kyrsti Harris Christensen ‘10, Dani’ Carter ‘10
Abigail Smith Zamorano married Oscar in Auburn, AL on November 26, 2016. Several Kinkaid ’05 alums were in attendance, including: Grace Lee Hofer, Anna Rogers Schwartzel, Becky Blades Gregg, Julia Coskey Cole, Lauren Thompson Miller and Grace Clawater Doramus. Abigail and Oscar currently live in St. Louis, MO, where Abigail is completing her ObGyn residency at Wash U. As for me, Grace Lee Hofer, I moved to Houston and married my husband Evan in August of last year. I enjoy working for Cambria USA in Houston.
Shannon Prince will graduate from Yale Law at the end of this academic year
Cheer Alums with the 2016-17 Varsity Cheerleaders
Hilary Sealy Burch ‘05 and her KHS Bridesmaids - Catherine Bradley ‘05, Marion Sealy ‘08, Helen Hemingway McLaughlin ‘05, Emily Merrill Alexander ‘05, Alice Gutermuth Lodge ‘05
Elizabeth Oxford Pagan ‘89, Christine Robertson Morenz ‘92, Brooke Bagby O’Neil ‘02, Liz Mims Bender ‘02, Isla McConn Jornayvaz ‘02, Caroline Hemingway Harrell ‘02, Blair Richardson Loocke ‘99
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newborns and families. She was recently selected as one of the top newborn photographers in Houston! Ashley Bush currently lives in Los Angeles and is finishing her MFA in Film and Television at the University of Southern California, School of the Cinematic Arts. She will be graduating in May 2017 with an emphasis in writing and directing. She is currently producing a film called Falling, an absurdist comedy about three separate lives that eventually collide on one chaotic night. She plans to stay in Los Angeles after graduating.
Class of ’05 alums Lauren Thompson Miller, Julia Coskey Cole, Grace Lee Hofer, Julia Atnipp Stellar, Abigail Smith Zamorano and Becky Blades Gregg on Grace’s wedding day this past summer
2006
Kase Lawal New York, NY kase.lawal@gmail.com
2007
Lauren Lestin Atlanta, GA lflestin@gmail.com As we approach our 10-year high school reunion in April, the Class of 2007 is excited to share its personal and professional successes since graduation. With career advancements, continuing education graduations, relocations, marriages and growing families, 2016 has been a year to remember! Ford Beckham and wife Bell moved to Germany in January for Ford’s final semester of business school through Rice University’s exchange program with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. They will return in May for Rice graduation. Henry Humphries recently got engaged to Lindsey Lechler. As of August, Austin Fatjo now works for Advanced Waste Solutions, a solid waste brokerage and consulting company. Julie Mackay Petry now calls Montreal, Quebec home since her husband Jeff is playing hockey for the Montreal Canadiens! They travel back to their home in Michigan each summer once hockey season is over. Jeff and Julie are loving every second of being parents to Boyd (15 months) and look forward to adding another little one to the mix in May! Lexi Sakowitz has joined John Daugherty Realtors as a Sales Associate. Though Lexi ventured to Los Angeles for 10 years producing over 40 shows in reality television, she ultimately made the exciting decision to move
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back to Houston to be closer to family. Lexi has an extensive knowledge of the Galleria area specializing in neighborhoods including River Oaks, Oak Estates, Memorial, West University, Post Oak and Tanglewood. William Simmons and wife Paige’s son Jack turned two this fall and they are expecting their second child (a girl!) in March 2017. They are still living in Boston, MA where William is in his second year of the MBA program at the Harvard Business School.
As for me, Lauren Lestin: I have been living in Atlanta, GA for over five years and recently accepted a new position as Director of PR for Ford Fry Restaurants, including Beetlecat, Marcel, Superica, The El Felix, St. Cecilia, King + Duke, The Optimist, No. 246 and JCT Kitchen in Atlanta and State of Grace in Houston. Looking forward to hearing from each of you again in the coming months! Cheers to a great 2017!
2008
Class of ’09 alums Ashley Fatjo, Kerbey Finger, Amy Wynne, Glyn Tower, Alexa Leach, Hannah Lockwood celebrating the Holidays
2009
Alanna McAuley Seattle, WA armcauley75@gmail.com Franco Silva is profiled on page 50 of this issue of the Kinkaid Magazine.
Brittany Bloom Dinerstein currently works as an agent at Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty. John Beckworth currently resides in Austin working in Commercial Real Estate Lending for Frost Bank. On a five-month shoot in Benin, West Africa, Catherine Murphy is an Associate Producer for an eight-part documentary series for National Geographic called “The Surgery Ship”. Look for it to air in the U.S. summer 2017.
Class of ’08 alums Mary Katherine Rathmell , Julia Wood , Haley Freeman Roff , Mason Bashaw Clelland , Frances Smith
Class of ’10 alums Laura Clegg , Laine Lieberman , Caroline Hafner , Lauren Hogan , Chelsea Fred getting together during Thanksgiving break
Andrew Coskey got married to Patricia Dewey on November 5, 2016 in Houston. Currently in the second year of her MBA at Columbia University, Leila Ladjevardian spent fall 2016 at London Business School participating in a Columbia exchange program. She plans to return to New York for the spring semester and will graduate in May 2017. Leila has also maintained her involvement with UNICEF’s Next Generation over the years. In March 2016, she spent two weeks in Indonesia with the organization learning about the work done in the field. Most recently, in September, she was named the Co-Chair of the New York Chapter Steering Committee. Along with being a proud mother to her daughter Miller (2) and son Bennett (one month), Erin Atmar Beckwith continues to grow her photography business out of her studio in the Washington Heights area. The business focuses on documenting births,
Katherine Bookout Booth ‘08 wedding party - Ana-Sofia Mariotto ‘08, Kate McConn Fazio ‘08, Christin Snodgrass Brown ‘08, Katie Williamson ‘08, Bailey Britt Weaver ‘08, Emily Burke ‘08, Loren Phillips Reardon ‘08, Kirby Allison ‘08
Kirby Allison Houston, TX kallison22@gmail.com Mason Bashaw Clelland Houston, TX mason.clelland@gmail.com
Maid of Honor Kendall Bentsen ‘10, Bridesmaid Kate Hickman ‘16, Bride Abbey Hickman Hendrix ‘10, Bridesmaid Julia Hickman Hoyt ‘12 and Maid of Honor Amy Chapman ‘10
2010
Evan Henke New York, NY evanhenke@yahoo.com
WINTER/SPRING 2017
2011
Alexis Roberts is living in Houston and is working as a Sales Specialist at Aztec Events & Tents. She is also getting involved as a volleyball assistant club coach at Houston Juniors.
Harry Hantel New York, NY hhantel@gmail.com
Adam Rubinsky spent time travelling after his graduation from Vanderbilt in May. He spent nine weeks in Southeast Asia and Europe. He is now working as a Consulting Analyst for Accenture.
Avery Geisler St. Louis, MO aag459@gmail.com
Marshall Woodward and William Montgomery both recently moved to New York City. They are considering becoming roommates because the rent is too high. Andy Schirrmeister moved from Los Angeles to Honolulu. “E aloha kekahi i kekahi / Love and respect one another.” Jared Dawson is engaged to Funmilayo Oyeniyi. Congratulations, Jared and Funmi! Lastly, your faithful correspondent, Harry Hantel, recently became a member of the ACLU and the Democratic Socialists of America. Thanks for reading!
2012
Kirby Gilbert Austin, TX kirbycgilbert@gmail.com Will Fullenweider, Maddie Brown, Reed Hash and Kirby Gilbert are all finishing up their first semester at the University of Texas School of Law. Andrew Campbell will be graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in December. He has been studying Petroleum Engineering and will be moving to Midland in January for work. Mia Fredricks is working as a Business Operations Coordinator for SMG in New Orleans out of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Samantha Kirshon is living in NYC and is working at Vogue in International Fashion Business Development.
Our first Class reunion (FIVE years!) is coming up this spring on March 31 - April 1. I am pleased to be working with John Adkins, Allison Bolin, Carly Gray and John Ormiston on arrangements for our Saturday night party! You should have recently received an invitation with further details. We hope to see all of you there! Hope everyone is doing well and wishing you all the best!
2013
Marissa Smith Austin, TX marissa.smith@me.com
2014
Haley Ebel Elon, NC haley.ebel@gmail.com Nina Bontha is staying busy in the city that never sleeps. She is a Media Culture and Communications major and business minor at NYU. Over NYC fashion week she had the chance to work for the same company that she interned for during Interim Term. Her classes keep her busy, but on top of that she has also just started an internship. She is interning for Vera Wang’s digital marketing department. She says that it is great to work with such a small team because she gets to be hands on with everything that happens in the company.
Nikki Ereli ‘15 named 2016 Southern Athletic Association Field Hockey AllConference Second Team
Frances Chae was home for the summer for the first time since graduation due to a dance injury. While she was home she spent a lot of time doing physical therapy. She also spent some time volunteering at a senior program for people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia called Amazing Place. In her spare time, she spent a lot of time doing calligraphy. Frances now has an Etsy page called Flourishes by Fran where she sells her watercolor and calligraphy work just as a hobby. While others of us are taking classes, Frances is living her dream, dancing professionally for Sacramento Ballet. From the Advancement Office: Julia Camp and the Trinity soccer team just finished a fantastic 23-1 season, going undefeated in the regular season with their only loss coming in the Elite 8 of the NCAA D-III championship tournament. She was named to the First Team of the All-West Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Go, Julia! Go, Tigers!
2015 Need volunteer From the Advancement Office: Nikki Ereli is a member of Sewanee’s field hockey team. She has had another successful season as a defensive
Anna Nichols is on a Watson Fellowship exploring women’s health in a global context. She is currently in Lusaka, Zambia and is working on the Kasanka Baboon Project: The Red Tent Project. The goal is to provide women with education and create a sustainable program of community health workers and businesswomen. Any donation or share on social media is much appreciated. If you have any questions, would like to donate or would like to get involved in other ways, please feel free to contact Anna directly by email at annanichols94@gmail.com.
Penn sailing skipper Lenox Butcher ‘16 finds record success at national championship
player. In November, she was named to the 2016 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Field Hockey All-Conference Second Team. She was last season’s SAA Newcomer of the Year.
2016 Need volunteer From the Advancement Office: Penn sailing skipper Lenox Butcher achieved record success at LaserPerformance Women’s Singlehanded National Championship placing 9th in her first season for the Quakers. This was the best-ever finish for the Penn Quakers at a national sailing competition. From the Advancement Office: Rice freshman Emma Hanan created, directed, filmed and edited a documentary called Sustained, under the supervision of Mr. Gillentine during her senior year at Kinkaid. Sustained was an official selection for the 2015 Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards this past December. And most recently became an official selection to the All-American High School Film Festival. Her film was screened the weekend of October 7-9 at the AMC Empire Theaters in New York City’s Times Square! If you would like to volunteer to be the class notes correspondent for your grade, please contact Alumni Activities Manager Alexa Leach ’09 at alexa.leach@kinkaid. org or 713-243-5054.
Jack Reid is working in Investment Banking at Citigroup in Houston. Class of ’14 alums Elizabeth Carl , Mary Kelly McConn , Allison Sprague , Lauren Reckling , Kristen Cummins , Lizzy McGee , Addy Reckling all being presented as debutantes in November
1981
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Alumni Leadership Day 1986
Alumni and seniors in the Engineering panel
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n Wednesday, October 19, 58 young alumni participated in the 11th annual Alumni Leadership Day.
er your gift, find a way to share it with someone.” KinkaidKonnect, Kinkaid’s online career and mentorship network, was promoted throughout the assembly, and there was a spike in student & panelist enrollment after the event.
Hosted by the Kinkaid Young Professionals Organization (KYPO), this day is designed to bring young alumni to campus to spend time with Kinkaid seniors and to share their educational and career experiences as the students consider life after Kinkaid.
After Jamal’s speech, the alumni served on 12 industry-specific panels that shed light on their diverse career paths. Students attended the panel sessions for the top three industries they were interested in, where they learned about various careers in these fields. A question and answer session took place at the end of each panel. New industries included this year were: Design, Event Planning and Non-Profit & Fundraising. A brochure of the panelist bios was distributed this year, which everyone really liked. “Alumni Leadership Day was a great networking opportunity. I really enjoyed meeting the alumni panelists, and I still keep in touch with one of them,” commented Anvi Nandish ’16.
This year’s keynote speaker was Jamal Dawson ’04, Co-Founder/ Chief Strategy Officer of Students With Ambition Go (SWAG) to College and math teacher at Beechnut Academy. Jamal attended Case Western Reserve University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, and then finished his schooling at University of Houston Downtown, where he received a degree in applied mathematics with a minor in statistics. It was at UHD where Jamal developed an interest in education. In his final year, he established an after school tutorial program to support the youth in the Missouri City area. In addition to his after school program, Jamal taught math at various schools. Jamal and two other teachers banded together in 2015 to form Students with Ambition Go (SWAG) to College. SWAG to College is a nonprofit organization that pairs low-income/first generation students with college students. The college students serve as mentors and walk their mentees through the college process. As a co-founder of SWAG to College, he hopes to diminish high school and college dropout rates by providing resources and clarity to the college process. Jamal gave the students three takeaways. His first piece of advice was: “Do what makes you happy.” His second piece of advice was: “Find something worth dying for, then live for it.” He told the seniors, “This [advice] is meant to strengthen your resolve. This will enable you to set higher goals and no matter what the obstacle, accomplish them.” The final piece of advice was: “Whatev-
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After the panel sessions, Alumni Leadership Day concluded with a roundtable luncheon in the Ogilvie Lobby, where students were able to talk with alumni one-on-one. Director of Career Development Judy Muir remarked, “Alumni Leadership Day is extremely important for the seniors, as it helps shape their future educational and career plans. The industry panels that seniors attend during Alumni Leadership Day often influence their Interim Term internship decisions.”
Jamal Dawson ‘04 and Christina Scharar ‘04
ALUMNI NEWS
Stephanie Frishberg Whitfield ‘07, Director of Advancement Tom Moore, Elizabeth Robinson ‘07, Haley Berkman ‘06, Lauren Thompson Miller ‘05
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 SPRING WINTER/SPRING
Seniors Pierce Johnson, Sam Richey, John Goettee, Rob Lahourcade and Ruth Ann Bajgier listening to alumni panelists
1991 2001 Rudy Wrabel ‘03, Wakeford Thompson ‘03, H. Julian Frachtman ‘03, Brian Kaplan ‘04
Arts & Entertainment
Moderator: Haley Berkman ’06 Sara Cain ’03 Katherine Cunningham ’09 Lexi Sakowitz ’07 Stephanie Frishberg Whitfield ’07
Banking, Finance & Accounting Moderator: Whitney Rape ’04 Robert Bradley ’08 Chris Graf ’94 Rebecca Kates Miller ’00 Billy O’Neil ’99 Christina Scharar ’04
Design
Moderator: Lee Wilde ’08 Chelsea Cunningham ’02 Laura Lawhon Evans ’95 Caroline Hemingway Harrell ’02 Lindsay McMackin Sturm ’97
Energy/Oil & Gas
Moderator: Daniel Jenkins ’97 Austin Burger ’97 Cullen Cone ’08 Charles Simmons ’05 Wakeford Thompson ’03
Alumni and seniors in the Entrepreneurship panel
Engineering
Moderator: Matthew Crandell ’09 William Campbell ’10 Robert Fondren ’08
Entrepreneurship
Moderator: Iman Houston Farrior ’01 Cole Buza ’06 (fs) Lauren Thompson Miller ’05 Franco Silva ’09 Rudy Wrabel ’03
Event Planning
Moderator: Christine Sangalis ’11 Chelsea Fred ’10 Lauren Hogan ’10 Abby Lestin ’05
Healthcare/Medicine
Moderator: Lauren Leavitt Griffin ‘00 Faryan Jalalabadi ’07 Jessica Messier ’08 Maggie Watson ’07
Keynote speaker Jamal Dawson ‘04 addressing the Senior class
Marketing/Communications & Public Relations Moderator: Elizabeth Robinson ’07 Tory Lieberman ’07 Michel Miller Mullett ’00 Mollie Schall ’01 Katie Skarke ’08 Stephanie Frishberg Whitfield ’07
2001
Non Profits & Fundraising
Moderator: Bevin Bering Dubrowski ’00 Pierce Bush ’04 Katherine Cunningham ’09 Jamal Dawson ’04 Elizabeth Pearson ’05 Emily Schreiber ’06
Real Estate
Moderator: Brian Kaplan ’04 Ben Brown ’01 Sarah Jane Sengelmann Canion ’99 John Frazier ’08 Megan Altman Walker ’06
Law
Moderator: Brittany Sakowitz ’04 William Doggett ’04 Mark Donnelly ’94 H. Julian Frachtman ’03 Helen Hemingway McLaughlin ’05 Katie Mize ’06
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Birth Announcements Isabel Kathleen Covey, January 1, 2016 Emily Mitchell Covey ’96 and husband Chad
Hayden Griffin Haby IV, August 3, 2016 Georgea Pappas Haby ’03 and husband Griffin
Brooks Deaton Lalor, March 28, 2016 Kathleen Deaton Lalor ’96 and husband Michael
Brayden Eli Falik, August 5, 2016 Kevin Falik ’04 and wife Andrea
Ella Parker Moore, April 5, 2016 Todd Moore ’01 and wife Morgan
Ellis Olivia Lee, August 5, 2016 Albert Lee ’96 and wife Edie
August James Nicholas, May 28, 2016 Alyson Weaver Nicholas ’01 and husband Evan
Greer Elizabeth Gilliam, August 10, 2016 Haley Lyons Gilliam ’06 and husband Matthew ’04
Baker Thomas Ross, June 8, 2016 Christie Barksdale Ross ’96 and husband Newton
Brooks Bedford Detering, August 12, 2016 Carlos Detering ’05 and wife Elise
Robert “Tres” Emmett Fondren III, June 19, 2016 Robert Fondren ’08 and wife Cali
Henry Laurence Williams, August 12, 2016 Virginia Simmons Williams ’06 and husband Cramer
Mary Benson Barbour, June 24, 2016 Charles Barbour ’04 and wife Emily
Gregory Harris Pappas, August 14, 2016 Allie Tropoli Pappas ’05 (fs) and husband H.D. ’00
Anthony Louis Fazio, Jr., June 28, 2016 Kate McConn Fazio ’08 and husband Anthony
Elliott Henry Sandler, August 15, 2016 Joel Sandler ’06 and wife Camille
Mia Grace Bilger, June 29, 2016 Bruce Bilger ’01 and wife Jennifer
Tate Christopher Shannon, August 19, 2016 Chris Shannon ’99 and wife Lacey
Kathryn “Kate” Ann Brollier, July 1, 2016 Clay Brollier ‘99 and wife Mary Margaret
Case Daniel Atmar, August 21, 2016 Michael Atmar ’09 and wife Erin
Benjamin Leo Davidson, July 4, 2016 Laura Haas Davidson ’02 and husband Jamie
Lucy Rice Lummis, August 24, 2016 Dan Lummis ’01 and wife Rene
Katherine Elizabeth “Liza” Labanowski, July 28, 2016 John Labanowski ’00 and wife Aubrey
Margaret Gaffney Sheedy, July 29, 2016 Ellen English Sheedy ’03 and husband Andrew ’03
James Doyle Berry IV, August 3, 2016 Rachael Jones Berry ’03 and husband Jimmy 56
George Towles Beeson and John “Jack” Lander Beeson, September 22, 2016 Amy Parker Beeson ’98 and husband Michael Oliver Thomas McDannald, September 28, 2016 Mark McDannald ’93 and wife Erin
Sophia Anaya Kurji, October 3, 2016 Rehman Kurji ’03 and wife Kayla
MILESTONES
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING SPRING
James McDonnell “Mac” English, October 5, 2016 Spencer English ’00 and wife Tara
Carlton Dalbey Wilde IV, December 6, 2016 Carlton Wilde ’07 and wife Jordan
Landon Walker Fite, October 8, 2016 Travis Fite ’99 and wife Jennifer
Cooper Jack Seelaus, December 7, 2016 Sarah Zeller Seelaus ’00 and husband Ben
Caroline Hayden Zimmer, October 10, 2016 Christina Upchurch Zimmer ’03 and husband Andrew
Aileen “Ivy” Hemingway McLaughlin, December 8, 2016 Helen Hemingway McLaughlin ’05 and husband Barton ’03 (fs)
Audrey McAfee Brown, October 14, 2016 Will Brown ’99 and wife Caroline
Worth Charles Schubert, December 11, 2016 Linda Gardner Schubert ’02 and husband Sheyne
Hattie Paloma Biringer Kuntz, November 12, 2016 Michael Kuntz ’95 and wife Jennifer Biringer
Virginia “Sutherland” Wood, December 16, 2016 Cabell Walker Wood ’01 and husband David ’01
Connolly Catherine Masterson, November 14, 2016 Harris Masterson ’01 and wife Leslie
Madison Jean Werme, December 27, 2016 Shannon Feste Werme ’00 and husband Les
Weldon Thomas Spencer, November 15, 2016 Caroline Baum Spencer ’03 and husband Kyle
Beaumont “Beau” Stinnett Boyce III, December 28, 2016 Jordan Allison Boyce ’04 and husband Beaumont
Norah Mae Brock, November 21, 2016 Kate Beasley Brock ’05 and husband Michael
Margaret “Margot” Mills Gregg, December 28, 2016 Becky Blades Gregg ’05 and husband Justin
Henry August Fangman, November 22, 2016 Kimberly Mead Fangman ’06 and husband Paul
Sloane Louise Evans, December 29, 2016 Allison Monteith Evans ’04 and husband Will ’03
Cecilia Marguerite Pettibon, November 22, 2016 Ashley Anderson Pettibon ’03 and husband Keith
Walker Brent Henderson, December 29, 2016 Valerie Grainger Henderson ’04 and husband Brandon
Lillian Louise White, November 22, 2016 Traci Thompson White ’00 and husband Caperton
Jacob “Jake” Barbour Jones, December 30, 2016 Barrell Barbour Jones ’01 and husband Jacob
Eve Twyla Bahr, November 23, 2016 Mary Barbour Bahr ’06 and husband Doug
Clay Burgess Stellar, December 1, 2016 Julia Atnipp Stellar ’05 and husband Adam
Share your milestone with us!
Please send them to Alumni Activities Manager Alexa Leach ’09 at alexa.leach@kinkaid.org. Mayfair Kay Bowden, December 5, 2016 Brandt Bowden ’96 and wife Mary Kay
57
THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Weddings
Taylor Gilliam Hittle ‘05 and husband Matthew
Abbey Hickman Hendrix ‘10 and husband Danny
Blake Mackay ‘05 and wife Paige
Abigail Smith Zamorano ‘05 and husband Oscar
Georgiana Smyser Zehner ‘07 and husband Carl
Ben Ogilvie ’02 and wife Jen
Anne Hoppe Fried ’04 and husband Tripp ’01
Katherine Bookout Booth ‘08 and husband Will
Lynn Rothermel Neligan ‘89 and husband David
Rahul Agrawal ‘05 and wife Nisha
Tim Neuhaus ‘03 and wife Sarah
Hilary Sealy Burch ‘05 and husband Patrick
Mattie Rutherford Thompson ‘07 and husband Craig
Carter Beckworth ‘05 (fs) and wife Jillian along with wedding party, including Robert Campbell ‘04, Will Beckworth ‘04, Brian Massingill ‘04, Tom Banks ‘05, James Arcidiacono ‘05, John Beckworth ‘07
Anne Hoppe ’04 & Tripp Fried ’01
Kristen Tiner ’03 & Guy Brearey
Abby Johnston & John Rutherford ’08
Tiffany Fetterley ’04 & Michael Pappas
Addie Eggleston ’10 & Danny Adler
Dejon Banks ’95 & Darrin Hawthorne
Lynn Rothermel ’89 & David Neligan
Anna Waggoner & Will Gray ’09
Mary Wakefield ’05 (fs) & Carlos Newall
Megan Altman ’06 & Blake Walker
Jennifer Williamson ’06 & Christopher Birkhofer
Kristen Robbins & James Andras ’07
Rachel Valadez & Cole Stephenson ’03
Jillian Burnett & Carter Beckworth ’05 (fs)
Georgiana Smyser ’07 & Carl Zehner
Holly Blalock ’06 & Griffin Guthneck
Grace Lee ’05 & Evan Hofer
Kimber Watson ’07 & Babajide Eniola
Kelley Sullivan ’10 (fs) & James Low
Taylor Shingledecker ’11 & Wesley Brown
Meredith Knapp ’05 & Chris Holland
Kyrsti Harris ’10 & Mason
Caroline Burke ’08 & Travis Mossy
Haley Freeman ’08 & Thomas Roff ’08
Paige Dobbins & Blake Mackay ’05
Audrey Gordon ’04 & Ben Rowe
Hilary Sealy ’05 & Patrick Burch
January 16, 2016 May 27, 2016 May 2016
June 11, 2016 June 18, 2016 June 25, 2016 July 2, 2016 July 9, 2016
July 16, 2016
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Kyrsti Harris Christensen ‘10 and husband Mason
July 23, 2016 July 30, 2016 July 30, 2016 July 30, 2016
August 6, 2016 August 6, 2016 August 6, 2016
August 13, 2016 August 20, 2016
August 27, 2016 August 2016
September 3, 2016 September 4, 2016 September 4, 2016 September 4, 2016
September 17, 2016 September 24, 2016 September 24, 2016
MILESTONES
Tracy Konig Bateman ‘08 and husband Kyle
Cole Stephenson ‘03 and wife Rachel
Kristen Tiner Brearey ‘03 and husband Guy
Haley Freeman Roff ‘08 and husband Thomas ‘08
Cole Buza ‘06 (fs) and wife Margaret
Megan Rose Altman Walker ‘06 and husband Blake
Kimber Watson Eniola ‘07 and husband Babajide
Jennifer McCord Anderson ‘04 (fs) and husband Landon
Katie McGee Field ‘06 (fs) and Sarah DeWalch Mouton ‘09 with her husband Charlie husband Alex and family members, Caroline DeWalch ‘19, Mark DeWalch ‘80 (fs), Julia Gregg DeWalch ‘81, Jane Banos DeWalch ‘08, Taylor DeWalch ‘07, Carter DeWalch ‘13
Taylor Shingledecker Brown ‘11 and husband Wesley
Grace Lee Hofer ‘05 and husband Evan
Jennifer Williamson Birkhofer ’06 and husband Chris
Katherine Lartigue ’07 & Matt Pruitt
Katherine Bookout ’08 & Will Booth
Katie McGee ’06 (fs) & Alex Field
Patricia Dewey & Andrew Coskey ’07
Sarah DeWalch ’09 & Charlie Mouton
Abbey Hickman ’10 & Danny Hendrix
Nisha Gadgil & Rahul Agrawal ’05
Hilary Weingarden & Teddy O’Brien ’06
October 1, 2016 October 1, 2016 October 8, 2016 October 8, 2016
November 5, 2016
Nicole Weitz ’04 & Andy Kittler
November 12, 2016
Jen Berg & Ben Ogilvie ’02
Taylor Gilliam ’05 & Matthew Hittle
Abigail Smith ’05 & Oscar Zamorano
Tracy Konig ’08 & Kyle Bateman
Sarah Brejot & Tim Neuhaus ’03
October 22, 2016
Coach Bobby Eggleston, Kindergarten teacher Melissa Eggleston, Liz Eggleston ‘07, Addie Eggleston Adler ‘10 and husband Danny, Emma Eggleston ‘15, Sam Eggleston ‘12
November 12, 2016
Jennifer McCord ’04 (fs) & Landon Anderson
October 22, 2016
Tiffany Fetterley Pappas ‘04 and husband Mike
November 5, 2016
Colleen Thurman ’07 (fs) & Andy Proudman
October 8, 2016
Holly Blalock Guthneck ’06 and husband Griffin
November 5, 2016
Chelsey Carothers & Matthew Hussey ’08
October 8, 2016
Andrew Coskey ‘07 and wife Patricia
Mary Wakefield Newall ‘05 (fs) and husband Carlos
November 5, 2016
Mattie Rutherford ’07 & Craig Thompson
October 15, 2016
Will Gray ‘09 and wife Anna
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING SPRING
November 13, 2016 November 26, 2016 December 3, 2016
Allison Butts & Chuck Helms ’04
December 3, 2016
Margaret Wilson & Cole Buza ’06 (fs)
December 3, 2016
Maggie Watson ’07 & Chris Nesmith
December 10, 2016
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
In Memory Charles Miles Rose ’65 (fs) passed away on May 13, 2016. He graduated from The University of Texas and attended South Texas College of Law after which he became an independent petroleum landman. His career allowed him to make many lifetime friends. He enjoyed bird hunting in Argentina and South Texas and also loved competitive target shooting. Charlie is survived by brothers Barry Rose ’62 and Mike Rose ’64; sister Katrina Rose ’69 (fs); nieces and nephews, including Sarah Rose ’11 and Jack Rose ’14; former wife Jan Ginther ’67; and friend Jennifer E. Rose. Charles Joel Parker, Jr. ’63 (fs) passed away on July 13, 2016. Joel attended Kinkaid in his early years and then attended Poe Elementary, Lanier Jr. High School and Lamar High School. After graduating from Lamar, he attended Stephen F. Austin University and later served in the Texas Air National Guard, originally based at Ellington Field. Joel enjoyed fishing, farming activities, horseback riding and hunting, all of which were the basis of his life-long love of animals and the outdoors. He was an Eagle Scout and a member of the Order of the Arrow. Later in life, Joel lived in Wimberley, TX and started his own company, Wimberley Unique Concept, representing several different Employee Leasing companies. Joel is survived by his wife Deborah Ann Parker; his two sons: Rivers Lane Parker and Travis Kennerly Parker; his sister Katharine Lane Parker ’65 (fs); his brother Richard Boyd Parker ’67 (fs); and a niece and nephew. John Barnett Baird III ’57 passed away on July 19, 2016. He was a Kinkaid “lifer” and a Rice University alum, with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Houston. He was a passionate photographer, birder, camper, world traveler and coin collector, but his primary enthusiasm was Rice University athletics in all forms. John also had a strong relationship with Christ Church Cathedral, which began in his early days as an altar boy. John was preceded in death by his two younger brothers: Edward Hudson Baird ’61 and Richard Morris Baird ’66 (fs). He is survived by his wife and partner of almost 40 years, Jane Everette Herring; two daughters: Lacy Maret Baird and Ashley Bennett Baird; four grandchildren; his sister Tamara “Tami” Baird Dyer ’58; and a long list of nieces, nephews and extended family, many of whom attended or still attend Kinkaid. John’s former wife and the mother of his children, Karen Solberg Baird, remained his close friend. Gregory Reed Ferris ’90 passed away on July 19, 2016 after a long, fiercely fought battle against the lasting complications from the treatment of Leukemia. After graduating from Dartmouth College, Greg worked on Wall Street, then as an executive producer and director of short film and television, and finally as a director for the family real estate business, Arruth Associates. Greg also advocated for cancer patients, focusing on survivorship and quality of life issues. Greg’s strength and perseverance allowed him to live to see the birth of his daughter last year. He was preceded in death by his father Alan. Greg is survived by his wife and best friend, Sarah; his daughter Arden; his mother Madeleine; his sister Katie Ferris Zindler ’93; and five nieces and a nephew. Martin “Chuck” Neath ’81 passed away on July 31, 2016. Martin graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He then took a software-programming job at Texas Instruments in Austin. Martin helped build one of the region’s most successful software companies, Tivoli, and later became an investor in a number of Austin startups. He helped lead Tivoli Systems from an upstart to a software powerhouse that was later acquired by IBM. He is credited with shaping Tivoli’s fun-loving and risk-taking culture and making the company a launchpad from which many of today’s Austin software leaders got their start. After Tivoli, he led an Internet startup and later became a general partner with venture capital firm Adams Capital before retiring in 2015. He is survived by his parents Eileen and Bob; brother Ian ’83; and sister Aimée.
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Carolyn Grant Fay ’29 (fs) passed away on August 9, 2016. Born 101 years ago, Carolyn was our oldest living Kinkaid alum. She attended The Kinkaid School in Margaret Hunter’s house on Elgin Street from kindergarten through 9th grade and attended San Jacinto High School where she met her future husband, Ernest Bel Fay. She then enrolled at the Madeira School. After graduation, she attended Vassar College. Carolyn & Ernest spent 50 years sailing, dancing and traveling with their friends. At mid-life, Carolyn developed a passion for Jungian psychology, and along with others, had the vision to found The C.G. Jung Educational Center of Houston. Her passion expanded to include dance therapy and in her pursuit, she studied at the University of Houston, the University of Arizona and received her M.A. in counseling and dance therapy from Goddard College. She became a counselor and a teacher and incorporated dance movement and other expressive arts into her work. In addition, she developed a private practice at The Jung Center and helped to enlarge the focus of The Jung Center by creating and adding the School of Expressive Arts to provide different avenues to experience Jung’s concepts. In 2014, The Jung Center named the Humanitarian Award after Carolyn Fay in honor of her 100th birthday. In addition to The Jung Center, Carolyn served on the board of directors for The Junior League of Houston, The Mental Health Association of Houston and Harris County and DePelchin Children’s Center. Her philanthropy was widespread and included contributions to The Jung Center, The University of Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Texas Medical Center, Vassar College, Madeira School, The Fay School and the establishment of the Grant/Fay Park in the Texas Medical Center in memory of her parents. Carolyn was preceded in death by her husband Ernest Bel Fay and her son John Spencer “Jack” Fay ’56 (fs). Carolyn is survived by daughters Marie Fay Evnochides ’59 (former teacher) and Carolyn “Randi” Fay Yocum ’62; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; two step-grandchildren, including George Ducas ’85; and many other relatives whom attended Kinkaid. Katherine Hankamer Norris ’58 (fs) passed away in August 2016. Katherine attended The University of Texas at Austin, University of Houston and completed her undergraduate coursework at Tulane University in New Orleans. She held graduate degrees in Psychology (M.A.) and Family Therapy and worked with Dr. Bratting at the Texas Institute for Family Psychiatry, and in private practice. She also held a degree from the Glasell School of Art. Katherine enjoyed the Houston Ballet, the Houston Grand Opera and the Alley Theatre, as well as attending lectures at the Jung Institute and attending her mahjong, bridge and book clubs. She taught Art Appreciation at her children’s schools and enjoyed participating in numerous social, political and fundraising activities in Houston over the decades. She exhibited regularly with a group of women artists at the Tony Jones Gallery in Houston and taught English to newly arrived wives of businessmen from around the world at Tallowood Baptist Church. Katherine was preceded in death by her brother Randy Hankamer ’70 and had fond childhood memories of her brothers Doug ’65 (fs) and Earl ’62 (fs), whose families she loved very much. Katherine is survived by her husband of 54 years, Jan D. Norris; her daughters Anne Peterson and Vivian Norris, Ph.D.; her son Jeffrey D. Norris; her granddaughter and her two step-grandchildren; her beloved aunt and cousins; nieces Heather Hankamer Consoli ’90, Joanna Hankamer ’89 and Karen Hankamer Horne ’88 (Trevor ’87); and many other relatives, many of whom attend Kinkaid. Lucie Wray Todd ’49 (fs) passed away on October 13, 2016. Following her time at Kinkaid, Lucy attended Chatham Hall and Smith College. Committed to life-long learning, she was active with the Houston Seminar, the Discussion Group and the Women’s Institute. Deeply concerned about the environment, she invested her time and resources in many conservation causes, individually and through the Wray Charitable Trust and Magnolia Charitable Trust. As well, Lucie was long engaged in land stewardship, cattle operations and fun with dogs in Colorado and Fayette Counties. Lucie is survived by her children Emily Leland Todd and David Anderson Todd; two grandchildren; and her long-time friend Ellen Taylor Leemann.
MILESTONES
Mary Lou Johnson ’58 (fs) passed away on October 19, 2016. She spent most of her life in Houston and Rosenberg and retired from Polly Ryan Hospital. Mary Lou spent her free time volunteering and was a staff volunteer at Calvary Episcopal School. She was preceded in death by her brothers Edward Porter Johnson Jr. and Andrew Carey “Pete” Johnson. She is survived by family, including a niece and two nephews, as well as many friends. George Alexander Peterkin, Jr. ’45 (fs), passed away on November 10, 2016. After attending Kinkaid, George graduated from high school at Sewanee Military Academy. He joined the Navy as an aviation cadet and was discharged after the war. George graduated from The University of Texas and was a member of the Cowboys and Phi Delta Theta. He then became president of a small barge company known as Dixie Carriers, Inc. Dixie Carriers grew and eventually merged with Kirby Industries, now known as Kirby Corporation. George served Kirby and its predecessors for more than 50 years and helped build Kirby into the largest tank barge business in the U.S. George belonged to multiple philanthropic and business organizations, including Texas Children’s Hospital, The Texas Medical Center, Planned Parenthood and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). George was an avid horticulturalist and was a croquet enthusiast, even authoring a monthly croquet newsletter, “Wicket Thoughts.” George was preceded in death by his sister Patricia Peterkin Pryor; three grandchildren; and a nephew. George is survived by his wife of 52 years, Nancy Girling Peterkin; his children and stepchildren: George Alexander Peterkin III, MD, Hannah Watson McManus, John Girling Watson, Julie Peterkin Lee, John Thomas Peterkin, Susan Peterkin and Lynn Peterkin; eight grandchildren, including Eugene Girling Watson (fs); and a nephew. Former Lower School Teacher Barbara Guillory Miller passed away on November 22, 2016. Barbara graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, formerly Southwestern Louisiana Institute. She taught in the Lower School for over 25 years. She loved being a teacher and helped to keep the retired faculty and staff connected for many years. Barbara is survived by her husband of 58 years, Paul Oakley Miller; her children: Melissa Miller Stonebrook ’77, Rebecca Miller Boucher ’80 and Cindy Miller O’Rosky ’85; her brother Dr. James Keith Guillory; and many grandchildren. Robert Young Pagan ’56 passed away on November 22, 2016. Bob attended the Schreiner Institute and the University of Texas where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He joined the United States Air Force in 1959, receiving his commission and pilots’ wings in 1960 and serving until 1964 in the 305th Air Refueling Squadron. After being honorably discharged, he began work in the automotive industry with his older brother at Pagan Lewis Motors in Corpus Christi. He partnered with a Houston group to purchase a Ford dealership located on Galveston Island. Following that success, he was involved in 12 other auto dealerships over the next 30 years. Despite his achievements in the automotive business, he was most proud of the relationships he built with friends and members of the community. His many passions and hobbies included cars, golf, hunting, gardening, travel and all things Scottish. Bob was preceded in death by brothers John Shaw Pagan, Allan Cunningham Pagan Jr. ’49 and Charles Humphreys Pagan ’50 (Irene Lee Pagan ’57). He is survived by children Robert Wayne Pagan, Shanna Pagan Pennington, John Shaw Pagan, Elizabeth Pagan Morrell and Stewart Levy Pagan; nieces and nephews including, Lee Pagan Mayhew ’82 and Greer Humphreys Pagan ’88 (Elizabeth ’89); and longtime partner Ruthee Meric. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren and three great grandchildren, many of whom attend Kinkaid. Thomas Stewart Odell ’83 passed away in November 2016. He died unexpectedly from long-term health issues. Tom graduated from the University of Houston College of Architecture. He lived and worked in Washington’s Methow Valley for 16 years. Tom was an architect and an artist and built an eclectic career that explored unconventional building methods, public space design and sculpture, drawing and painting. He is survived by parents Sue and John Odell; wife Evan; three brothers: Jeff ’84 (fs), Tim ’87 (fs) and Jason ’91 (fs); and eight nieces and nephews.
ANNUAL2015 REPORT 2017 WINTER/SPRING SPRING
Edward Watson “Mike” Kelley Jr. ’50 (fs) passed away on December 4, 2016. He graduated from Rice University and then received a master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. For many years, Mike ran a Houston manufacturing and services company started by his father. Mike spent the majority of his professional career in Washington, DC, where he served 14 years as a member of the Federal Reserve Board. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the seven-member Fed board and President George H.W. Bush reappointed him in 1990. He was instrumental in modernizing the banking operations of the Federal Reserve system. During much of his tenure on the board, Mike chaired the committee that oversaw the operations and payment systems of the Fed’s 12 regional banks. In that role, he led efforts to modernize the Fed’s computer systems and prepare for a smooth transition during the century date change in January 2000. In 2005, the Houston branch building of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas was named in his honor. He was preceded in death by his first wife Ellen Elizardi Kelley and his sister Allie Autry Kelley Dittmar ’53 (fs). He is survived by wife Janet Haase Kelley; children Kinsloe Kelley Colwell, James M. Kelley and Michael M. Kelley; and four grandchildren. Elwin Merrill Peacock ’44 passed away on December 10, 2016. Elwin attended Rice Institute and graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a degree in Geology. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Elwin earned his Eagle Scout badge in 1943, which he considered one of his most memorable accomplishments. Elwin’s employment included Sohio Petroleum Company, Signal Oil and Gas and Seiscom-Delta Corporation, until he became an independent consulting geophysicist in 1972 until his retirement. Elwin was active with his career and professional interests. He served in several capacities with many organizations including: the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, the Petroleum Club of Houston, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the SEG Foundation and the Geophysical Society of Houston. Outside of his professional interests, Elwin enjoyed playing tennis and served as a member of the Hunters Creek Village City Council, Chairman of Hunters Creek Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Commissioners of the Village Fire Department. Elwin served as Chairman of the Official Board for Village Methodist Church in Oklahoma City and Southwest Methodist Church in west Houston. Chapelwood United Methodist became his church for over 40 years. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jane Breitenstein Peacock; daughters Julie Peacock and Helen Peacock; sons David Peacock and Paul Peacock; brother Robert B. Peacock ’49; and many nieces and nephews. Mary Wall Sledz ’61 (fs) passed away on January 2, 2017. She attended the University of Arizona and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority. Music and singing were integral parts of her life; as a member of the Houston Junior League, she often sang and played guitar at many nursing homes around town. Mary was a very active member in Bible study groups and at Second Baptist Church, and she also loved traveling and camping. She was preceded in death by her brother John Wall, III. Mary is survived by her husband of 34 years, Mark Sledz; her two sons Stephen Bender and John Bender; six grandchildren; and many other family members and friends. Sharon Parker Turner ’61 passed away on January 11, 2017. She attended the University of Texas where she met her husband Fred Turner. Sharon was an aficionado of fashion; she modeled jewelry while working at Becker’s Jewelry and her style was influenced by her relationships with Houston’s fashion leaders of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Sharon also enjoyed skiing in Vail, CO. Sharon is survived by her three children: Charlotte Turner ’79 (fs), Amanda Turner Hairston ’82 (fs) and Sean Frederick Turner ’84 (fs); four grandchildren; her brother Tim Parker; and a niece, nephews, aunt, cousins and close friends.
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David A. “Tony” Connelly ’55 (fs) passed away on January 19, 2017. In addition to Kinkaid, Tony attended St. Anne’s Catholic School and St. Thomas High School. He graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Economics and a M.B.A. in Finance/Management. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Tony attended advanced Bank Management Programs at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH and the American Management Association in Chicago, IL. He later served as a counselor at the Southwestern Banking School at SMU for several terms. His business career included over 36 years in commercial banking in the Houston area. He began with several downtown banks and later was President of Westbury National Bank and Houston Southwest Bank, both members of Southwest Bancshares, Inc. Mr. Connelly actively served in many charitable organizations including: St. Vincent de Paul Society, Serra Club, Rotary Club of Southwest Houston, UT MBA Club (President), St. Cecilia and St. Michael Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by brother Thomas Connelly; sister Susan Connelly; and former wife Brenda Baird Connelly. Tony is survived by siblings: Elizabeth “Beth” Connelly McGreevy ’52, Fr. Laurence Connelly and Dr. Michael Connelly; four children: Don Connelly, Jennifer Connelly Fitts, Larry Connelly and Eileen Connelly Smith ’83 (fs); five grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Frank Constant Nelms (fs) passed away on February 7, 2017. In addition to Kinkaid, he attended River Oaks Elementary, Greenfield’s Preparatory School (Tuscon, AZ) and Lamar High School. He then attended The University of the South in Sewanee, TN. After college, he worked with his father as an independent oil operator. He drilled many wells in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota. He was instrumental in forming the following companies: Subsurface Disposal Corp., Midsouth Manufacturing and Marine Minerals. Frank enjoyed quail hunting, fishing, flying and boating. He was a member of several Houston and out-of-state clubs. He was a charter member of the Tejas Vaqueros and was a lifetime committeeman of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, serving on the Quarter Horse Committee. Frank was preceded in death by his son Frank Chadwick Nelms ’71 (fs). He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Suzanne; daughter Nina Nelms Lyons ’72 (fs); three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Patricia “Pat” Schiwetz Nelson ’49 passed away on January 30, 2017. After attending Southern Methodist University for one year, she transferred and received a BS degree from the University of Texas and then a Master of Education degree from Trinity University. Pat was a counselor and psychologist for the SAISD and Winston School until she retired in 1994. She served on the board of directors of the North San Antonio Retired Teachers Association and was very involved in Zeta Tau Alpha and Beta Sigma Phi sororities, Hunt Untied Methodist Church and other local organizations. Pat enjoyed painting, quilting and creating stained glass. She also loved native plants and wildlife and served as an active member of the Native Plant Society of Texas and as a Master Naturalist, as well as working with Hunt Garden Club and Riverside Nature Center. Pat is survived by husband Frank Nelson, daughter Pamela Nelson Harte and multiple cousins. Frank Thomas “Tom” Abraham, Jr. ’72 passed away on February 10, 2017. He attended the University of Houston, where he studied radio, television and filmmaking. Tom was a big Houston sports fan and was interested in electronics and the survival of our Earth. He was also interested in fire departments and served as a volunteer fireman for 12 years. During his teen years, Tom worked for Franklin Mobile Phones, the first mobile telephone company in Houston. Tom’s company, Abraham Productions, was the first in the city to perform legal video depositions and other documentary work for attorneys. In 1995, Tom designed and proposed a system for the Houston Police Department that allowed police helicopters to have infrared night vision capabilities. Tom then formed the Abraham Communications Company, providing wireless communications to support special off-duty policemen. Tom served as a member of the Board of Directors of Student Aid Foundation Enterprises, an organization founded by his father. Tom had struggled with chronic pulmonary disease for many years. He was preceded in death by his wife, Teresa Sinderson Abraham. He is survived by mother Nancy Green Abraham; brother Richard Townsend Abraham ’76 (fs); sisters Ann Bridges Abraham ’82 (fs) and Susan Carter Abraham ’88 (fs); two nephews; two aunts and an uncle; and many cousins.
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THE KINKAID SCHOOL
REU NI ON W EEKEND 2017
From the Headmaster Dear Kinkaid Community,
H
appy New Year! We are in the midst of an excellent 2016-17 school year on campus at Kinkaid. The students, faculty and staff and visitors are taking full advantage of the new parking garage and Dining and Learning Center. Immediately to the south and west of the garage, construction work has begun on our “west campus.”
MARCH 31 & APRIL 1
We have completed the clearing phase and will focus on drainage infrastructure during the first half of the year. Should the construction schedule hold, students will have a new turf baseball field and eight tennis courts to enjoy by early 2018. I encourage you to drive to the top of the garage to get a bird’s-eye view of our progress! In the Upper School, students wrapped up another highly successful three-week Interim Term, one of Kinkaid’s signature programs. Twelfth graders explored professional internships both in Houston and across the country while underclassmen had the opportunity to take a wide variety of unique courses that were of special interest to faculty members. We also offered a trip to China and home-stays in France and Spain, experiences enjoyed by a total of about 45 students. I got to see first-hand how beneficial Interim Term could be; my 11th grade daughter Belle travelled to Grenoble, France, where she spent two weeks living with a host family, attending school and visiting neighboring cities. It was a true cultural and language immersion for her. On the alumni front, I continue to be struck by the passion and commitment of Kinkaidians. Over the past few months, I had the pleasure of visiting with Kinkaid graduates at alumni events in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. Approximately 100 alumni attended these events! East Coast alumni should be on the lookout for upcoming gatherings in Washington D.C. and New York City in early May. The main theme for this issue is “wellness.” We have made strides as a school both to increase and to coordinate our school-wide wellness programming. It is of great importance that we focus on our students’ social and emotional well-being in addition to their academic, artistic and athletic development. Under the able and thoughtful leadership of Cheryl Mitchell, Kinkaid Director of Wellness, we are exploring more and different ways to support our students— and faculty and staff—and to foster balance in all aspects of the Kinkaid experience.
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In fact, the theme of our recently unveiled strategic plan is Balanced Excellence. Beginning with parent, faculty and staff surveys that preceded the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) reaccreditation visit in 2015, we engaged in a multi-year planning process. This inclusive process resulted in the creation of a Board of Trustees vision statement for Kinkaid and the development of four strategic imperatives: One Kinkaid, Performance Excellence, Unparalleled Student Experience and Commitment to Balance. The imperatives build on the School’s unchanging mission and core values, which serve as our educational foundation now and in the years ahead. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to learn more about our wellness programs, strategic planning, construction or any other happenings at Kinkaid. Thank you very much for your continued strong support, and best wishes for a wonderful and healthy 2017! Regards,
Headmaster Andy Martire with Zoya ‘18, Asha, Faraz ‘17, and Farid Virani at the dedication of new scoreboards donated by the Virani family in memory of Faris Virani, “Our Forever Falcon” See page 2.
19 57 19 62 1967 19 72
1 97 7 1 98 2 1 98 7 1 99 2
1997 2002 2007 2012
kinkaid.org/reunionweekend
3rd Annual Beer
Boots
Live Music
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 • • KINKAID CAMPUS Following Distinguished Alumni Awards Program Kinkaid.org/alumnibbq
2/28/17 2:52 PM
NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 3375 HOUSTON, TEXAS
the kink aid school W I N T E R / S P R I N G 2 017
201 Kinkaid School Drive Houston, TX 77024
Wellness at Kinkaid
Parents or Alumni: If this publication is addressed to your child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Alumni Office of the new permanent mailing address.
Nurturing Mind and Body
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SLEEP
NUTRITION
Friday, April 21, 2017 | Greater Houston Gun Club
FITNESS
Jim Looke
MINDSET
honoring
COMPASSION
D A T E
RELATIONSHIPS
T H E
CONFIDENCE
S A V E
2/28/17 2:52 PM