Sequel (Winter 2013) by Paul Smith's College

Sequel PAUL SMITH’S COLLEGE THE COLLEGE OF THE ADIRONDACKS WINTER 2013

Real Deals Laura James ’12, other alums go big on reality TV

From here to ... Here fleet feet, big bucks

[ table of contents ] Paul Smith’s College

Winter 2013

On the cover: Laura James ’12, the most recent winner of “America’s Next Top Model,” inside a barn at her childhood home in Cambridge, N.Y. PHOTOGRAPHED BY Philip Kamrass

[ DEPARTMENTS ] To Our Readers

Faculty & Staff Notes

Shore Lines

Evergreens

Spaces

Our Adirondacks

Q&A

Alumni Life

Class Notes

Parting Shot

Write to Sequel: PSC Alumni Office P.O. Box 265 Paul Smiths, NY 12970-0265 Fax: (518) 327-6267 E-mail: alumni@paulsmiths.edu

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Sequel | Winter 2013

22 20 6 Shore lines Beat the meter ... chopping wood ... keeping it green ... rural skills fest ... and more. 12 Backcountry adventure NOLS sets up an East Coast outpost at the Paul Smith’s College VIC. 14 Hello again These faculty and staff prove that you can go home again: After graduating from Paul Smith’s, they now work here.

20 Running for dollars When Paul Smith’s hosted the USCAA cross-country championships, it was good news for the community. 22 Park protector Q&A with Joe Finan ’75, superintendent of the Saratoga National Historical Park. 24 Ready for our closeup Our DVRs have been humming: Four alums appeared on reality TV shows this fall and winter.

Sequel PAUL SMITH’s COLLEGE THE COLLEGE OF THE ADIRONDACKS winter 2013

President John W. Mills, Ph.D. Managing Editor Kenneth Aaron Director of Communications and Marketing kaaron@paulsmiths.edu WRITER Bob Bennett Communications Coordinator COLLEGE Advancement Staff F. Raymond Agnew Vice President for College Advancement Renee Burslem Major Gifts and Planned Giving Officer Chantelle Marshall Annual Campaign Manager Mary L. McLean Director of Advancement Services S. Jill Zagrobelny Data Entry Clerk Heather Tuttle Alumni Relations Coordinator Jeffrey S. Walton Major Gifts and Planned Giving Officer Andrea Wilcox Assistant to the Vice President

S. Jill Zagrobelny Data Entry Clerk Contributors Nancie Battaglia Chelsea Brodhead Pat Hendrick Philip Kamrass

Kathleen Keck Greg Nesbit Wolfgang Zac

DESIGN Maria M. Stoodley Printing Service Press Connecticut / Scott Smith ’77 Wethersfield, Conn. Trustees of Paul Smith’s College E. Philip Saunders, Chairman Francine Walker, Vice Chairman Paul E. Avery, Treasurer Caroline Lussi ’60, Secretary Stuart H. Angert Thomas Rogers Paul M. Cantwell Jr. Tom Rosol ’74 Robert Chur James L. Sonneborn Paul F. Ciminelli Nora Sullivan Patricia Keane Dowden Daniel D. Tessoni Anthony L. Johnson Elizabeth Thorndike Pieter V.C. Litchfield Katharine H. Welling John A. Paganelli

Trustees Emeriti

35 We want you The Distinguished Alumni Task Force has given back – and they’d like your support, too.

36 Only one Paul It’s been a century since Paul Smith died. This item in the New York Times honored him before he passed.

Donald O. Benjamin ’56 Ralph Blum ’54 Richard C. Cattani ‘64 John T. Dillon ’58

William B. Hale John W. Herold ’65 Sheila Hutt Charles L. Ritchie Jr. Joan H. Weill

Honorary Trustee Stirling Tomkins Jr.

Published by the Office of College Advancement.

Sequel | Winter 2013

[ to our readers ]

It’s been real

know that most of you probably watch only PBS, but I’m not embarrassed to admit I enjoy my share of reality TV. (Especially “Project Runway.” Those people are geniuses.) So, for years, I kept wondering when one of our own culinary geniuses would land on “Top Chef,” the cooking competition on Bravo. Last fall, in the show’s tenth edition, it happened. D.C. chef and restaurateur Daniel O’Brien ’03 made it to the latest edition. As they say in TV land, though: But wait, there’s more. A 2012 grad, Laura James, went on “America’s Next Top Model” – and won. Another former student, Gretel-Ann Fischer, went on a baking competition, and came in second. And Wally Ganzi ’63 vetted candidates on a CBS reality show. Yep. We’re ready for our closeup. I’ve long thought that Paul Smith’s might make good fodder for a reality show. We’ve had producers consider our woodsmen for shows; they haven’t gotten one yet, but if you turn to page 6, you can read about the online ad some of the team members did for JCPenney last Christmas. And there are definitely enough characters up here that could support their own show. In the past year, we’ve lost two true originals: Gould Hoyt, who died last June, and Creighton Fee, who died in October. I'm not sure what they would have thought about reality TV, though I can guess. But they’d have been great

ambassadors for us. In fact, even now that they’re gone, their legacies carry on – through you. It’s amazing how many graduates credit their success to what they learned in classes taught by Hoyt and Fee. The TV has been great. Come to think of it, though, in reality – real reality, that is – our alums have always been our best ambassadors. Thanks for everything you do. Enjoy the magazine.

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Buy a brick— build a future When you buy an engraved brick to be laid on campus, you're leaving a lasting mark on the college. But you're also contributing to the Alumni Association's Endowed Alumni Scholarship Fund, which provides needed financial aid for our students. Get your brick today at http://bit.ly/Yu5gum.

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Sequel | Winter 2013

[ FACULTY & STAFF NOTES] School of Natural Resource Management and Ecology Prof. Celia Evans, the college’s first-ever recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, spoke at the Moscow Science Festival in Russia in October. Evans delivered her talk, “The Importance of Research in Undergraduate Science Education: An Introduction to the Adirondack Park, USA, and Paul Smith’s College, ‘The College of the Adirondacks’,” while in Russia as part of her grant. Evans also sat on a panel at the festival, which discussed the role of academics and politics in the information age. Academics from Russia and the United States were on the panel as well as the director of the Fulbright Program for the Russian Federation. Daniel Groves, instructor,

attended the Tree Care Industry Association Expo in Baltimore, where he learned about advancements in modern arboriculture and safety in the tree care industry. Prof. Joe Orefice joined

members of the college’s chapter of the Society of American Foresters at the group’s New England/ New York annual meeting. Four students – Seth Tanner, Jacob Shultz, Sean Regalado and Andy Lakota – won the quiz bowl at the event, defeating the University

mel harder

of Massachusetts-Amherst and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Prof. David Patrick coauthored

a paper identifying high-traffic areas on New York roadways that endanger reptiles and amphibians. The paper, which offers suggestions to save the animals, was accepted for publication in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. Patrick also gave a talk at the New York State Museum in Albany titled “The Center for Adirondack Biodiversity and Student-Centered Research at Paul Smith’s College.” In addition, Patrick took four students to the National Wildlife Society conference in Portland, Ore., in October. They met with professionals in their fields and represented the college during the student quiz bowl.

School of Commercial, Applied and Liberal Arts Prof. Diane Litynski spoke at the Clarkson University Forever Wired Conference in September. Her talk focused on how Keene Valley got wired for broadband and how two of her students, Charlotte Hower and Stephanie Karr, did the research to help with that project. Litynski’s lecture also highlighted the positive economic impact that resulted from the project. Visiting Prof. Emily Martz

comes to Paul Smith’s College from the University Of Delaware. Martz is teaching economics courses and holds a doctorate in history with a focus on the ways in which economics has driven historical events. Chef Kevin McCarthy earned his certified culinary educator accreditation from the American Culinary Federation in November. Chef Deborah Misik took her

students on a series of trips to see how businesses operate, including Banker Orchards in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and various bakeries in Plattsburgh, Lake Placid, Wadhams, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt. Misik also led six students in a fall harvest cake contest, donating the cakes to North Country Life

ABOVE: Prof. Joe Orefice (left) and members of the college’s SAF chapter who won the quiz bowl at the group’s New England/ New York annual meeting.

Flight. The cakes were auctioned off to benefit the organization. Dean Phillip Taylor and Gail Gibson Sheffield, dean of

curriculum and student learning, published “Professionalizing the Humanities: Creating Meaningful Links Between Liberal and Technical Education” in the International Journal of Arts & Sciences.

Other Faculty and Staff Amy Tuthill, the associate

director of veteran recruitment and retention, spoke to North Country Public Radio about the important role that military veterans play at Paul Smith’s College. Listen at http://bit.ly/Y548RM Jeff S. Walton, major gifts officer and head soccer coach, presented a paper on transformative education as sustainability at Prescott College in January. He’s also been invited to present a paper on sustainability and ecological economics at the fifth annual Sustainability Symposium in Prescott, Ariz. Walton, who began his doctoral research in sustainability education at Prescott in August, also serves on that college’s Institutional Review Board.

LEFT: Paul Smith’s College Prof. Celia Evans with her daughters in Russia, where she traveled on a Fulbright Scholarship in the fall.

Courtesy Celia Evans

Sequel | Winter 2013

Supporting our faculty

[ shore lines]

Clearing the air

you’ve got ‘em…please don’t smoke ‘em. In December, President John W. Mills announced plans for Paul Smith’s to become tobacco-free as of Aug. 1, 2014. “Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of death in the United States,” said Mills, citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control that more than 443,000 people a year die from tobacco use. Another 8 million have tobacco-related illnesses. Campus data indicates many students become smokers after getting here. “We just decided we had to do something about it,” Mills said. The college is joining more than 825 other campuses that have banned smoking already (a figure that includes more than 600 that are entirely tobacco free.) The policy includes smokeless tobacco, cigars and other tobacco products, and covers campus as well as other college properties. Before going into effect, tobacco use will be limited to only certain areas; now, it is allowed outdoors at least 25 feet from building entrances. The plans were developed following a series of open forums on campus in the fall. The reception at those forums was mixed – several people spoke fervently against the change – but others applauded the move. To help those looking to quit, a range of resources will be available to students, faculty and staff, including cessation products and help groups. “Part of our mission is to help make our world a more sustainable place,” Mills said. “Tobacco use isn’t sustainable. It’s bad for the environment and presents huge costs with regards to health care and lost productivity. We just can’t stand by.” For more information: paulsmiths.edu/tobaccofree. – kenneth aaron

Student loan help

ant to become more financially literate? Just add Salt. That’s the name of a new, free service available to current students and alums who have graduated within the last three years. It’s aimed at helping people manage and repay their student loan debt. Loralyn Taylor, Paul Smith’s registrar, says that Salt “educates, empowers and engages our students to truly own their finances by making it immediately rewarding, easy and fun to make smart decisions about their money and student loan borrowing.” The service was created by American Student Assistance, a non-profit group that helps students and families navigate the financial aid process and handle debt. Salt members can learn about different types of college loans and repayment options; use online tools to build budgets; receive one-on-one repayment counseling with loan experts; and more. To register, go to www.saltmoney.org/PSC. – kA

Sequel | Winter 2013

$1 million campaign to endow the position of one of Paul Smith’s most visible faculty members closed successfully this winter – and a second $1 million campaign to support another is under way. The first endowment supports Prof. Daniel Kelting, the executive director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute. The second will back Prof. Curt Stager, an internationally known climate expert. “Every generation at Paul Smith’s College has enjoyed a life-changing professor, and we want to keep that going for years to come,” President John W. Mills says of the campaigns. “We’re only as good as the faculty that we get, and we will only produce students that are as good as the faculty we get.” A pair of generous challenge grants from the Spaulding-Paolozzi Foundation and Saranac Lake residents Lee and Nancy Keet, as well as support from the college’s board of trustees, propelled Kelting’s endowment. As head of the AWI, Kelting leads a program that has helped control invasive species and monitor water quality throughout the Adirondacks.

Stager, a natural sciences professor, regularly involves students in research that could influence our understanding of climate change across the planet. He spoke across the globe behind his 2011 book “Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth.” Kelting and Stager aren’t off in some ivory-tower silo, though. Together, the professors have helped almost a dozen students publish in scientific journals, something that is generally unheard of at the undergraduate level. “One of the key emphases of our program is to provide opportunities for our students, real opportunities for them to participate in real research and solving real-world problems,” Kelting says. “One of the most exciting things is to watch the students light up when you tell them they’re going to find out something that nobody in the history of the world has known before,” Stager adds. – Bob bennett

» To learn more how you can

support Prof. Stager’s endowment, contact Renee Burslem in the Office of College Advancement at rburslem@paulsmiths.edu.

Merry Axemas

The

first thing you hear on the JCPenney ad is the chopping sound followed by the burly voices. They’re singing: “When we chop with our axes, wood is chopped for the masses, and it’s burned down to ashes ‘cause that’s warm. Then we yell, ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS,’ and you yell, ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS,’ then we hug ‘cause it’s Christmas, and that’s warm.” And then you see five burly guys, all members of the Paul Smith’s College Woodsmen’s Team, chopping wood and giving it away. Prof. Brett McLeod ‘03, the team’s coach, joined Mark Bouquin ’12, juniors Benjamin St. Amand and Garrett Gregorek, and senior Sean Frantz in the video, which Penney’s shot in November as part of its “12 Days of Giving” online campaign. The campaign featured 12 different giveaways recorded across the country; for the “Merry Axemas” video, McLeod and the others split

about four cords of firewood and handed it out at a mall in Langhorne, Pa. “We literally split logs and filled up car trunks and pickup-truck beds,” McLeod said. “Local media told people that there was free wood, and they just lined up for it.” The video was a result of McLeod’s connections in the world of timber sports. “A friend of a friend of a friend called and asked me if I would do it,” McLeod says, “so I asked some of the other guys if they wanted in. All we knew at the beginning was that it was a charity-type event.” Turns out the video became Penney’s most popular of the giveaway series, picking up more than 40,000 views by late January. “They were going to use actors at first,” McLeod says. “But they quickly realized that they would never actually get all of that wood split if they did.” To watch the video, go to http:// bit.ly/11T7qoq. – BB

Remembering giants

aul Smith’s lost a pair of hugely influential figures in recent months – one, Prof. Creighton Fee, shaped a generation of surveyors; the other, Frank Hutchins, helped lead the college into the 21st century.

KENNETH AARON

Jon Buyl stands in front of the display showing electricity use in the college’s residence halls.

Meter readers H

ave you ever turned off all the lights in your house and watched the wheel on the electricity meter slow down? This is the 21st-century equivalent. Over winter break, meters were installed in each residence hall that provide real-time updates of how much electricity is being used, and where. And to make sure that data gets seen, every kilowatt is tracked on a 55-inch TV in the Joan Weill Student Center. Jon Buyl, a junior majoring in environmental studies who proposed the project in the fall, said the goal is to show students that their behavior has an effect on energy use – and, ultimately, change the way they act. “I’m so excited,” he said, standing next to the flat-panel display with a grin the day it was turned on in January.

The $43,000 project was paid for by the Campus Sustainability Fund, which supports environmentally friendly projects suggested by students. The fund is staked with a $26 fee every student pays yearly. Students themselves voted to establish the charge three years ago. Other projects that have been backed by the fund include the purchase of composting equipment and software to cut the use of printers and paper in the library, and the development of a vegetable garden. "Effective energy-conservation campaigns should engage the community and raise awareness," said Katharine Glenn, the campus' sustainability coordinator. "This competition is the first step." She’s hoping that students see that when they shut off the lights when they leave a room, or open their blinds during the day to let sunlight add some warmth in winter, it makes a difference. To reinforce those lessons, every dorm will participate in a competition to see which one can use the least energy per resident. (Winners get glorious energy-saving gadgets – as well as first crack in the annual housing lottery.) “I don’t think there’s a lot of awareness now,” Buyl says. But once students stare at the meter every day, that will probably change. – KA

Creighton Fee, who taught at Paul Smith's for a quarter-century and introduced the college’s surveying technology program, died on Oct. 7. He was 85. Prof. Fee began teaching at the college in 1972 and retired in 1997, receiving emeritus status in 1998. Those whom he taught know that he was fair, but demanding – very demanding. Yet those same students would come back, years later, and thank him for his rigor. A surveyor trained by Fee knows how the job is supposed to be done, and he was widely respected for that. “I was struck by his knowledge and demeanor,” one former student wrote in an online memorial. “He worked us hard but was fair and word of praise from him went a long way.” Fee was a charter member of the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors. Besides launching the surveying program after separating it from the forest technology program, he played an instrumental role in its ABET accreditation. ABET is an internationally recognized accreditor of applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology programs. For a full obituary, visit his memorial page on the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home webpage: http://bit.ly/W1PKl8. Trustee Emeritus Frank Hutchins, a longtime supporter of Paul Smith’s whose civic participation is as much a part of his legacy as his business success, died on Dec. 20. He was 90. Hutchins served on the Paul Smith’s board from 1989-2004 and was an emeritus trustee from 2005 until his passing. “Whenever the college needed support, Frank and his wife, Jeanne, were the first to step forward,” President John W. Mills wrote to the community. “None of us who knew him will forget that strong voice, deep laugh and commanding presence. Your college has lost one of the most important members of our community.” The Hutchins Study Café, the 24-hour study room in the Joan Weill Adirondack Library, was named in honor of him and his wife. And starting this fall, one student every year will be named a Frank Hutchins Memorial Scholar – a designation that will provide a $14,000 scholarship each year for four years. Hutchins leaves his wife, a sister, four daughters – one of whom, Katharine Welling, serves on the Paul Smith’s board – and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Hutchins, a Dartmouth College alum, lived in the Rochester area his whole life, though he spent much time in the Adirondacks and had an enduring love for it. His Rochester-based advertising firm, Hutchins Advertising Co., was sold to Young & Rubicam in 1977; he helmed the resulting agency, Hutchins/Y&R. He went on to launch another agency, Hutchins/DAC Group. He lent his time and expertise to several institutions, including the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he once was chairman of the board; he also served groups including the Boy Scouts of America, YMCA, the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester, where he was a committed volunteer. His obituary highlighted his commitment to service by closing with a quote from Winston Churchill: “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” Sequel | Winter 2013

[ shore lines] Getting back to basics

it yourself and be self-sufficient. Those are the principles that attracted more than 800 people to the Paul Smith’s College VIC last fall for the first Adirondack Rural Skills and Homesteading Festival, where participants learned to can food, press cider, butcher a chicken, chop wood and much more. The event, the largest at the VIC since the college took over operations there in 2011, focused on the growing homesteading movement. And while many of the skills showcased at its workshops hearkened to an earlier era, they offered benefits for modern lifestyles, as well. “Rural skills and homesteading is less about going back in time and more about moving forward,” said Prof. Brett McLeod, organizer of the event. “It’s a way to live more simply, practically and sustainably.” The festival was one of hundreds happening across the country in September as part of International Homesteading Education Month, sponsored by Mother Earth News and Grit magazine. Followers of the movement cite varying reasons for getting involved: Some appreciate the environmental benefits of a back-to-the-earth mentality, and others appreciate the savings that comes from providing one’s own food. Paul Smith’s College faculty, staff and students joined representatives of area organizations in offering a series of lectures and hands-on workshops throughout the day. More than two dozen sessions were held, including lessons on using draft horses in the field; making butter; building fires without matches; and tying flies. Additionally, the Paul Smith’s College woodsmen’s team staged an exhibition, the Adirondack Farmers’ Market was open and Kary Johnson and Prof. Curt Stager performed music.

A greener lawn In

the last issue (Summer 2012) of Sequel, we highlighted our efforts to make the Great Lawn worthy of its name. But as readers Doug and Betsy Gentry noted, making that grassy expanse greener isn’t necessarily, well, green. Phosphorous – a component of many fertilizers – poses dangers to bodies of water when it runs off, causing algae blooms and harming native plants, fish and other species. It’s a great point. What we should have mentioned in that piece is that our faculty and staff collaborated on a maintenance plan for the Great Lawn that has as little environmental impact as possible. The fertilizer used there is phosphorous free, and applied no more than twice a year to minimize runoff. (Interestingly, the previous state of the

Photo by kenneth aaron

lawn – a fairly barren expanse of rockhard dirt – led to its own issues. It was so compacted that rainfall and other runoff would wash right over it and make its way to the lake, rather than getting absorbed into the ground. The lawn’s newly lush state helps arrest some of that.) In any case, we’re still trying to do more. This summer, our grounds crews will build a berm between Lower St. Regis Lake and the lawn in order to deflect even more runoff. And we’ll be planting native species on the berm, such as blueberry bushes, to further protect the waters. Thanks to the Gentrys for bringing this up. If you’d like more information on how you can maintain an environmentally friendly lawn, visit www.lawntolake.org. – KA

Grant sweetens maple biz T

BELOW: Visitors to the first Adirondack Rural Skills and Homesteading Festival on a trail at the VIC.

hings just got a whole lot sweeter for anyone considering maple-syrup production in the North Country. The Paul Smith’s College VIC, the Wild Center in Tupper Lake and New York Maple have landed a $158,000 grant to help grow the industry. And it’s ripe for growth: Syrup producers in New York State currently tap less than 1 percent of the state’s 300 million maple trees, even though demand is consistently stronger than that. (New York imports four times as much syrup from Canada than is made here.) The grant, awarded by the federally

funded Northern Border Regional Commission in October, will help train local syrup makers and develop maple sugaring demonstration sites at a time when maple syrup production is growing. A shortage of syrup and corresponding price increases has led many sugar makers to expand production and others to get started in recent years. Interested? Visit northernnewyorkmaple. com for more information, including a list of local events and activities. – BB

RIGHT: Hans Michielen with students at the college’s sugar bush.

Nancie Battaglia

greg nesbit

FALL sports roundup Men’s and women’s soccer – The men’s and women’s soccer teams both ended their seasons near the top of the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association rankings, with the thirdranked women earning a trip to the national tournament in North Carolina. First-year student Nicole Landry was designated a 1st Team All American, and finished the season ranked third nationally in both goals (22) and points (43). Four members were named Academic All Americans, three joined the All-Conference team, and first-year student Natalie Palko was named the top defensive player of the Yankee Small College Conference Tournament. Coach Dan Burke won his second consecutive YSCC Women’s Coach of the Year award. After graduating half of its starting lineup last season, the 14thranked men entered 2012 as a building year, adding five freshmen

to its starting line and strengthening its bench. Despite a slow start, they won 8 of their last 11 games, including 5 shutouts. Led by Captains Ryan Lawley, Anthony Ventello, and Alex Roache, the team grew in many ways, dramatically increased its goal-scoring capacity, and is poised to contend for the YSCC title next season. Both teams will be preparing for solid chances to earn a trip to nationals in 2013. CROSS COUNTRY – For the second year in a row, Paul Smith’s hosted the USCAA’s cross country national championships at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid (see story, page 20). More than 300 athletes from across the country competed in the event. Our men’s team finished fourth, with first-year student Corey Roth leading the Bobcats with a 10th-place result. Roth, whose performance earned him 2nd Team All American honors, ran the Harriers sprint to the finish at the USCAA championships in November.

First-year student Natalie Palko launches the ball in a match against Vermont Tech.

photos by pat hendrick

8-kilometer course in 28:30. The Bobcat women’s team, which was beset by injuries all season long, finished 15th. Firstyear student Corrie Desilets crossed the finish first for Paul Smith’s, completing the hilly 6-kilometer course in 28:31; she was 56th overall. The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s men’s team and Southern Virginia University’s women’s team each successfully defended their 2011 titles with victories at Van Hoevenberg. ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS – This fall, 16 student-athletes at Paul Smith’s were recognized for their academic achievements as USCAA Academic All Americans. To earn this designation, the athletes must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be nominated by the college.

The recipients included: Men's Cross Country: Tim Grossman Jack Mulvihill Jacob Polfleit Eric Swicki Alex Kelchner Women's Cross Country: Lea Anthony Anastasia Hull Jessie Husmann Skyler Wysocki Men's Soccer: Alexander Roache Alexander Dalley Women's Soccer: Rebekah Kruppenbacher Asenath Brooks Hannah Rosen Women's Volleyball: Morgan Cuozzo Carly Bramer

– jeffrey S. Walton, Bob bennett

Go west, young woman: Senior excels in cooking contest

innea Shumway’s simple chicken dish got her all the way to California. The senior won a regional round of the Almost Famous Chef Competition in New York City in January. The victory earned her a trip to Napa Valley, Calif., in March, where she competed for the national title in the event. In the regional round of the competition, which is sponsored by S. Pellegrino mineral water, Shumway faced off against contestants from seven other northeast colleges. She made her signature dish – chicken with mirepoix (a mixture of chopped carrots, celery and onions) and mushroom. She had 2½ hours to

prep and cook her dish before presenting it to a judging panel. “The win was unbelievable,” said Shumway, who is majoring in culinary arts and service

management. “It hasn’t really set in yet, but I’m excited to show the final judges in Napa that a simple dish can be the very best.” Shumway, who worked with Chefs Kevin McCarthy and Alec Abt on the recipe, went to New York City with another student, senior Kelsey Jones, who was there as a substitute. Several top-notch chefs sat on the panel that judged Shumway, including Chef Jean François of Daniel Restaurant; Chef Matt Storch of Match; Chef Jason Weiner of Almond; Chef Laurent Tourondel of BLT; and Chef Missy Robbins of A Voce. – BB Courtesy of s. pellegrino

Linnea Shumway (center) made it to the national finals of a cooking competition.

Sequel | Winter 2013

[ EVERGREENS]

vital signs courtesy giles marion

are we alone? giles Marion ’63 is looking for the answer ? Marion’s name is etched on a chip mounted to the deck of NASA’s Curiosity rover, seen to the right. This graphic features the array of cameras on the rover, including the seven cameras on its mast alone.

mars PHOTOS Courtesy NASA

> NASA invited Marion to submit his name to go on the chip. He’s sharing space with 1.2 million other names, though, that were submitted to NASA over a one-year period. Visitors to NASA sites wrote their names on pages that were scanned and reproduced at microscopic scale onto two chips the size of a dime.

Sequel | Winter 2013

. BACKGROUND: Curiosity used one of its cameras to capture dozens of high-resolution images that were combined into a self-portrait of the rover and surrounding terrain.

By bob bennett

iles Marion ’63 is on Mars.

Well, his name is, anyway. In recognition of his work to find life on other planets, NASA etched it on a silicon microchip and attached it to the deck of the Mars Rover Curiosity. Before Curiosity launched, NASA let people submit their names as a chance to become part of history; as a result, 1.2 million names are now engraved on a pair of chips currently on the red planet. But the space agency specifically asked Marion to submit his name. Like the rover, Marion’s mission is to discover evidence of interplanetary life. Not little green men, mind you. Just microbial life. “What we’re talking about would be single-celled organisms,” Marion says. “Little simple things.” Marion is an associate research professor of geochemistry at the Desert Research

? This image shows the robotic arm of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity with the first rock touched by an instrument on the arm.

Institute, the environmental research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. His work is currently funded by NASA, but it used to be completely grounded on Earth: Marion’s connection to the space program started while he was working for the Cold Regions Laboratory division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he invented a formula called FREZCHEM (FREeZing CHEMistry), that models the behavior of substances at very cold temperatures. “They wanted a model for salt effects on melting ice,” Marion explains. “The model was later expanded to much more complicated cases, including multiple cold moons and planets, which is why I transferred to DRI and got funding from NASA.” Now Marion spends his time comparing the soil and water chemistries of moons and planets such as Mars to Earth’s in an attempt to determine whether life as we know it could exist elsewhere.

Marion thinks it could. “On Earth, these types of organisms live in complicated and harsh conditions that are kilometers below the earth, extreme conditions,” Marion says. “God knows how they survive, but they do.” Some of these environments are far saltier than our oceans, Marion says. And most of them sustain life. Marion has written several articles about Europa, an ice covered moon of Jupiter, recognizable by its surface cracks. “Everyone thinks there’s water under that ice,” Marion says. “It might be 10 to 20 kilometers thick, but there is quite likely an ocean under it that could sustain microbial life.” The water could be extremely saline, Marion says, but that might actually keep the water from freezing, and that could actually help life exist. “One thing is for sure,” Marion says. “We’ve never found anything that tells us life couldn’t exist on these moons and planets.” S

Sequel | Winter 2012

[ EVERGREENS]

Pascal Beauvais/NOLS

NOLS backpackers hiking the Wind River Range of Wyoming.

Sequel | Winter 2013

leading the way

nols gives teens tools to thrive outdoors By bob bennett

THE

first time 14-yearold Nick Windolf went camping in the Adirondacks, he hiked 80 miles in two weeks and climbed 10 of the 46 High Peaks along the way. He cooked all of his own food out in the field and led about seven other kids on part of the journey. Before that excursion, he hadn’t camped for longer than a single night. But Windolf isn’t some kind of wünderkind. He’s a product of NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School. NOLS operates on six continents, but it didn’t have a base on the East Coast until two years ago, when the school set up camp at the Paul Smith’s College VIC. Now teens from the east can take the NOLS backpacking course, offered each year in June and July, without having to go across the country. Windolf, a New York City native, came to the VIC last July with students from all over the East Coast, California and even Sweden to get a taste of the Adirondacks. “This is a really good fit for Paul Smith’s College,” says Brian McDonnell, the VIC’s manager. “NOLS has been a recognized leader in experiential education for more than 40 years, and the college prides itself on providing that same type of education. Having them identified with the VIC is a strong indicator of the kind of outdoor programing we can offer. NOLS is a recognized name in the industry, so we’re proud they chose us as the base for their Northeast program.” NOLS offers courses in mountaineering, rock climbing, whitewater rafting and other adventure skills for students 14 and older. Since 1965, when NOLS began in Wyoming, the school has taken students of all ages on remote wilderness expeditions to teach them technical outdoor skills, leadership and environmental ethics. These types of lessons can’t be learned in the classroom – it takes real-world practice to build this

experience. And the backcountry makes an ideal proving ground to gain it. “I definitely didn’t consider myself an outdoor person before this,” says Windolf, a day after returning from the two-week hike. “But now I feel like I could be completely self-sufficient out there if I had to be.” The course at the VIC starts with a oneday classroom warm-up. The students, who are all between 14 and 15, get an overview of the things they will learn in the field; the next day, they head outside to start learning by doing. Phil Branca, a NOLS instructor, led Windolf’s group. They went into the woods on Coreys Road near Tupper Lake and came out on the Garden trailhead near Keene Valley, an average of about 6 miles per day. “The outings start slowly with a lot of instruction,” Branca says. “By the third or fourth day, the students take over. They each spend a day leading out in the field.” The order in which they learn depends on several different factors, Branca says, including the weather, how the group progresses during the hike, and the terrain and challenges they face along the way. The students get ongoing feedback

throughout the expedition, especially the day’s leaders. Each day ends with a debriefing session. When the course is over, each student goes home with an evaluation. “Every course is unique,” Branca says, “but these guys were all pretty good hikers right off the bat.” Malcolm Nash, 15, of Rye, N.Y., was one of them. He has been enjoying the outdoors ever since he can remember. His father took two different NOLS courses and has been taking Nash hiking since he was a boy. Last summer, the teen went canoeing and backpacking for three weeks straight. The NOLS experience, though shorter, was definitely his most intense to date. One of the highlights for Nash was climbing New York State’s highest point, Mount Marcy, during a nasty storm that pelted the group with rain, hail and wind. Despite the weather, and some other tough climbs, he really enjoyed the experience. “It was tranquil,” Nash says. “Just kind of being out there for two weeks was well worth it.” S Students who attended the first NOLS course at the VIC pose with instructors Phil Branca (right) and Alex Tiberio (far left).

Photo by Bob Bennett

Sequel | Winter 2013

[ FEATURE]

Back for

more why some of our alumni end up right back where they started

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Assistant Director of Enrollment Keith Braun ’10 started his career at Paul Smith’s immediately after graduation.

By BOB BENNETT

photos By KENNETH AARON | director of communications & marketing

ony Tufano ’98 has worked some pretty cool jobs.

He held a position at Nintendo of America in Redmond, Wash., as a customer service representative and game-play counselor. If you were playing a video game and couldn’t figure out how to get your character out of a certain room or advance to the next level, Tufano was the person to call. He could also supply you with different codes and “cheats.” Tufano built and designed fire engines at Saulsbury Emergency Rescue in Tully, N.Y., and worked for Sodexo as a capital projects construction manager of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “But something was missing,” Tufano says of those jobs. “My wife and I are both big outdoor people, and we dreamed of returning to the Adirondacks with our family the entire time. We began to think we would just have to wait and retire up here.” And then in 2009, a position as the general manager of facilities opened up at Paul Smith's College. Tufano interviewed, got the job and returned to the Adirondacks where he could fulfill his passion for rock and ice climbing, paddling, mountain biking,

skiing and camping – well before he reached the age of retirement. Nearly three-dozen alumni like Tufano have returned to work for their alma mater. Their reasons are varied, but a lot of them say the college just feels like a family, and a place they could go to improve their industries by cultivating new talent. For Prof. Brett McLeod ’03, coming back to the Adirondacks was a chance to work and teach in his own “living laboratory.” “This is a place where students and faculty can explore ecological and sociopolitical issues in real time,” says McLeod, director of the natural resource management and policy program. “People and nature coexist here, and often conflict, so students can easily see how difficult it is to strike a balance among stakeholders.” For McLeod, that means a whole army of open-minded, ecologically literate and socially aware natural resource managers. “It’s a teaching model that I believe works,” he says, “and one that I’m incredibly fortunate to be a part of.” McLeod has wanted to teach natural resource management since he was a kid, he says, recalling how he used to sit under his father’s lectern while he taught classes at the University of Connecticut. And he knew he wanted to teach at Paul Smith’s College

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[ FEATURE]

since his freshman year. He and his classmates were given an assignment that asked them to talk about where they would like to be in ten years. Some said Florida, others California; McLeod wanted to stay put. “The landscape and culture just feels right to me,” he explains. “I’ve been to Alaska where the mountains are sublime but, frankly, just too damn big. There’s a certain comfort and scale to these mountains and the town (Saranac Lake). You can get to know the people, and even though I want to effect change at a large scale, I think it’s important to let solutions germinate in our own back yards.” If you ask Keith Braun ’10, assistant director of enrollment, why he wanted to work at Paul Smith's College, he’ll tell you he never really left. Literally. “A few weeks after school was finished, I was working here,” Braun says. He found a job opening in the admissions office, applied and got an offer. “It was pretty hard to say no to that,” he recalls now. “And I’m really happy I did. I love what I do because I really think we provide an education that other schools do not. Everything here is so applied and so connected to what you will be doing for rest of your life.” But Braun never pictured himself as an admissions counselor. As a forestry major and a member of the woodsmen’s team, Braun never thought he would wear a tie or sit at a desk. But he says now he realizes that’s not important. “Just because I’m passionate about the environment doesn’t mean I need to be surrounded by it to make a difference,” Braun says. “It’s nice to see other people come in that have a similar passion. Lots of them, like myself, never even apply anywhere else. It’s comforting to know there are others out there like you.” It was that same sense of community that drew Heather Tuttle ’99 back to Paul Smith’s College. Tuttle, the alumni relations coordinator, was a hotel and restaurant management major who went directly to work for the Wawbeek Resort on Upper Saranac Lake where she planned weddings and managed the front office. She was happy at the job, but she decided to step down from her position when she had her third child. Tuttle was home for about a year before she saw an opening for a student development secretary at the college in 2003. “It was a chance to be among adults again,” Tuttle says. “Plus, I knew the people I’d be working with, and it felt like home. There have been plenty of other opportunities, but I have no desire to be anywhere else. I just want to help make a difference in somebody else’s life at this point. Besides, I have the best job on campus. I love my job. I get to plan parties, refer prospective students to admissions and handle alumni receptions. Paul Smith's College is a family.” Prof. Peggy Fonda ’00 says coming back to Paul

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Smith’s to teach has been the most fulfilling thing she has ever done. After spending around 30 years working in the culinary industry, Fonda’s wants to pass her knowledge on to others. “I want to help them learn and become a great culinary artist,” she says, “for the future of our industry.” Fonda started teaching at the college in 2010 but was already working as an executive chef at the Swiss Acres Inn, a hotel in Lake Placid. She was already well established in the industry when she began teaching at Paul Smith’s College, in fact, and even owned her own business in Tupper Lake, called the Park Smokehouse. She also served as executive chef at two country clubs: the Pine Brook Golf club and the Mohawk Valley Country Club. “Teaching was always something I wanted to do,” she says. “Plus, this is easier at my age. I no longer work 80 hours a week, and I get holidays off. And I just love this area, the campus community and the atmosphere in general.” So does Prof. Robert Brhel ’80. He earned an associate degree from Paul Smith's College and went to work in the forestry industry for several years. But he missed the college environment, so he decided to join the faculty full time in 1988 as an instructor and eventually earned his bachelor's degree in 2009. Brhel has served as a soccer coach, rugby coach and advisor to the Draft Horse Club. “I was really engaged with learning when I went to school here,” Brhel says. “I found it much more interesting than high school, and I liked being around other people who were eager to learn.” Things weren’t always so positive in the logging industry, and the people weren’t nearly as open-minded, Brhel says. “Coming back to higher ed was inviting and very rewarding; I get to see students grow in classrooms as well as on the rugby and soccer fields. “I have been here a long time now, and I’ve seen many changes for the good,” Brhel says. “I’ve been very fortunate. I plan to retire here.” S

Home again Sally Bogdanovitch, professor of forestry Keith Braun ’10, assistant director of enrollment Robert Brhel ’80, professor of forestry and rugby head coach Daniel Burke ’97, soccer coach Todd Collins ’96, executive chef, Sodexo Campus Dining Service Joe Conto ’85, professor of hospitality management Kirsten Domas ’10, recreation and intramural coordinator Deborah Dupuis ’84, instructor of sign language Philip Dybfest-Muha ’09, cross country and bowling coach Stephen Ellis ’06, academic support/resident manager Peggy Fonda ’00, professor of culinary arts Cathy Fuller ’73, professor of parks, recreation and facility management Daniel Groves ’90, professor of arboriculture and landscape management Donald Kirche ’67, professor of mathematics Robert Kraatz ’73, professor of surveying Corey Laxson ’98, instructor of fisheries and wildlife science and Adirondack Watershed Institute research associate Kelly Linehan ’97, laboratory coordinator/ academic support Renee Marleau ’08, tutor coordinator Gina Martin ’10, admissions receptionist/data entry clerk Brett McLeod ’03, professor of forest policy, resource economics, land use planning and dendrology Hans Michielen ’73, sugar bush manager Ruth Pino ’83, professor of culinary arts Cheryl Ploof ’04, deans and faculty office manager and externship manager Marina Potter ’09, library technician John Roe ’03, instructor of culinary arts Robert Seidenstein ’67, professor of English David Simmons ’07, forestry teaching assistant Rebecca Sutter ’97, professor of mathematics Tony Tufano ’98, GM, Sodexo Facilities Management Heather Tuttle ’99, alumni relations coordinator > Chef Peggy Fonda ’80 worked in the culinary industry for 30 years before coming back to teach at Paul Smith's College.

. Tony Tufano ’98 standing on the plow of a utility vehicle parked inside the facilities garage.

Lydia Wright ’77, accommodative services office manager Jill Zagrobelny ’11, data entry clerk Travis Zedick ’03, GM, Sodexo Campus Dining Services

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[ SPACES]

Paul Smith’s Stagecoach FOR

more than 60 years, the very stagecoach used to ferry visitors back and forth to the Paul Smith’s Hotel gathered dust in storage. In 1987, though, Prof. Gould Hoyt and his wife, Ruth, raised enough money to bring this relic back to life.

1 Paul Smith bought two Abbot-Downing Concord stagecoaches for the hotel in 1868; this is the only one that remains. It ran into the 20th century before winding up in a dusty storeroom on campus. Its whereabouts were unknown until some students stumbled across it and told Hoyt, says Prof. Bob Brhel ’80. 2 First-year student John Pokrzywka (left) and sophomore Preston Wynings (right) learned to drive the college’s two draft horses in Brhel’s Draft Horse Management class last semester. The barn housing the restored coach was built with lumber harvested from college property. 3 The coach could seat 18 people – nine inside and nine on top. The coach ran from the railroad station in the hamlet of Brandon, north of Keese Mills Road, to the hotel; it also went to the Lake Clear railroad station and to Saranac Lake on occasion. Hoyt and his wife, Ruth, were instrumental in raising tens of thousands of dollars to restore the coach, a job completed in 1989. 4 Carriages don’t have engines, but they still need regular maintenance. Brhel says the wheels need to be soaked once a year in boiled linseed oil, which swells the spokes so they get good and tight. Other than that, grease and thorough cleaning keeps it in good shape. 5 In its day, a team of six standard horses would pull the coach. Not just any horses, though: A team of all black or all white horses were used. Today, the college’s two draft horses get the job done. The coach survived the introduction of Smith’s electric railroad, and even lasted until the introduction of Paul Smith's taxi service. 6 The driver sits here. When Hoyt died in June, his last wish was to ride on the coach from campus to St. John’s in the Wilderness Cemetery, just down the road – the same place Smith is buried. Brhel, dressed in black suit and top hat, led the coach in the funeral procession. “This was totally his baby,” Brhel says of Gould’s connection to the coach.

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[ OUR ADIRONDACKS ]

Running up a profit

ovember is the doldrums for the hotel and restaurant businesses in Lake Placid. The leaves have fallen and the snow’s still a month away, which keeps most out-of-towners, well, out of town. So when hundreds of runners, coaches and spectators descended upon the Olympic community for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association’s (USCAA) Cross Country Nationals this year, business owners welcomed them with open arms.

Paul Smith’s hosted the nationals on a course at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid for the second year in a row. The event drew about 700 people – exposing a lot of them to Paul Smith’s, and the area, for the first time. But it also brought their dollars, helping local businesses and lending steam to the college’s efforts to support the region’s economy. “We had a couple teams stop in,” says Mike Butler, manager of the Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Lake Placid. “We definitely noticed the uptick over the two days they were here, and, in this day and age, any extra business is fantastic, especially in the restaurant business.” Paul Smith’s already has a significant impact on the area’s economy. The Paul Smith’s College VIC and International Paper John Dillon Park attract tens of thousands of visitors a year. Our dining halls and culinary department support local farms by purchasing locally grown and raised food. The Adirondack Watershed Institute helps attract visitors and support property by keeping waterways clean and free of invasive species. And, of course, the college’s 1,055 students and hundreds of employees pack an economic punch as well. “Since my first days as president, I have stressed the importance of economic development in our communities,” says Paul Smith’s President John W. Mills. “If the community fails to benefit from our success, we haven’t succeeded entirely. Our shared prosperity is

LEFT: A view of Main Street in Lake Placid. BELOW: Runners at the 2012 U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association cross country championships, held on a course at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, sprint from the starting line.

photo courtesy of Lake Placid CVB/Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism

the ultimate goal.” Jon Lundin, a spokesman for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, estimated that the nationals brought $81,000 in new spending to the area. He arrived at that figure by multiplying the total number of athletes (350) by their average spending per day ($431) and the average length of their stay (2.1 days), all divided by the average number of visitors who traveled with the athletes (3.9). The Lake Placid CVB didn’t crunch the numbers for this particular event, but spokeswoman Kim Riley estimated the spending at about $98,000, based on a more generic formula the CVB uses to calculate revenue from overnight visitors to off-season events. Jill Cardinale, owner of the Pines Inn, says three cross-country

teams stayed at her establishment this year. The teams accounted for about 35 room nights the hotel wouldn’t have seen otherwise – over a month’s worth of additional single-room occupancies in just two days. And since most of her business materializes in the summer and winter, she says, having an event like this in shoulder season was valuable. “I noticed all of the other hotels and motels were quite a bit busier, too,” Cardinale says. “And that’s important because in order for these events to help everyone, we need to have business spilling over into other establishments.” Mark McCabe, the director of sales and marketing at the High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid, agreed that the event was good for the community. He had only one complaint: “It would have been nice to have the race in the middle of the week,” he said with a laugh. “That would have helped us a little more with the lull we feel this time of year because hockey is already helping out on the weekends.” McCabe’s hotel wound up with more business than it could handle, ultimately turning some business to other establishments. “It was a good turnout,” McCabe says. “Our last hurrah is usually around Columbus Day, and then we feel a little lull until Thanksgiving. So this was definitely welcome.” Next year’s cross-country nationals will be held in Syracuse. But the college is working on luring other events to the region: A joint bid with Saranac Lake seeks to bring the 2014 U.S. snowshoeing championships to Mt. Pisgah, and Paul Smith’s is hoping to work with other North Country institutions to establish a national rafting and paddling competition in the Adirondacks, an initiative spearheaded by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. And Lake Placid’s charms have left their mark on the competitors. Several coaches and athletic directors say they plan to bring their families back to the Adirondacks to vacation after their experience here. Daniel Ramin, the coordinator of college athletics at ESF, says several team members mentioned coming back for a visit. And Jeff Mallas, the athletic director at Penn State Worthington Scranton, says he’s bringing his whole family back next summer. Washington Adventist University Assistant Coach Aron Christiansen says he will be back for sure. “This was a great experience,” he says. “It was just so cool to be here knowing that this is where the Olympics happened. And we just love the area. It’s beautiful.” – BOB BENNETT

USCAA championships by the numbers Jim Tucker, Paul Smith’s athletics director, says the event generated $18,000 at local businesses for race-related equipment and activities alone. Below is the breakdown: Pre-race banquet

$8,400

T-shirts

$3,900

Site fee

$2,300

Race timing, bibs, and video $2,200

Photo by pat hendrick

PA system and announcing

$450

Officials

$390

On-site athletic trainer

$300 Sequel | Winter 2013

Revolutionary

Outlook

Joe Finan ’75 stands on a hillside above the Hudson River at the Saratoga National Historical Park.

JOE FINAN ’75 Age: 59 Now living in: Easton, N.Y. Hometown: Franklin Square, N.Y. Family: Wife, Mary; son, Dillon; daughters, Erin and Colleen; two grandchildren. Education: Paul Smith’s College, A.A.S., forest technology 22

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Last book read: “Too Big to Fail,” Andrew Ross Sorkin Hobbies: Fishing, growing mushrooms, managing our woodlot, playing with the grandchildren Favorite park, besides Saratoga: Adirondack Park

[Q & A]

INTERVIEW By Kenneth Aaron | Director of Communications & Marketing

1777, British General John Burgoyne had a plan to put down the rebellious New England colonies: Combine the forces of three redcoat armies near Albany and cut New England off from the rest of the colonies. But Burgoyne faltered at Saratoga – and the battlefield on which he lost is now overseen by Joe Finan ’75, the superintendent of the Saratoga National Historical Park. He talked with us about protecting not only our past, but also our future. Why is Saratoga considered the turning point of the American Revolution? Until this point in colonial history, a British field army had never been defeated by those they governed. At the time, Benjamin Franklin was in the French court trying to secure military from the French for the revolutionaries. When the French king hears of the victory at Saratoga, he realizes this is not just a bunch of farmers out there playing around, taking potshots at the British. This is a well-formulated, regimented and disciplined fighting force. He then allows his navy to support the Americans, essentially declaring war on Britain. The French involvement at Yorktown was instrumental in ending the war, and the stimulus for French involvement was the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. The park is beautiful and serene – how do you convey that it commemorates something that is anything but? There’s always a debate amongst professionals regarding the interpretation of battlefields and actual conflicts. The park service has a fairly rigid policy: We don’t do battle re-enactments; we don’t do opposing lines of fire. We do interpret camp life, do drills and firing demonstrations. But we don’t play war. Essentially, there are two different schools of thought: One is that actually depicting the battles can be an educational opportunity. The other is these sites are memorials and out of reverence you should not be playing over the graves of people who died there. My sensibilities go more to the quiet contemplation and reverence. But you do stage some encampments and demonstrations. We do and have what’s called an

immersion program. It’s targeted to 9th or 10th graders. They come in and they give up their cell phones and all their modern accoutrements and dress in period clothing and spend a full evening out camping in wedge tents and experience what a solder’s life may be like in 1777. They get woken up in the middle of the night for a drill; they have to cook their own meals; they have to start a fire. So these kinds of programs hopefully sensitize some of our youth to what life is like back then and give them some pragmatic life skills. The park has been part of a broad effort to maintain open space on thousands of acres in the Hudson River valley. You already have 3,400 acres – why is that important? Most important, possibly, is our ability to continue to grow food and protect the watershed. It becomes an issue of national security as we evolve and as this world evolves. I live in an agricultural community. They’re not making any more land to grow food; so right now, what we have is what we have. As I see the land get fragmented; it’s detrimental to agricultural communities. When you sell off 200 acres, 100 acres for development, suddenly you have an incompatible land use next to you. So when you’re on your deck cooking a hot dog and the farmer comes by and spreads manure, you’re going to complain about it. As a young boy, I grew up on Long Island and I watched farmland become humanized – we grew people instead of produce and lost some prime agricultural lands. Does the preservation help the park, too?

At many battlefields, the level of incursion and development around them have somewhat diminished their ability to provide a sense of place. Saratoga has been blessed in the fact that the surrounding area has been primarily in agricultural use, which allows the setting to maintain some level of character. So when you come to the park you get a sense of place, you understand the importance of the river, you understand the topography and why that route was taken. Why the fortifications were placed where they were. You understand why the battle took place here. You just served a temporary post as a deputy superintendent at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which were seriously damaged by Sandy. You helped with similar recoveries after Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 in D.C., and elsewhere – what cuts you out for that work? I think I try to be an analytical thinker. I’m a student of critical thinking. The ability to make assessments, maintain a level head while you’re doing it, and thinking things through may be part of the rationale why I’m asked to do these things. So, having said that, what might Burgoyne have done differently? I think Burgoyne had bad intelligence. So his vision was that he was going to pick up a lot more support from Tories along his venture and that didn’t come through. He also didn’t have a solid alliance with some of his Native American partners. And I think he also grossly underestimated the passion of the insurgents at the time. S

Portrait: PHILIP KAMRASS

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[ cover story ]

Laura James â&#x20AC;&#x2122;12 with one of her dogs at her familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home in Cambridge, N.Y.

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Mod

del alum

“ America’s Next Top Model” win sparks career of Laura James ’12 By kenneth aaron photos By philip kamrass

aura James ’12 is between lives. It’s mid-December and she’s at her childhood home, a sprawling horse farm in Cambridge, N.Y. It has been almost exactly a month since she won “America’s Next Top Model,” the CW Network reality show, and she’s yet to decide whether to move to New York City or L.A. to start her career. James had returned from the West Coast a day earlier, where she shot one ad campaign and met with representatives from Guess before a spring photo shoot. And while she had already signed on with a pair of modeling agencies, she hadn’t gotten around to hiring a manager, or a publicist, so she scheduled this interview on her own. »

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It’s

been a whirlwind. “I have to think for a 1999, a decade after he split the business. “If I could have found this second: Was it really just May when all in L.A., I wouldn't have left. But where are you going to find this of this started happening?” says James, kind of beauty in L.A.?” 22, dressed in leggings and a sweater and Some people chattering about “Top Model” on social media were holding a cup of green tea. “I graduated May 5. Two weeks before pretty ruthless about James’ lineage, declaring her a ringer with that I was announced a semifinalist. They called me and told me an unfair edge. (Go ahead and tweet her @lauraellenjames.) She to come out to L.A. on the 17th. And then they announced me as a laughs at that. “They were in the industry 30 years ago. It’s changed cast member shortly after that, and it was full speed ahead.” completely,” she says of her parents, whose advice to her was more Taping finished in July, when she won the 19th edition of the parental – stay true to yourself, follow your dreams – than profesmodeling competition hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks. Banks sional. “They didn’t even really want me in this business.” lauded James’ determination and her If the “Top Model” thing didn’t work non-traditional look – which is to say, out, James was planning on striking out Fashion and she’s not a rail-thin wisp. She had to for bigger pastures, anyway. Before the keep the news of her victory under her show, she had already been applying for hospitality are “all hat until November, though, when the jobs in New York to put her hospitality about networking and finale ran. James made it through a degree to work. Most of James’ limited thicket of 30 contestants, all college stu- who you know.” That’s one modeling experience was at a local level, dents or recent grads, to win the grand so getting into the business was a bit of thing I was taught at Paul a longshot. prize: Ad campaigns, model-agency contracts, an endorsement deal, a magasays the judges like contestants Smith’s. Make contact with whoJames zine spread and $100,000. can be molded, though. And people Winning “Top Model” is an open who know her say James laps up coneverybody. door to a world James wasn’t sure how – LAURA JAMES ’12 structive criticism. Prof. Joe Conto, who to crack. “I’ve always loved modeling, taught James in several classes, says, but I didn’t necessarily know how to get into it, because it’s such a “She listens. Even in a classroom, you only have to tell her huge industry,” she says. “Where do you even start if you don’t have something once.” that platform to spring your career?” When the judges told her to change her hair color from brunette The distance from Upstate New York to Hollywood is about to platinum blonde, for example, she did. And when her agency as far apart as it gets, too. Then again, that’s why her parents suggested she change it back after the show, she did. She’s willing to moved here. Her father, John James, had a starring role on the ’80s trust experts. “They’ve been in the business for years and years, and primetime soap “Dynasty” and her mother was a model and Miss they know something, I guess, when they see it,” she says. Australia. They decamped to their 19th-century farmhouse amidst It was “surreal,” she says, to have shared the same stage with these rolling fields more than 20 years ago and haven’t looked back. Banks. Asked what she learned at the supermodel’s knee, James “This is why I left Hollywood,” her father told People magazine in pours forth. Don’t have dead eyes. Make sure your poses are head

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‘‘

by Held & associates) Wolfgang Zac (represented

to toe. Smile with your eyes. Be conscious of every corner, every angle, of your body. Know where your light is, where the best angle for your face is. “I used to practice in the mirror all the time,” says James. “Because once you get out in front of the camera, you don’t have the mirror to help you, and there’s only so much a photographer can do.” A freelance photographer sat in on the interview before putting James to work. Some interview subjects get antsy after one or two setups. James acted like she could have done it all day long. That professionalism is something she took away not just from the show, but from Paul Smith’s. Fashion and hospitality are “all about networking and who you know,” James says. “That’s one thing I was taught at Paul Smith’s. Make contact with everybody. Always carry your business card because you never know who you’re going to meet and who needs to have your information.” And when it comes to working, don’t get difficult. Everybody in the business knows everybody. So she vows to be easy to work with, even if she wasn’t always portrayed as the good girl on the show. “I went into it with the mindset that I didn’t want to make any friends,” James says. “If I came out of it with some, that’d be great. But a lot of it, at times, was that fine line between me being either cocky or overly confident or bitchy. But it wasn’t. It was me being competitive. I was there to win. It was a game and I had to learn how to play it.” “Top Model” plays true to the reality-TV genre, which, if you’re not familiar with it, involves a lot of drama. Consider this recap of the season’s first episode on Wikipedia: “Tensions flare when Destiny questioned her low score and Kiara noted that Destiny may have looked like a stripper which Destiny told the other girls without knowing that Kiara was listening at the other side which led to a fight between Darian and Kiara.” It’s exhausting. But “it’s all real,” James says. “Which is so hard to believe because I used to watch the shows, too, and say there’s no way that’s real but it is pretty real.” The stress pushed James to more than one tearyeyed breakdown on the show and the judges noted that her own confidence waned when the competition got tough. It wasn’t that long ago, in high school, when James would be needled because of her height. “I used to get picked on for having big feet and I had braces at the time, too, so that probably didn’t help,” she says. “You know, kids are brutal to each other.” Since she won, James has been speaking at nearby high schools about cyberbullying, and has thrown her support behind a range of animal-rights causes. She’s also continued making jewelry, selling pieces at a local shop and also on Etsy, an online crafts site. She says she wouldn’t mind just nesting in Cambridge, making earrings and bracelets, and one day, she does want to get back to small-town living. But she has modeling to do in the meantime. Maybe acting, too. “’Top Model’ isn’t there to hold your hand throughout your entire career,” James says. “They’re there to get your career started and that’s your platform. So it’s up to you to decide what you’re going to do with it. And that’s why I think one of the reasons I won. Because they saw my motivation and that’s just going to continue on after the competition.” S

TOP: A brunette Laura James on a shoot after her “Top Model” victory. MIDDLE: James in December, a month after the finale aired. BELOW: James makes and sells jewelry as a hobby.

Sequel | Winter 2013

Our time to sh

ow is the season of our reality-TV closeup. Laura James ’12 may have been first out of the gate, but several Paul Smith’s alums joined her on the small screen this fall: Wally Ganzi ’63, co-owner of The Palm, vetted contestants on “The Job,” a show on CBS. Former student Gretel-Ann (Alexy) Fischer took second place on TLC’s “Next Great Baker.” And Daniel O’Brien ’03 stepped away from his burgeoning D.C. restaurant empire for a turn on “Top Chef.”

By bob bennett

Wally Ganzi ’63 The Palm restaurant may be the epitome of old-school charm – but when CBS put a modern twist on the hiring process by letting contestants compete for a job at the classic steakhouse, co-owner Wally Ganzi ’63 didn’t look back. “I really liked doing it a lot,” says Ganzi, who vetted the contestants on “The Job.” “I was nervous; I mean, 40 million people get to see this, and there was a live audience for part of the show. But it was great.” Here’s the idea: In every episode, multiple contestants vie for a gig at a top company. The Palm was the first business featured on the show, which premiered Feb. 8. Candidates vied for an assistant manager position at the restaurant, the original American fine-dining steakhouse. Ganzi’s grandfather and his partner, Bruce Bozzi’s grandfather, opened the original Palm in New York City in 1926; today, Palms can be found in more than 20 different cities in the U.S. as well as Mexico City and London.

Sequel | Winter 2013

photos by David M. Russell | CBS

TOP: Wally Ganzi ’63 (left) with two colleagues from the Palm. LEFT: Ganzi and the panel vet contestants for an assistant manager position.

Ganzi and his business associates were directed to put the show’s contestants to the test and challenge them in a variety of ways. “Everything was off the cuff for filming,” Ganzi says. “Nothing was scripted.” In fact, the spontaneity got downright hectic on a few occasions, Ganzi says. The show’s producers instructed him to request something from the contestants on the spot during a dinner rush with a packed house. “About 300 people were seated, and 70 more were waiting,” Ganzi says. “This was all going on while the restaurant was

fully operational. We weren’t closed. These were real customers.” Despite the chaos, Ganzi was thrilled with the experience. “It’s just amazing,” he says. “It’s moving. It’s educational, and it’s a lot of fun.” Ganzi says the show could help viewers nail their dream jobs. “It’s really meant to help you know what to do and what not to do,” he says. “I encourage young people to watch and to get an idea of what employers are looking for because in the current economy, it’s not a question of what job you will get, but if you will get one at all.”

hine

Three other alums find the reality TV spotlight this winter

Daniel O’Brien ’03 Daniel O’Brien ’03 was the first contestant to pack his knives on the 10th season of “Top Chef.” But that hasn’t affected his confidence – or his success – one bit. “Wolfgang Puck didn’t like my omelet,” O’Brien says. “But my restaurant has more stars than his, so that’s OK.” O’Brien is the owner of The Seasonal Pantry, a hot, 12-seat restaurant in Washington, D.C. In November, a New York Times reviewer noted that “there was an aura of attention, skill and delicacy here not usually seen in restaurants.” But delicacy wasn’t what the “Top Chef” producers were looking for, O’Brien maintains. “It wasn’t about the food,” he explains. “It was more about finding good characters, the drama aspect. They didn’t want someone who was going to be quiet and just sit back.” O’Brien says he’s not really a fan of the genre – the producers recruited him, he says – and while he made a few good friends on the show, O’Brien says he’s glad he left when he did. He just wanted to get back to his own restaurants: besides the Seasonal Pantry, he has a sandwich shop, Sundevich, and a pub, A&D, all on the same block in D.C. “My goal was always to own my own place by the time I was 30,” O’Brien says. “Now I’m 32, and I own three.”

Matthias Clamer | bravo

Sequel | Winter 2013

Gretel-Ann (Alexy) Fischer Gretel-Ann (Alexy) Fischer, who studied at Paul Smith’s from 1995 to 1997, was a second-place finisher on the third season of TLC’s “Next Great Baker.” Her business, however, was a big winner. Fischer owns Cupp’s Café in Winooski, Vt., a bakery that has been so slammed with new and returning customers since her reality TV turn that Fischer had set her email to automatically respond to incoming messages. The subject line read, “We are CRAZY busy!” “We are busting at the seams,” Fischer says in an interview she shoehorned into her schedule a few days after the finale. “We noticed a big difference right after the holidays when more people started tuning into the show.” That’s a big turnaround considering the dire straights she faced before the show. During early episodes, Fischer told the audience she feared she would have to close her struggling bakery, putting her nine employees out of work. She vowed to put everything she had into winning the competition to save her business. Each episode of the “Next Great Baker” pits contestants against each other in a series of baking and decorating challenges. Some are solo; others are team events. At the end of every episode, host Buddy Valastro sends one hopeful home in a box truck. In addition to a $100,000 prize, the winner this season got a spread in Redbook magazine and the chance to work beside Valastro – the star of “Cake Boss” – at his New Jersey bakery. As Fischer proved, though, contestants don’t exactly have to win in order to succeed. Her business is thriving, and all nine employees are safe and sound. But it wasn’t all frosting on the cake for Fischer. The show was edited in a way

Katie Hannon | TLC

that she says made her look like a villain who would do anything to win – a representation she bristles at. “There were some strong untruths told,” she says. “I’m not thrilled about the way I was portrayed in the last episode.”

That portrayal had her hiding sheet pans from other contestants and cranking up their oven temperatures to sabotage them. Fischer says she’d like to see that story retracted. Since the last episode aired, she’s been repeatedly attacked online, and she and her children have even been threatened, she says. Despite all that, though, Fischer is glad she did the show, and she remains positive. “I don’t want others to fear going on reality TV,” she says. “It’s still worth the risk. I would advise everyone to not give up on their dreams. Don’t lose that passion, and never take ‘no’ for an answer. Don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done.” S

Gretel-Ann Fischer finished second on TLC’s “Next Great Baker.”

courtesy tlc

Sequel | Winter 2013

[ alumni life]

[

2013

Alumni Events

]

Calendar MARCH

Alumni Receptions Friday, March 1; Sunday, March 3; Tuesday, March 5

Kathleen Keck

. Alumni Soccer

MAY

SEPTEMBER

69th Commencement

Scholarship Brunch

Saturday, May 11

Saturday, Sept. 21

Sunday, March 17

Campus

Arrowhead Lodge, Brewerton, N.Y.

Alumni Reception

Pancake Breakfast

Baltimore, Md.

Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Clearwater Beach, Fla.

Pancake Breakfast

Saturday, March 23 Bob’s Trees, Galway, N.Y.

OCTOBER

Thursday, May 30

Alumni Reception Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 16-17

JULY

Washington, D.C.

Reunion 2013 Friday-Sunday, July 26-28 Campus

APRIL

Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 26 Campus

AUGUST

NOVEMBER

Sugarbush Breakfast

Clambake

Saturday, April 20

Sunday, Aug. 18

Paul Smith’s College Sugarbush

Bob’s Trees, Galway, N.Y.

Alumni Reception Sunday, Nov. 10 New York City

Contact Us » For additional information, please contact: Office of Alumni Relations Phone: (518) 327-6253 Email: alumni@paulsmiths.edu . Hospitality students join Prof. Joe Conto (back, center)

chelsea brodhead

at the Copacabana, owned by Peter Dorn ’70.

We want to hear from you! Email class notes to alumni@paulsmiths.edu, send to PSC Alumni Office, P.O. Box 265, Paul Smiths, NY 12970, or fax to (518) 327-6267. (Pics welcome!) Sequel | Winter 2013

[ alumni life / CLASS NOTES ] LETTER FROM THE ALUMNI RELATIONS COORDINATOR

ne of the perks of my job is that I get to learn what you’re up to whenever you check in. New job? New baby? New home? I love hearing your updates. You don’t have to take a job at Paul Smith’s to stay on top of this, though. (And I’m not giving up my own. Sorry. I love my job!) We’ve recently unveiled a new online service, Alumni Community, that keeps you as plugged in as I am. Visit the Alumni Community to reconnect with friends, learn about and register for upcoming events, and much more. It’s the perfect place to reconnect with classmates, update your own contact information, and search for other alums near and far. It’s completely free, of course.

To register, go to www.paul smiths.edu/alumni, and look for the “@lumni Community” link on the bottom left of the page. There’s also plenty of information there about your alumni benefits: Our Alumni Campground, online store and career services office, to name a few. So, it’s pretty clear: There’s

plenty in it for you. But Alumni Community makes it easier than ever to give a little back, as well, by getting more involved through the Alumni Association. Whether you want to be an Alumni Ambassador or mentor, serve as a member of our Alumni Council or Alumni Board of Directors, or become a Class

Representative, we’d love to have you as a volunteer. Check back often for new information as we will be updating this page frequently. We’ll continue to provide you with news, of course, through the Sequel, newsletters and other communications. We hope you take full advantage of all the ways Paul Smith’s offers alumni to connect with each other and the place we all hold so dear to our hearts. And stay in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you! Sincerely,

Heather Tuttle ’99 Alumni Relations Coordinator

Accomplishments Three alums participated in dramatic rescues of stricken hikers. Scott Sabo ’09, a ranger at Yosemite National Park in California, found himself in the news when he helped rescue a man having heart problems on Half Dome. Read about his work in the Glens Falls Post-Star: http://bit.ly/SSpxuB.

? And in December, Rob Praczkajlo ’93 and Scott Van Laer ’93, forest rangers with

the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, helped save a 41-year-old ice climber who tumbled 200 feet down a slide deep in the Adirondack backcountry. An account of the rescue, which involved more than 30 people, appeared in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise: http://bit.ly/ZhhSbh. If it’s burning in the woods, Zack Lyon ’12 might be there to put it out. He blogs about his experience as a U.S. Forest Service newbie at Get Me A LandJob!, a website put together by Rand Snyder ’12. Read Lyon’s account here: http://bit.ly/12p5wxj.

50s

60s

Ray W. Peterson ’52 is still going strong at

age 82! He goes trout fishing twice a year in Cherokee, N.C. He recently talked to his roommate Arthur L. Easterbrook ’52, who is also doing well.

? Evelyn Ann Michaels, the first greatgrandchild

David B. Norman ’60 says it was wonderful to return to campus after 52 years! He found it interesting that all of the wooden buildings had been torn down and replaced with new brick and stone buildings.

of Lois and

Roger F. Smith ’57 writes that he started a

backyard sugaring operation this year. He had lots of fun but had forgotten how long the hours were, and how much firewood it takes!

Sequel | Winter 2013

David Hunter Jr. ’57, in a stylish onesie.

Stephen Fenno ’60 writes that after almost 50 years, it was great getting together with Tom Knowlton ’61 recently and talking of our times together at Paul Smith's College

and the University of New Hampshire. Ted Smith ’61 reports that he is still alive

and well, and will be taking an Airstream caravan to Alaska this summer with his wife, Donna.

Dave Loughlin ’63, Fred Oberst ’63 & Dave O’Brien ’63 look forward to catch-

the recipient of the 2012 Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award for promoting a positive image of motorcyclists to the non-cycling public. Bredbenner founded the Motorcycle Miracle Tour 28 years ago, to benefit pediatric care at Geisinger Medical Center. To date, $1.2 million has been donated to help provide the best medical care for our children. Paul W. Ellis ’71 is enjoying retirement!

Edward H. “Windy” Coon III ’66 is a professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina and still teaches Introduction to the Hospitality Industry with 300 students in two classes. He writes, “Always remember the people that guided you along the way. Thank you, Harry Purchase. You will always be remembered by your students and me.”

education and public service in June 2012.

Kurt L. Mullick ’69 enjoyed another

summer at his cabin in Saranac Lake.

70s

Scott L. Rishel ’71 and his wife, Margaret,

have found a great group of mostly retired individuals in the Glens Falls/ Saratoga Springs, N.Y., area who share their interest in various outdoor activities. The group – The Crooked Canes – are thoroughly enjoying their off-the-beaten-path outings! The lack of snow last winter limited their snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, but they are still hiking and say it is great fun.

Richard F. Kaufmann ’71 is married to

his high school sweetheart; they have one son and two daughters, who are all grown, as well as a grandson and a granddaughter. He was in New York until 1993, and retired from the phone company in 1998. Richard is enjoying hunting and fishing in Texas and around the world since his retirement. > Bernard Bredbenner Jr. ’71 has

retired from the restaurant and motel business after 38 years. A few years ago he received the Geisinger Health System Foundation’s Miss Judy Award in recognition of his commitment to the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, Pa. More recently, he was selected by the American Motorcyclists Association as

Marriages Theresa McMullen ’07 to Brad Richolson ’08 on May 22, 2010. Christine Louie ’04 to Edward Ingram

on Sept. 8, 2012.

ing up with the Class of 1963 at their 50th Reunion! (Friday-Sunday, July 26, 27, 28.)

Al Jenks ’66 writes that he has spent 40 years running a cross-country ski area.

Trail markers

F. Joseph McCranels ’54 to Sylvia

Norton on Nov. 3, 2012.

Susan G. Cunnup ’72 retired from

David G. Horrax ’74 has a son, Steven, 26, and a daughter, Katie, 24. Both are Oregon State graduates; a banker and a power-line construction engineer. David has been helicopter logging for 36 years throughout the western U.S. for Columbia Helicopters. Richard J. Strunk ’74 is an independent

contractor, running the Greater Pittsburgh Hotel Association. He is the proud “Poppie” of Lyla Marie Steele.

Diane (Oblaczynski ’75) Daly has opened a new business, the Bear Country Lodge, in Stony Creek, N.Y. She invites all to check it out at www.adirondackbearcountry lodge.com. Gail (BeGasse ’77) and Rich Fisher ’77

write that all is well in Santa Ynez, Calif. The kids are good, their health is good and their grandsons are great! They say that God is awesome!

speaks fondly of her experience at Paul Smith’s and of her silviculture plot. I thought we should go look for it, as the sites were marked with a wooden sign on posts with the names of the students that worked on the plot. So, visiting the area this fall, we searched and found it. Nature has reclaimed the sign – the names were long ago weathered away – but the flimsy remains hold testament to a great time for her. She’s pictured here with our son Pablo.”

Randy Pratt ’80 writes that he is doing

well out west, still firefighting in Boulder,

Births To Michael S. Balshi ’98 and his wife, daughter, Mara Stockton, on Aug. 25, 2011. To Sarah B. (Marcoccia ’05) and Will Fisher, son, Jasper William, on Jan. 24, 2012. To Robert F. Peters ’95 and Annemarie, daughter, Eleanor Louise ("Ellie Lou"), on April 24, 2012. To Julie (Lombardo ’95) and Adam Fischer ’02, son, Leland J., on July 3, 2012.

? Mark Swanberry writes: “Lissa Van De Valk ’77 often

80s

. Sharon Curtis ’09 to Ben Tabor ’97

on Dec. 15, 2012.

To Arielle E. (Rich ’09) and Michael Tucker, a daughter, Eleanor Grace, on July 8, 2012. To Holly (Mansur ’05) and Joel Chiodo ’03, son, Paul Rocco, on Sept. 7, 2012.

Deaths Prof. Gould J. Hoyt on June 26, 2012,

in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Trustee Emeritus Calista L. Harder on

Aug. 19, 2012, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Trustee Emeritus Frank M. Hutchins on

Dec. 23, 2012, in Rochester, N.Y.

Prof. Emeritus Creighton C. Fee on

Oct. 10, 2012, in Tupper Lake, N.Y.

Robert A. Peckman, retired faculty, on Nov. 29, 2012, in Bowling Green, Mo.

Alfred E. Komar ’48 on Feb. 1, 2012 in

Jamesville, N.Y.

Sequel | Winter 2013

[ CLASS NOTES ] Colo. He invites anyone from the Class of ’80 who happens to be passing through Boulder to give him a shout! Duane S. Dickinson ’83 writes that he has spent 25 years working for Central Vermont Public Service. He and his wife, Eva, have two grown daughters. Their youngest was recently married in Dubai and is a resident of the United Arab Emirates. Their oldest will be getting married this coming July. Both have completed four years of college and hold successful jobs. Duane and Eva wish to thank the Lord for all the blessings He has given them in life. Kim M. (Fazio) Fleming ’83 is married and living in central New York with her husband, two sons and daughter. Christopher M. Voell ’85 has accepted a

new position with Cornerstone Environmental Group LLC as Eastern sales manager for BioCNG. BioCNG is an alternative fuel system that converts waste sources of biogas into vehicle fuel.

. Friends and family of James Parker ’48 gathered on campus in August to plant a sugar maple in his honor in Alumni Park (between the Phelps Smith Administration Building and Livermore Hall). Parker, who died in November 2011, was the first-ever class president at Paul Smith’s. He also served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1969-1978 and was a president of the Alumni Council. Parker’s wife, Carolyn, attended the ceremony, along with her son, daughter-in-law, and others.

In September, John Flikeid ’87 flew to Arizona to visit his longtime friend and former roommate Mark Skalny ’88 before Mark and his wife welcomed twin boys. Mark and John drove out on the Apache Trail, north of Phoenix, to enjoy some incredible scenery and catch up on life. Mark’s successful Phoenix-based photography business (markskalny.com) focuses on events, architecture, advertising and fine art; his clients have included Rachael Ray, The Food Network, and Travel Channel. John lives outside Atlanta with his wife and son, who is in high school. He has spent nearly 20 years in the document management industry and is currently with Ricoh Americas Corp. John also manages the Paul Smith’s alumni group on LinkedIn. All alums can join; the group has more than 400 members. John and Mark both miss the Adirondacks greatly, and look forward to getting back up there one of these days.

? William Sommerfield ’66 with Renee Burslem, senior major giving and planned gifts officer, and one of his handcrafted canoes. Sommerfield, who teaches how to build the lightweight, cloth-skinned craft, will donate one of his canoes for Reunion 2013’s silent auction.

Dana Derico-Carfi ’87 is keeping busy with

Sysco Metro NY as the midtown Manhattan district manager.

90s

Julie (Lombardo ’95) and Adam Fischer ’02 are proud to announce the birth of their son

(see Trail Markers). They reside in Lake Clear, N.Y., and continue to work and play close to their alma mater.

10s

Alexa Reichel ’11 writes that she is

part of the management team at the Westmark Hotel and Conference Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Trail markers Deaths

Charles Stoessel ’55 on July 8,

2011, in New Providence, N.J.

Paul R. Galipeau ’69 on Aug. 15, 2012, in Warren, Maine

John H. Engelken ’48 on Aug.

Amos "Doc" Kentfield ’57 on

June 14, 2012, in Ellington, Conn.

Richard A. Chesebro ’70 on Jan.

9, 2012, in Klamath Falls, Ore.

Robert L. Krause '48 on

Daniel W. Kellish Sr. on

Allen M. Herrman ’74 on

7, 2012, in Syracuse, N.Y.

Aug. 30, 2012, in Troy, N.Y.

April 12, 2012, in Berlin, Conn.

Sept. 8, 2012, in Melrose, Mass.

David P. Meyer ’49 on Oct. 16, 2012, in Buffalo, N.Y.

Allen I. Stevens ’61 on July 25,

Wayne A. Bolster ’75 on

Robert G. Potter ’52 on July 8,

2012, in Allegany, N.Y.

Walton R. Huestis ’63 on Sept. 27, 2012, in Willsboro, N.Y.

Shirley M. Marsden ’54 on

David B. Reese ’68 on Oct. 26,

Nov. 10, 2012, in Auburn, N.Y.

Sequel | Winter 2013

2012, in Wolfeboro, N.H.

2012, in Norwich, N.Y.

Oct. 31, 2012, in Brushton, N.Y.

Mark J. Sullivan on Sept. 13,

2012, in Watertown, Conn.

Theodore J. Zadrozinski

on May 15, 2012, in

Summerville, N.Y. David F. Deyoe ’77 on June 4, 2012, in Framingham, Mass. Susan J. Yost ’78 on July 1,

2012, in Branchville, N.J.

Mark D. Still ’83 on Nov. 6,

2012, in Warren, Pa.

Matthew J. Brenon ’85 on

Oct. 3, 2012, in Brownville, N.Y.

PANTONE 5747U 398U

CMYK

p. (518) 327-6315 f. (518) 327-6267

Dear Friends, BLACK

So many of us can credit our success to somebody else. A parent, a friend, a mentor – somebody who saw something in us worth cultivating. Our curre nt students and recent alums need their own champions, too. And every one of us has a role we can play in ensuring their future success. Our engagement is critical – before, during and after their college careers. We can help bolster enrollment by steering quali knockout

ty students in Paul Smith’s direction.

We can ask donors to contribute to scholarship We can work with our employers to hire Paul

s or provide equipment or capital to strengthen

campus.

Smith’s grads, or support current students with

internships. We can host events for friends, alumni and prosp ective students, a chance to provide one-on-one insight Note: Uncoated Pantone process colors differ. about what's happening at Paul Smith’s and what makes it special. For uncoated use (letterhead, etc.), please use 5747U/3 And, of98U course, we can make donations to the Paul Smith ’s College Fund. As members of the Distinguished Alumni Task Force, we’re doing all of those things. This leade rship group, comprised of alumni representing a range of degrees and careers, was formed to strengthen our alumni ties. We’ve begun to host events, tap our personal and professional networks, act as strate gic advisors and encourage participation in colleg e events. We hope our work inspires you and others to become more engaged with your alma mater. As a collective group, we can ensure that the next generation of students at Paul Smith’s has an even better experience than we did. There are some great events coming up – come

join us!

• The college’s 66th Commencement exercises will be

held Saturday, May 11 – our very own Wally Ganzi ’63 is the commencement speaker. • If you are near the Baltimore area on Thursday, May 30, join us for an alumni reception hosted by Richard Cattani ’64. Go to http://www.paulsmith s.edu/calendar for a complete list of events. • Purchase a brick through our Alumni Paving the Way campaign at bit.ly/Yu5gum • Give to the Paul Smith’s College Fund at paulsmiths .thankyou4caring.org • Form a regional group at www.paulsmiths.edu/alum ni/involved. • Attend Reunion on July 26 – the Class of ’63 will celeb rate their 50th! With sincere hopes we see you very soon, Ralph Blum ’54, Joseph Brislin ’61, Richard Catta ni ’64, John Dillon ’58, Walter Ganzi ’63, Jon Luther ’67, Charles Morgan ’12 (Hon.), John Rebstock ’58

OFFICE OF COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT | P.O. Box 265 | Paul Smiths, New York | 12970-0265 | paulsmiths.edu

Sequel | Winter 2013

MYK

Sequel Magazine P.O. Box 265, Paul Smiths, NY 12970-0265 Change Service Requested

ACK

ockout

ncoated Pantone process colors differ.

oated use (letterhead, etc.), please use 5747U/398U

[ PARTING SHOT ]

Only OnePaul

‘‘T

here may possibly be more than one man in the United States who has his full name in the Post Office Directory, but there is only one Paul Smith.” It has been a century since he died, and that’s still a pretty apt observation. The line appeared in the New York Times in a lengthy front-page feature about Smith that ran Oct. 27, 1912, shortly before his death. The story celebrated Smith’s life and career as a hunting guide and, eventually, a hotelier. The Times highlighted Smith’s “shrewdness” in real estate deals and credited him with making the Adirondacks famous. “He celebrated his eighty-seventh birthday on the 20th day of August 1912,” the newspaper wrote. “He celebrated it among a host of friends and amid a shower of congratulations and presents at Paul Smiths on St. Regis Lake in the Adirondacks. Now he is so ill that thousands of his friends have become alarmed about him.” Smith died on Dec. 15, 1912, just two months after the article ran.

» Do you have a Paul Smith’s-related photo, artifact or other item with a story behind it? Share! Drop a line to kaaron@paulsmiths.edu.

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