Dave Buswell is retired after completing a 40-year career in Washington,
D.C. His last position was Vice President of the Italian multinational corporation
FIAT and head of its Washington office. He is also a retired U.S. Navy captain
with more than 30 years of active and reserve service. Dave and his wife,
Yoko, now live in Heathsville, Va., on a tributary of the Potomac River
where it meets the Chesapeake Bay. His hobbies are boating and golf. He
is also a real estate broker. Dave was the Northern Star editor in chief
in 1957-58.
'60
Bob Rader (editor '59-'60) is retired after a long career in
public relations, advertising and teaching. He lives in Belvidere and keeps
busy substitute teaching, coaching and writing. "God Bless America
and the United States Marine Corps," he writes. "Once a Marine,
Always a Marine."
'62
Al Erisman is executive director of The Institute for Business,
Technology and Ethics, based in Bellevue, Wash.
Bill Godman retired in 2001 from School District 220 in Barrington, Ill. Bill lives in Mt. Prospect, Ill. He once was a Northern Star sports writer.
'63
Gerald DiPego lives in California, where he writes screenplays
and novels. He has a movie coming out in September: "The Forgotten,"
starring Julianne Moore.
Barry Schrader was named grand marshal for the Livermore (Calif.)
Rodeo Parade in June 2004. Barry has lived in Livermore for 32 years and
was honored for his longtime community involvement and leadership in several
local organizations. He still works in public affairs at Lawrence Livermore
National Lab.
'64
Marilyn Frank-Stromborg is an assistant state's attorney for
DeKalb County. Marilyn previously was the chair of NIU's School of Nursing.
'66
Bill Hetland, who lives in Kenosha, Wis., has been communications
coordinator of Nicasa (Northern Illinois Council on Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse) in Lake County for 14 years. Nicasa is one of the state's largest
addictions prevention and treatment agencies. A recent addition to his title
is "gambling outreach coordinator." He speaks to groups about
the agency's new treatment program to help problem gamblers.
'68
Jo Fredell Higgins has published her third photo-history book
"DeKalb, Ill." Previous books were "Naperville, Ill."
and "Geneva, Ill." Jo is manager of the advertising literary project
at Waubonsee Community College.
'69
Mike O'Connor, a Northern Star Hall of Famer, is production director
for the Amarillo, Texas Globe-News, a Morris Communications newspaper. The
paper has about 53,000 daily circulation and about 67,000 Sunday circulation
in the Texas Panhandle. Mike's wife, Linda, continues to work in Montgomery,
Ala., as the editorial manager for Buckmasters, Inc., which publishes three
specialty magazines with a combined circulation of about 700,000.
'70
Mary Durkin (formerly Mary Durkin Wohlrabe) retired after teaching
journalism for 22 years at Eastern Illinois University. She took a job as
Director of Communications for the University Professionals of Illinois
- the faculty and staff union. She also got married in June 2003 in Las
Vegas to famous motorcycle celebrity Trevor Kelly. She is now known as Mary
Kelly-Durkin or Kelly Durkin. She lives near the Dunes in Porter, Ind.,
and works in the Loop.
Mike Korcek, NIU's acclaimed sports information director, was
inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame last October. Mike, already
a Northern Star Hall of Famer, worked in the Star sports department from
1966-69.
'71
Steve Newton has a new job. He is a claim analyst for Benesight,
the health insurer for McDonald's employees. Steve is a former Northern
Star news editor and reporter. He worked 19 years as a Rockford Register
Star reporter.
Tom Wartowski was promoted to Administrative Assistant to Winnebago
County State's Attorney Paul A. Logli. Tom continues to supervise the Domestic
Violence Unit, including the prosecution of felony cases, but additionally
is responsible for overseeing IT in the office, monitoring the jail population
(the county is under a federal jail population cap) and special projects
as assigned by Logli. Tom's wife started her third year at NIUCOL in September.
'72
Candace Perkins Bowen (M.A. 1981) was one of six inducted into
the Northern Star
Hall of Fame in February. She is scholastic media program coordinator for
the School of Journalism and Mass Communciation at Kent State University
and teaches Media Writing as well.
T.J. Simers is a sports columnist for The Los Angeles Times. He
has been a frequent guest on ESPN's talk show, "Around the Horn."
'74
James John Kaye lives in Lake Geneva, Wis.
'75
Jan (Gilarski) Touney has moved to Davenport, Iowa, where she
is managing editor of the Quad-City Times, a Lee Enterprises newspaper.
She is also editor of a monthly women's magazine called Winc. (Women Incorporated)
published by the Times. She formerly was associate editor of the Herald
& Review in Decatur, Ill.
'76
Mary Dieter started a new job in January as director of policy
and communications at the Indianapolis Private Industry Council Inc., the
Workforce Investment Board for Marion County, Ind. Sadly, her former job
as press secretary and communications director for Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon
was cut short when O'Bannon died last September. Mary is married to Tim
McClure, director of the State Ethics Commission and a law student. They
have a daughter, Amelia Dieter McClure, who is 14 and headed to high school
next fall.
Rev. Martin A. Haeger serves as a mission and ministry facilitator
for the Northern
Illinois District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. He also is a candidate
for the Doctor of Ministry Degree at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton,
N.J. He and his wife, Peggy, have been married 11 years and have a son,
Matthew, 9.
Tom McNamee has returned to reporting for the Chicago Sun-Times,
having stepped down as Sunday editor. He also writes a Monday column, "The
Chicago Way."
'77
Mark Brown was named best news columnist by Chicago Magazine
last summer. "Over the past three years," the magazine wrote,
"Mark Brown has turned into an articulate force as the page two metro
columnist for the Sun-Times. Brown is adept at deciphering criminal indictments
against wayward pols, and his antiwar columns eschewed easy rhetoric to
capture the ambiguity, unease, and nuance of a complex situation."
'80
Mark Ridolfi is editorial page editor of the Quad-City Times,
Davenport, Iowa. This past year, he won first place from Suburban Newspapers
of America for Editorial Page and Editorial Writing. Mark was the Northern
Star editor in 1980.
'81
Ed Beckmann is vice president of marketing and public relations
for SunCorp Corporate Credit Union in Colorado. He is married to Christi
(Rapp) Beckmann, NIU class of 1982. They live in Berthoud, Colo. Ed was
a Star reporter from 1979-81.
'84
Scott Williams is a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
'85
Jim Killam, current Northern Star adviser, co-authored "Rescuing
the Raggedy Man" (2004, Xulon Press), a book about the Rockford Rescue
Mission. He also co-authored "When God is the Life of the Party"
(NavPress), which was released in fall 2003.
Mary S. Butler (Star Editor in Chief, spring 1985) recently was
promoted from senior editor to managing editor of cars.com. In addition
to her editorial management responsibilities, Mary is the consumer spokesperson
for cars.com. Mary and husband, Dave Tainer, live in Chicago's Wicker Park
neighborhood.
'86
Jerry Huston, a Northern Star Hall of Famer, has changed law
firms. On June 1, he joined the firm of Hall, Prangle & Schoonveld LLC.
Jerry continues to represent the Northern Star on a pro-bono basis when
needed.
Phil Luciano, new Northern Star Hall of Famer and columnist for the Peoria Journal Star, is getting into the radio business. Starting Aug. 10, he'll co-host a talk show on weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m. on 1470 WMBD in Peoria.
'88
Dave Tuley works as the Las Vegas correspondent for the Daily
Racing Form, "the horseplayer's bible." Dave's wife, Wendy, gave
birth to their second daughter, Peyton, on April 1, 2004. Their first daughter,
Jordyn, turned 2 on May Day, which was the day Smarty Jones won the Kentucky
Derby. Jordyn and Peyton are named after Dave's Chicago sports heroes and
were featured in the gossip/celebrity column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
'89
Chris (Ahern) Cote works for E.C. Media Group in Chicago.
'90
David Pollard is a reporter in Pioneer Press' Oak Park Bureau.
'91
Lynn (Rogers) Petrak is the harried mother of three young sons
who is shamelessly using them as fodder for a humor book on parenting. A
freelance writer, Lynn contributes stories to several consumer and trade
magazines, including Parenting, Country Sampler's Decorating Ideas (edited
by fellow Star alum Mike Morris) and Chicago Home & Garden. Lynn and
her husband Mike, a 1991 NIU grad, live in LaGrange, Ill. They are expecting
another child this fall.
Greg Rivara and Joelle McGinnis have a baby boy, Quentin,
born Jan. 27, 2004.
'92
Steve Dennis is vice president and director of creative services
for the Marketing Store in Oak Brook Terrace, Ill.
Ron Golminas is an account manager for Newsweek. He and his wife, Sandy, have two sons: Jack, 2, and Matt, 4 months.
Sean Leary is publisher and editor of The Dingo, a nationally-distributed humor magazine based in Rock Island, Ill. The magazine combines "the anarchic spirit of Monty Python and the savage pop cultural and political sarcasm of The Onion," Sean's press release states. It is available at bookstores nationwide, on Amazon.com and online at www.dingoonline.com and www.seanleary.com. He also released a book last year, "Sean Leary's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2." Sean's new-wave, multimedia comedy, "Your Favorite Band," played for two weeks in Rock Island this summer. His day job continues to be entertainment editor of the Rock Island Argus and Moline Dispatch.
Jeanne (Hickey) Nugent and her husband, Scott, have a new daughter, Molly Paige, born Aug. 11, 2003. Jeanne, Scott, Madeleine (9), Jack (8), Elise (4) and baby Molly live in Glen Allen, Va.
David Statis is a territory representative for Ferndale Laboratories,
Inc. in Miami, Fla. David and his wife have a second child, Ben Statis,
born Sept. 11, 2003.
'93
Jim Murphy is the executive sales director Eastern Division at
Yahoo.com in New York.
David Oliveira and his wife, Su, had their third child, Maxwell
Theodore, on April 26, 2004.
'94
Michael Berg is deputy editor at Muscle & Fitness magazine
in Los Angeles. He formerly worked as a reporter for The MidWeek newspaper
in DeKalb and as an editor for Sears in Hoffman Estates before moving to
California in 2000.
Marc Brinkley is employed by NuFX in Hoffmann Estates, Ill..
Tom Collins and his wife, Kerry, are expecting their first child
in October. Tom is president of his own company, Collins Consulting.
'95
Geoff Evert is attending Loyola University's Graduate School
of Business in Chicago. He also free-lances for the Daily Southtown's sports
department.
Jim Huguelet is the head of Information Technology at Aquascape Designs, the world's largest manufacturer of equipment used by professionals to create residential ponds and other water features. He and his wife, Stephanie, recently moved to Bolingbrook. At the Northern Star, Jim was the business systems manager from 1990-95 while earning B.S. and M.S. degrees in computer science.
dAniel Alig Jacobson is married and lives in Bern, Switzerland. He works for a private language school, teaching English to holding companies and other businesses, and trying to tackle using three languages every day: English, French (the town he works in is French-speaking), and German. He still writes and also competes in running sports, especially mountain races.
Markos Moulitsas is the creator of the Daily Kos (www.dailykos.com), an immensely popular political weblog. Markos has been quoted this year in Vanity Fair, American Journalism Review and other publications. He lives in San Francisco, Calif.
Rich Nicoloff is a photographer for Appalachian Exposures and lives in Charlotte, N.C.
Zach Smith and his wife, Carole, are proud parents of Anna Isabel and Jacob Alex. The twins were born July 19, 2003.
Jerry Thompson, who retired in 1995 as Northern Star adviser,
has moved to 305 N. Third Street, Malta, IL 60150
'96
John Conteduca and his wife, Monica, had their second child,
daughter Emeilia. John and family live in Las Vegas, Nev.
'97
Maria (Phillips) McCarthy got married fall 2003. She works for
Sports Illustrated in Chicago.
Laura McHale married Steven James Dodd Aug. 23, 2003. The couple lives in Naperville.
Jason Schaumburg was promoted by the Northwest Herald in Crystal
Lake, Ill., from sports editor to assistant managing editor for news.
'98
Eric Barnes has been promoted to the Chicago Tribune Oak Brook
Real Estate staff. Eric will be responsible for growing the builder category
in Will, Kendall and DuPage Counties. He joined the Tribune in 2001.
Erin Hallstrom moved to Naperville in June 2004. On Aug. 6, 2005, she will get married and also will be the stepmother of two children, Adriana, 7, and Matt, 2.
Jaime Jordan left The Dallas Morning News in October 2003 to join The Associated Press in Dallas, where she reports on a little of everything, as well as covering higher education issues.
Heather Mrowiec married Jay Westberg. They are expecting a baby in July 2004.
Erica Wood works as a junior high school special education teacher.
In May, she graduated from Lewis University with a master's degree in special
education. In June, she married Alain Bedi, who is from West Africa.
'99
Kara (Pipitone) Anderson and her husband, Shawn, are proud parents
of Owen William, born Feb. 26, 2004.
Sean Kearney is a sales executive with The Weather Channel. He previously worked for USAToday.com.
Christy Arnold is in her fourth year at the Charlotte Sun in Southwest Florida. During that time, she's been a reporter with a six-month break to create, design and launch the company's newest weekly section called The Buzz, which is geared toward teens. Now she's back as a courts reporter. In her time at the paper, she has won awards for deadline news reporting, crime/courts reporting, excellence in the war on terror coverage, excellence in war coverage, feature writing, commentary writing and government news writing.
Matt Bute has been promoted to the Automotive Advertising team of the Chicago Tribune. Matt has been with the Tribune since 1999.
Stacy Clardie started working at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette on March 1, 2004. Her main responsibility is to cover Purdue football and men's basketball, which she says already has been quite a ride with Gene Keady's crazy coaching situation. Stacy previously covered Binghamton University at the Binghamton (N.Y.) Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Kevin Dean and Heather McLindsay were married Aug. 30, 2003. Kevin and Heather met while working in the advertising department of the Northern Star. They live in Indianapolis.
Wade Duerkes and his wife, Pauline, have a daughter, Lillian Jean, born Dec. 2, 2003.
Veronica Gonzalez works at Reflejos Bilingual Journal, the Daily Herald's bilingual sister publication. It's a 58,000 circulation newspaper that goes all over the five Chicagoland counties. "I write in English, do interviews in Spanish and think in both languages depending on what I'm doing, I guess," she says. "I mostly write features relevant to the Hispanic community in the burbs and many are stories that inspire and motivate." She also wrote her first magazine article, which was published in the May 2004 Illinois Issues. She lives in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood.
Iva-Marie Palmer works at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, as assistant director of public relations. She's getting married in August.
David Spitz is a marketing analyst with Washington Mutual Home Loans in Vernon Hills, Ill.
Bill Tynan is a police officer in St. Charles. His probationary
period ended March 31. Bill says he's dealt with "things that probably
nobody would think we have to deal with the the ritzy St. Charles area,
and also your run-of-the-mill items: drugs, alcohol, car accidents, domestics,
fights, dead bodies, etc." He has begun focusing on domestic violence
cases as a specialty, attending training courses so he can then train other
officers in the area. Bill lives in Naperville.
'00
Joe Biesk is a reporter for The Associated Press in Frankfort,
Ky.
Erica (Gallagher) Burke is senior editor for Schofield Media (Chicago), contributes to several music 'zines and is a founding member of a non-profit organization that helps city students improve their writing skills. In July 2004, she married Jason Burke, former Northern Star cartoonist and current middle-school art teacher. They live in Chicago.
Aracely Hernandez is working part-time as a reporter for the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb, while she's a graduate student in the NIU foreign language department.
Debbie Hopp is a field sales representative at Xanodyne Pharmaceutical, Inc. in Chicago.
Tracy Keane works for Bank of America in Chicago, in the corporate marketing communications department. He designs brochures and other marketing material.
Joe Menard is a reporter for the Detroit News, doing suburban coverage.
Melanie Miller works as an inventory buyer for Warner Music Group at their offices in Aurora. At NIU, she worked in the Northern Star photo department.
Katie Scrivano serves as account supervisor/media relations director
for Dome Communications, a PR/marketing communications agency in Chicago
(www.domecom.com). She has worked for Dome more than three years. Also,
she continues to lead pro bono PR efforts for The Gus Foundation
(www.gusfoundation.org), a non-profit
organization that raises money for pediatric brain tumor research at Children's
Memorial Hospital, Chicago.
Kevin Slattery works for the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau as the content editor, providing advertising copy for Chicago visitors. He writes weekly event updates for call center operators at 877-CHICAGO, manages the content for three Web sites - choosechicago.com, 877chicago.com and the Chicago sections of enjoyillinois.com, and writes for the tourism publication "Chicago's Official Visitors Guide." He also volunteers for a program called the Chicago Greeter program where residents who love Chicago take visitors on tours of neighborhoods they are well-versed in. Kevin gives tours along the lakefront, the Loop, Magnificent Mile and River North areas.
Kevin Wendt is news design director at the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury
News. He returned to NIU in February 2004 to teach a news design workshop
for the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association. Kevin was honored at this
year's Northern Star Hall of Fame banquet with the Young Alumni Award.
Christina Wiech has been promoted to Midwest advertising coordinator
for Maxim magazine.
'01
Marvin Doolin is a developer at Nelix
Inc. in Schaumburg, Ill., creating web-enabled databases and software.
He and his wife Carrie live in Schaumburg with their dog, Sadie.
Jennifer D'Souza is a copy editor/page designer at The Dispatch in Moline, Ill. She is engaged to Oscar Pinto, who lives in Virginia. They plan an April 16, 2005, wedding in Ottawa, Ill., Jennifer's home town.
Kelly Hahn has been promoted and will handle key accounts at The Arizona Republic in Phoenix.
Sandra (Coley) Hancock lives in Orlando, Fla. She works for a digital retouch and design studio called Fuel Digital Inc., based out of New York City In August she will graduate from the University of Central Florida with a master's degree in elementary and art education.
Chris Rudnick is the marketing graphic designer at Chicago magazine. He is in charge of the design of the special sections and special editions. He also is photo editor of DiningOut Magazine, and a freelance photographer for a few magazines including Remix Magazine and UR magazine, and a few record labels.
Steve Woodruff works for James Hardie Building Products in Mission
Viejo, Calif. He lives in Newport Beach, home of the TV show, "The
O.C." Steve says his life is very similar to what you see on the show
… perhaps a little more glamorous. He also reports that his company
is always hiring sales reps. If you're interested, contact him.
'02
Josh Albrecht is managing editor of The Midweek in DeKalb. He
and his wife, Kelly, were married Aug. 23, 2003.
Christian Arrecis, former Northern Star photo editor, is a photographer for the Elburn Herald, teaches photography classes at Kishwaukee College and is a graduate student in art (photography) at NIU. In October, he will celebrate 5 years of marriage to April with their two dogs, Slim and Iggy.
Nate Legue spent a brief stint as forum page editor for the Freeport Journal-Standard, then left in February to become a reporter for the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake. He covers the burgeoning suburb of Algonquin and one of the state's largest school districts. Nate and his wife, Meegan, celebrated the first birthday of their son, Nicholas, in April and are hoping to buy their first home.
Tim Mason, former Northern Star news design manager, works for Nelix, Inc., a Web development company. He is the art director and leads every aspect of design within the company. The job includes multimedia/web, 3d/2d animation, corporate identity/branding and graphic design. Tim remains close friends with two other former Star design managers: Dave Plunkett and Marv Doolin.
David Moore is a major account district manager for ADP of Elk Grove. Dave previously worked for Ceridian.
Janna Smallwood works for Castle PrinTech in DeKalb and free-lances for the Kane County Chronicle and its new young-adult publication, inPulse. She hopes to be certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise later this year, and plans to work as a full-time trainer while free-lancing for health and fitness publications. Janna lives in DeKalb and spends much of her free time watching movies, cooking, "laughing and being an all-around goofball" with her boyfriend of 2 1/2 years, Andrew Sobol.
Melissa Westphal is a reporter for the Rockford Register Star.
'03
Courtney Cavanaugh is a staff writer at the Naperville Sun.
Greg Clemens has been promoted to advertising sales representative for the Chicago Tribune in Schaumburg, Ill.
Sarah Folgers is a recruiter for Onsite Commercial in Schaumburg, Ill.
Gary Heller is an ad designer for the Courier News in Elgin.
Todd Krysiak is a regional reporter for the Watertown (S.D.) Public Opinion.
Betsy Perveiler has been hired as a tax editor for International Profit Associates in Buffalo Grove.
Steve Staden is systems analyst with Standard Networks in Madison, Wis.
Ike Velez is a commercial sales representative at CompUSA in Chicago.
Dan Vital is a systems analyst for Hewitt & Associates in Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Sharrese Wallace is a financial analyst with BP Products North America.
'04
Nick Alajakis is a reporter for Lakeland Newspapers in Grayslake.
Nick Cimms is an advertising representative at Career Builder.com
Jeff Goluszka is interning this summer with The Doings newspaper in Hinsdale, Ill.
Libby John will start the University of Illinois-Springfield's Public Affairs Reporting program this fall.
Anthony Marinaccio is a sales rep for radio Q101 in Chicago.
Paul Mickolaczyk is a reporter for the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb.
Leslie Mulderink is in charge of the advertising for the Business Marketplace section of the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Jeremy Norman is an editorial designer for the Washington Post. He splits his time 50-50 between print and online design.
Mike Pastore works for Discover Financial Services in Riverwoods, Ill.
Brent Renken is an advertising sales representative at the Arizona Republic in Mesa, Ariz.
Dan Sullivan is a sales consultant with Certified Security in River Grove, Ill.
Jaime Swanson is a copy editor at the Rock Island Argus / Moline Dispatch.
Dave Trupiano is a sales representative with Ceridian in Rosemont,
Ill.