Then & Now A-M | Kassebaum Reunion

THEN & NOW - A - M

Nancy Briani

I have so many wonderful memories, but this one sticks out in my mind, and you will see why.

It’s October and I’m sitting at my desk diligently going through mail, quietly minding my own business, when Mike Horak comes up and says “Wouldn’t it be a great fun if we dressed up for Halloween.” "Sure, if you’re game I’ll do it.” I replied. (I’ve always been too trusting.)

Knowing Mike you probably already know what happened. I spent the day at my desk in a red wig and a red polka dot clown outfit, while little mister Mike remained in his suit and tie. Granted I MIGHT have given him a little reprieve since he did sometimes meet with constituents, BUT he enjoyed the situation way too much for even a little reprieve. The only reason Mike is alive today to enjoy this reunion is that late in the day NLK came in and asked if she could borrow the clown suit! So, I exchange the costume for street clothes and hand it over to NLK, red wig and all.

Now ask her how it went when she put on the red wig and polka dot costume.

________________________________________________

Cathy Chase

Please tell everyone from my brief time on staff, that I think of that period of my life often and only have the best memories and the highest regard for everyone.

Of the many jobs I have had since working for the Senator, none of have made me as proud… especially in today’s current political climate.

________________________________________________

Mary Elizabeth (Larson) Elliott

I'm living in Silver Spring, Md - just around the block from the great Ann Shirley. (Small world indeed.)

I spent 19 years working for a national non-profit organization and now am a communications consultant, working part-time that feels like full time. I am primarily working on issues I have passion around like kids and special education.

My husband John is a group leader in microbiology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST.) We have one son, Lars, who is entering middle school (yikes!) next year. Lars is heavily into robotics, remote controlled anything and being a cat whsiperer for our two maine coon cats.

On special occasions, John and I still sing with our rock band, Burning Sensation.

________________________________________________

Bob Engelman

I just wanted to confirm -- with sadness, especially seeing the list of attendees -- that Colleen and I will not be able to make it to the reunion. It's turned into such a busy summer that we're not even sure we'll make it to the Kansas City area for our usual annual visit to Colleen's family. 🙁 Please do give my best to the Senator and the friends from my short stint in her office in 1983 -- Rob, Georgia, Elizabeth, Greg and of course yourself, and no doubt a few others I'm forgetting to mention. As Colleen and I do get to the area from time to time, I very much hope we'll be able to visit Nancy again soon, as we did memorably at her ranch in the summer of 2017.

I hope you all have a great time, and I'll be thinking about it and missing you all when it happens.

________________________________________________

Auggie Flentje

I'm so bummed I cannot come -- we are meeting my Mom in Canada that same day to start an Alaska cruise. Please give Senator Kassebaum and everyone else my best!

________________________________________________

Deb Davis Groves

Kassebaum Staff – January 1979 – October 1982

June 20, 2019

Deb Davis Groves and Randy Groves just celebrated 40 years of marriage. We got married on June 2, 1979 – about 5 months after I started working for the Senator.

Places we have lived after our move from D.C. in October 1982:

Austin, TX – 1982 – 1989 (Moved with IBM)
Wellesley, MA – 1989 – 1990 (IBM sent Randy to the Sloan School at MIT)
Austin, TX – 1990 – 1997 (IBM)
Raleigh, N.C. – 1997 – 2000 (IBM transferred us to Research Triangle)
Austin TX – 2000 – on (Dell brought us back to Austin)
Randy has lived in and out of Austin especially 2007 – 2017 – sharing an apartment with our son in Vancouver for several years as they both worked/work there.

Deb – since she left the Senator’s Staff:

Raised three children
Worked/Volunteered for non-profits in organizing special events – 150 people to 10,000 plus and involved in fundraising
Supported Randy in all of his career moves all over the country/and outside the country
Thyroid Cancer Survivor – (14yrs) and Breast Cancer survivor (10 yrs this July):
- Served on the Austin Affiliate Susan G. Komen Board; founded the Pink Party Gala and Chaired the Survivor/Fighter Celebration Tent for 6 years
Independent Educational Consultant/Certified Educational Planner:
- Went back to school – started a private business assisting high school and transfer students with the college admissions application process
- Davis Groves Educational Services – started in 2011
- Work with students from middle school through college; Concentrated work with high school sophomores – seniors; cap each class at 60 students each
- My daughter, Aubrey works with me

Randy:

SparkCognition – Sr. VP of Engineering from July 2017 to Present (based in Austin)
Teradici – Sr. VP of Engineering from 2007 – 2017 (based in Vancouver, B.C. – worked in Vancouver every other week for 10 years)
LifeSize Communications – Sr. VP of Engineering from 2004 – 2007 (based in Austin)
Dell – CTO & General Manager – 2000 – 2004 (based in Austin)
IBM – VP Engineering & other positions – 1979 – 2000 (based in Austin, Somers, N.Y., & Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – a lot of commuting/living away from home)

Family:

Aubrey Groves Sitch (35 yrs old) and Thomas Sitch – literally just married on May 18, 2019 – lives in Austin, TX
- Aubrey is an Independent Educational Consultant with me, but was formerly a Chinese teacher at 2 boarding/private schools on the East Coast; has lived in China, Japan and England. Her husband, Thomas is a computer programmer/video game designer in ATX.
Jordan Groves (31 yrs old) – lives in Vancouver, B.C.
- He is a video game designer for Microsoft
- Not married, thank goodness – 2 weddings in 6 months was a lot to plan!!
Everly Groves Petruzzelli (28 yrs old) and Michael Petruzzelli – married on October 27, 2018 in Leesburg, Virginia at the Lansdowne Resort
- Works as a Process Improvement Consultant at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
- Michael works as a Manager for National Council on Behavioral Health in D.C. – specializes as a lobbyist for mental health care and other health issues
- They live in Rosslyn, Virginia

Small facts/Additional notes:

Randy’s parents are loving their new retirement home life in Salina.
Deb’s dad was killed in a tornado in April 1991. Deb’s mom is still alive, but in declining health in Austin, TX.
Our parents want us to convey their hello’s and warmest wishes to the Senator!!! We all miss you in the U.S. Senate and wish you were there now!!
We love to travel all over the world, eat great food and enjoy great wine! We recently downsized to a wonderful small villa where we can Lyft downtown or walk to nearby restaurants. Randy is a huge music buff and loves all genres of music…well maybe not country or classical! Deb’s hobby is work – she loves it and her granddogs – Ammy, the 10 ½ yr old lab and Sookie, the shitzu-poodle! She also spends a lot of time as her mom’s person and is very grateful for her mom’s caretaker, Adriana!!

If you all are ever in Austin, TX, please let us know.

_______________________________________________________

Susan Hattan

Then: In the last reunion book, I said my favorite memory was having a front-row seat watching the legislative process as Nancy managed bills on the floor. It still is my favorite, but faces stiff competition from memories of the many great people I met on staff, Kassebomber softball outings, our “Top Secret” quiltmaking for Nancy’s birthday, and the opportunity to see the Capitol dome every day and the ability to walk beneath it through the basement tunnels.

Now: Steve and I are still living in DC. We both retired a couple of years ago, though I still do a few projects for my most recent employer (the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities). I have worked as a volunteer ESL instructor for many years and recently completed some "official" training at the TEFL Certificate program offered by Georgetown University.

Ann Shirley has allowed me to relive some of my "Stitch 'n Bitch" days by heading up the WeeBees quiliting group. We meet once a month to tie children's quilts, which are donated to charities in the area. I do some quiliting, but have not really advanced beyond the baby quilt phase.

Steve keeps busy as president of the Dupont Circle Village--a neighborhood group that offers social and assistive activities for older residents.

We enjoy travelling and, recently, have searched out opportunies to do (light) hiking vacations. Once we found out there are companies that will schlep your bags from place to place, we were hooked!

_____________________________________________

Dwight Howes

I regret to say that I will not make it. Please give my fondest regards to the Senator--really sorry to miss it. I hope you all have a great time. Best, Dwight

_______________________________________________

Kirk Johnson

A classic kj update follows...

My wife, Julia, was admitted to the hospital this afternoon with a suspected case of Viral Meningitis (the headache is quite severe, but vitals are great and symptoms are controlled; most likely a result of a dastardly mosquito); thank goodness it is not bacterial (nor contagious).

That said, my dinner attendance is now doubtful.

_______________________________________________

Rosemary Leonard

Rosemary provided copies of her famous Kassebomber post-game write-ups. Check them out at the "Kassebomber Post-Game Notes" page of the "THEN & NOW" section.

"Great times & so much fun playing with the Kassebombers (KB's)--

All best,

Rosemary

(AKA Flash)

(AKA Low Pockets)

_________________________________________________

Phyllis (Savage) Lynn

Then: On my third day as an intern we were all in a staff meeting stuffing envelopes with letters to constituents in response to some post card campaign that had been sent to the Senator. After a few minutes I leaned over and whispered into Nancy Briani’s ear “Is there some reason we’re sending out a letter with February misspelled?” Briani let out a shriek and began scooping up all of the letters…

After hours one evening I answered the phone and accidentally hung-up on Senator Strom Thurmond while trying to transfer the call to NLK. I ran into her office in a panic to tell her what happened. Dave Bartel simply responded “I think that deserves a raise”.

We held a Stitch & Bitch in Nancy’s office. Susan was ironing a square for a baby quilt and managed to take off the finish of Nancy’s side table. In these pre-Google days, everyone had a suggestion on how to restore the finish. The one that worked was salad dressing (I think the French dressing was the best). When work resumed on Monday morning, Nancy was trying to figure out why her office smelled like salad….

Now: Randy and I have been living in Albuquerque for the past 30 years. My law firm and his engineering firm share office space with our 14-year-old Havanese who runs the show. Our daughter, Kristin, will be receiving her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in August. We enjoyed exploring upstate New York while she was in school. Besides watching numerous track and cross country meets throughout the Northeast, we loved riding in the Bon Ton Roulet, a 400 mile bike ride along the Finger Lakes.

_________________________________________

Brent Mai

So enjoying the communications about the Kassebaum Reunion! Nice to see what everyone's up to. Wish I could attend, but it just won't work this year for me. Darn!

I'm moving again!! I'll be the new Dean of Libraries at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville - starting July 1.

________________________________________________