By Tommy Bourgeois
The mailbox is a bit light this time around, but here goes.
Congratulations to Jim Warner, already an accomplished media and information systems executive and entrepreneur, on being named board chair of Ansira, whose May 16 press release proclaims it “one of the largest agencies in North America specializing in CRM (customer retention management), loyalty, marketing solutions, and digital strategies.” Jim is also a principal at Third Floor Enterprises, a digital marketing and media advisory firm, and serves on the board of Criteo, a leader in “digital performance” advertising. His career has also included stints as executive vice president of Razorfish, a digital strategy firm; president of the CBS Television Network, where for a time in the late ’90s he oversaw my department, program practices; and a vice president at HBO. For the record, Jim was a good boss, though for my money he left CBS too soon. Our paths crossed frequently at Yale, notably at some memorable (and I use the term loosely) breakfasts on Saturday mornings preceding home football games—rituals referred to as “Trombone Training Table.” Along with my late roommate David Lichten, Jim was a member of the Yale Precision Marching Band’s trombone section, which occasionally admitted me to its pre-game exercises as an honorary member. I remain honored to this day.
Speaking of spirited gatherings, if you catch my drift, there’s news from our class’s most distinguished purveyor of spirits, Iron Horse Vineyards CEO Joy Sterling. On June 6 she wrote to the winery’s club members, including your faithful reporter, “I am very proud to be flying to London this evening for the prestigious Decanter Magazine ‘Exploration of International Sparkling Wines’—initially a PR and marketing dream, now sadly a point of pride in defying terrorism.” Joy’s flight to London followed close on the heels of the June 3 London Bridge attacks. Her letter continued, “My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the victims. As the Brits say, ‘Keep calm and carry on.’” Iron Horse, for those of you who don’t know, is an outstanding producer of chardonnay and pinot noir, having unto itself the Green Valley appellation in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, and it’s known especially for its bubblies. The June 8 event at London’s Church House recognized only two American wineries, the other being Schramsberg, along with top producers from France (I hear they invented the stuff), Italy, Spain, England (of all places), New Zealand, Australia, and points beyond. I commend the Sterlings on earning honors for the family business and Joy for keeping the celebration in perpective. Joy also continues her family’s tradition of public service, having been appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Along with the scion of another great wine-producing family, Mike Gallo, she represents her fellow vintners. Cheers to Joy and Iron Horse!
Here in Southern California, thanks in large part to the social planning of my predecessor Arthur Greenwald, I’ve enjoyed convivial meals in recent months with far-flung classmates. Art arranged a March 30 lunch with Susan Santiago and Julie Sullivan Winn. Susan, recently departed from Toronto, came up from San Diego, and Julie, who was in town to visit two generations of offspring, hails from so many places (Paris, London, Colorado, West Virginia, Louisiana) that I can’t keep up. I just prefer to think of her as my Cajun cousine. I have to venture outside Class of ’75 confines to recognize Gary Pearle ’74, who reserved our party a table at Café Bizou in Sherman Oaks and joined the festivities. Gary and Susan, whom he directed in a landmark Yale Dramat production of U.S.A. that some of you may remember, had not seen each other since our undergraduate days. Memorial Day weekend saw a small but noteworthy gathering for May’s L.A. monthly class lunch at Connie & Ted’s in West Hollywood, where Arthur and I dined with siblings—and, those rarest of birds, native Angelenos—Pennlee and Maurice Lanselle. Pennlee’s frequent travels from his Glendale residence as a consultant to international amusement park operators make him an uncommon presence at our lunches, and Maurice was on a month-long loan to SoCal from the Republic of France—specifically, his longtime home in the sub-prefecture of Haguenau in Alsace-Lorraine.
Over on the Right Coast, Treasurer Nancy Young organized a May 31 dinner in a private room at Maz Mezcal for guest of honor Joyce Maynard. Celebrants included Jim and Susan Conger-Austin (all the way from Chicago), Richard Carnell, Serena Fox, Andy Gould and May Orenstein, John Karrel, Stu Rohrer, Lisa Kaslow and Jeffrey Korber, Dan and Karen MacEachron, Laura Mathews, Jeff McAulay and Patricia Bouley, Michael Stein, Aimee Troyen, Ariane Van Buren, Chris and Cary Whipple, and Nancy and husband Paul Ford. Joyce, who has written revealingly about her decision to interrupt her matriculation with our cohort, reports she is considering a return to Yale to complete her degree. An emerging author in his own right (his remarkably timely The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency is the subject of this month’s class book club discussion, chaired by Nita Krevans), Chris Whipple remarked, “If she does, she will have had the most spectacular gap year in Yale’s history!”
As always, I invite your dispatches. Please, don’t let me down!