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1989  |  1988  |  1987  |  1986  |  1985  |  1984  |  1982  |  1981

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1989

Polly (Polly Gall) Amborn & Mark Amborn 1988 — Racine, WI,  recently retired after a 35-year career teaching choral music for Kenosha Unified Schools - middle school and high school. My husband, Mark, and I live in Kenosha and celebrated our 30th anniversary. Our daughter, Lorelai, completed her freshman year as a musical theater major with a minor in secondary education at Carthage. In the fall of 2024 I will have the honor to conduct the Treble Choir at Carthage 
Submitted: June 27, 2024 — Category: Other News

Kevin Knight , CPA, CGMA — Clearwater, FL,  was promoted to Senior Director - Global Finance Strategic Planning for TD Synnex. 
Submitted: October 7, 2023 — Category: Other News

Julie Rhodes — Oak Harbor, WA,  retired in June as assistant superintendent of recreation and safety coordinator with Woodridge (Illinois) Park District, concluding a 31-year career in parks and recreation. Ms. Rhodes looks forward to new adventures in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the world. 
Submitted: June 13, 2022 — Category: Other News

Christopher Lyle Rossing & Tracy (Lopas) 1991 — Maple Grove, MN,  checked out as Captain on the Airbus A319/320/321 aircraft in January 2021 for Delta Air Lines and is based in Minneapolis. Tracy works for ISD 279 in Maple Grove as a part-time substitute teacher and KidStop support staff. Their oldest daughter Elise is graduating high school this year and will be attending Elmhurst University in the Fall to play volleyball there. "We didn’t realize it until it was too late that Elmhurst and Carthage are big volleyball rivals," they wrote, "so watching those games should be fun! 
Submitted: April 7, 2021 — Category: Other News

1988

David L. Kreutz , Ed. D. — Pleasant Prairie, WI,  has been elected as the Advocate for the Wisconsin Knights of Columbus, State Office, in Madison. 
Submitted: August 12, 2024 — Category: Other News

David L Maack — Racine, WI,  David Maack was elected to the City of Racine Common Council. He will represent the city's 4th District. David previously served as the 5th District Alderman from 2001-2011. 
Submitted: April 4, 2024 — Category: Other News

David L Maack — Racine, WI,  won third place in the Local Column category of the 2022 Better Newspaper Contest for “Grandpa Time,” which he writes for The Journal Times. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association honored award recipients at a March 24 banquet in Madison. 
Submitted: March 25, 2023 — Category: Other News

David L (N/A) Maack — Racine, WI,  is retiring after serving 31 years as the Racine County Emergency Management Coordinator. Over the past 31 years, he has built a program which has received national recognition and in 2011, he was recognized at the White House as a Champion of Change. 
Submitted: October 1, 2021 — Category: Other News

1987

Debra Hawkins-Anthony — Lansing, Illinois,  after 33 years of service, January 2023 marked my retirement with the Illinois Department of Human Services. My tenure included working in various positions (including management) in several agencies. Looking forward to beginning a new chapter in life’s journey. 
Submitted: December 1, 2023 — Category: Other News

Todd "Sandman" Casell , MA, M Ed — Plymouth,  earned his second master’s degree (a Master of Arts) in 2022, graduating from the University of Nebraska alongside his wife. Mr. Casell teaches students with visual impairments in the Minneapolis Public Schools. 
Submitted: January 21, 2023 — Category: Other News

Tracy L. Pellett — Palm Beach Gardens, FL,  took office Sept. 16 as provost of the local Palm Beach State College campus. He previously worked with Amazon, leading a workforce development initiative for adult learners near Seattle, but his comprehensive background in higher education spans more than 30 years. 
Submitted: September 21, 2022 — Category: Other News

Scott B. Lundgren — Phoenix, AZ,  became the director of anesthesia services and medical director of Integrated Orthopedic Surgical Services, a new orthopedic outpatient surgery center. He lives with his wife, Connie, and their dog, Nugget. 
Submitted: August 17, 2022 — Category: Other News

Diane Susan Brown — Kenosha, WI,  All is great here down the road at my home. Kids are all grown and out on their own doing great. Daughter and husband live in St. Paul, MN; Oldest son and wife live in IL, and young son lives in Hollywood, CA. I received my MHRM in 2000 and worked until retirement at UW Milwaukee. I play the flute and piccolo with the New Horizons Band for the Music Institute of Chicago. Have played in these bands for about 10 years now. Have done a lot of traveling; my last trip was to Morocco, and before that was to Vietnam and so many more places, too many to list. Have been with a great Wisconsin farmer for almost 10 years now. Just enjoying life! 
Submitted: April 7, 2021 — Category: Other News

1986

Nancy J. (Radtke) Prosser — Arlington Heights, IL,  has 2 children attending Carthage. Her son, Matthew Prosser, is a freshman and plays on the lacrosse team. He will graduate in 2026. Her daughter, Emily Prosser, is a junior and will graduate in 2024. These students are the grandchildren of Nancy's mother, Marlene Bentheier Radtke, who graduated from Carthage in 1957. They are also the nephew and niece of Nancy's sister, Margaret Radtke Block, who graduated from Carthage in 1987. Welcome to the next generation of Firebirds! 
Submitted: January 27, 2023 — Category: Other News

Garry Gustafson — Park Ridge, IL,  retired from teaching and coaching after a 35 year career at Niles West High School in Skokie, IL. Gary won over 500 games as the head baseball coach at Niles West. Garry recently accepted the Head Baseball Coaching job at Payton College Prep in Chicago. 
Submitted: April 1, 2022 — Category: Other News

Christopher L. Cook , Esq. — Antioch, IL,  I still occasionally visit the beautiful Lakefront Campus. My Illinois Real Estate Law Office is going strong. I have three Antioch, IL high school students that are actively involved in multiple school sports and travel teams that keep this single parent busy and out of trouble. Love my Alma Mater! 
Submitted: April 7, 2021 — Category: Other News

1985

Jim Reuter — Elgin,  retired in July after a 38-year career in parks and recreation. He arrived at Carthage in 1981 with a focus on a business degree, but quickly found out that he would not be able to sit behind a desk as a career. His love of the outdoors brought him into the study of Parks and Recreation. He enjoys biking, golfing, gardening, running, fishing, swimming, and nature walks, a true love for the outdoors. Jim has sprinkled his passion and dedication throughout several towns with the different roles he has participated in over the past 38 years. Jim started his career in Oak Park as a recreation program supervisor for 1 of the 7 parks; Fox Center. He eventually moved on to manage Oak Park’s Ridgeland Common Pool and Ice Rink. In 1991, he became the first ever men’s soccer coach for Elgin Community College (ECC). 1991-1997 Jim continued his career with the City of Elgin’s Parks and Recreation Department. He started as a program supervisor and was the first manager of the Elgin Sports Complex. His experience in Elgin led him down the Fox River to South Elgin’s Parks and Recreation Department where he served as the Director for the majority of his career. His passion brought Footprints in Time Memorial, Fox River Trail realignment, SEBA Park all inclusive for all abilities to enjoy, along with many many more projects throughout his 18 years in South Elgin. During Jim’s time in South Elgin, he also was Chairman for Illinois Parks and Recreation Association (IPRA) for a term. To complete his career he moved out of the municipal parks and rec department and into the role of Executive Director for Carol Stream Park District. Over his 9 years in the park district he continued to develop and make improvements in the community. Jim led the community in fund raising and developing Veterans Memorial Plaza, Community Park renovations, a new playground at Simkus, and much much more. He definitely believes in what he preaches, “Don’t forget to recreate!”. 
Submitted: August 1, 2023 — Category: Other News

Jeffrey Cousins — Brooklyn, NY,  announced the publication of his sci-fi adventure book, “The Right Thing to Do,” in which a captured alien reveals that humans are just robots created by aliens. The news prompts humans to consider a variety of questions: What happens to our values? Should human laws remain? Should we still have compassion for each other? 
Submitted: September 14, 2022 — Category: Other News

Laura (VanPuymbrouck) Francis & John Francis — Crystal Lake, IL,  retired in June 2019 after serving as a Learning Specialist for 32 years at South Elementary in Crystal Lake. In retirement, Laura has been able to travel more, including travel with her mom. She also enjoys subbing. Laura is married to John (35 years) and has two sons: Jackson (30) and Luke (25) 
Submitted: August 17, 2021 — Category: Other News

Lee (Samuelson) Prior — Wheaton, IL,  Retired in June of 2020 after 35 years of teaching in Wheaton-Warrenville District 200. She spent most of those years as both a regular ed teacher and a special ed resource case manager at Monroe Middle School. She truly loved every minute with the students, parents, and her colleagues and is so grateful for an incredibly fulfilling career. Since retirement, her time and attention have been focused on advancing equity practices in her community. She looks forward to traveling and camping with her little dog and her little teardrop trailer. 
Submitted: February 11, 2021 — Category: Other News

1984

Kris (Bachmann) Tarantino — San Antonio, Texas,  Is thrilled to announce the next 2 MONSTER books that will join BE MY VALENSLIME: BEDSLIME FOR MONSTERS (spring 2026) and SLIME FOR SCHOOL (summer 2028). Targeted at kids ages 3-7, these humorous, heartfelt stories are full of monster mayhem. Publishers Marketplace Announcement: Author of BE MY VALENSLIME, Kris Tarantino’s BEDSLIME FOR MONSTERS, in which a group of monster friends go through their bedtime routines in order to get rid of the nighttime grumps and sleep peacefully; and SLIME FOR SCHOOL, in which the monsters wrestle with first-day jitters as they start kindergarten, illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld, to Bunmi Ishola at WaterBrook/Penguin Random House, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication spring 2026 and summer 2028, by Keely Boeving at WordServe Literary for the author and by Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency for the illustrator (world). 
Submitted: August 7, 2024 — Category: Other News

Jill M (Brehm) George — Oconomowoc, Wisconsin,  was named the South Wisconsin District Principal of the Year for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in the 2021-2022 school year. Jill serves as principal at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, School & ECC in Oconomowoc WI. 
Submitted: February 17, 2023 — Category: Other News

1982

Ray Pettenuzzo — Arlington Heights, IL,  was inducted into the Maine West High School Coaches Hall of Fame in September of 2021. He was the head football coach at Maine West for 16 years, with the most wins and playoff appearances in the school's history. Ray retired from teaching and coaching in June 2019 after 36 years. He now enjoys golfing and spending time with his family. 
Submitted: March 23, 2022 — Category: Other News

Kathleen (Schneider) Molve — Round Lake Beach, IL,  retired in June after a 33-year career in special education. She taught at the elementary level and was an instructional assistant at the high school level in a career that stretched from the Illinois communities Antioch and Lake Villa to Las Vegas. She plans to spend her free time focusing on her granddaughters, gardening, reading, cycling, walking dogs, and volunteering. 
Submitted: July 27, 2021 — Category: Other News

1981

Deb Lynn Dinelli — Mundelein, IL,  Has retired from American Airlines as a supervisor for 40 wonderful years. Deb raised triplets and twins as a single mom, so she is enjoying time with her wonderful grown kids and volunteering in many different places. She still has fabulous relationships with many of her Carthage college friends. 
Submitted: August 6, 2024 — Category: Other News

Lena (Steele) Williams — St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands,  retired in December 2021 after a 33-year career in telecommunications engineering. She owes her success to the liberal arts education she received at Carthage and the technical foundation from Georgia Tech. Her time is now spent playing tennis and conducting hands-on engineering workshops for children through the non-profit that she founded in 2016, Engineers for Tomorrow Outreach. 
Submitted: February 28, 2023 — Category: Other News

Brice Arndt — Lemoyne, PA,  has been elected chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry, which is tasked with governing the dental profession in the commonwealth while protecting the public. He was first appointed to the board in 2019. 
Submitted: October 28, 2022 — Category: Other News