and LT. Kevin Michel, 01 BSN are currently stationed in Portsmouth, VA. Kevin is enjoying his Navy career working in the ICU at Naval Hospital Portsmouth, and Alice is an OR Nurse at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA. We gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Kaitlyn, on 06/01/06 and we are now rediscovering the world through the eyes of our little girl…it’s wonderful. We are loving Navy life and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Laura (Leffak)and Jonathan Berger (LSA ’00 and ’97) are living in West Bloomfield, MI. We are both working at the Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills. Our daughter Talya Michal was born March 24, 2005.

Penny Pillsbury, Library Director of Essex Junction’s Brownell Library, was presented with the Vermont Library Association’s Sarah C. Hagar Award on Tuesday, May 17, 2006. The award was given at the Vermont Library Association’s Annual Conference held at the Sheraton in South Burlington. This statewide honor is conferred annually to a librarian who has delivered outstanding library service or made a significant contribution to the profession.

Pillsbury was selected to receive this prominent and competitive award as a result of her leadership, commitment, and outstanding accomplishments over 30 years of work as a librarian. Specific achievements cited were Pillsbury’s continuous advocacy for libraries in Vermont; personalized service to Essex Junction seniors and shut-ins; creating a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere at Brownell Library; guiding the Brownell Library through renovation and expansion; taking on an assortment of tasks with good humor including mopping bathroom floors, sitting in the dunking booth at the Village Block Party, and marching in Memorial Day parades.

After receiving the award from the Vermont Library Association, Village President Larry Yandow read a Village of Essex Junction Resolution. It stated:

Whereas, Penny Pillsbury has been Library Director of the Brownell Library since 1986 and has been honored as the Vermont Librarian of the Year and;
Whereas, the Brownell Library is affectionately referred to as “Essex Junction’s living room,” and;
Whereas, the Brownell Library has grown and prospered under her stewardship with thousands of patrons through the doors each year;
Now, therefore, it be resolved, that the Trustees of Brownell Library and the Village of Essex Junction, Vermont adopt this Resolution in honor of Penny Pillsbury to recognize her significant accomplishments and contributions to the Brownell Library and the Village of Essex Junction.

The Resolution was signed by the 5 Village Trustees and the 10 Brownell Library Trustees.

Award-winning U of M filmmaker Michael Goldburg will screen his latest film, “HAPPY TRAILS,” at the Coney Island Film Festival on October 8, 2006, at 6pm, and the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival on October 17 at 7pm.

SYNOPSIS –
When Gareth and Sarah’s car, as well as their relationship, breaks down on a romantic weekend getaway, the last thing they need is to be picked up by the couple from hell. Welcome to “Happy Trails,” a laugh-out-loud comedy about surviving strangers…as well as your significant others. Photographed by Peter Olsen (“Robot Stories”). Music by Michael Whalen (“What the Bleep Do We Know!?”). Winner – Special Honor at the American Gem Screenplay Competition.

FILM INFO – For more information on the film, please visit www.happytrailsmovie.com as well as http://www.myspace.com/michaelgoldburg.

FESTIVAL INFO – For screening information, please visit www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com and www.fliff.com.

At a luncheon ceremony in New York City, Mark Terry was honored for successfully completing FOX News Channel’s Apprentice Program. In recognition of his achievement, Terry has joined the staff of FOX News in the position of Production Assistant for “FOX & Friends.”

The FOX News Apprentice Program, now in its third year, was created by Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes to attract and develop minority employees. At the graduation ceremony, Ailes personally recognized Terry and the other graduating apprentices.

As part of the merit-based program, the apprentices trained for one year in various departments at FOX News, ranging from technical production to on-air booking. Each was assigned a mentor to guide them on a daily basis. Upon graduation, all apprentices are offered full-time staff positions in their respective fields.

Terry graduated in 2005 with a degree in Political Science and Mass Communication. He joined FOX as a production assistant for “Hannity & Colmes” before moving to “FOX & Friends.” He credits the Apprentice Program with providing a solid foundation of relationship-building and advanced training needed to succeed.

has been awarded the 2006 Award of Merit from the Historical Society of Michigan for his book, “I Hope to Do My Country Service: The Civil War Letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry” (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005).

MATTHEW ZIVICH IS PRESENTLY HAVING A ONE-MAN SHOW OF HIS DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS AT THE MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS, MIDLAND, MI AS A PRIZE AWARD FOR HIS ART WORK ENTERED IN THE 2005 ANNUAL COMPETITIVE EXHIBITION AT THE MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS.

Thomas J. Treutler (B.S.E., Computer Engineering, 1990) recently opened a law office in Vietnam. The Law Offices of Thomas J. Treutler, A Professional Corporation of Santa Ana, California were issued a Foreign Law Firm Establishment License by Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice and an Operating Permit by the Danang Service of Justice to open the branch in Danang, Vietnam.
The firm, which specializes in intellectual property, investment and commercial law, is the first foreign law firm to be licensed in Vietnam’s fast-growing central region. Managing Attorney Tom Treutler has 9 years of experience working in Vietnam and is also registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Through USAID’s STAR Program, Treutler has assisted Vietnam to develop its intellectual property laws to meet international standards. He previously practiced IP law in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, and headed Baker & McKenzie’s Intellectual Property Law Group in Vietnam before starting his own practice. Vietnam is expected to join the World Trade Organization later this year.

Treutler graduated magna cum laude from Indiana University – Bloomington School of Law, and studied Vietnamese at Stanford University and the Hanoi Foreign Language College. He first came to Vietnam in 1993 as a member of Volunteers In Asia. In 2005, he was named a Leading Individual in intellectual property law in Vietnam by Legal 500. Treutler has appeared in several episodes of the Vietnamese variety show Thuy Nga Paris By Night and a commercial for traffic safety in Vietnam. He and his wife Ngoc Thuy have two children, Ben and Henry.

CHICAGO – Lucien Lagrange Architects has added senior architect Steve Rybicki.
Rybicki, 43, who will serve as LLA’s lead project architect on several new assignments, comes to the firm after nine years as a senior project architect at Hirsch Associates. There, his Chicago-area projects included the Bradley Place, Prairie Park, Park Point and River Village Pointe residential developments. Rybicki, a resident of Chicago’s Northwest Side, has been featured on HGTV’s “Before and After” home renovation series. He holds a baccalaureate from the University of Michigan’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning.