June 2005
Classmates of 2000,
The call is out…the “Cobber C with ’00 in the middle” is illuminated in the sky over Moorhead…all graduates of the class of 2000 reunite!
Good day to all you lovely Cobbers! For those who were wondering if I still had the “corny” school spirit thing still going for me, I hope the beginning of this letter answered that for you. J Anyway, YES, it’s finally here…our 5 year reunion. We’ve been talking about this for awhile and now it’s only a couple months away. I’ve already heard that a good number of people are already making plans to come back for Homecoming so it will be a great weekend. As the Alumni Office receives our ticket orders for Homecoming they’ll put the names on our reunion web site, yep, we have an official reunion web site – www.cord.edu/2000. So get your order in and check out the web site to see who else is coming “home” to Cobberville!
Here’s all the information you’ll need to know about Homecoming that is specific to our class, but please read through the Cobber X-tra for the full schedule of events. Your spouse, significant other and children are welcome to attend these events.
FRIDAY, September 30, 2005
First Decade…Or So Reunion is going to be fabulous this year! I was recently informed that Storyhill, formerly Chris & Johnny will be the entertainment for the evening. So here’s the breakdown – 9 p.m. at the Plains Art Museum, downtown Fargo, $8 in advance or $10 at the door.
Hotels: We have blocks of rooms at the Howard Johnson Inn [downtown Fargo, (701) 232-8850 or (888) 232-8850] and Days Inn [Moorhead, (218) 287-7100 or (800) DAYS INN]. When you call let them know that you are with the Concordia 5 Year Reunion.
SATURDAY, October 1, 2005
Alumni Breakfast: This will be an informal time to gather and catch up with classmates. We’d love to put together a slideshow of post-college pictures (friends, weddings, babies – future Cobbers), so email them to us at cobbers2000@hotmail.com or mail them to me at 410 E. Washington #206, Bloomington, IL 61701. Order tickets for this event through the Alumni Office.
Dinner at the Red Bear Grill & Tavern: We have a room starting at 6:30 p.m. to gather for dinner & socializing. The night will still be young after dinner…so as we attempt to be young again…the town is yours afterwards. So meet up with people at dinner and then make plans for the rest of the weekend.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please email those to cobbers2000@hotmail.com so the committee and I can act on them. Speaking of the Reunion Committee, I would like to thank the members again for all your ideas, support and work! Our reunion would not be what it is without the work of Laura Danielson, Kristin Hill, Erica Holt, Jerome Huselid, Erik Ronnevik, Janine Schaffer, Marc Skjervem, and Lori Vigesaa. If you’re interested in being on the 10 year reunion committee, please email me (address above).
Annual Alumni Giving
First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS! Once again our class is the top financial contributor of our decade with $3,648.90. Our percentage of contributors is also up from last year to 13.1%! Concordia and I thank those that remembered Concordia in their financial planning & giving this year. I also know that we have many classmates working informally to get new students to our old stomping ground. I don’t have the numbers on this statistic, but thank you for getting the great new students to Concordia.
As a side note, a new web site is out for the purpose of recruiting students to Concordia. Check out www.knowconcordia.com and then let future college students know about it.
At our last Class Agent Meeting, we were informed of the great need to increase the percentage of alumni who consistently give to Concordia College. An increase in this percentage will improve our national ranking as an institution and it will increase the college’s chances of receiving grants. So not only will I remind each of you of the importance to give back to your alma mater but I implore those of you who haven’t given or given consistently to consider making a donation to Concordia an annual thing. The amount is not important to me at this point, just give each year. If everyone gives up one movie night or dinner out every year, our total giving would be outstanding.
So now that you’ve heard my compelling speech, go to Concordia’s web site to get a full update on all the great things happening on campus (like the President’s inauguration speech and news about the new student center), submit a class note because we all love reading about what other classmates are doing (marriage, new job, completion of a degree, birth of a child, etc.), and make a donation to Concordia.
As a friendly reminder, class notes and financial giving run on a different annual calendar, May to April. Therefore this letter contains information from May 2004 to April 2005.
Now, your favorite part – the Class Notes!
Advanced Degrees, New Jobs & Honors
Heidi (Bale) Larson, Bismarck, ND, is communications director for Heartland Child Nutrition, Inc.
Stephanie Coltvet, Des Moines, WA, received a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, and received her first call as associate pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines.
John Eickman, Winston Salem, NC, received an M.D. from the Univ. of North Dakota and has begun his residency training in neurological surgery at Wake Forest U in Winston-Salem, NC.
William Manke, Clarksville, TN received a D.D.S. from the Univ. of Minnesota and was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army.
Carrie (Martinson) Bjorge, Fargo, ND, received designation as a certified public accountant from the North Dakota State Board of Accountancy.
Naomi Thompson, Mankato, MN, received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Univ. of Minnesota and is a small-animal veterinarian in Mankato.
Angela Tufte, Liverpool, England, received a Master of Science degree in evolutionary psychology from the Univ. of Liverpool in December; she is now a Ph.D. student at the University.
Brynn (Anderson) Culloton, Rochester, MN, is a recovery analyst for Mayo Clinic.
Eleanor Martin, Arlington, VA, received an M.D. from Tulane Univ. School of Medicine and will complete her residency in pediatrics at Georgetown Univ. Hospital.
Terry Monson, Fargo, ND, received a master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary.
Gregory Mumm, Madison, WI, received an M.D. from the Univ. of North Dakota School of Medicine.
Matthew Peterson, Spicer, MN, received a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary.
Eric Singer, Plymouth, MN, received an M.S. degree in school psychology from Minnesota State U Moorhead and is assistant men’s soccer coach at Augsburg College.
Zachary Thompson, Burnsville, MN, received a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary and is an associate pastor at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Afton.
Matthew Forgit, Fertile, MN, received a Doctor of Optometry degree from Pacific University College of Optometry.
Teresa (Scherz) Milcetich, Tampa, FL, received National Board Teacher Certification in November and is a fifth-grade teacher.
Christopher Kallenbach, Dearborn Heights, MI, received an M.D. degree from the Univ. of North Dakota and has begun residency training in radiology at Oakwood Hospital.
Erin Pearce, Bloomington, IL, is the assistant coordinator of student organizations at Illinois State University.
Elizabeth Keeling, Brooklyn Park, MN, received the Crown Award for her work in student journalism, news magazine publication and literary magazine publication from Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Marcus Skjervem, Minneapolis, MN, is director of campus activities and orientation at Augsburg College and was elected to the National Orientation Directors Association Board of Directors.
The Wedding Bells Rang This Year For…
Maren Anderson to Andrew Johnson ’01 in October 2004; they live in St. Paul, Minn.
Renae Coons to Ron Huelsnitz in August 2004; they live in Janesville, Minn.
Elisabeth Gaustad to Ryan Carter in July 2004; they live in St. Louis Park, Minn.
Lynn Gillhouse to Juan Hudorovich in July 2004; they live in Mexico City, Mexico.
Jennifer Johnson to Chris Popp; they live in New Brighton, Minn.
Jessica Larson to Steve Billings in July 2004; they live in Elgin, Ill.
Mylynda Olson to Jason Livingston in June 2004; they live in St. Paul, Minn.
Shannon Seppala to Matthew Royer in April 2003; they live in Shoreview, Minn.
Teresa Scherz to David Milcetich in June 2004; they live in Tampa, Fla.
DeeAnn Simmons to Matt Schnacky in August 2003; they live in Shakopee, Minn.
Jessica Zaleski to Jason Crance in September 2004; they live in Tunbridge, Vt.
Sarah Anderson to Christopher Lougheed in May 2004. They live in Bismarck, N.D.
John Eickman to Kara Looysen in May 2004. They live in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Mandy Jansen to Bryan Mueller in February 2004. The live in Little Rock, Ark.
Jason Bursack married Diane Johnson; they live in Fargo, N.D.
Janine Voorhees, Grand Forks, N.D., married Bryan Schaffer in August 2004; Janine is chief pharmacist for Thrifty White Drug.
Amy Clark married Peter Gallick in October 2004; they live in Stillwater, Minn.
Jennifer Strunc married Aaron Lambrecht in April 2005; they live in Fargo, N.D.
The Following Lovely, Bouncing Babies Entered the World
Melissa (Benson) and Todd Evensen, Fargo, N.D., welcomed a girl, Natalie, in October 2004.
Jennifer (Burgau) and Craig Schwantz, Eden Prairie, Minn., welcomed a girl, Katelynn, in December 2004.
Bridgette (Earnest) and John Turner, Rochester, Minn., welcomed a boy, Jack, in October 2004.
Karlye (Johnson) and Matthew Retzer, Las Vegas, N.V., welcomed a girl, Elizabeth, in December 2004.
Nola (Mumm) and Bradley Steier, Dickinson, N.D., welcomed a girl, Eva, in July 2004.
Angela (Stark) and Mark Perry, Moorhead, welcomed a girl, Grace, in October 2004.
A girl, Sophia, to Amanda (Jacobson) and Shawn Bagne, St. Louis Park, Minn., in August 2003.
A boy, Jerald, to Kristan and Mark Kohls, Brooklyn Center, Minn., in July 2004.
A boy, Tyler, to Amy (Kuntz) and Aaron Kahl, St. Peter, Minn., in July 2004.
A boy, Benjamin, to Kari (Lundstrom) and Bradley Tollerson, Fergus Falls, Minn., in July 2004.
A girl, Clara, to Christy (Ward) and Scott Macho, Farmington, Minn., in April 2004.
A girl, Arianna, to Alaina (Schnitzer) and Bruce Williams, Hinckley, Minn., in August 2004.
A girl, Annika, to Kristen (Ekstrum) ’98 and Urs Ruesges, Frankfurt, Germany, in July 2004.
A girl, Caitlin, to Rehanna (Zuelke) and Todd Olson, Helena, Mont., in June 2004.
A boy, Mikkel, to Cindy (Carstens) and Doug Paulson, Monticello, Minn., in May 2004.
A boy, Aidan, to Kendra (Jose) and Brian Hansen ’99, Dennison, Minn.
A girl, Maleah, adopted by Jeanette and Andrew Schmidt, Castle Rock, Colo., in January 2004.
A girl, Ella, to Staci (Sieling) and Shawn Kuhnke, Braham, Minn., in April 2004.
A boy, Dylan, to Angela (Speidel) and Paul Pogue, Fargo, N.D., in April 2004.
A boy, Soren, to Alexi and Zachary Thompson, Burnsville, Minn., in April 2004.
A daughter, Eva, to Jody (Rakow) ad Luke Waltman, Pierz, Minn., in September 2003.
A son, Braydon, to DeAnn (Lewis) and Brad Wendinger, Moorhead, Minn., in September 2003.
A son, Kyle, to Stacy (DeBiasse) and Christopher Kvarnlov, Mount Arlington, N.J., in September 2003.
A son, Haydyn, to Lori (Wagner) and Erik Vigesaa ’98, Osseo, MN., in May 2005.
That is all the information I have for this year, but I know that there was more that happened. So please return to let Concordia know what is happening in your life. I hope to see each of you this fall at Homecoming. I wish you all the best for the coming year. Like always, I end with word of motivation and inspiration to get you through the year.
Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but greatness, because greatness is determined by service. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.~
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth
your best. ~Epictetus~
God bless,
Erin Pearce
eepearce@hotmail.com
20 Brickyard Dr. Apt. G-17
Bloomington, IL 61701
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