Brian Krenzien takes on a key position:
I’ll be starting a new job as the DHS attaché to the US Embassy in Poland and the TSA representative for Eastern Europe. I’ll be handling aviation security issues for an AOR that includes: Poland, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. I’ll be moving to Warsaw for this position in the fall (hopefully late October).
I held a small remembrance for the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the ITB Oxy Producer in late September. The original plan for a dinner on the actual anniversary was postponed due to the slow recovery following Hurricane Ida. That said, it was a very good dinner – Kim & Frank Liantonio, Anne & Jim Quern, as well as a few others who were available (Frank/Kim’s eldest daughter and SIL; one of Jim/Anne’s sons, and a former Chevron colleague living in NOLA). Everyone, including Frank/Kim’s new grandson, got a commemorative lifejacket koozie! It was interesting to go back and review the legal issues associated of the sinking, commercial contracts, salvage, and eventual “new” construction event using the cargo section of the surviving section. Paul Ricci and I were engine cadets onboard the ill-fated vessel. Peter Kanellos KP52 was Master; Fred Murphy KP70 was Chief Officer, and Peter Davis KP81 was Cargo Engineer. No injuries, just a very good sea story! What wasn’t captured in any of the legal reviews, but probably more notable, was the question from the top deck in Wiley Hall when Paul and I were repatriated: “Why didn’t you sew your sea project into your lifejacket?”
At our last reunion, I was still a resident of Angola working for a Chevron Joint-Venture as Marine Manager at an LNG export terminal at the mouth of the Congo River. In mid-2019, I convinced management to make the job rotational (I was the only Operations person, including the Angolan nationals, who was resident) and made my home in New Orleans. As luck would have it with the pandemic, a 4 week rotation in March 2020 turned into a 23 week lockdown in Soyo. That was enough; I took a package from mama Chevron back in February this year as my Angolan visa was expiring. Hence, despite Ida and the fact that I have to drive 2 hours one-way to Lafayette to ice skate, I am easing into retirement life in New Orleans and filling any free time walking rescue dogs at the local animal shelter.
Deacon Bob Grimaldi announces:
My wife and I became grandparents for the first time, James Maverick Wooten born 11/12/21, 9 lbs 2 oz, my daughter Sara and son-in-law Josh Wooten, yippi! all are well.
Phil Custer surfaces:
Since I have been off hook since grad a lot has happened but not sure that much of it would be very interesting.
Hard to believe it will soon be 40 years since graduation! Here is a quick snapshot of what has happened since 83′ and a pic of my family.
After graduation I moved to Clearwater, Fl. I met Joann playing tennis (my dad actually introduced us!), we dated for 3 years and got married in March of ’87. I spent 10 years with Honeywell Space and Strategic Systems Group doing HVAC designs, building clean rooms, fire sprinkler system and process piping designs for our assembly areas. We adopted our first daughter, Hannah, born January ’94. We moved to Cleveland, TN in August of ’94 as I started working for Maytag Appliance Corporation. We adopted our second daughter, Megan, born September ’97. In 2006 Whirlpool Corporation bought Maytag. I spent a total of 27 years at our manufacturing plant in Cleveland, serving in numerous roles – Manufacturing Engineer, Lean Manufacturing Engineer, Warehouse and Inventory Control Manager, Materials Planning Manager, Cost and Quality Engineer and lastly as a Quality Lead before retiring September of ’20. Hannah got married in 2016 and Megan in 2020.
So there you have it, 38 years in one long paragraph! Attached is the pic of the fam. My cell is 423-595-0985 if anyone is in the area.
I was unable to get together with Matthew Bucherati in Winston-Salem, since he was assisting his son in recovering from an auto accident. We did a phone visit instead. He’s busy keeping track of his kids and grandkids and looks forward to retirement from Pepsi in the near future.
