CLASS NOTES | SUMMER 2026 | 45 have the same deadlines every year—April 1, August 1 and December 1, with one column appearing in print about the time the next one is submitted. Always the same. Somehow, this one zipped right past me. Fortunately, I did have some news on hand. After 25 years, Jordan Garrison, M.D., whom I don’t think I’ve heard from before, recently “put down the scalpel” and is no longer performing bariatric surgery. He has moved on to being United Vein Corporation’s regional medical director for New Jersey and New York. In addition, he was a judge for the Lehigh Summer Research program. In keeping with being a DJ on WLVR while at Lehigh, he can be heard occasionally on the air with WBGO 88.3 Jazz, and also serves on the station’s board of directors. Last December, Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) honored Rob Nahigian of Auburndale Realty in Newton, Mass., with its Lovejoy Award. The award recognized Rob’s exemplary committee, task force and other service to CRE, including service on the organization’s board of directors and over 30 (not a typo!) committees and task forces. Bob Brown reports that in March, several Alpha Chi Rho brothers and spouses traveled to Kihea, Hawaii, to visit with Linda and Dave Moore, who’ve lived there since Dave’s retirement from BP in 2017. Besides Bob, the visitors included Zack Lilienfeld, Rich Gimigliano, Terry Pilch, Paul Thomas, Nick Bard ’77, John Schatz ’77 and Tom Faughnan ’79, along with their wives. This group has been getting together for mini reunions since 2006. So, good, bad or indifferent, what are the rest of you up to? Let me know by snail mail, email, text or Facebook Messenger. To interact with classmates between Bulletin issues, visit our class Facebook group, face book.com/groups/Lehigh1978. ’79 Lance M. Bell, 952 River Run Dr., Macedonia, OH 44056-2369. (216) 219-3729 (mobile); lanceb344@gmail.com Anthony Cerra and his wife, Julie, completed the Camino Francés, hiking 511 miles from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, to Santiago, Spain. The hike took about five weeks and ended in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, where they witnessed the swinging of the Botafumeiro. I’ll add that the “French Way” is an ancient pilgrimage route and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its historical importance in Christianity and to the exchange of ideas and cultures. The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is famous as one of the largest suspended metal incense burners in the world. It weighs 63 kilograms, is 1.5 meters in height and swings at speeds up to 68 kilometers per hour. This ritual has taken place at least since the 12th century. Here in Ohio, I’m back on the trails taking wildlife photos and posting the best ones on Facebook. I accept invitations from classmates to connect on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. That also allows me to stay in touch with you just in case you want to share an update. I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon! ’80 Mark Hembarsky, Mhem barsky1980@gmail.com Jim Morrison reminds us that it has been 46 years since our graduation! He says he “has been around and about” since graduating with a master’s at Northwestern, with stops in a variety of places, including New York, Venice, D.C., and Norfolk, Va., where he lives now. Jim is a freelance journalist. He says, “You name it, I’ve written for it,” including for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Wired and others. For a long time, Jim was a contributing writer at Inflight magazines, and he traveled the world on their dime. He has also been president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, a freelancers’ trade association. Jim is having too much fun to retire and now writes about the climate crisis and does investigations, including working with an NPR affiliate. Jim has grown twins, whom he says he couldn’t convince to attend Lehigh, but they are thriving, nonetheless. For 25 years, Jim has hosted North Shore Point House Concerts, a nonprofit that he started with 75 people in his house and now holds shows for 200 under a big tent in his backyard and collaborates with other venues, including the Virginia Arts Festival. These events feature singer-songwriters, including Grammy winners, and have totaled more than 160 shows so far. Check out these two websites featuring Jim’s work and journey: jimmorrison.contently. com/ and jmwriter.com. In early March, Dave Donovan, Randy Haist, Curt Heverly ’81 and Jeff Slayton convened in Palm Springs, Calif., to play some golf, hike Joshua Tree National Park and imbibe in some great cocktails at a local sports bar while watching Lehigh men’s basketball drub BU to win the Patriot League title and go on to March Madness. All are busy in retirement, with Dave enjoying life while Curt is golfing and about to have a second grandchild. They both still reside in Southern California. Mainebased Randy is an avid pickleballer and community volunteer. Jeff is actively fighting the aging process in Maryland and expecting his first grandchild in August. John Heidenreich sadly notes that Stephen Raffay, known as Steve Ruffi at Lehigh, passed away in his home in La Jolla, Calif., in January. His family changed their last name to Raffay, as it was prior to his great-grandfather passing through Ellis Island. Steve loved wildlife and nature. After Lehigh, he lived in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, allowing him trips to the many wildlife parks in the country. After returning to the U.S.A., he moved to San Diego and started a career as a professional photographer. He made numerous trips to Africa to enjoy photographing wildlife. Bill Black ’81 and John had the pleasure of traveling to South Africa for two weeks with Steve in August 2019. His incredible work can be viewed at: raffayphoto.com. Steve’s celebration of life was held at his home in March, with Bill Black, Mike Archibald ’79 and John attending. Glenn Cianci sent in his first-ever Bulletin update! After a long and interesting career, he retired last August and is enjoying every minute. “The best news I have to report is that my daughter Gillian went early decision and was accepted into the Class of 2030. We are both looking forward to the Rally and the Flag Hand-Off Ceremony, and it will be a great source of pride and an honor to join our Class of 1980 and adopt and welcome the Class of 2030 to the Lehigh Family.” He hopes the Class of 2030 has someone as good as John Steckbeck to lead the Rally and start their Lehigh careers on a positive and memorable note. He is not sure if it helped that Gillian mentioned the Rally in her application letter, but Glenn did get her to delete the part about not wanting to become a “grumpy old engineer” like her father. Glenn says, “While I still cannot believe my daughter will be a Lehigh freshman in August, it will give me an excuse to get to campus more often.” The Class of 1980 looks forward to adopting Gillian and the Class of 2030 at this year’s Rally and giving our special class welcome at the Hawk’s Fest! ’81EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Tom Wocklish's last column. Many thanks to Tom for his service and dedication to the Class of 1981. For four years, he has been consistent, reliable and thoughtful about the interconnectedness of the entire alumni population. We appreciate all you’ve done, Tom. Thank you. We are excited to welcome Tisha Amoruso Saffa on as correspondent. Please email her at tishasaffa@gmail.com. (Where’s the) Mike “Beef” Phillips has been making the doughnuts, warming the buns, batching and cracking, involved with baking just about everything we love to eat since graduation. The last 20 years have been executive engineering and operations-level positions with Bimbo
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