Deborah Carll Curtis
56 Green Ridge Drive
Buxton, ME 04093
dcurtis@blackbearpc.com
facebook.com/groups/UMaineClass1988/
REUNION October 26-28 at Homecoming
Can you believe that this spring marks 30 years since the Class of 1988 graduated from UMaine? In my mind, those college years were just yesterday but much has happened in our lives. Families have grown and changed, as have careers and where we each have lived. In fact, Capt. Thomas Dearborn served in the Navy after participating in the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps program at the University of Maine. He retired from the Navy in October of 2017. On behalf of the University of Maine community, thank you for your service.
While some of us are retiring and moving on to other endeavors, many of us continue to pursue and advance in our chosen careers. In August 2017, John Ronan was named president of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, ME. In an interview with the Ellsworth American, John said, “The ability to plan services for the long-term benefit of Hancock County is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. And as I have so often said, I am most fortunate to have found my dream job in a region I love and at a health system I respect.”
Also on the job front, in July 2017, Tom Luttrell transitioned from the city of Rockland, Maine’s finance director into the city manager position. In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, Tom expressed his belief that he and his staff could “do things great for the city [of Rockland].”
Class of ’88, we are also being remembered for what we did back when. According to the Bangor Daily News in September 2017 Andy Nickerson, with several other honorees, was inducted into the Brewer High School Hall of Fame. Andy graduated from Brewer High in 1984 as a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball. During his UMaine student days, Andy was a member of the football team for four years.
And while graduation from UMaine was 30 years ago, we are still a class that has fun. Peter Hardy, mathematics professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, and his family spent 48 days during the summer of 2017 visiting 48 states. Traveling with his wife, two children, and mother-in-law and averaging 275 miles a day, driven at 70 mph, about four hours of travel a day, they traversed the country. The Lewiston Sun Journal reported that they visited some states for longer than others, but found that, “Despite all the talk of diversity and struggles around the country, people along the way were most gracious.”
All this talk of 30 years reminds me that this October 26-28, 2018, during Homecoming, the Class of 1988 will celebrate its 30th Reunion. More will be coming about some campus activities, but a group that lived in Aroostook Hall during that time is hoping for a reunion of its own sometime that weekend. With this in mind, a Facebook page titled Aroostook Hall late 1980s – early 1990s has been created. Its originators are hoping people will have more to share. Check it out and if you have photos, please add to it. You may end up being surprised to see what is there — I know I was!
Class of 1988, if you have other news you are willing to share with your fellow alumni, send it my way for the next column. Keep in mind, these columns are only published twice a year, but if you have news, I’d love to share it. Happy spring, everyone.