Class Notes

1944
Classmates Lynwood Harivel (95 years old) and Leonard T. Daley recently met for lunch in Juniper, Florida and reminisced about their days at MMA, among other things. Photo: Lynda Harivel.
1950
From Bob and Judy Berquist: “When we moved into our new apartment community two years ago, we met our new neighbors Jim and Judy Berger. At the same time our grandson, Joshua Koellmer, was getting ready to begin his first year of college at MMA. When Jim found out about this, he was so eager to tell Josh that he had graduated from the academy in 1950! They have developed a wonderful friendship while comparing their experiences and realizing all of the changes that have taken place during the years since Jim’s graduation. Josh will be heading out on his training cruise in May and will return to school in time for his second year of football.”
1952
Bruce Carter was featured in the Ellsworth American (Maine) on April 4, 2019. Carter shares his various professional experiences and community service to the town of Franklin, his boyhood home. He has been retired for a number of years but still serves as Franklin’s tax assessor. He enjoys genealogy and reading about history.

sea stories

Man Overboard!

I’M A VESSEL OPERATIONS and Technology grad and have been working for Edison Chouest Offshore for the past six years. I’m a mate aboard the Contender, a 140-foot, z-drive tug that’s one of five in the escort class 4517.

We do mostly tanker escort work out of Valdez, Alaska but are equipped to handle oil spill response. We drill often to be prepared. With the tankers, we do tether exercises and emergency tow drills, and with the tug’s equipment we do boom and barge deployment drills.

In April 2018, I was aboard another of the company’s 4517s at the shipyard in Fourchon, Louisiana, that was set to undergo sea trials. As it was fresh from the shipyard, I spent my first day aboard making lists of supplies needed, which included many small items, from shackles to handheld VHFs.

The second day we were to be towed away from the dock out past the jetties by another smaller tug for sea trials. The water depth in port was too shallow for us to safely run our drives, so we were not under our own power.

Man overboard illustration One of the deckhands was directed to cast off the lines from ashore and make his way back aboard via a gangway suspended by the tug’s crane.

We were on this big bend in the bayou where the current rips pretty good, and as soon as he cast the last line and started up the gangway, our tug slipped away from the dock despite the other tug’s presence. The Master was in the wheelhouse on the radio with the other tug telling them,

1954
Carl R. Morris retired from McCain Foods International at age 75 as Senior Vice President of Manufacturing at their 56 worldwide plants, after 47 years. He was recently inducted into the New Brunswick Potato World Hall of Recognition for his work in development of the potato industry.

He currently resides in Hermon, Maine and Goodyear, Arizona. He still plays golf and pickleball and travels with his wife Terry. He fondly remembers his time at the academy and the times his band Moose Morris and the Moldie Middies played at Castine (and other) town hall dances and radio stations.
1956
The Class of 1956 held its annual breakfast in Hallowell, Maine this spring. In attendance were (l to r) Charlie Hall, Charles Harriman, Richard Whittier, Bill Lowell, Rodney Scribner, Bill Mahoney and Dave Fenderson. Also attending were Herb Phelps ’57 and Bill Sawyer ‘57.
1958
RADM John Bitoff was honored to read the poem Omaha Beach during the 75th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2019, at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Entrepreneur

Couple Renovates Iconic Inn

IN OCTOBER OF 2018, Casey ’05 and Ellen ’17 Reynolds purchased an idyllic slice of land on the Maine coast. This particular slice, just outside of Camden and abutting Camden Hills State Park, sits on the edge of the ocean and has long been an iconic destination for a steady stream of summer visitors.

For more than 80 years, the Beloin family owned and operated several small cabins and a shoreside motel on the property. The Reynolds had been looking for a business opportunity in the area, wanting to take advantage of Maine’s dynamic tourist industry, and relished the “challenge of creating something new and beautiful out of something old and lasting,” says Ellen.

At the time of the purchase, Ellen was staying home with two sons while Casey was working as Chief Engineer for the O’Hara Corporation’s fishing vessel Araho in Alaska. With only a few months until the beginning of their first season, the family threw itself into the work of renovating the property.

“Because of their age and proximity to the ocean, the buildings required significant repairs,” Ellen remembers. “We knew we were getting ourselves into a big challenge, so it hasn’t been too shocking, but it has definitely been quite an undertaking.

“We worked around the clock and we were a little crazy for a while—repairing the buildings, figuring out our inventory, and taking reservations for the coming season.”

In the end, all the hard work paid off and the Reynolds celebrated the opening of Drift Oceanside Inn in May 2019. While Casey (an MEO major at MMA) continues to work aboard Araho,

1959
The Class of 1959 was on campus on June 24-26, 2019 celebrating their 60th reunion.
1961
While cleaning up his desk recently, class agent Jerry Gotlieb came across an old 35mm slide entitled “TV State of Maine, just prior to our MUG Cruise” in January of 1959. Gotlieb engaged his classmates with an email that asked, “Since the MUG cruise was the first time away from home for most of us without our parents in tow, and being 17, 18, 19, or 20, what are your thoughts?” Answers to be forthcoming. The class held a mini-muster at DiMillo’s Restaurant on July 17.
1964
MMA’s first four-year attendees, the Class of 1964 was on campus on June 17-19, 2019 celebrating their 55th reunion.

1969
Richard Carver reports he is retired. He and wife Lea live in Rockland, Maine and have two grown children, Charles and Christina.
1970
Dennis King works as a direct care professional at HISway, LLC, which offers services to individuals who are part of the developmental disabilities population. King lives in Kuns, Idaho.
1970
Mike Winget hosted a group of MMA classmates and friends on a fishing trip in Los Suanos, Costa Rica. Pictured are (l to r) Mike Winget, Bob Grant, Jim Dunbar, William Coffin, Jay McGowen, Lee Parsons, and John Webster ’73.

1971
Capt. David Sulin (right) met up with Perry Mattson ’64 at MMA Commencement in May. Sulin represented the Portland Marine Society at the awards ceremony held prior to graduation.
1972
Chuck Spalding is the licensed engineer operating the vintage 1907 steam Lombard Log Hauler at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum in Bradley, Maine.
1975
Wayne MacIntire and his wife Kathy have retired to Shreveport, Louisiana. MacIntire worked for International Paper.
1975
Class Agent Raymond Mann reports he and his wife went on an expedition in April that started in Chile, stopped at Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and then sailed on to retrace the mutinous voyage of the HMS Bounty, as in Mutiny on the Bounty. They visited many ports including Pitcairn Island (where the mutineers settled, population 58), Rititea, Manana, Avera, Rurutu, Bora Bora, and Tahiti, French Polynesia.
1975
Pat Pickard crossed the finish line at the 2019 Boston Marathon with a time of 4:54:30. Nice job, Pat!
1976
The Class of 1976 had a mini-muster on June 9 at the Rising Tide Brewery and Foreside Tavern with nine “76ers” in attendance. Pictured left to right are Dave Witherill, Bill Finley, Bill Full, Donna Ponte (spouse), Greg Ponte, Pete Gorman, Walt Rankin, Jane Rankin (spouse), Sue Martin (spouse), Henry Martin, Art Hall, and Brad Larrabee. Photo: Maryann Larrabee.
1979
The Class of 1979 was on campus on July 17-19, 2019 celebrating their 40th reunion.
1981
Mark Amundsen was introduced as the new Director of Marine Operations of the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority on April 16, 2019. Amundsen brings more than 30 years of experience to the position. Most recently, he served as operations manager for Singapore Technologies Marine, operating ferry services in Europe. Previously, he was Managing Director for Nova Star Cruises Ltd., a ferry service operating between the U.S. and Canada; and Director of Ship Repair at Irving Shipbuilding Inc. in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1981
Raymond Deptula retired from the U.S. Navy in 2005 after 24 years as a naval officer/aviator. Since then, he has been working in the defense/aerospace industry, mainly in business development and program management. He and his wife Julia live in Merritt Island, Florida with their daughter Allison.
1982
Doug Eyes recently completed a rewarding career as a Department of Defense intelligence officer and built a new home on Amelia Island, Florida. That, coupled with his and his wife Patricia’s property in the mountains of North Carolina completes, he says, “our plan for a ‘Mountains to Sea’ lifestyle.”
1984
The Class of 1984 was on campus on July 22 -24, 2019 celebrating their 35th reunion.
1984
Wendy Silliker Holbrook is working for Long & Foster Real Estate, specializing in serving homebuyers and sellers. Silliker has eight years of experience in real estate and lives in Ambler, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. She is an avid road cyclist, skier and scuba diver.
1986
Todd Anderson is Assistant Superintendent of Power and Recovery for Graphic Packaging International, LLC, in West Monroe, Louisiana. Anderson and his wife Liz live in West Monroe and have three grown children Corrine, Garret and Jacob.
1986
Adam Guziewicz is preparing to retire from the U.S. Navy this summer and relocate to Knoxville, Tennessee after many years in San Diego.
1986
Classmates (l to r) Marc Eisenhaur, John Paulsen, Shawn Longfellow and Wayne Norton met up out West in April and golfed at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Oregon.
1988
Dru DiMattia, retired merchant mariner, (second from right) served as Chair of the Merchant Marine Memorial Committee to construct a WWII Merchant Marine and Navy Armed Guard Memorial at Eco Park, Cape Coral, Florida. The memorial was dedicated on May 26, 2019. The memorial features a granite memorial stone, plaque, U.S. Merchant Marine flag, and a bronze wheel, donated by Padgett Swann Co., Brian Orme ’00, (left) General Manager.
1988
Mark Winter (USN, retired) was speaker at the Military Officers Association of America luncheon on June 22, 2019 at the White Mountain Hotel and Resort in North Conway, New Hampshire. Winter is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and state office representative for Sen. Susan Collins. He lives in Freeport, Maine with wife Meredith and children William and Eleanor.
1990
Lance Burton, professor at MMA, sent the photo of his family connection to MMA over the generations. Pictured are (sitting, l to r) Roger Marks ’59 and father-in-law Lance; (standing, l to r) sister-in-law Laurie Marks Flood ’93 and daughter Jennifer, who graduated from the IBL program in May.
1990
Col. Robert Curtis had a great MMA alumni turnout at his recent retirement ceremony. “Sideshow” was a U.S. Marine Corps aviator and served for 33 years, four enlisted (1982-1986) and 29 following his NROTC commission from MMA. Pictured are (l to r) Rene Mares Justice ’91, Randy Flood ’90, Dan Clayton ’89, Bob, Tim Barry ’89, Lisa Burton, Lance Burton ’90, and Dave Brown ’91. “It really made it special having the MMA crew there,” he says. Congratulations, Bob and thanks for your service. He is working for Northrop Grumman.
1991
Steve Leen was featured in the May 23, 2019 issue of the Sun Journal (Maine) in which he reflects on his career and family. Leen is chief engineer on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska and, among other things, holds a patent for a soccer ball juggling trainer called Zero G. He is married to Tracyn Thayer and has two daughters and two stepsons.
1994
Brian Jones has worked as International Logistics Manager for Nucor Corporation, America’s largest steel manufacturer, since 2013. In April of this year, he was appointed to the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee (MTSNAC). The purpose of the committee is to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation, through the Maritime Administrator, on matters relating to the maritime transportation system and its integration with other segments of the transportation system, including the viability of the U.S. Merchant Marine. He currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife Ellen and their daughter Teagan.
1994
Tim Kerr is living in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife Keshil and child Brannon.
1996
Jeff Wallace has worked for the City of Bangor, Maine for 10 years. During the first nine years, he managed the city’s home repair program. He has been a certified Code Enforcement Officer since 2014 and the director of Code Enforcement since April 2018. He lives in Bangor with his wife Kristen and two children Zachary and Sarah. Jeff, Kristen and Sarah joined the Alumni Summer Solstice Cruise out of Bar Harbor in June.
1997
Trevor Boutaugh is Shift Supervisor at Rumford Power. He lives in Turner, Maine and has four children.
1999
Jeffrey Benedict is a membrane manufacturing associate for Relpligen Corporation, Marlborough, Massachusetts. Benedict and his wife Rebecca have three children and live in Winchendon, Massachusetts.
1999
Alexander Carlin is an engineer with Transocean. He lives in Boynton Beach, Florida with his wife Sarah and children Anna, Tommy and Lilly.
2005
Jay Comber is Plant Manager and Project Engineer for Pleasant River Lumber Company of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. Comber and his wife Lindsey live in Dover-Foxcroft with sons Andrew, Nicholas and Nathan.
2005
Capt. Dave Mason was on campus for Harry Stevens’ retirement party in July. Capt. Mason is president of Rugged Marine Surveys, LLC. Mason lives in South Portland.
2005
Andrew C. Strosahl, member of the MMA Alumni Association Board, has been appointed by the Maritime Administration to the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee (MTSNAC). Strosahl, an attorney with The Lawrence Law Firm, PA in South Berwick, Maine is a licensed master mariner of unlimited tonnage, any ocean. He and his wife Jessica live in Dover, New Hampshire.
2007
After graduation, Ralph Bohm was involved exclusively in the deep-water offshore drilling sector, first with supply vessels then drillships, working out of Singapore, Brazil, Netherlands, and Canary Islands. Since 2015, due to the worldwide correction in deep-water offshore drilling, he has trained professional drivers in over-the-road, Class 8 trucking operations and is involved in a lease/purchase program with a late model Class 8 Freightliner truck. Prior to attending MMA, he was a professional driver for more than 20 years. He says his time at MMA restored a more disciplined approach to his professional life and he currently uses this same discipline in day-to-day activities in the long-distance trucking theater.
2008
Alejandra Fernandez was selected for the Panama Canal pilot training program last year. Here he is guiding a ship into a lock.
2008
Luke Velho, sailing as a first engineer aboard the M/V Polar Discovery, sent this image of Maine Maritime Academy alumni (l to r) Velho, Second Engineer Caleb Philbrook ’13, Chief Mate John Parsons ’96, Third Engineer Cody O’Brien ’18, and Third Mate Isaac Mitchell ’16. Mitchell attended the Alumni Summer Solstice Cruise in Bar Harbor in June.
2010
Lindsey Fassler Maffeo ’10 and ’16 works at General Dynamics Electric Boat and is living in East Lyme, Connecticut.
2011
Willie Leathers joined Capt. Will McLean, Captain of the schooner Bowdoin during its recent hull restoration. Among other duties, Leathers worked on the patterns for the new frames.
2011
Matt Ward has formed Bigelow Aviation, LLC, an airplane rental company located at Sugarloaf Regional Airport in Carrabassett Valley, Maine.
2012
Michael Choate ’12 and Christina Lynn Boser were married on Santa Cruz Island, California. Their introduction and eventual wedding was the subject of a New York Times article She Was Stuck in the Sand. He Was Promptly Stuck on Her on April 13, 2019.
2012
Matt Garard is a mate with Moran and lives in Belfast, Maine with his wife Skye.
2012
Nate Mosley has been working on the Great Lakes since he graduated. He is sailing as Chief Engineer on a large ATB with VanEnkevort Tug & Barge, Inc., mostly hauling taconite pellets from the mines in Minnesota to the steel mills in Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland. Mosley is preparing to build a house in Franklin, Maine.
2013
Charlie Bellafiore reports that “life is good.” Currently living in South Portland, Maine he ships as a second mate on a Maersk container ship with a 10-weeks-on, 10-weeks-off rotation. He enjoys playing music when home with his band The Moosetones.
2013
Capt. Matthew J. Berry joined the Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) management team as the new St. Thomas/St. John District Marine Manager. Born in St. Thomas, Berry will manage all operations of the harbors, marine terminals, piers, docks, channels, bulkheads and other facilities directly related to maritime activities and services in St. Thomas and St. John. He will oversee a staff of 55 marine division employees.