Gary Johnson ’75 recently penned a memoir detailing his legal career, Luck is a Talent: The True Story of a Trial Lawyer’s Experience Defending an Innocent Man Charged with Murder. You can order it here. 

Michael Chivell ’76 was named chairman emeritus of St. Louis law firm Armstrong Teasdale on June 1, 2021. Michael joined Armstrong Teasdale in 1983 as an associate and spent the following 23 years practicing corporate law. Michael served as managing partner from 2007 until he was elected chairman in 2016. As chairman, he focused on client relations, strategic planning, community relations and lateral recruitment.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Financial Advisor Carol Brandt ’78 was recently named to the 2021 Forbes “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors” list. Carol lives in Chicago and received her MBA from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University. She is a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill and Certified Financial Planner with 36 years’ experience providing personalized wealth management strategies to high-net-worth families. She has also been recognized as a Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors and Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisors. Congratulations!

Paul E. Pedersen ’73, M.D., was elected trustee-at-large of the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) during its 2021 annual meeting, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been a member of ISMS since 1980 and served as its president from 2019-2020. Dr. Pedersen will serve as trustee-at-large through April 2022.

Larry Ekin ’76 currently works as a Contact Tracer for the State of Maryland, serving as a Peer Mentor and Inbound Triage Agent as well as a contact tracer. “When I was going through my cancer surgery and subsequent radiation treatment, I realized the psychological importance of feeling like somebody was on my side. Part of my responsibilities as a contact tracer allow me to extend that feeling to others. So, my involvement as a contact tracer is motivated, at least in part, by a sense of paying my respect to the people who gave me that support when I needed it.” Ekin will soon observe his one year anniversary of contact tracing.

Tom Hensel ’71 was honored as Plainfield (Ill.) Central High School renamed its basketball court Tom Hensel Court in a ceremony in April 2021. Tom retired from the Plainfield school district in 2004 after serving as a teacher, coach and administrator for more than 33 years. In addition to Plainfield, he also taught in the Illinois communities of Minooka, Wyoming and Galesburg.

In September 2020, Chuck Kennedy ’76 was awarded the Bronze Medal for Technical Merit from the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) for his significant technical contributions in the field of undersea warfare.