Chris Eldredge ’78 shared his experiences on the IWU Basketball team with The Pantagraph. To read the great article, click here.

A great article Chris. Congratulations

Clarese A. Ornstein ’75 just celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary with her husband, Steven Ornstein, in the New England area. Also, her son is a graduate of DePaul University and works for the New York Yankees.

There is a lot of joy in Chi-Town! Holy Cow! I dare say a lot of elation in all of Illinois. After an 108 year drought, we beat the billy goat curse, and have won a World Series. As we know, back in 2005, the Chicago White Sox claimed the honor. Now, the Northsiders have done the same. This feat came after being down 3 to 1 by “The Tribe,” in Cleveland. God, and Cubbie legends; Ernie Banks and Ron Santo, no doubt, were smiling down on these young men, peppered with some seasoned vets. Both, and a skipper like Joe Maddon, are what it took to get the job done. Alleluia!

Right in the midst, of this championship endeavor, was our very own, IWU alum, Wayne Messmer ’72. Wayne sung “God Bless America,”for Game Three of the World Series; and the National Anthem for both Game Five of the Series and at the rally, yesterday! Speaking of that rally, five million people converged in Grant Park to celebrate with the team and its awesome fans! That, I am told was the 7th largest gathering in the world, year -to-date.

Wayne Messmer ’72 and Kate Tock ’14 before game 5 of the World Series at Wrigley Field

So, congratulations Chicago Cubs! Thanks! Sports Illustrated magazine says that Chicago has the best fans in the country. True! Next year is this year, people! SI also says, that Chicago has a new goat. Greatest Of All Time!

Wow! It was a week or so ago, but I am still smiling about my time spent “going home” to I.W.U. There was the 5k Run/Walk, pancake breakfast, the football game, and Club Tommy’s.  This time, for the first time, the Alumni Awards celebration was held Friday evening as a dinner, instead of as a Saturday luncheon. There the “undefeated” 1965 football team was recognized, in addition to the traditional alumni award recipients. An extra-special, good-time was had by all!

Our Titan team battled valiantly against the rival Wheaton, football team, but unfortunately lost the game. Fellow ’70’s alums that I ran into include; David Darling ’77, James Robinson ’75 and Dave Gaither ’75. Those last two fellows were my ex-Argus staff members. I sure hope that you will plan to attend next year’s homecoming events. I look forward to seeing you there!

On a different note, here are a couple of updates on two busy titan alums. Annie (Perry) Culverson ’73 is now a retired media specialist from School District #92 in Broadview, Illinois. Annie has just returned from a month long trip to Ghana, West Africa. Back in September, she went on an Alaskan cruise. Way-to-go, Annie, that’s what I call retirement!

Lastly, Bill Haworth ’74, former owner of Pearls & More, a jewelry business. is also, a Delta Airlines flight attendant. Recently, Bill and three other members of his flight crew were given the “Save the Day” Award. They were responsible for saving the live of a female passenger, who suffered a stroke at the completion of an international flight to Shanghai, China. Congratulations, Bill, for a job well done!

Take care, fellow Titans, enjoy your Fall, wherever you are! God Bless!

Cheryl Portwood-Peden Emery ’74 with best friend of over 35 years, Karen Seals-Kimbrough hosted their 1st ever “COOK, CHAT, & CHEW” tasting extravaganza. The novel idea came about after sharing a treasured recipe with a new friend. The purpose of the event was to share comraderie, information on breast cancer, fun, and music along with a home-cooked healthy meal which was a “team” effort and a totally intractive educational learnng experience. They ended their program with a raffle (each person brought a kitchen item to place in the gift basket), and completed a Program Evaluation Form and “Pledge Card” to host the next event at their homes. They received all “Excellents”. Their next “5-star” event will be an English “High Tea” held in a garden-like setting complete with gloves, fascinators, and of course, tea!

What If God Wrote Your Bucket List? Jay Payleitner’s ’79 20th book speculates that we all have things we want to do before we kick the bucket. See the Grand Canyon. Visit Stonehenge. Bungee jumping. Dinner at the White House.

Jay recommends you do it all! But Jay also reminds us that God’s bucket list may include things that have a little more eternal value.

See Jay’s book for things for God’s bucket list.

Ray Bradford ’75 – Ray’s position title is Director of Programs, Entertainment Media.  Sorry, Ray!  DRBF