CREATIVE THOUGHT Show biz insider G
ary Gray ’90 isn’t shy. After graduation, the psychology major and Skidmore News
editor went to work drafting documents for lawyers “because I could write well and they couldn’t,” he says. He made good money, but he had his eyes on Hollywood. So, with no job in hand, Gray quit, left Boston, and moved to LA. He landed a job
with Entertainment Weekly, “digging through filings at local courthouses to see what celebrities were engaged in lawsuits,” he says. “I was es - sentially doing TMZ work 15 years before there was TMZ.” Then Gray again
took a chance on something new: Playboy TV. First a production assistant, he soon moved into hosting, writing, and producing a live talk show. He also launched Playboy networks in Spain, Latin America, Scandinavia, and elsewhere. The work entailed plenty of jet-setting and rubbing shoulders with celebs. “Life was good… make that great,” Gray recalls. “It was the time of my life (other than my freshman year at Skidmore). I met my wife, I became a celebrity, hosting three television series, they flew me around the world to be funny in the company of beautiful women, and they paid me very well.” After 13 years, Gray gave that up to launch his
own consulting business, October Media Group. As a “show fixer,” he has done “everything from brokering deals selling 3D technology to social- media and electronic giants, to auditing multi - million-dollar television productions to see who was stealing money.” He says, “When shows are starting up, it's sheer insanity for weeks or months. From budget shortfalls and talent melt- downs to last-minute investors and high-profile guests with eccentric needs, the surprises are so constant that they become the norm.” Gray’s latest venture, Tech Haven, is a bou- tique Macintosh and iPad/iPhone consulting serv- ice for Hollywood clients. To keep their private information out of the tabloids, celebrities are very careful about who works on their electronics. “Building on existing relationships,” Gray says, “I'm growing this business full time—at least until another big project comes along.” —PD
Kurt and his wife welcomed baby Sara to their family; she is now 3. Last year, he began running the lending for a small community bank in northern New Jersey and says he has been in overdrive ever since. He keeps in touch with the infa- mous “Boys of Hick ory B,” most often seeing Dave Harmon and Tim Lynch. He reports that Dave is now chief human capital officer for the Federal Re serve in Washington, DC, and Tim, a PhD, is busy teaching as usual. In September Dan Aronson resigned
from Tealwood and, together with a col- league, started EPIQ Partners, a boutique investment firm targeting successful fami- lies and their related interests. The part- ners are pleased that their most valued clients followed them, and the business is off to a great start. Dan’s wife, Martha, recently joined Ecolab as president of global health care. Dan says sons Sam, 12, Robbie, 9, and Max, 6 are great, and they all enjoy living in Minneapolis, MN. After 20 years in Chicago, Bucky Polk
and family moved to Colorado for work in January. He is still in the medical de - vice field, most recently as a regional manager. Bucky and wife Noelle celebrat- ed their 10th anniversary in September. Bucky says the kids—daughter Shayne, 7, and son Quinn, 5—are excited to learn how to ski and see the mountains every day. They spent Thanksgiving in the East with family, including Bucky’s brother Potter Polk ’86. Bucky keeps in touch with many Skiddies via phone, text, and Facebook. He even convinced Seth Gor - don that Facebook has a few redeeming qualities and persuaded him to join! Andrea Davidson Sinclair is the human resources director at Sunovion Pharma - ceuti cals. She hopes to get more involved with Skidmore’s Career Development Center by offering guidance to current students interested in HR. Andrea and her husband are the parents of two teenage girls, the oldest of whom is putting to - gether her college list. Lisa Gerber lives in Sandpoint, ID, at the Schweitzer Mountain Resort with her husband and two dogs. She wrapped up a two-year project in Chicago as chief con- tent officer for the popular marketing and PR blog Spin Sucks. She also recently re - launched her Big Leap Creative, handing digital and traditional marketing for busi- nesses. If anyone has questions about blogging or other social media, Lisa says she is happy to help (lisa@bigleapcreative. com).
Maura Hennessy Hall has run a piano studio in Saratoga Springs for 20 years.
52 SCOPE
Her sons—one a sophomore at Siena Col - lege, the other a junior in high school— play sports. The whole family is very in - volved in martial arts, in which both boys compete statewide. Leigh Entman Stulberger spent a long weekend in NYC with Jeanne-Marie Perry Hudson and Karen Soltys Quinn. The trio took a tour of Central Park and saw the musical Jersey Boys. Leigh says, “It was great to catch up.” In Albany, NY, Nicole Hilsen MacFar -
land is executive director of Senior Hope Counseling, a not-for-profit substance- abuse treatment program for people 50 years and older and their families. She was the agency’s clinical director for eight years. She has lectured and published widely on geriatric addictions and co- occurring disorders and coauthored the book Days in the Lives of Gerontological Social Workers: 44 Professionals Tell Stories from Real Life Social Practice with Older Adults. In 2010 she was named Social Worker of the Year by the state social- work association. She has an MSW from Penn and she’s a doctoral candidate at SUNY-Albany’s School of Social Welfare. BAYARD HEUSSLER KARCH 3361 BUCKBOARD DRIVE PARK CITY, UT 84098
BAYARDKARCH@YAHOO.COM
Richard and their children Brendan, Mara, and Sean. She enjoys watching the kids grow and says, “I can’t believe my oldest is talking about what college he would like to attend. Time flies!” DANA METES 142 BEST ROAD WINDSOR, VT 05089-9564
DANAMETES@YAHOO.COM
’90 ’91
When she’s not making her debut as a fire-eater in the local youth
circus, Ali Lutch works for First Steps, Kentucky’s early intervention program providing in-home therapies to children from birth to age 3. She lives in Louis - ville, KY, with husband Bob Heil and their five boys: Jackson, 11, triplets Abraham, Dylan, and Zane, 9, and Tobias, 3. Robin Meyers is proudly teaching on- camera acting and audition technique at the prestigious Margie Haber Studio in Los Angeles, CA. LA Skiddies can contact her (
robin@robindalemeyers.com) for audition coaching at a special alumni discount. I am busy winning grants for nonprofits through my business (
grantwinners.net).
Christina Blechar Galvin lives in Spring Lake, NJ, with husband
AT WORK
MARC CAMPOS
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