I received the following information from a “Where Are They Now?” form that Mike Aslin printed out from our last Class Agent letter and faxed to the Alumni Office who just PDFed it and e-mailed it to me! (Got that?!)

My third daughter is due November 11. [Mike’s daughter Sydney turns 4 on Thursday, and his daughter Riley is 18 months old.] I graduated from postgraduate endodontic training this past July and am currently practicing in Carmel and Kokomo.

Mike, did you realize your daughter is due on the day of the Monon Bell game! Makes me wonder if we have any other “Bell Babies” out there! Keep us posted.

Just received this update from an earlier report...

Kim Jackson and his DPU wife, Nola Jackson, proudly announce that their second daughter, Iva Marie Jackson, was born on October 12 at 7:12 p.m. Like her big sister, Zoe Elizabeth, she was 7 lbs. 15 oz. but a bit shorter at 20". Brother alumnus Kevin Holle will be her Godfather at a ceremony in November. Momma and Iva are doing great; Daddy is worn out from all of his hard work.

Took a job as Vice President of Sales with the Jacksonville Division of ClearChannel Outdoor in early August and have since relocated the family to the beautiful "First Coast" of Florida. Looking forward to meeting members of the Jacksonville Alumni Association for the Monon Bell telecast on 11/11. Will be the first Bell game I missed "in person" in over 10 years. Hope to get back for Homecoming or Bell next year.

Many times, it's easy to feel like writing this blog is like yelling out on top of a mountain: we don't know who's receiving our message. We were pleased that many of you whom we talked to at the Big Bash told us that you have checked out this blog. That's good to know.

Wabash Alumni Director Tom Runge recently asked me a seemingly simple question:

Any idea of how many classmates are tracking/using the blog?

You'd think I'd have no difficulty getting a simple answer. Blog.com doesn't give us any hard data on usage. They do give us a graph (with no numbers) on our "dashboard" page, but it doesn't really answer Tom's question sufficiently.

The graph does suggest that you guys checked it out after receiving your Class Agent letter last Thursday, and that you seem to be checking it at work. That's a start.

So, we need to ask a small favor.

Just click on the Comments button below, and send us a quick "Hi" to let us know that you check in. If you want, let us know about what you'd like to see more of. It'll help make this blog better...and help its authors feel less like they're yelling into the abyss.

Thanks to all of you who helped out this weekend for the second annual Wabash Day.

I found this picture of Joab Schultheis working with other Evansville alumni who landscaped and laid 20,000 square feet of sod. The effort was for the memorial park dedicated to the 22 people who died in the 2005 tornado that ripped through southern Indiana.

And there's Tom Egger (front right) helping work on a habitat restoration project at St. Francis Woods in the Independence Grove Forest Preserve at Libertyville, Illinois.

October 11, 2006

A Hoosier Book

Here is a nice, even heartwarming story-with a political tinge.

Outgoing state Rep. Luke Messer, R-Shelbyville, has written a children's book called "Hoosier Heart." Messer, an Ice Miller attorney, said the book is based on this question: "What does it mean to be a Hoosier."

Messer wrote the 32-page book, in rhyme, while his wife, Jennifer, illustrated it. The book tells the story of a father answering the Hoosier question for his two daughters, and a friend of theirs. Along with answering the question, the book looks at famous Hoosiers and spins legends about the word "Hoosier."

"The final line of the book is, ‘The key to being a Hoosier is having a good Hoosier heart,'" Messer said.

The Messers have formed a publishing company-Eva Publishing-which will sell the book for $16.95. The first batch of 2,500 books arrived recently. They will sell the book online but are also getting it placed in local stores.

"Border's and more than a dozen children's specialty stores already have the books in stock," Messer said.

Eva, by the way, is a mixture of the couple's daughter's names-Emma and Ava.

The book includes "endorsements" from a host of political names from both parties, including Mayor Bart Peterson, Sens. Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, Gov. Mitch Daniels and former First Lady Judy O'Bannon.

You can check out a sample along with some high-powered endorsements at their Web site. There, you can also order copies. I'm sure it will make a great Christmas gift for any Hoosier family.

I just received this e-mail from our valedictorian:

Life in Manhattan, Kansas is good: our girls Meredith (5), Julianne (3), and Danielle (1) are keeping Kristin and I very busy. We're just back from a sabbatical last year at Stanford, where I finished a book A Military History of Russia: From Ivan the Terrible to the War in Chechnya. Unlike my first one, it's intended for reading by actual human beings.

Dave is an associate professor of history at Kansas State University. You can pick up his new book on Barnes & Noble (click here).

Extra! Extra!

Read all about it!

The latest Class Agent Letter is out. Read it by clicking here.

If you haven't sent us an update in awhile, you have four options:

• Fill out the "Where Are They Now?" form (page 5 of the letter) and fax it in.
• Submit a class note online.
• Send an e-mail to the Alumni Office.
• Send Kip or Hugh an e-mail.

Don't forget to include any pictures of kids, vacations, anything.