Kate Watson has moved home to Charleston to work for the Hollings Cancer Center. She writes, "It has been wonderful to be so close to my family. My parents live about four blocks away so I can walk over for lunch - sometimes necessary as I am back on a tight budget. I also have a wonderful 80-year-old house with hard wood floors and huge windows that let in the sun - but, most importantly, I have a guest room. Should you be in Charleston and want a place to crash, or a tour guide, please call me at 843-722-0509 (H) or 843-792-1247 - would love to see anyone as they travel through. I wouldn't recommend a summer visit, but fall, winter and spring are perfect.

I am doing public relations and outreach. As such, I sent in an application to the American Cancer Society's Celebration on the Hill - Capitol Hill and was accepted. It is going to be a 5,000 strong group of survivors, caregivers, doctors and friends of the survivors, caregivers and doctors who feel strongly about the need to fund more research so that we can come up with a cure more quickly. We are going to march up Capitol Hill in our purple T-shirts looking like a grape rebellion and invite our members and staff to our tents on the Mall. Each state will have a tent and a banner of hope will be put together that will reach from the Capitol to the Washington Monument and back.

I am also working with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and went to their LIVESTRONG DAY - also lobbying our reps on Capitol Hill, but this time our T-shirts were yellow, so we looked like lemons. I am also going to the LIVESTRONG survivor summit in Austin, since I am charged with helping to create a very strong survivor program, here at the Hollings Cancer Center."

Anna Cromer Kelly writes that she had A GREAT time in Florida "as you can see!" (view her picture with a menacing pirate!)

Joanna Weideman Quillen writes, "Summer vacation - wow, we really did it this year! My husband Roger and I took our 16-year-old son Robert rafting/camping on the Snake River for 5 days and 4 nights. While I'm not a real outdoorsy type, I thoroughly enjoyed it. We took our trip with a company that put up the tents, moved the stuff, and fixed gourmet meals three times a day. We didn't see any toilets, beds (I did take my pillow, though,) running water, roads, motors, TVs, radios, telephones, or restaurants for the first 48 hours, and saw only national park sites for the next 64 hours. After the initial withdrawal period, we had a terrific time. What a terrific way to slow down and get reacquainted with each other. I highly recommend this type of trip for anyone with children over 10, and the company we used was amazing. Don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like more information."

Congratulations are in order for Pam Clanton, who would like to let everyone know that she and husband Mitchell are expecting a baby in early January! They have a 2-year-old daughter, Ellie (see picture) and live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Pam's stepson David (who lives with them) is starting his senior year in high school so it is going to be a very crazy but exciting year for their family.

After 21 years in the corporate ad world Nancy Patierno Giordano has left to build her own strategic planning firm. It's called PurpleTelescope and it offers "trend-infused brand strategy expertise and a bunch of other marketing strategy support programs. What is especially cool is that it has a conscious marketing bent (helping companies of all sizes leverage their ability to make a bigger difference in the lives of their customers and employees) which is becoming increasingly relevant for a whole host of thoughtful marketers. While there is a pile of new stuff to learn (still trying to figure out the difference between an "S-Corp and an LLC!?!?), I'm really digging life on the "outside"; it's so much fun having the freedom to make my own decisions and work with amazingly smart folks and have lots of flexibility (even if I means I end up doing a lot of catch up late at night). No wonder the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs is women! I potentially even have the chance to work with the national Girl Scouts organization in their effort to become more relevant in their desire to empower girls everywhere. Love that!"

Dee Moore writes, "Same stuff as usual around here, but I do have a major event coming up in the fall with the non-profit professional theatre awards I've helped found. The Suzi Bass Awards are named for a beloved Atlanta actress who passed away in 2002. On Sunday, October 15 we will present our first full slate of awards to Atlanta's professional theatre community. It's our version of the Tony Awards and should be a great spectacle, complete with fancy dress and beautiful awards. In August, Walker started Pre-K! Big changes in store, but he'll be going to The Children's School, a private elementary school in Atlanta that is really terrific. When I went to an event there last year, I was really impressed with the diversity of the parents. In addition to the regular doctor, lawyer, executive types, I found artists and arts people along with staff for a variety of non-profits. It also has great diversity in the student body as well - race, economic levels, religion, you name it. But Walker's favorite thing is that one of the pre-school teachers loves to cook with kids. Since his interview there he has referred to it as "The Yummy Yummy school." Mr. Will even teaches an after school cooking class that Walker is already signed up for."

As for life in Arizona, things here are absolutely crazy! The week after school got out in May, I found a leak in our home office, which it turns out, was coming from the shower in the bathroom that shares a wall. To fix the leak, we had to rip the whole shower out. We figured while we were doing that and repairing it, we may as well rip out the kitchen counters and replace them. Thus we embarked on an unplanned mini-renovation project. Fortunately, most of the work was done while Larry and I were in Fiji celebrating our 20th anniversary. Fiji, by the way, was awesome - even with the 11-hour plane ride. We spent 3 days at the Westin Resort on Denarau Island, 4 days on a cruise, and 2 more days at the Westin. The weather was perfect (it was winter there and the temperature was about 80 every day), the people extremely friendly, the food delicious, and there was plenty of opportunity for doing nothing! (I've put a few pictures on the picture page.) Probably the most comical event was going through international security in LAX, and seeing Paul McCartney right there with the rest of us, taking off his shoes and putting them in the bin to go through the x-ray machine! With the new school year upon us, Sarah has started her first year at ASU, Michael has begun his junior year of high school, and I'm back in the classroom full time teaching 6 classes (all different preps!). I am also now an admission rep for ASC in the Phoenix area, and have my first "event" this week. Keep your news coming! Blessings, Ellen