1986 – Fall ’20 Class Letter
Dan McNaughton ’86
(612) 209-2996 / [email protected]
I do not know if everyone agrees with me, but I think it’s great that Ripon College started classes on August 17th. I am jealous of the new schedule, it would have been great to have two weeks in August to hang out at Green Lake and to be home from Thanksgiving through into January.
I feel extremely lucky that COVID-19 has not affected my life in any significant way, I believe I must be in the minority. DR. CHRIS LELAND ’86’s life was briefly put on hold due to the outbreak. Chris, currently living in Upland, California, writes: “For the last two years I have been battling end-stage kidney disease and was on track to have a living donor transplant (and the biggest gift was my living donor is my wife – married well!) 🙂 But the COVID-19 hit and UCLA shut down all elective surgeries – and that included ours. April 1 was our date, then “April Fools” – no transplant could be scheduled. Days later the doctors and surgeons decided that they might be able to sneak in a few folks into the schedule but only if several precautionary steps could be overcome. All fell into place and on April 22 they rolled my wife in, harvested a great kidney and then by the end of the day I had a new functioning kidney. COVID-19 reared its head in the heart of Los Angeles, but now three weeks later we are so grateful to the hard-working and sacrificial health care workers at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center. They risked their own health and safety to save a life. There are some silver linings.
We all hope Chris’s recovery continues without drama. The silver linings I have found are more time with family and close friends. Also, lunch with some former Ripon track stars.
Pictured here, 
left to right, me, JOHN CLAY ’83, GARY JUDSON ’84 and JOEY WATKINS ’83)
In other news from classmates, WILLIAM E. SOMMERS ’86 has a new position with Wilson College. William currently resides in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and started his new position on July 1 as Vice President for Enrollment Management at Wilson College. Previously, he served as the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
Of note from this past fiscal year, we had seven individuals who contributed to the Emergency Assistance Fund, and our class had eight individuals who made a gift on Ripon’s #OneDayRally. Thank you to everyone who supported and continues to support the College.
Don’t forget, our 35th Class Reunion is coming up the last weekend of June (June 24-27, 2021). Please contact me if you want to be involved in planning or just reach out and talk about someone you think about from time to time so we can encourage them to meet you on campus.
Cheers.
Dan
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