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40th Reunion: October 14–16, 2011!

Lynn Morris was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award by the International Bluegrass Music Association at a ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. Lynn grew up in the small West Texas community of Lamesa and began performing professionally after graduating with an art degree from CC. She switched from guitar to banjo and was the first person to win the National Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kan., twice — in 1974 and 1991 — and was the first person to win the achievement award. She has played banjo in City Limits and The Lynn Morris Band. The title track of her 1996 release, “Mama’s Hand,” held the number one spot on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey chart for six months and won IBMA Song of the Year. After a stroke in 2003 following knee surgery, Lynn has been unable to perform or record regularly. She continues to work with a therapist to regain her skills, and she runs sound for the band Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie.

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Melissa Walker has completed her career with Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation, and now writes a Colorado nature blog at http://naturenarratives.com

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Gail Bundy, an Albuquerque, N.M., insurance agent, has been elected to a three-year term as one of nine directors of the Society of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters. The society has 29,000 insurance professionals who have completed the comprehensive testing of the various areas of risk management, the methods of handling risk, and work in the insurance field. The members of the society participate in chapters throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Pacific Rim countries. Gail is an account executive with First Santa Fe Insurance Services and has clients in New Mexico and neighboring states. • U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt became a sought-after spokeswoman during the cleanup of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Green, Inc., blogger Chris Harrold, director of research and conservation at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said of her, “Marcia is fearless. She does not shy away from risky situations. She’s not reckless, by any means, but she has tremendous courage.” She headed up a team that worked collaboratively with BP engineers to ultimately cap off the well on July 15. She also headed up the federal Flow Rate Technical Group charged with estimating the true discharge from the well.

The self-dubbed “Portland Mafia” (four alumni board members/admissions representatives) gathered for dinner in May; from left, Nina DeConcini ’85, Darcy Henderson ’85, Rick Benoit ’75, Georgi Pantley Laufenberg ’92, and Kathryn Miller Williams ’97.

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Ted Swan was inducted into the Colorado Football Officials Hall of Fame in December 2009. He officiated at high school football games from 1984 to 2007.

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Work by Ellen Goldschmidt was exhibited at the Blackfish Gallery in Portland, Ore. The exhibit, which featured Ellen’s paintings and drawings, is her second at Blackfish and eighth at various galleries since 1999.

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Bill Guild has been promoted to vice president of product management at Nexage, a provider of mobile monetization solutions for publishers and application developers. Bill will be responsible for product management, partner development, and product marketing. Nexage is planning a series of upgrades and new product offerings over two years, and Bill will handle strategic planning related to all new product development. • Jim Lewis’s “Fela!” a story of rebel Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, was nominated for 11 Tony Awards in January, and won three. Jim and choreographer Bill T. Jones were co-nominees at the awards for their production of the story of the man known as the African Bob Marley. Fela pioneered the ’70s Farebeat sound, which incited many uprisings against the military. “Fela!” is Jim’s second Tony nomination, following “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” in 1996. Jim grew up in Colorado Springs and graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School. He went to CC on a Boettcher scholarship, and then hitchhiked to Brazil. He met co-nominee Jones 20 years ago.