How did it happen so fast?

It's hard to believe that we are starting to near the age of Social Security! How did it happen so fast? My kids are grown, I just retired from the company where I worked for 27 years and my husband, Ron, and I are about to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. It all sounds very old though I certainly don't feel that way.

For the past 4 years I was Chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett, a worldwide advertising agency, based in Chicago. The four years before that I ran the Burnett US company. Advertising was a great career - very diverse, stimulating and unpredictable. I was fortunate to be able to work with a great roster of clients including Procter & Gamble, Disney, McDonald's and Kellogg's. I really enjoyed working with and traveling to all of our offices around the world but believe strongly in the Burnett policy of retirement at age 57 for directors of the company. It keeps the company fresh and aggressive in a challenging business and also allows me to now do some new things with my life. So I am becoming more focused on my not for profit endeavors - the Field Museum of Natural History and the Children's hospital in Chicago and joining some corporate boards as well. I was just elected to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors which should be fascinating.

We are also in the process of building a house in Nantucket where we have been vacationing for the past 15 years. It is not an easy trip from Chicago but we love it up there so it is worth the effort. Chicago will still be our home base but we hope to spend time in Nantucket throughout the year. My husband, Ron, retired 3 years ago and has been dividing his time between overseeing our house in Nantucket and honing his golf game. Needless to say, golf appears to be the priority. Our sons, Brinker and Mike, also hope to get up to Nantucket as often as possible though their schedules are a little more complex. Brinker graduated from the University of Denver last year and is currently working for J. Alexander's in their management training program and living in Memphis. His goal is to get back to Chicago (for the Cubs) or Denver (for the skiing). Mike just completed his sophomore year at Penn State and is spending the summer selling Ipods and Macs at a nearby Apple store.

Overall, we're busy, we're happy and I can't believe it's been 40 years since we graduated! Look forward to seeing everyone Friday night at the Club.