1970s

Gordon Dillow ’77 was embedded in Iraq for a second time when he rejoined the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment last April through June. Gordon accompanied the Marines early in the war when they went from Kuwait to Baghdad. In early 2004 he made plans to return, but his editors at the Orange County Register canceled the assignment, deeming it too dangerous. Gordon then quit the Register and worked freelance on his second tour. The Register carried his dispatches and has since rehired him and he continues to write his column. Not long before his second trip to Iraq, Gordon’s wife, Tule, died of cancer.

Heidi Gasser Thomas ’72 is teaching adult community fiction-writing classes and a memoir writing class, is president of a writers’ organization and has two critique groups that meet once a week. Heidi says she’d like to move back to Montana someday, but doesn’t miss shoveling snow. She has lived in Mt. Vernon, Wash., for eight years.

Kevin Giles ‘74, is a suburban editor at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis after six years as a night editor. He has worked for six newspapers in the 30 years since leaving UM.

Tom Harvey ‘79 received his Ph.D. in American history from the University of Utah in August 2004. He is co-editor of the book “Imagining the Big Open: Nature, Identity, and Play in the New West” published by the University of Utah Press in 2003. Tom is news editor for government and the environment at The Salt Lake Tribune, where he has worked since 1994. Previously he worked as chief foreign correspondent for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and for United Press International in Helena; Salt Lake City; Washington, D.C.; Santiago, Chile; and Bogota, Colombia. After graduation from UM, he worked for the Sidney Herald and the Daily Inter Lake of Kalispell. Tom and his wife, Joan, have a cabin on Flathead Lake, where they spend as much time as possible on their sailboat.

Mike Pantalione '75 completed his 16th season at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. He has coached the men's soccer team to their 16th consecutive conference title and 14th final four national finish, including five NJCAA National Championships. Pantalione's career record is 347-25-10. His .921 winning percentage is the best in men's intercollegiate soccer history at any level.

Randy Rasmussen ’77 went to Iraq on assignment last September for The Oregonian. Rasmussen and a reporter were embedded for about a month with some of the 700 Oregon national guardsmen on duty in and around Baghdad. In an e-mail to colleagues he recounted the anxiety of the first days there as mortars and missiles flew around them.

Bart Rayniak ’73 won an Award of Excellence in the picture editing category for multiple page stories for his work with Brian Plonka on “Vets’ Health Care Mission,” published in the Spokesman Review.

Gayle Shirley '77 has about two years under her belt as public information officer for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the largest department in state government (2,900 employees, 350 programs, $1.2 billion/year budget). She writes: "I love the job though sometimes I feel stretched pretty thin. There's so much going on that I spend almost as much time writing news releases as I did writing articles as a reporter. I'm perfecting the art of multi-tasking!"

Lorna Thackery '74 works at the Billings Gazette and was named Journalist of Year for 2004 by the Suburban Newspapers of America. Her entry included two special reports on the region’s drought, a series on the toll uninsured drivers take on the regional economy, stories on the controversial development of Beartooth Valley Ranch, and a humorous column on her uncanny ability to make it rain. She also took second place for Best Feature series. The award committee said she represents the epitome of an enterprising community journalist. Thackery has worked at the Billings Gazette for 27 years. She is the second Gazette reporter in three years to win the Journalist of the Year award. Community affairs reporter and columnist Ed Kemmick ’80 earned the national honor for 2002. This year he won a third place for Best Column writing. Clair Johnson ’79 shared a second place for environmental writing. Suburban Newspapers of America includes 2,000 member newspapers.

Return to top