Class Notes Archives
Spring 2023
1955W
Oli Kokkonen writes: “Yesterday (Feb. 9, 2023) was my 86th birthday. We are celebrating the occasion by a brief holiday at the tropical Phuket island in Thailand. Lots of sunshine, white sand blue skies - perfect for a winter holiday! Greetings to all classmates!”
1958M
Roger Adams writes: “I am finishing up my 48th year at Saint Andrew's Episcopal School. In that time, I filled many positions including Physical Education Teacher, Eighth Grade Advisor, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Cross Country and Track Coach. In 2002 our track team competed in the Hampton/Phillips Invitational. (Millard Hampton and Andre Phillips were two Olympic Champions.) During that meet, they awarded the high school coach of the year, the official of the year and the middle school coach of the year, which I was the recipient. I am also presently involved in alumni relations, development, high school coordinator as well as a adviser, mentor and counselor. I am so thankful for the education I received at Monson Academy as well a member of the academy's Soccer and Basketball teams. Teachers and coaches like Mr. Roan, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Harrell, Mr. Benton, Mr. Morrow, Mr. LaFlamme, Mr. Martellucci and especially Mr. George R Rogers. I will forever be so thankful for the staff at Monson Academy.”
1961
Paul Aarnio says: “It hardly seems possible that the great 80 is here, and I'm still alive to appreciate and enjoy it! I have had a great and interesting life as a combat pilot and special operator in the USAF for 28 years (so much for my Architecture degree with honors from Cornell U.).
At age of 60, that was not the time to become an entry level Architect, but too soon to surrender to the rocking chair in front of the TV! I had become the Director of a Ballet School and the President of a 501C Ballet Company by marriage, so the next logical choice was to make some professional contacts in the Russian Classical Ballet field; and lo and behold, in 1994, I emerged as an international impresario of professional Russian Ballet, and spent the next 20 years producing and presenting Classical Ballet in the Russian mode in the U.S. in every state but North Dakota and Hawaii, as well as in four provinces of Canada and in Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, European touring included Malta, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the USSR.
In 2014, my wife was diagnosed with cancer and my touring activities ceased so I could help care for her. She passed away in 2016 and so I retired a second time. A category 5 hurricane, Micheal, hit the Florida Panhandle (my home) in 2018, and after seeing the devastation and the horrible acts of greed displayed by contractors who came from as far away as Washington state to "Help" (themselves to money from our desperate people only to have them leave the state with our money and np repairs having been done), a friend and I formed Kinjo Contractors LLC to try to help our fellow Floridians and leave them enough money to at leady buy groceries for their families. Kinjo is still rocking and rolling, but at 80, I really do want to retire for a third and final time!
All the good things that have happened to me in my life are Wilbraham's fault! A fact that I am very grateful for.”
1987
On July 1, 2023, shareholder Jeffrey Fialky will succeed shareholder Kenneth Albano as Managing Partner of Bacon Wilson, P.C. A former Hampden County Assistant District Attorney, Jeffrey joined the firm in August 2006, after nearly a decade in Eastern Massachusetts where he held senior attorney positions in prominent Fortune 100 telecommunications and cable television companies. He has extensive experience in business, banking, commercial, real estate, estate planning, municipal and telecommunications law. Jeffrey is currently chair of the firm’s corporate and commercial departments and a member of the municipal department.
Stated in an interview with BusinessWest, “Fialky acknowledged that he takes the helm at an intriguing and challenging time for law firms, which are coping with everything from a difficult hiring market to transitioning to new ways of doing work in the wake of the pandemic, to new technology that tempts consumers to find their legal answers online instead of from a trained attorney.”
Attorneys Albano and Fialky will co-manage the firm until June 30, 2023, when the reins will be turned over to Jeffrey. Kenneth commented to BusinessWest: “I felt the time was right for some new leadership, some younger leadership. Jeffrey is respected by everyone in the firm, and he’s the one that will take the firm to the next level.”
The firm is welcoming this change with open arms and looks forward to what Attorney Fialky has planned for ongoing success. “The firm is in a phenomenal place,” he said. “We’ve been here for 135 years, and we have a solid foundation for the firm to succeed well into the future - for another 135 years.”
2001
On Sept. 30, 2022 Charles “Chuck” Bridge, and his wife, Erica, welcomed Harrison Maxwell Bridge to their family, making them a family of four. Their two-year-old daughter Tori is pictured with Harrison.
2008
Brigida (Palatino) Froling and husband, Kevin Froling, welcomed baby girl Chase Emerson Froling to the family on Feb. 4, 2023.
2007
Jared Falconer '07 and his wife, Becky, got married in May 2022 and recently welcomed a baby named Julian.
Joel Ackerman was promoted to partner at the accounting firm Richards, Witt & Charles LLP in Garden City, New York, on May 5, 2021. Reflecting on his accomplishment, Joel remembers taking Introduction to Accounting with Mrs. Farrington as an elective course during his senior year at WMA. He writes, “The class made such an impression on me I ended up going to Syracuse University and graduating with a bachelor's degree with a concentration in accounting and I hoped one day I could be a partner at an accounting firm.” Congratulations Joel! 
