Congratulations Go To...

#1


Erik Spoelstra

This one's a little late:

I spent a year in college as a member of a measly, little excuse for a basketball team at the University of Portland. An old buddy of mine from that team just got an NBA Championship ring as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. Erik has worked his way up from being a video coordinator and scout to a shooting specialist and bench assistant.

Even though he's not the first person from our college team to win a championship (I was the first as an assistant for the Clark College Penguins, which won the NWAAC championship in 1995), I still send Erik kudos.

What a thrill! Some people spend 30 year careers in the NBA and never get a championship. Congrats.

#2

Brooklynn Pulver

My wife has a friend who recently joined the cast of the travelling Broadway show 'Hairspray' in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad. She went to open auditions several months ago and was put 'on hold' for one of the touring shows. Everyone just sort of figured that was a friendly way of saying "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Well, they did call back and put her in a show. After rehearsing for a few weeks they started a long stand in Atlantic City before they hit the road for other places.


Brooklynn is the short, busty one in these photos (not the large man in drag). She's been getting rave reviews so far.


From The Atlantic City Courier Post:
"Lighting the way for this national-tour company is Brooklyn Pulver, who plays Tracy Turnblad, the zaftig, working class lass whose can-do spirit triumphs over whatever obstacles are in her way, be they her weight (a target of the thin, cool kids on the TV show), her wrong-side-of-the-tracks upbringing or the unabashed bigotry that defined life in pre-Civil Rights days.

Pulver is as much fun to hear as she is to watch; her voice easily conveys the emotions within. And she has a real feel for the kind of light comedy that defines the Hairspray book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan."

From the AC Weekly:
“You have to love the fact that Tracy loves life,” says actress Brooklynn Pulver of her character. “What I like about her is she always sees the good side, and nothing is going to stop her.”

hairspray is the 26-year-old’s first role with a touring company, and she makes the most of it. With a voice as big as her hair, Pulver brings a fizzy joy to the part, and moves across the stage like jelly on a plate."


#3

Marni Hughes

My friend and (now former) co-worker just got a job as 10 PM anchor at the Fox affiliate in Minneapolis. She wanted to move back to the midwest to be closer to family and get an anchor job in a good-sized market. So she got both out of this deal.

Marni is talented, friendly, smart, and beautiful. She will do great in Minnesota and anywhere else she goes.

Congrats to Marni.