Association news & class notes
Rolando “Ro” Welch and Kristen Purcaro Welch celebrated 25 years of marriage in September with a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Kristen has been with the CIA for 25 years and is currently the director of the Counternarcotics Center. Ro is still a probation supervisor with the Department of Juvenile Justice in Alexandria, Virginia, going on 28 years. Their daughter is at Lafayette College studying Environmental Science, and studied abroad during the spring semester in Florence, Italy, spending weekends exploring Europe. Their son, Alexander, had a great year as an all-county and all-state soccer and basketball player at Sherwood High School and plans to continue his basketball career in college.
Trevor Sellers and Tamitha Moore Sellers celebrated 30 years of marriage in November and moved four years ago to the mountains of North Carolina. Trevor retired from active duty in the U.S. Army after 26 years of service and is now working for the U.S. Forest Service. Tamitha completed her 30th year teaching in 2024-25 and was named the Exceptional Children’s Teacher of the Year for Cherokee County, North Carolina, in November. For the past few years, they have enjoyed traveling to McDaniel to tailgate and watch their daughter cheer on the Green Terror. Both of their children live in North Carolina as well.
Abbi Wicklein-Bayne has been working in various capacities with the National Park Service for 15 years. The past three years have been spent at the Harpers Ferry Interpretive Design Center as the project manager for the Northeast and National Capital Regions. She works with national parks throughout the area on media projects such as films, exhibits, and outdoor signage. It has been fun spending time on the Hill during the spring watching her niece, Sadie Bowman ’25, play lacrosse and her son Jack Bayne ’22 on the field as an assistant coach for McDaniel baseball. Her son Brady is in the Class of 2025 at Shepherd University. Abbi and her husband, Scott, continue to live in Towson, Maryland, near her parents, Jarrett Wicklein ’65 and Pamela Gebhard Wicklein ’68.
Brett Young lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Melissa Slaughter ’95, and their kids. Brett is the creative director of Imagine8 Design and hosts a podcast about cocktails and comics called The Fantastic Pour on the Fire and Water Podcast Network. Brett is an original member of the Double Deuce fantasy football league, which is about to enter its 20th season. The league includes Ray Pickersgill, John Hampton, John “J” Black, Chuck McLean, Marc Gettemy, Jeremy Kenney ’93, Ed Buzzi ’93, Jeff McAndrew ’92, Brian Gallizzo ’95, Gavin Scattergood ’96, and Eric Reeves ’95.
Joanne Johnson Engler’s family continues to grow. Having been a nontraditional student, she is in a different phase of life than some Class of 1994 classmates. She and her husband, Jim, celebrated 40 years of marriage and have five grandchildren now, who they see often. Over the past several years, they have traveled to both Germany and Greece. They have also traveled up and down the East Coast and took a cruise to Alaska. Joanne is still working at Special Olympics Maryland, and Jim is now partially retired. She enjoys singing at church, knitting sweaters for the grandkids, and crocheting for fun.
Chris “Cutty” Cutler is enjoying the single life after a fantastic 20 years of marriage. Retired from the Army, he is now a contractor at the Pentagon living in Logan Circle in Washington, D.C. He and his two boys are always on the go with snowboard trips to Salt Lake City, Steamboat Springs, and Lake Tahoe. Soon, he will be opening a day care center in Charleston, South Carolina.
John Hampton was involved in an accident at work that resulted in almost a year of surgeries and rehab for him. He is now looking at retiring from the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department after 25 years, but will continue to work part time at the local college Fire Academy. His two oldest children are now college graduates: Justin from Oklahoma State and Jessica from the University of South Carolina. The youngest, Haylee (2), continues to be the hurricane she is. He and his wife, Courtney, are taking life in stride, and taking it all in as they have been shown once again that life is short and can change in a heartbeat. He stays in touch with some Sig Ep Brothers like Ray Pickersgill, Brett Young, Chuck McLean, Marc Gettemy, J. Black, Ed Buzzi ’93, Jeremy Kenney ’93, and Brian Galizzo ’95.
John “J” Black is in his 25th year of practicing employment law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and recently moved his practice to the Quatrini Law Group. His wife, Meghan, is a deputy district attorney for Allegheny County and is also in her 25th year of law practice. They spend their free time traveling to watch their sons play baseball. Their oldest son, Mark, graduated last spring from Gardner-Webb University where he played baseball and participated last summer in the MLB Draft League. Mark is currently completing his M.B.A. and playing at Seton Hill University. Zach is a sophomore at Mercyhurst University and is a member of the baseball team. Max is a junior in high school and a baseball player like his older brothers.
Sherry Albright Clower, M.S. ’99 still lives a few miles from the Hill with hubby Richard Clower ’50. She is in her 25th year as a physical education teacher in Carroll County Public Schools. She is grateful to work alongside her best friend and fellow alum Denise Spangler St. Rose ’95 at Spring Garden Elementary. She continues to train and coach some classes at Coppermine Evolve at Four Seasons. Living in the middle of the woods, she often skips her gym workout to split firewood with a maul. She recently reconnected with Shannon Franklin Sheckels ’93 when she sought physical therapy for an ailing elbow from too much woodworking. Sherry was proud to learn that the new track at McDaniel will be named in honor of her husband, former athletic director, coach, and professor Richard Clower ’50.
After serving almost 11 years as an administrative law judge at the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), Chuck McLean was appointed as a commissioner to the PSC by Gov. Wes Moore and was recently confirmed by the Maryland Senate. His five-year term began on July 1, 2025.
I, Ray Pickersgill, am in the twilight of my teaching career at my alma mater Sachem High School with two years to go until retirement. I enjoy coaching my youngest son, Ryan, in both wrestling and football and feel blessed that I was able to coach both of my sons in high school. My older son, Jack, transferred to SUNY Cortland this past fall and is excelling both as a Physical Education major and member of the wrestling team. Kate Pickersgill ’25, my oldest child, joined the ranks of alumni this May as she graduated with majors in History and Writing & Publishing. Four years flew by and she greatly enjoyed her time on the Hill. She found out what a special place McDaniel can be and is thankful for her experiences there. Kate is participating in the Disney College Program with hopes to eventually work for the Disney Corporation. My wife, Elizabeth, and I continue to travel in our spare time and spend time visiting places that we are looking to possibly retire to.
Ray Pickersgill1994 Class Reporterrpick6@optonline.net