RE Log Spring 2018

56 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2018 a tiny bit of the sadness those kids were feeling. …. seeing the shelter and actu- ally having been able to drop them there ourselves was so emotional for all of us. I feel so blessed to have been able to be part of the relief efforts, even if just in a tiny way. It feels important to be involved and to take part. I am so proud of my boys for their help and for having chosen the toys they wanted to give away to the ‘ niños sin casas. ’ It was so incredible to see their fac- es when I tried to explain why we needed to do this and what had happened to these They gladly welcomed everything and confirmed that they had plenty of children who would love the toys! An assembly line of volunteers lined up to help take all the bags and boxes into the building. I was able to make my way to the end of the line to the final point where the boxes were received and where the families were liv- ing. It was so moving to see them there... to imagine what they were living and all they had just lost. It brought me to tears, but also made me so happy to know that hopefully the boxes of toys might alleviate Dr. Josefina Farra Talone and Aaron Talone are the proud parents of Josefina Raffaella Talone, born Sept. 25, 2017. She is already taking after her mom, playing doctor at only 15 weeks old. Marcella McCarthy writes, “I have something really exciting to share. Many of you know that for the last year I’ve been working on an idea I’m really passionate about: it’s a web platform that lets you find and book all sorts of local learning opportunities. And all of them are in real life. That’s right, not online. Anything from cooking to photography to floral arrangement to tech classes, you’ll be able to find and book them all on SKILLIED. So here’s the exciting part: right now you can already upload your classes and workshops on our Beta right over here: https://skillied.com/ . If you teach, upload your classes. If you have friends that teach, please share this with them. I’m so excited to see all the fascinat- ing local learning opportunities Miami has to offer!” Class Notes 2002 Christian Fong has remained close friends with Sergio Sotolongo , Ari Mark , Carlos Leon , Marcel Laniado , and Nick Cachaldora . Pictured here are the alums and their growing families: Christian Fong (Christian and Andres), Sergio Sotolongo (Daniel), Ari Mark (Ryan and Coby), Carlos Leon (Sofia), Marcel Laniado (Luis and Lily), Nick Cachaldora (Coco and Savannah). kids. I’m not sure they totally understood, but their hearts were in the right place and they too felt special for being part of some- thing bigger and being involved. Various times they asked me “ Mamí, me estoy portando bien? Am I being nice and kind? Are you proud of me?” The heaviness feels a bit lighter when you see the relief efforts. I wish we could do more. I hope we can all continue to do more.” Cameron Sisser has been promoted to Vice President for External Relations at Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Cameron, who joined the Miami Lighthouse in 2010, represents the Miami Lighthouse at the local, state and national levels. His goals are to pass legislation and help foster a political environment that will aid Miami Lighthouse’s mission. He is also interested in developing a comprehensive fundraising, marketing, communi- cations and public relations program that will enhance Miami Lighthouse’s image, brand and position within the South Florida philanthropic community. Cameron holds a bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University, a Master in Public Administration from Florida International University and a Certificate in Fund Raising Management from The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Agustin “Konky” Arellano ’90 , president of the Ransom Everglades Alumni Association board, served as the Miami Lighthouse board chair from 2012-14, and Jan Salveson Morrison’69 currently serves on the Lighthouse board.