RE Log Spring 2018

58 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2018 Class Notes Thomas Willis writes, “This is now my 10th year working/coaching at RE and I am loving every minute of it. I am the facilities manager and director of summer programming here. When not in the office I am out coaching the Middle School foot- ball team and varsity baseball team. I hope to see many of you back on campus soon!” 2005 Ryan Elias , see Daniel Lafuente ’05 Wifi Fernandez organized a group of 15 alumni to serve lunch at Chapman Partnership in Downtown Miami as part of the REACH Too Program. This program was a combined effort of the REACH Too Committee and the Young Alumni Committee. Daniel Lafuente shared an excited up- date with us: “In March 2017, I launched a socially conscious spirits company called Simple Vodka along with a couple of friends and colleagues (including a hand- ful of RE alums). Our first product, Simple Vodka, is an ultra-smooth, gluten-free potato vodka made in Idaho and on a mis- sion to end hunger in America. How you ask? For every bottle we produce, not just sell, we donate the equivalent of 20 meals to hungry people in America through local and national hunger relief organiza- tions (everyone from the likes of Feeding America and No Kid Hungry to local banks like the Miami Rescue Mission). The company itself started with a problem – one out of six people in America was food insecure, which means they don’t always know where their next meal will come from. That means more than 50 million people are going hungry every day in THIS country. But I didn’t realize or witness its magnitude until I started my first social business in Wynwood in 2012 (The LAB Miami, a co-working space and event venue started with fellow RE alum Wifredo Fernandez ’05 ). We would regularly take leftover food from events to the Miami Rescue Mission (MRM), a food bank just a few blocks away. While Wynwood had been undergoing a cultural and commercial renaissance, MRM was still serving thousands of meals every day to Miami’s most needy. But what began as a simple sense of ‘the right thing to do’ eventually became a regular and fulfill- ing habit. As I became more aware of the issue, I discovered not only how pervasive the issue was but the nonprofits working behind the scenes to support those in need …. With a motivating cause and exemplary nonprofit partners in hand, we began to imagine products that: 1) would bring greater awareness to the cause, 2) would contribute to the cause in a meaningful and impactful way, and 3) people would sincerely enjoy consuming regardless of its social impact … We ultimately chose spirits because it checked many of our boxes and also because, as an industry, we felt there was the greatest opportunity to raise the ethical and sustainable bar (or as we call it, from vice to virtue). And so, Simple Vodka was born. There are a little less than 20 drinks in a standard bottle, which is why we donate 20 meals. One drink, one meal. It’s that simple. Since we launched Simple Vodka in March 2017, we’ve expanded from South Florida to New York, New Jersey, California and Texas. In May, we won a Double Gold medal for taste at the 2017 SF World Spirits Competition, the highest honor at the most prestigious tasting event. Aside from standard beneficiaries, we also helped deliver thousands of meals to those affects by the hurricanes and wildfires. For the holidays, we were picked up by a num- ber of holiday gift guides ( USA Today , NBC and “The Manual”), which gave us a late year push to exceed more than 100K meals donated in less than nine months. For 2018, we have our eyes set on 1 mil- lion meals. I started the company with my college roommate, Dan Maslow, but have grown the team to eight, including four other Ransom Everglades alumni: Ryan Elias ’05 , partner and chief mixologist; Stacy Rudin ’04 , PR specialist and senior brand ambassador (NYC); and Samuel Agnoli ’07 and Alfredo Cubina ’14 as brand ambassadors (NYC). In 2013, RE honored Wifredo and me with the Head of School’s Award for Distinguished Service to the school for founding The LAB. During my thank you, as I’m sure so many have done, I recalled Paul Ransom’s letter. Specifically, his search for students in ‘Group 3’ and the impact his words had on my first socially entrepreneurial venture. Success in life is to have passion, to work hard, to commit to self-improvement, to tackle the biggest problems, and to leave the world better than you found it. Now on my fourth such venture, his words are no less of a driving force in my career and I couldn’t be more thankful.” Christina Michelena Peterson writes, “Hi! I thought I would respond with all of my life updates. In February 2017, I married Sam Peterson, who is originally from Utah, and we are expecting our first baby in March, 2018! We recently moved to Fort Lauderdale from the Miami area, and I just started working for KFC Latin America, joining the company’s finance/ new store development team. Here is a photo from our wedding.” Michael Sullivan and Isabel Vinueza ’07 were married on May 27, 2017, in Quito, Ecuador. The couple was delighted that many fellow Ransom Everglades alumni made the trip to South America. Michael sold his restaurant OTC/Golden Fig last year and now works for the local commercial real estate firm The Koniver Stern Group, specializing in restau- rant and retail leasing. Isabel works in Danny Lafuente ’05 , Ryan Elias ’05 , Dan Maslow and Amanda Mindlin