Mini-reunion!!

We were well represented at the Langan Open House In PA this afternoon....good to see you all and share some good memories!!

You can run...

...but you can't hide.

As I was checking into my "usual" hotel in Wilmington, DE last night, I turned around to see Steven Albert sitting in the lobby. It sure was nice to have a sit-down dinner with an old friend, when all you were expecting was a cold pizza!!

Hope you all have old friends and family sitting with you at dinner this holiday weekend!!

Best,

Mike

Posting...

Having a difficult time figuring out how to post?? Try clicking the "Blog This!" text at the top of this page, or just click the "+" icon if you're entering through the "Dashboard" page.

(Or, just drop me an e-mail, and we'll get you sorted out....)

A Wonderful Mentor

Going WAY back to the 1980s - when I had first joined the firm in 1983, our VP in Washington, Steffen Plehn was the world-class expert in all things Superfund, having served at a high level in USEPA, and having significant input to the language and philosophy behind the original CERCLA legislation. He could command a room like no one else, and his "inside" knowledge of EPA and this "new" Superfund program made him in demand as a speaker and advisor to industry. I was fortunate to have him take me under his wing - much of what I learned about advising PRP groups came from him. I reached out to him in 2001, and we had a great talk about how he had shaped my practice, and the direction we took at Hart for many years.

I found out from Fred Hart a few weeks ago that Steff had passed on in 2002, and it was like a punch in the chest. For those of you out there that had the opportunity to know him and work with him, you know exactly what I mean!!

Amazing...

...I think that's the first correspondence from Bob Bates I've ever seen that didn't refer to either catfish or WIP. When we finally get around to the online archive, there is a wonderful book (c. 1990) written by Bob and Richard under the title "Preliminary Report on Status of Independent Jacksonville Staff Investigations of Validity of WIP( Unbilled Labor and Expenses) Numbers as Developed by Corporate Accounting and For Which Regional Management is Held Accountable."

There are all sorts of references to "gnomes" in accounting, and the "Brothers Grimm" and a plea for relief to the poor soul who was Chief Operating Officer at the time..."Mikey, Mikey, Mikey."

Stay tuned.

Virtual Archive

Jim made a great suggestion about finding a way to share all our "memorabilia." I have a TON of this stuff, and I know many of you have kept files of "classic memos." Send me scans, pix, whatever....we'll find a way online to share these. I also know there's some building artifacts around that have survived the now-defunct Buck Hill Inn.

This could turn into a full time job.

Texas to NJ

Thanks, Mike for including one of the "outlyers" in the group since I spent my years with McL/H in Houston, TX. However, ironically I am now in NJ - still with the company maybe many of you would rather forget - Novartis (by the way, we pulled the name Sandoz back out of the closet and use it now for our Generics company - which is the second largest in the world).

After 7 years in the Novartis US holding company, I moved to the Gerber Business unit (yes, the baby food people) last July. I started with responsibility for Global HSE, Crisis management & Business Continuity and have since added Corporate Citizenship and Compliance/Ethics.

I still use my McL/H coffee cup that was done for the remediation group that changes color with the change in temperature. (Mike - maybe you could start a virtual musuem and we could send digital pics of the remaining McL/H items).

You can reach me at work at jim-1.thomas@gerber.com.

Sittin' on the Dock of....

...the Delaware. Hard to believe it, but I've been working on the DS&G site for nearly 20 years. I'm down here today and tomorrow, addressing comments from EPA and trying to figure out the "path forward." Some things never change. However, it's nice being the client, and having an office that sits on the side of the Delaware River.

I'm glad to see we are getting some traction with the blog. I've sent out a bunch of invitations, and we're getting a core group of members. Now, just sit down and post!!