Why children are getting and what UB is - University at Buffalo

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alumninews Oozfest turns 25 Still muddy after all these years Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 25, 2009, and plan on coming out to play or to watch the action from the sidelines. Either way, join in the celebration of Oozfest’s 25th anniversary. Team check-in is at 8 a.m.; the tournament runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Team and volunteer registration forms are available at www.alumni. buffalo.edu/usab. Craig Caplan, BA ’92 (front row, third from left) with his team in 2007. During the last 25 years, literally tons of mud have been generated, competed in and hosed off thousands of participants in Oozfest, the mud volleyball tournament sponsored by the University Student Alumni Board (USAB). Held in the Mud Pit on St. Rita’s Lane on the North Campus, Oozfest attracts more than 100 teams with thousands of participants and volunteers each year. From one-time adventurers to teams with nearly 20 years of experience, Oozfest has become one of the most beloved traditions on campus. Each year, the tournament gets bigger and better, the team names more clever, the costumes increasingly elaborate. “It’s just so much fun. You really have to see it to believe it,” says Patty Starr, assistant director for student and reunion programs and USAB adviser. “Though it is a tournament and there’s definitely competition, it’s always friendly, and at the end of the day it’s all about the mud!” Back in 1985, a small but hardy group of UB students decided it needed an activity that would help blow off some steam during exam time. The idea came from the University of Connecticut, which had launched its own version of mud volleyball the year before. Several teams have made return appearances. In fact, Poached Trout in White Wine Sauce will celebrate its 20th consecutive appearance in 2009. We asked original Poached Trout team member Craig Caplan, BA ’92, about his favorite Oozfest memories. Where did your team name come from? It’s taken from a Monty Python sketch. Considering your team members are now established alumni, where does everyone travel from to play at Oozfest? A few are still in the Western New York area, but others come from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and California. Overall, 21 people have played on our team during our 20-year history. What’s your win-loss record? We’ve never won the competition itself. Our best finish has been tied for seventh place (in the 96-team format). However, we often won the “best costume” contest. Our costumes have run the gamut from 1970s leisure suits and Santa outfits to astronauts, mad scientists and killer bees. My own favorites include wet suits (which kept us warm and dry), old-time golfers (the vintage gear and clothes we found looked great) and chefs (we brought an actual trout—amusing at first, but unpleasant as the day wore on). What keeps you coming back year after year? For many years, the weekend of Oozfest served as a mini-reunion of good friends from college. By about our 10th year, participating started to take on additional meaning—we’d been doing it for so long, it had become a tradition. As students, we joked about how we’d play until our children could join in (or form their own team). Little did we realize at the time that we’d still be playing 20 years later. The “junior team” of our kids is still a few years out. In the meantime, it’s a pleasure to get together each year with other long-running teams, like the fabulous Sheepherders (who have actually won the competition several times). 42 UBTODAY Winter 2009 www.alumni.buffalo.edu
Oozfest competitors luxuriate in full mud bath during the 1992 contest. * A blue asterisk denotes UB Alumni Association members updates from grads by the decade classnotes Costumes designed to provoke mirth amid the mud are a big part of Oozfest. Santa celebrators in 1997 were followed by clown revelers a year later. What’s your favorite Oozfest memory? There are so many. In our 11th year, we dressed as escaped convicts and one team member surprised us by renting a limousine to bring us all to the tournament. As we rolled in and parked beside the fields, all eyes turned to see who was going to get out of the car. We filed out, one by one, to the applause of the crowd. That was the same year we had our best finish. FL, and has spent more than 30 years as an author, musician and teacher, in addition to working as a conflict resolution specialist. Lazerson received the Dr. Richard T. Sarkin Award from the UB Alumni Association in 2007 and resides in North Miami Beach, FL. Karen Maricle, MS 1988 & BA 1972, received the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University at Buffalo School of Nursing in recognition of her outstanding work and service. She is an adjunct assistant professor at UB and senior vice president of operations at the Erie County Medical Center, where she has worked in a number of capacities since 1973. She resides in West Seneca, NY. Kevin M. O’Beirne, BS 1988, is an associate of the national environmental engineering and consulting firm Malcolm Pirnie Inc., managing a corporate system of standard construction projects nationwide. He has more than 20 years’ experience designing water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. Recently, he contributed to the development of new wastewater sludge dewatering systems and wastewater treatment plants. O’Beirne resides in Hamburg, NY. Michael W. Wymer, BS 1988, is an associate of Malcolm Pirnie Inc., a national environmental engineering and consulting firm. He has worked on a number of water systems across the world, assisting with operational, design and sustainability issues. Wymer has served as municipal engineer for the Village of Blasdell, NY, for 15 years and lives in East Aurora, NY. Kenya S. Mann, JD 1989, received the inaugural Juvenile Law Center Pro Bono Award. She is a partner in the litigation department of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP, where she is a member of the firm’s government relations and regulatory affairs group and the white-collar litigation group. Before joining the firm, she served the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as an assistant U.S. attorney of the criminal division. Mann lives in Ambler, PA. 90 Elizabeth Bauman, MBA 1990, is senior vice president of human resources at First Niagara Financial Group Inc. In this position, she oversees learning and development, recruitment, employee relations, compensation, benefits and payroll. She resides in Lancaster, NY. Kevin S. Neumaier, MS 1992, is president and chief executive officer of Ecology and Environment Inc., an international environmental consulting firm. He previously served the company as senior vice president of environmental sustainability and chief information officer. Neumaier also received neumaier the 2008 Executive of the Year Award from InfoTech Niagara. He resides in Lancaster, NY. Bob Burger, BA 1993, is an investment adviser for Perspective Financial Services LLC. Previously, he worked for Keats, Connelly & Associates, Miller/ Russell & Associates and Charles Schwab, and owned his own firm, Disciplined Investments LLC. Burger resides in Phoenix, AZ. Lancelot Fitzgerald James, PhD 1993 & BA 1989, was named fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) for his dedicated service to IMS, contributions to Bayesian nonparametric statistics, and the development of Poisson partition calculus for Lévy processes. James is a visiting associate professor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His permanent residence is in Baltimore, MD. Matthew J. Marko, BS 1994, was appointed to the board of trustees for the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry by New York Governor David Paterson. In this role, Marko will provide Any advice for first-time players? USAB does a great job these days with the Oozfest prep tips we’ve been using for years (for example, garbage-bags and duct tape). I’ll offer this to new players: Dive into the mud at least once for the experience, but don’t do it first thing in the morning, or you’ll be in for a long, cold day. Keep us informed Send your news and updates to ub-alumni@buffalo.edu or via UB Connect, the online community, at www.alumni.buffalo.edu www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Winter 2009 43
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