Ed Ayers: The last 50 years since graduation have been a whirlwind for me. I taught school in nearby Bellevue for 5 years until we starved to death, then moved to banking.  Some of you may know that I was married halfway through college and we had two sons that were raised in Bellevue.  As with many, I am divorced and live in Columbus, Ohio where I retired from J.P.Morgan Chase after 23 years there in the Credit Card Division.  I’m blessed with two grandchildren (now adults) and my son Christopher lives in Dallas with his family. We lost our son Paul in 1996.I have been very close to the music department at the ‘Berg since graduation and that has been a real joy.  Currently I’m finishing up my second 4-year position as Chairman of the Friends of Heidelberg Music and Theatre, a support arm of the school.  There have been many opportunities with that position including accompanying the Concert Choir of European tours in 2008 and 2019 and on domestic tours from 2004-2009. 
I am a 20 year member of the Heidelberg Fellows and conductor of the Alumni choir after Doctor Ferris Ohl retired for the past 25 years…and can lead a chorus of “Sweet Alma Home” at the drop of a hat. I’m proud to be an alumus, I hope you are too!    

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Pete Emmon: My story begins our Senior year at the Berg when I started volunteering at the Seneca County Opportunity Center in Tiffin, conducting adaptive physical education activities and enlisting numerous other students. Two months prior to graduation, I was offered a job there as a Special Education teacher and Physical Education Director. I proceeded to get my Masters from Bowling Green State University. Highlights of my time there included developing a local Special Olympics program and coaching 10 sports a year, serving as Area Coordinator for Special Olympics in Northwest Ohio and coaching two athletes to five medals in International Winter and Summer Games in Speed Skating and Swimming. In 1982, I was honored to be named “Worldwide Coach of the Year” for the entire movement. While in Tiffin, I met my wife Sue and had two children. Troy and then Allison, a daughter with an extremely rare chromosomal condition (1 in 10 in the world). Eventually, I presented at National Conferences to parents/guardians and providers in the field of developmental disabilities.
Special Olympics then became a career path and I moved to the state of Delaware and became Executive Director over the statewide program for five years. Following this time, I moved back to the Dayton area and assumed a multi-faceted role over community relations, volunteers, staff development for 200 employees and Quality Improvement at an Ohio Developmental Center. After 15 years I proceeded to the state of Michigan serving as Executive Director of non-profit serving individuals with mild developmental issues and then back to Ohio landing in Marysville where I oversaw staff training, community relations and volunteers. The next step was working at a series of providers in the field.
After a couple of years, I made a major career jump into the field of radio broadcasting when I became Senior Account Executive for five stations in the Columbus area and producer/host of two very popular talk shows for 8 years. The final career path move was establishing my own consulting business a year and a half ago, “On-Track Consulting LLC.”
I have spent my journey also immersed in leadership roles in many organizations including Rotary (named a “World Class President” in 2016), the Chamber of Commerce, Red Cross, United Way, Convention and Visitors Bureau, a Youth Drug-Free Coalition, Neighborhood Watch and serving as a Eucharistic Minister. Current other projects include chairing a county Bicentennial Parade, working on a new podcast show, writing a book about my daughter. I’m looking forward to being a part of the ’71 Reunion Class Committee and re-connecting with our Berg classmates.

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Bob Hayward: It’s funny how a single decision will affect the course of a life. Upon graduation from Heidelberg, I went to work for the summer on the production floor of the Whirlpool factory in Clyde, Ohio to put away enough money to carry me through a year of graduate school. Toward the end of the summer I decided to forgo graduate studies and instead went into the management training program for the rapidly expanding Kmart Corporation which was hiring recent college graduates to manage stores being built throughout the Midwest. So, for the next 8 years I rode that expansion wave, opening and managing stores in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Along the way I met Jenny and we were married in 1973. Eventually, I grew tired of the long hours, time away from my family and never knowing where I’d be living the next year so in 1980 I joined the administrative staff of Bowling Green State University.
At BGSU, I held several director positions in Facilities Services, spending the last 10 years of my career in charge of the department’s financial and business operations. During that time, I became a Certified Financial Planner and developed a financial planning/tax practice. I retired from BGSU in 2005 and continued with my practice until 2019. I also learned how to build wooden boats and for the past 15 years I have been building small watercraft for customers all over the country.
Jenny and I have 3 children; Emily, Tim and Stephanie, all married, and they have given us 3 grandsons. We feel quite fortunate that we were able to raise our children in Bowling Green where we were active in our church and the kids’ schools.
We now live in Waterville, Ohio and we split our time between there and our cottage in Canada.
I’m very thankful for the Heidelberg experience, and the lifelong friends!

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Roberta Thomson Pittman: After graduating from Heidelberg, I received a Master’s Degree from the American University in Washington, DC. I taught music in Fairfax County, Virginia for 26 years and then became a technology resource specialist for 5 years in the same school system. In 2005, I retired from FCPS and joined the training and consulting team at Blackboard Inc. In 2008, my church, having decided to help alleviate the need for after-school care for elementary-aged children, opened an after-school program and hired me as director. I finally retired for good in 2015.
I married my husband, Larry in 1985 and immediately became a step mother and a “grandmother.”
In 1991, our daughter, Elizabeth was born.
Of late, I have been active in various ministries to feed the hungry, particularly Rise Against Hunger. I still play the piano and I manage Facebook pages for Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, VA, McLean Community Rise Against Hunger Events, and the Heidelberg Class of 1971.

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Sue Yager Snavely: During the summer after graduation was I hired by the Bellevue (Ohio) City Schools to teach Junior High General Math and English. It only took two years for me to discover that teaching was NOT my calling. The only good things to come of my two years in Bellevue were the opportunity to continue my lifelong friendship with classmate Ed Ayers (who also taught at BJH) and meeting my future husband. My husband Steve was the Industrial Arts teacher (AKA The Wood Coach). I am proud to say that we celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary this past November. After I quit teaching the next years saw 12 years at home with my children (Emily and Mark), 11 years as reception/biller in my brother’s dental office, 6 years with PT Services as a therapy coordinator and billing clerk, and a short stint on the front desk in an OBGYN office. The last 18 years of my working life were spent as an accounting assistant at Taiho Corporation of America, a Japanese owned automotive manufacturer. I was finally able to retire July 1, 2020. For much of our married life my husband was a contractor/owner of our small family construction company. He retired in 2012 and turned the company over to our son. Throughout these years we have also owned a small farm. Our nephews now officially farm it for us but Steve spends every available minute helping them. Our family is now complete with our two children and four grandchildren. Other than family, the loves of our life are our 1967 Mustang convertible and our 1941 Dodge street rod pick-up. Hopefully next summer (post Covid) will be able to begin going to car shows again. I look forward to seeing all of you at our 50 year reunion next summer!