Marc Simon '94 was named event director of the U.S. PGA Merchandise Show, held annually in Orlando in January, and the U.S. PGA Expo in Las Vegas in August.  Previously, Simon was the PGA Gold Exhibitions group sale director and has been a member of the PGA Show management team since 1998.
 

Hamilton alumnus David Dunn '90 and his brother Nat Dunn have developed a new Word game application, released in Dec. 2012.  Word Skill, similar to Words with Friends and Scrabble, challenges users through a more skill based game.

Nathaniel Hurd '99, president of the board of directors of Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC), is working with a leading education expert to bring Photovoice to 20 Iraqi young adults (ages 10-25). Photovoice combines photography and social action, asking participants to share their experiences through a photographic narrative and start a discussion.  Photovoice has positively impacted communities including inner-city Cleveland, Haiti, and Sierra Leone.

Louisiana State University Press has published Rebels on the Border: Civil War, Emancipation, and the Reconstruction of Kentucky and Missouri by Aaron Astor '95. The book focuses on the border states Kentucky and Missouri and places them in context of local, southern, and national politics. It examines how they formalized the previous resistance to slavery, even as new black citizenship and voting rights triggered a violent white reaction and a new definition of white identity.

In the Program in Washington, classroom discussions can be connected immediately to the real world of politics and policy. On April 11, for example, students in the morning seminar on campaigns and elections discussed pre-election and post-election disputes. The reading for the class, Jay Weiner’s This Is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount, featured Marc Elias ’90 as the protagonist in the long legal battle. That afternoon, students met with Elias to discuss the 2008 recount and the 2012 election.

Heather Haberl '94 was named Up & Coming Real Estate Lawyer of the Year at Chambers USA's first Women in Law Award ceremony at the Plaza Hotel in New York on Feb. 2. The ceremony is the most comprehensive national awards for women lawyers across the country and was supported by America's leading corporate counsel, who are the driving force for diversity in American law firms. Twenty-four awards were presented, with and short-listed firms and nominees selected based on in-depth Chambers research.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has announced that Michael Bloomquist '91 has been named general counsel for the committee. Bloomquist has also served as general counsel to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP has announced that Arthur J. Reliford, Jr. '96 has been elected to the equity partnership ranks from a non-equity partner. Reliford is co-chair of the firm's Diversity Committee and a member of the Recruiting Committee. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, product liability law, and complex civil litigation. He has been included in Illinois Super Lawyers-Rising Stars Edition in general litigation in 2008-2010.

The Descendants, an adaptation of the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings with a screenplay by Nat Faxon '97, Jim Rash and Alexander Payne, recently won the Golden Globe for Best Picture Drama. The three were also nominated for Best Screenplay but ultimately lost out to Woody Allen.

Marc Simon '94, PGA Golf Exhibitions group sales director, has been named the Reed Exhibitions-Americas Group Sales Director of the Year for 2011. The award recognizes Simon's leadership inrejuvenating industry participation in the PGA Merchandise Show and PGA Expo, his creativity designing on-site Show programs to increase vendor business, and his success raising exhibitor and attendee satisfaction levels.