Rob Johnson

I was floored to see the entries from my friends, Ken and Kimball. You guys are old (not me!).

I'm writing from my home office in the tiny village of Cross Plains, WI. My beautiful daughters (6 and 9) are playing happily in our new backyard of two months. My brilliant, gorgeous wife, Michelle, is at her part-time job as a cosmetic dentist associate and should be home soon. I'm the corporate "fixer" (if something or someone ain't workin' right, I fix it) for the United Pet Group. We sell Dingo dog bones, Tetra fish food, etc. and I spend about half of my week working from home. I'm living my dream life and couldn't be happier.

How'd I get here? I, too, spent four years at West Point after JIO. I had a pretty good time all things considered. Upon graduation, like Kimball, I joined the Infantry. I was first stationed in California and got to defend Pizza Hut from the Rodney King Fan Club during the '92 LA Riots. When my unit got shut down, I was sent to Colorado Springs where I deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a few months (I'm not responsible for anything you've ever heard in the news!). Upon my return, I met and married Michelle within six months. Kids, don't try this at home; I am a professional. It'll be twelve years next week and it's been a wonderful time.

Michelle and I next moved up to Alaska for a three year tour where I got to appreciate what COLD really means! We loved it there. I got itchy for a change so we agreed it was time to leave the Army. While in The Last Frontier, our oldest, Samantha, was born. She's got my memory and her mother's talent.

Since I had grown up in the Army, we decided it was best to get me some of that book-larnin' to be able to fit into the business world. We moved to Madison, WI to be close to my family (my folks moved there in '89) while I got one of those MBA's they hand out at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During my second year of grad school, we were joined by the birth of Amanda. She is a pistol! When I'm ready to lose weight, I'm going to go on the Mandy Diet. She is always running, bouncing, or somehow moving.

I started working at the Rayovac Corporation (now Spectrum Brands) after graduation and got stuck in a few nowhere jobs. Finally, after the corporation bought some pet companies, I volunteered for and was hired to work for our Companion Animal company out of Long Island. We were all set to move out (had a leased house and everything) this January but, at/after the last minute, they changed their minds and we stayed here in Wisconsin. We bought a new house and I got this new "fixer" job which is what I wanted all along anyway.

I've had the pleasure of chatting with a handful of you over the past twenty years and would love to catch up again. If you're ever in the area or want to drop me a note (rob.johnson at spectrumbrands.com), I'd love to hear from you.

Hope all is well with you all.

Rob