Mystery Classmate 115

Congratulations to Lisa Smith and Lynn Abt LeBlanc, both of whom correctly identified Ted Smith (’84) as Mystery Classmate #115 (despite the poor resolution of the photo) and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Ted currently lives in Louisville, KY with his wife Jane and sons Andrew (age 5) and Christian (age 2). Ted is SVP and General Manager of the Business Publishing division of CNET Networks. According to Ted, he discovered Mystery Classmate when Jerry Koutavas, also in the computer industry, called on Ted’s company for a partnership. Ted left high school for Allegheny College, then on to grad school at Miami University of Ohio where he received a Masters and Ph.D. in Cognitive Science. Then off to MIT for a two-year post-doc. Ted spent his grad and post-grad years working on space life sciences. His research was ultimately selected to fly on the space shuttle Columbia in 1998 where several astronauts proved that wearing a head mounted display in microgravity makes you feel downright sick. Ted left MIT to run an R&D group at Accenture in Chicago; then was off to run a start-up company in Minneapolis when that was fashionable in 1998, which led him to the CNET division in Louisville in 2000. Through all of this, Ted has stayed in regular contact with Craig Davis - a friendship forged with ice cold Genesee Cream Ale which he is sure is no longer part of the 8th grade experience.

Fellow classmates shared fond memories of Ted.

Lisa Smith wrote, "No, we're not related, but we had a heck of a lot of homeroom classes together! Good guy!"

Lynn Abt LeBlanc wrote, "I had his name tag at the reunion and we walked in at the same time! I never did get a chance to talk to him after that. I hope I am right!"

Nancy Ondick Hahn buzzed in late and wrote, "When I viewed photo #115, my first thought was that it was Ted Smith. Then, I thought it wasn't because Ted was our diligent yearbook photographer and he would have sent in a different (ie. better quality) sort of head shot or something! Although we have lost touch through the years, I have MANY fond memories of our friendship throughout high school. We covered a ton of miles in his brown Pinto! I also recall a few of those Genesee Cream Ale gatherings on the Edgewood Country Club Golf Course! I'm so happy to hear how well he's doing and I'm sorry I missed seeing him at our latest reunion."

Greg Markantone guessed Jerry Koutavas. Jerry Koutavas guessed Danny Kun.

Andrew "Bearsy" Plack wrote, "That looks like my brother-in-law, but since he's never even been to Pittsburgh, my second guess is Joe Delanko. "

Lori Haas Baccari guessed Ted Showers. Ted Showers and Paul Rodgers both guessed Max Headroom.

Beth "TGIF" Chufo wrote, "No guesses... Looks like one of those modern "pictures" at the Carnegie Art Museum."