Your Local UVaClub

2009 Accept Party

	The UVaClub of Greater Orlando had three activities during the month of TJ's birthday: a Student Acceptance Party on April 7 at the home of Missy and Frank Cascells-Hamby, a Cavaliers Care Habitat for Humanity project on April 18 and a Happy Hours (plural), featuring our John Stewart, on April 21. Thanks to all who participated or contributed.
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2008 Student Send-off

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2008 Larry Sabato Luncheon

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Cavaliers Care 2008

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Club Member Spotlights

Lytle Wurtzel
John M Stewart
Missy Casscells-Hamby

Lytle Wurtzel
Lytle Wurtzel is a 2004 graduate of U.Va.'s McIntire School of Commerce. She works as a financial analyst at CNL Bank and is attending the Rollins Crummer Graduate School of Business. Lytle is a stalwart UVAGO member and a recent addition to the UVaClub's board. She shares the following personal information:

A memorable U.Va. experience
I will never forget standing in the snow on The Lawn in December 2001 for the first lighting of the lawn - it was breathtaking. I'll also never forget walking the lawn at Final Exercises in May 2004 with my classmates.

Three things that can always be found in your refrigerator
On any given day, you're likely to find hummus, Cherry Coke Zero, and some type of Ken's Steakhouse salad dressing.

Your dream vacation
Staying in an over-water bungalow in the south Pacific or diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Person(s) you would most like to share dinner with
If they were still alive, I'd say either William Faulkner or my paternal grandfather whom I never met. In the present tense, it would be Ina Garten ("The Barefoot Contessa") or Peggy Noonan.

Favorite book, author, musician or type of music
I love Billy Joel and a mix of country, '80s, and Motown. Anything that I can run to or drive to with the windows down.

John M. Stewart

A stalwart member of the Alumni Association and UVAGO, John shares a few things about himself.

Memorable U.Va. experience:
I was pre-med in my second year when a lab accident ended it. I then adopted the attitude that I didn’t need great grades anymore in required courses, but could study whatever took my fancy. I thoroughly enjoyed my curriculum the next two years and graduated with a degree in English and a minor in philosophy.

How I became a Jefferson aficionado:
I took a Summer on the Lawn course and the lecturer was skilled and the class fascinating. I began to read his works and correspondence more thoroughly.

Three things in my refrigerator:
Scottish marmalade, tomato juice and beef stock.

Dream vacation:
Sailing my own boat leisurely to anywhere I want with no time frame imposed.

Ideal dinner guest:
In the real world, my wife. In the fantasy world, who else but TJ?

Favorite book, author:
Patrick O'Brien with his twenty-novel output known as the Aubrey/Maturin series

Missy Casscells-Hamby

Missy Casscells-Hamby, who serves as the UVaClub of Greater Orlando Schools Chairperson, has lived in Orlando for 20 years. Since her mother was raised in Sanford in the 1920s, Missy considers herself almost a true Floridian. A second generation Wahoo on both her mother and father’s sides, Missy, who played Varsity Lacrosse all four years, is sure her blood runs Virginia blue and orange. She and her husband, Frank, raise their three teenage children in their lovely Winter Park home and seek refuge in their work in real estate.

What is your favorite U.Va. memory?
Missy shared that one of her favorite U.Va. memories from the 1980s would have to be Fridays in the Amphitheatre listening to Skip Castro. She also feels that a favorite for every Wahoo is the first trip up Skyline Drive and climbing Humpback Rock to view the beautiful changing leaves. She recalls watching a great basketball team full of fun players like 7’4" Ralph Sampson, Ricky Stokes and Jeff Lamp. "The common thread of all those memories is the friends you were with. That’s the best part," Missy said.

What is your dream vacation?
Missy shared that The Dali Lama advised we should "once a year, go someplace you have never been before." She tries very hard to do that, and her dream is to continue.

What music do you enjoy?
The Vivaldi Seasons and The Bach Six Suites are her favorites. "Classical music has been an important element of my children’s education because it provides them with a source of emotional refuge and calm," Missy shared.

Missy would like to sit down to dinner with Thomas Jefferson. "The older I get, the more amazed I am at how his thoughts and beliefs are relevant today. How he and our other founding fathers could craft this nation into such an enduring philosophy and foundation constantly amazes me. Our University is still great because of his wisdom. Remember some of his words about vastly different intellectual branches? First, here is a quote about the importance of education, 'These important truths – that knowledge is power, that knowledge is safety, that knowledge is happiness.' Consider the scientific vision he paints for The University in a letter to Adams, 'where every branch of science useful at this day may be taught in its highest degree.' In a 1785 letter to James Madison, he writes about our environment, 'The earth is given as a common stock for man to labour and live on.' [And] here is my favorite: 'For here we are not afraid to follow the truth, wherever it may lead, or to tolerate error, so long as reason is left to combat it.'"