Dear Friends:
My wife, June, and I are living in Jacksonville, Florida, where I am currently serving as President of the Florida Jacksonville Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which includes all of north Florida and south Georgia. We are thoroughly enjoying the great people of the South, the beautiful area, and the delicious winter weather! Oh, and we have become Gator fans too!
Our 18 year old daughter, Kate, lives with us and attends the local community college. Our two oldest daughters, Leah and Melanie, are living and working in San Diego, California. Our oldest son, Grant, is a student in the Marriott School of Business at BYU in Provo, Utah, after serving two years in the Russia Novosibirsk (Siberia) Mission of the Church; and, our youngest son, Mark, passed up many scholarship offers following his selection as a first team all state (California) defensive back (football) to complete a full-time mission for the Church in the Massachusetts Boston Mission where he is now serving.
Prior to our call to serve here in Florida in June of 2007, I was in the real estate development business in the central valley of California. After practicing law for 20 years, I spent the last 10 years developing and selling residential, commercial and industrial land to commercial builders. Though due to recent economic events it now sounds like I am describing an extinct mammal when I talk about developing real estate, there were many years during which real estate development was second only to agriculture as an economic engine in central California. May those good old days return in time for our return to the Golden State in 2010!
I join with all of you in fondly remembering those class members who have passed. How fortunate we all are for the lives we lead, the families we love, and the friends we cherish. I do hope to see you all again one of these days soon. These reunions always flood my heart with many tender memories. Those memories are of you, my wonderful classmates of the Class of '69! Russ (Mike) Newman |
