Seventy Years Out: Class of 1932 Celebrates Reunions
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John Brink (left) attended his last five reunions and came back for his 70th to “keep the
record going and to see the old gang.” Brink said that times were tough when he was at HBS
and that half the class didn't have jobs upon graduation: “We experienced the full
whack of the Depression,” he observed. One of the “lucky ones,” Brink worked for
the telephone company before he set up his own one-man shop — Utilities Audit Bureau
— as a consultant on telephone services and systems. “In 49 years,” Brink
proudly declared, “I never spent a nickel on advertising.”
Most of Morris (“Tod”) Slonim's career was with the Air Force, in and out of
uniform. His active duty in World War II took him to New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan,
and he later served in Korea. A statistics major, in 1960 he published Sampling in a Nutshell,
a book still on the shelves of Baker Library today. Slonim (right) took up running at the age
of 65 and a decade later set the U.S. record for the 5K event in his age group.
“You've got to remember,” noted the 93-year-old, who no longer runs due to a
detached retina, “the competition in my age category was weak.”
Classmate William Sweet (center) began his career at the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
“I turned down a $19-a-week job with Macy's because I needed $21,” he recalled.
A Seattle native, Sweet's philosophy about success involves luck, being in the right place
at the right time, and collaboration. In 1942, the Army sent Sweet to Brazil, where he still
lives and works. He has three pieces of advice for those who want to avoid spending their life
in a foreign country: “Don't stay for more than five years, don't marry a local
girl, and don't buy any land.” Having done all three, he now makes his home in Rio de
Janeiro, where he has invited his classmates from 1932 to celebrate their 75th Reunion.
Reunion Roundup
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Marilynn Davis (MBA '82)
Dan Geffken (MBA '87)
Seventy Years Out: Class of 1932 Celebrates Reunion
Shoshanah Cohen MBA '92)
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