Officers of the Club

The business, property, and affairs of the club are managed and controlled by the Board of Directors. The current members of the board are:

Mr. Mark Lee, '99, TTP, President (bio)
Mr. David Gunter '77, X-C, Vice President - Membership (bio)
Mr. Arup Guha, '97, VI & XVIII, Vice President - Programs (bio)
Mr. David Benouaich, '00, I, Treasurer (bio)
Mr. Ray Cannon, '87, XVI, Secretary
Dr. Andrew Lazarewicz '72, XII, Newsletter Editor (bio)
Mr. Jose L. Valle '78, VI, Webmaster
Ms. Kristina Larson, '03, XV, Past Treasurer
Mr. Peter G. Hand '48, VI, Educational Council Representative (bio)
Dr. Lionel S. Goldring '50, V, Ex Officio    (bio)
Mr. Jeff Mitchell '76, VI, Past President (bio)
Mr. James W. Adams '78, II, Past President (bio)
Mr. H. Joel Strickland '67, XVI, Past President
Dr. Andrew Braunstein '80, VII
Mr. Richard Fox, '68, VIII (bio)
Mr. Oskar W. Kaalstad '52, XV (bio)
Mr. James R. Warring '71, XI
Mr. Maurice R. (Bud) Yeager '52, XVI, Past Treasurer (bio)
Mr. Thomas L. Springall '57, XVIII, Past Secretary and Past Webmaster (bio)

Board meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month at the Orange County Southeast Library. Members and alumni/ae are welcome to attend. If you are interested in attending a meeting or joining the board, contact the President.

Purpose of the Club

"To enhance members' ability to interact, to get to know each other, to build on their common interest in MIT" - Charter President Dr. Lionel Goldring

From the club bylaws, purposes for which the club is organized:

Nature

The MIT Club of Central Florida is a nonprofit, educational organization, and no parts of its funds or property shall be used, expended, or conveyed for the personal or individual benefit of any member, nor shall any member have any right, title, claim, or interest to any such funds or property by virtue of his or her membership.

Club Foundation

According to the records of the MIT Alumni Association, the MIT Club of Orlando (the Club changed its name to the MIT Club of Central Florida in 2003) was founded in 1959. However, we have no records from this earlier club and have no idea how long it was in existence. The current incarnation of the club began on November 14, 1994.

The territorial limits of this club are coincidental with the ZIP Codes 327, 328, and 329 as defined by the Association of Alumni and Alumnae of MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and may be adjusted from time to time by said Association. Some current and past members of the MIT Club of Central Florida live in Gainesville and the Tampa areas which are outside of these ZIP Codes. At the present time there are no active clubs in those areas. Lists of alumni/ae in those areas have been obtained with the intention of generating enough interest through our club members there that eventually clubs in those areas will become active.

Charter Board of Directors

Mr. James W. Adams '78, II
Dr. Andrew Braunstein '80, VII
Dr. Shelly Fleet '69, XVIII
Dr. Lionel S. Goldring '50, V
Mr. Peter G. Hand '48, VI
Mr. James A. Hooper '50, II
Mr. Chu-Tzu (C.T.) Hsu '76, IV
Mr. H. Joel Strickland '67, XVI
Mr. Claude D. Tapley '50, XIV
Ms. Arlene Taylor '83, XV
Mr. James R. Warring '71, XI

Biographies of Our Officers

Lionel Goldring

"I am retired research scientist/engineer who has worked in a wide range of activites for well over 50 years in recent years mostly in materials science (polymers & metals) and chemical instrumentation for laboratory and clinical analysis. I garden, cook, bake bread, bird-watch, bicycle, photograph and travel. With Anne we've been in England, Turkey and Italy within the last two years. We summer on Cape Cod where we have a small place betwixt lakes.
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Jim Adams

"I have worked for Lockheed Martin for over 20 years in Product Support engineering. I have been involved in Field Support of the Pershing Missile system in Germany, advanced systems marketing support, field reliability, maintainability, and am now mostly involved with system safety and MANPRINT for the Apache night vision and targeting system. My wife and I are busy keeping up with our 4 children's activities as well as taking more time for ourselves with swing and square dancing."
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Jeff Mitchell

"Jeff works for the Boeing Co. at Kennedy Space Center, FL where he tests the payloads that launch on the Shuttle. He is also an Associate Professor with the Florida Institute of Technology where he teaches Space Power Systems and occasionally Rocket Propulsion. He enjoys pointing out to people at Science Fiction Conventions that he is a Rocket Scientist from MIT. At Conventions, schools, and civic group meetings he presents a slide show on the Space Station, which he has been testing for 3 years. He also writes science articles for McGraw Hill and his wife, Beth, edits them. They both enjoy travel, England in particular because they are involved with the SCA, Inc., an non-profit international group that recreates the middle ages."
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Bud Yeager

"Phyllis and Bud Yeager have lived in Orlando 44 years. They started with Martin in 1954 in Baltimore. Bud is an Aero that spent most of his career in Program Management and New Business. He worked at Litton Laser for a period of time. He and Phyllis now travel a great deal and Bud consults when not traveling."
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Tom Springall

"Tom retired after 30 years with IBM in various planning and management positions. Tom is currently the president of the SeniorNet Learning Center of Central Florida. SeniorNet teaches computer skills to seniors. As might be expected, Tom's primary hobby is computers, but he and his wife, Roberta, enjoy cruising, traveling and visiting Mickey Mouse."
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Peter Hand

"Regional Chairman of the Central Florida Educational Council for the past 33 years. Recipient of the MIT Alumni Association Bronze Beaver Award. Retired from Martin - Marietta after 38 years. Worked mostly on autopilot design, guidance and control, and inertial guidance on various missile programs including : Oriole, Bullpup, Lacross, Pershing l and ll and Sprint."
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Richard Q. Fox

Richard Fox is President and co-founder of the Central Florida Innovation Corporation (CFIC). CFIC is a public/private not-for-profit corporation, whose mission is to strengthen the economic base of Central Florida by creating and building high-growth high-wage companies that generate high-paying jobs. Richard has extensive experience in the management of all aspects of medical, computer, and automation companies; and is also experienced in the financing of small companies. He holds 16 patents for process control computers and for medical devices. In 2000, Richard was recognized as one of the "100 Most Influential People in Central Florida" by the Orlando Business Journal.
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David Gunter

David Gunter, a lawyer with Dean Mead in Orlando is a Florida native and a 1977 graduate, S.B.course X-C. He was a member of Chi Phi and a member of the lightweight crew team. After a short employment stint as an environmental engineer, he moved across the Charles to Boston U. to study law. He practiced law for 21 years and recently joined the law firm, Dean Mead, in its Melbourne/Viera office. Alumni activities include 15 years as a member of the Educational Council (in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne) and as a former President of the MIT Club of Palm Beach. His interests include scenic and wildlife photography, and music.
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Oskar Kaalstad

"Retired president of a Swiss International metallurgical company. Founded MIT Club of Switzerland in 1974, and was subsequent president of Club for two terms. Met wife, Helen, while at MIT, have two children, who are tri-lingual, and four grandchildren who are monolingual."
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Andrew Lazarewicz

Andy Lazarewicz lived at Theta Xi fraternity and graduated with a BS in Earth and Planetary Science. He moved to Hawaii, were he earned his MS. in Astronomy in '74, and Ph.D. in Geophysics in '79. In 1975, in Hawaii, he began work as an Educational Counselor for MIT. Having given up mountaineering from his New England days, he became an avid sailor during this time -- a passion that received constant interference from his studies. After finishing his doctorate, he moved back to Boston, where he lived until this last October, when he moved to Melbourne, Florida. In the Boston area, he worked for private companies, as a Federal Civil Servant, as an academic, ran his own business, and raised a family. Most of his work was related to geophysics, but had strong entries into Astronomy, Physics and Information Technology. While in New England, he returned to mountaineering and climbing, and led trips for the Boy Scouts and the YMCA. With all of this now behind him, he began working for ENSCO, Inc. in Melbourne, FL working on seismic detection for compliance with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and developing new business. Wondering what do to with the mountaineering gear, again, he is turning to sailing and other ocean activities in Florida. Now settling in as a Florida resident, he is working to get involved in the Educational Council in this area, and in the MIT Club of Central Florida.
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Mark Lee

Mark has worked for IBM, BCG, and other TLA organizations. Of course, his favorite TLA is MIT. With his decade-long experience in technology and strategy consulting in the US, Latin America, and Asia, he has decided that his talents are best spent raising his daughter. After 2 years of being a Mr. Mum (another TLA), he embarked upon a digital golf services startup, albeit in the most trying of times. His MIT experience has taught him that nothing is impossible, if you focus your passion, energy and mind. In April 2003, he was selected to make a pitch to venture capitalists at a Harvard Business School business plan competition.
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