Class News

Today's Featured Biography

 
Keith Hensley

March 2020 Update:

It’s amazing how much has changed since my last update! I did indeed retire from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Higher Ed System on my 60th birthday in 2012. People at the college asked why I was retiring on a Thursday and I told them it was my birthday present to myself. I got a big bonus for giving a 12-month notice so they would have time to replace me before I retired. Long story short, they didn’t fill my position until 3 months after I retired. Not because the process is that long, if you get my drift.

The day after I retired, the Commonwealth hired me as a consultant to be part of the team launching the development and launch of the statewide casino gaming initiative, and to serve as the lead for casino industry training and certification. It was interesting work that lasted about 9 months.

My wife and I purchased a condo in Florida with the intention of “snowbirding” during the winter. It was somewhat challenging at first reading and adhering to their 91 pages of rules. After Being snowbirds for two years, we came to our senses when we considered the duplicative costs of maintaining two residences. Our house up north was a 112-year-old Craftsman Home, so we had the asbestos on the pipes and heater boiler removed, replaced the boiler and furnace, and had the outside cedar shakes restained and the trim repainted. Of course we found a small roof leak in our 8 year old roof so we had to have 1/4 of the roof reshingled. Then we discovered that all of the “knob and tube” wiring had to be replaced so we had that done. The house was great for us to live in beforehand, but not to sell.

When all was said and done, the renovations were done in 2 months. We got a 100% refund on the asbestos removal and a 75% rebate in the new furnace thanks to state rebates. We interviewed realtors and chose the best one and had him increase the asking price he suggested by 20%. The house sold the first day on the market, 5% over our asking price. I guess timing is everything!

After our first year with the condo, our board asked me to assume the last seven months of a vacant position. Fast forward four years, and I just completed my fourth year as President of the condo association. Little did I know five years ago that it would be me who had to enforce the 91 pages of rules! I guess God does have a sense of humor.

So our daughter divorced her husband while she was working on her masters in London. She couldn’t get divorced in London because she hadn’t lived there a year. She couldn’t get one in the US because she hadn’t lived here during the past six months. The solution? Costa Rica! She had a US attorney meet her there and it was done in an hour. Crazy, right?

A couple of years later while living in Manhatten, she met a terrific young man from Spain who is an international architect. They got married in a palace in Toledo, Spain, this past May. My wife and I decided to make an adventure of it, starting in Prague, then Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Zurich, Lyon, Madrid, and ended in Toledo for the wedding. After a one-month honeymoon in Thailand and Bali, my daughter and her new husband returned to NYC and later decided to relocate to Miami Beach. It’s great having them close enough that we see each other every month.

Well, I think that’s enough to catch up on the last almost 9 years. Suffice it to say, we’re enjoying the good life in Florida where every day is another day in paradise. Hope everyone is well!

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September 2011 Update:

Some big news! I will be retiring on my birthday next year, Aptil 12, 2012. After working since I was 14 years old, I think I've earned it. Now if I can figure out what I will do with myself when I won't have to be getting up early and driving over an hour to work each day like I've done for so many years. I could have stayed another 5 years until I turned 65, but I figure it's better to add another 5 years of enjoyment to retirement instead of sticking around for a little more money in the retirement check each month.

I was recently honored by having been re-elected as Chair of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) in Washington DC during my last year of employment. Providing leadership to this great organization, in addition to my "day job" in Massachusetts has been extremely personally rewarding for the past year.

My daughter has left her job in China and is beginning her Masters program in London in two weeks. She was fortunate to have been selected as one of 12 in her major (shoe design and construction) each year. After working as a shoe designer for Kenneth Cole, Carlos Santana, Jennifer Lopez and the like for the past 6 years, this program will give her the opportunity to work with some very high end designers who recruit graduates from the program she is enrolled into.

Of course my wife, who retired herself several years ago when she simply got tired of working, has us working on yet another home improvement project. We have gutted and are remodeling our bathroom. I think that this is the last big project on our 111 year-old Arts & Crafts home.

So that's about it for here up North for now as we get ready to brace another winter. My prayers and sympathies go out to all of our fallen classmates and their families and friends.

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February 2011 Update:

The elected position of Chair of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (Washington DC) has become a very rewarding experience. This month, we are launching my nationwide Pathways Initiative through NAWDP that will develop and career ladder and lattice model for the tens of thousands of workforce professionals in the country. It will take months to produce, so we are "chunking" the project by starting with one industry sector--One Stop Career Centers--and then rolling the process out to 17 other industry sectors.

The result will be a "map" that high school guidance counselors/students and individuals looking for a career change can use to consider careers in our profession, and that workers currently in our profession can use to plan career advancement. While most in our profession have entered our profession by accident, I have made it my goal to change this through this initiative, appropriately named "Here By Choice, Not By Chance."

Also, a great update on my father: After chemo and radiation, his cancer appears to have gone. He is now able to eat again and is in great spirits.

August 2010 Update:

Sorry I was not able to make the reunion. It looks like a fun time was had by all! Just thought I would take a few minutes and update my profile. A lot has happened over the past year and a half.

My mother passed away suddenly a year ago May. A little later, my father was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was unable to have surgery due to heart issues, so he opted for Chemo and radiation...and it seems to have worked! He is still living at home in Houston with home care 7 days a week.

Our daughter, who is married and living/working in China as a shoe designer for Franco Sarto, Etienne Aigner and Carlos Santana, just turned 30 this month. She came for a 2 week visit recently and will be back for another visit in December. It was great seeing her. And thank goodness for Skype.

My wife and I had a very relaxing 18 day vacation in January in Playa del Carmen, MX. I highly recommend Playa as a calm alternative to Cancun. Prices are good, people are great, and the sun was wonderful (especially for us New Englanders!). We will be going to the Carribean this December for 10 days, to Panama, Columbia, and other places I can't recall right now, probably because it still seems too far away.

In August 2010, I was elected as Chair of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals out of Washington DC. NAWDP is a 4000-member association of professionals who work in the workforce system.

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Thanks to all involved for this great website! Having moved away in 1973, I am very pleased to be able to look at our past and also to see what has happened with our graduating classmates since 1970. Here's a little about what I have been up to since graduation:

I enrolled into San Jacinto Jr. College immediately after high school, where I began with a major in Theology. In my third semester, I auditioned for and received a full scholarship in Italian Opera (voice) and a minor in Classical Piano.

I relocated from Houston in 1973 when I joined the US Army. While stationed at Ft. Devens, MA, I met my wife Carmen (from Quebec Canada) in 1974 and married in 1975. One week before completing my Army tour, I was accepted at Harvard University for my undergraduate degree, but my wife and I chose instead to follow through with our plans to relocate to Orlando, Florida. We did so in 1976 and returned to Massachusetts in 1978 where we have lived since.

We purchased a circa 1900 8-room Arts & Crafts/Mission home in 1984. After visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's studio and other homes he built in Oak Park, IL, several years ago, we were bitten by the bug and have restored our home to its original condition in the style of Wright and William Morris. Since our daughter is now grown, married, and has left the house, we share their home with Bonnie, our cocky female West Highland White Terrier. Actually, Bonnie has the run of the house and we believe she has been kind enough to let us stay there!

I ran for and was elected to two terms on the 3-person Board of Selectmen in the town in which we reside. I served as Chairman of the Board for three years. The Board of Selectmen in towns less than 12,000 residents in Massachusetts are the equivalent of the Mayor.

I earned a BS with a dual major in Business Management and Marketing, suma cum laude, and MS in Organizational Development, magna cum laude. I have worked in workforce and economic development positions for the past 30 years. I am currently Dean of Workforce and Economic Development at Holyoke Community College. My department annually enrolls over 6000 individuals and companies in customized training.

I currently serve on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, and on the Board of Directors for the National Council for Workforce Education. I am also a Certified Workforce Development Professional and national presenter on workforce and economic issues.

In my "spare time", I have had the lead in several theater dramatic and musical productions including Damn Yankees and Our Town. The reviews of Our Town acclaimed that I was the only actor who had a true New England accent that the production called for. Ironically, I was the only one in the production who was not from New England!

My wife Carmen is a retired computer consultant whose "temp" assignments somehow always seemed to last longer than a year and resulted in permanent job offers, which she always turned down...after years of working in the past as a permanent employee, she came to realize that she was a job gypsy, more comfortable moving from job to job as a temp, meeting new people and doing new things.

Her early retirement actually worked out well for us. We love to travel and do so extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America. Now we only have to juggle one work schedule in order to get away.

Our daughter Stephanie received her degree in Fashion Design from the Massachusetts College of Art and after teaching English in China for a year, married a fellow student from her college in Boston. Stephanie is now a shoe designer in Manhatten, NY, and as a result of her learning Mandarin Chinese while teaching in China, makes several trips a year to their factory in China.

I am a self-proclaimed workaholic and look forward to retiring in 5-10 years, but I must admit that I likely will never stop working.

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