Notes from the Class of 1978

Enterprise Bank in Lowell, Massachusetts, named Daniel Laplante (Fin) chief investment officer and director of investments. He has more than 30 years of investment management experience. He lives in Hancock, New Hampshire. 

Boulder’s Stan Garnett (Hist; Law’82), shareholder in the Denver office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, joined the board of directors of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Garnett was elevated to the board in recognition of his work as the chair of the academy’s Latin American Task Force and to further strengthen its presence and relations with the legal community in the region. Prior to rejoining his firm, Stan served as district attorney for Colorado’s 20th Judicial District for nearly 10 years. 

In 1983, at the age of 28, Doug Larson (Fin) and two of his oldest friends bought Eldorado Artesian Springs Resort, which opened in 1905 and was described by many as the “Coney Island of the West.” From scratch, they have made it the thriving business it is today. Doug is married to Kathy Larson (Bio’85) and lives in Eldorado Springs, Colorado. 

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Dave Curtin (Jour) retired this summer. After working a senior year internship at the Boulder Daily Camera, Dave jumped around various newspapers in Colorado, living in Greeley, Durango, Colorado Springs and Denver. In 2007, he came back to CU as executive communicator for campus. In retirement, Dave will transition from climbing fourteeners to lake kayaking. He told CU Boulder Today that his favorite thing about working at CU was “the people of the university community.” Read more about Dave in this issue.

As the executive vice president and head of production at Shondaland media, Sara Fischer (Advert, Engl’78) oversees and manages the production of series produced by Shondaland media. Sara was in charge of the production of Netflix’s hit show Bridgerton, which came out in 2020. She also led production of Inventing Anna, which debuted Feb. 11 on Netflix. She lives in Los Angeles.

A Good and Decent Man, a historical Christian romance by Donald E. Hall (EdD’78), was released on Amazon in August 2021. This 281-page novel follows farmer and mechanic Raleigh Curtiss as he serves in WWI and his quest to be with the woman he loves, despite her disapproving father. One reviewer said, “A Good and Decent Man has everything: love, hate, revenge, reconciliation and death plus the history of a decade that changed America forever.” He lives in Sebring, Florida.

On March 10, Colorado Law will award Herrick K. Lidstone Jr.(Law’78) the Distinguished Achievement Private Practice award. During his career, Herrick has been a shareholder at Burns Figa & Will P.C. law firm, published more than 30 articles for the Colorado Lawyer and lectured at many universities and institutes. Among his other achievements, Herrick has also served on the Colorado Bar Association’s business law section as a member of the executive council. Herrick and his wife, Mary Lynne, have five grandchildren and reside in Centennial, Colorado.

Writer Donald E. Hall (EdD’78) published a sequel to his acclaimed novel, A Good and Decent Man. More Than Rumor picks up where the first novel ends and follows the characters from 1933 to 1942 — through the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. Donald lives in Sebring, Florida.