Robert Koch:
CLASS OF 1965
Congressional School of VirginiaClass of 1965
Falls church, VA
Robert's Story
Hi Everyone: First of all I find it hard to believe that I have not connected with any of you from the Congressional School days until now. I hope this service will facilitate all of us to communicate with each other about our lives.
Remember the scene in the Big Chill where the character played by Glen Close is addressing the group after dinner and she says something to the effect of, "When I was with you people I was at my best,"? Well that is how I feel about the years at Congressional and the personal relationships that we all had. It was a great place for me at the time and I hope you feel the same way.
The last year in particular, from Steve Linder introducing us to the concept of the Discotheque from Europe and his efforts to put on the first dance at the school, to Caroline Taylor and her meeting the Beatles, to Sally Mattern transferring to Congressional in her Junior and becoming Homecoming Queen in 1965. These are only a few items that I am putting here because I am still trying to figure out how use that section of this site.
So here is my story: Graduated from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, in 1969 with a BA in Sociology and a Minor in Human Relations (yes, the original "Sun Tan U."). Law Degree from The College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1972. Admitted to Virginia Bar in 1972. First job with the Office of General Counsel at GEICO from Oct. 1972 to Sept. 1973. Then became an Assistant Congressional Liaison Officer in the US Postal Service for the Southern, then Western Regions from 1973 to 1975. Met my wife Brenda there who was an Assistant CLO for the Eastern Region and we decided one of us should since we wanted to get married. Married April 12, 1975. Worked for the National Limestone Institute, Inc. in Washington, DC. which was a trade association for limestone producers who were interested in highway programs and agricultural legislation. This and my USPS positions were great jobs because of all the time spent on the hill. However, to raise a family, Brenda and I decided to move to Concord, NH. We scoped out all of VT and NH and found the economy in NH was and is very business oriented. The plan was that I would take the NH Bar in the sum...Expand for more
mer of 1978, and she would transfer from DC to the field with the US Postal Service. That was easier said than done. So I passed the NH Bar and was eligible to practice in Oct. 1978, after being sworn in. First job was as a prosecutor with the Merrimack County Attorney's Office and that was a bit of a challenge. I had no criminal trial experience, so to fairly represent the people of the State of New Hampshire, I spent many late nights and weekends at work. Daughter Sarah was born in Concord in 1979. I then teamed up with another attorney to run a commercial practice in 1981, and started my own practice in 1983. I decided to stay a solo practitioner and eventually specialized in Bankruptcy Law and Financial matters. Daughter Lindsey was born in Concord in 1982. I closed my practice in Nov. 2006. That is when I retired. I don't like the sound of that word.
Sarah has two Phds in mathematics and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Lindsey got her JD and was admitted to practice in New Hampshire but chose a different career path with her degree and relocated to San Francisco where she is employed by a legal head hunting firm to place the right legal professionals with the right firms.
But the best job I ever had was working as a whitewater guide for Crabapple Whitewater, Inc. on a part time basis. I first went rafting in 1989 with some neighbors and loved it. We did the Kennebec River in Maine and then the Dead River, the West River in Vermont and the Deerfield River in Massachusetts. After these experiences I decided that I wanted to be a guide, so in 1991, I took the one week guide course on the Kennebec River at The Forks in Maine, and then the guide oral and written exam in the State of Maine, and became a certified whitewater guide. Up until 1996, I would guide part-time on weekends on the above rivers. Brenda was able and willing to take care of the girls while I went off to the various locations to guide. Then came College issues, and I had to stop. I am posting this on March 21, 2014. I wrote an email to Beth Barsky asking her to tell us about her "ride" as she put it, and I hope she does. I also hope to read about everyone else. Bye....
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