2014 is the year of the weddings of the A list.  First Ann Rotz got tied up on January 25, 2014.  Annie Gomez was scheduled to say vows in September, but August 9, 2014 was Abby Salawage's date.

 

          A remarkable feature of Abby's wedding was that attorneys out numbered people in uniform.  In addition to Janice Hawbaker and husband, Mitch, and Bill Kaminski and wife, Kathy, Abby devoted two other tables to members of the bar including, inter alia, Teri Stiltner, Kristen Hamilton, Deborah Dresser Neiderer, Teresa Yaukey, Victoria Edwards and me.  Although Rodney Grenke, Abby's husband is a member of the District of Columbia Fire Department, he wore his dress Army Uniform for the wedding.  He had his brother in full active duty Navy uniform, a best friend from Afghanistan in full Army uniform, an Army reservist and another DC fireman.   

Abby & Rodney, provided by Travis Bowers Photography

 

          Rodney completed his tour of duty recently and has reported back to work.  Abby Salawage, Esq., Dickinson School of Law, 2005, and Rodney attended middle school and high school together at James Buchanan in the Tuscarora School District.  They are now dealing with a blended family: Sarah, Jo, and Joe [two girls, one boy].  Abby made her own wedding cake.  If the picture is examined closely, a fireman is climbing a ladder to rescue a damsel.

 

                                      

          Ann Rotz, Esq., married Tom Evans, a civil engineer for Bowman's Construction of Leesburg, Virginia in January of this year.  Ann is a 1996 graduate of Waynesboro High School.  Her father, now retired, used to operate Rotz Auto Body and the Twin Kiss in Quincy.

          Ann headed to George Washington University after high school, graduating with a major in political science and economics in 2000.  She took off a year to sample life in New York City, but headed to the University of Georgia to study law in the fall of 2001.  She earned her JD from that institution in 2004.

          Ann confessed that she met Tom through an on-line service, but they dated for four years before they decided to marry.  In addition to Tom, her family consists of Madeline Marie, a golden retriever.  Ann is active in helping locate lost animals and is an active member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Waynesboro.  She actually commutes from Hagerstown.

          After law school, Ann clerked for Judge Walsh for two years and then entered private practice in Gettysburg.  She then changed her location to Hagerstown, where she worked at Meyers, Young & Grove.  Ann is taking a leap into the technological morass by opening her own virtual office on October 1, 2014.  She will continue to practice both in Franklin and Washington Counties. 

Ann & Tom

          Annie Gomez, Esq., has married Graig Shockey, a financial analysis, on August 23, 2014, at St. John's Catholic Church in Frederick, MD.  The wedding was originally scheduled to occur on September 13, 2014.  However, "In the Streets" will occur in Frederick on that date.  Because the downtown, where the reception was to occur, will be inaccessible by vehicle, block after block roped off, it was suggested that they change their plans.  Annie decided to take the plunge earlier.

          Annie met Graig when she was a freshman in Waynesboro High School.  Graig, a junior, was in her Spanish class.  As friends, he took her to the junior senior prom that year, but they didn't continue to date. 

          Annie successfully completed high school in 2000.  From there she attended Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia and received her JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2007.

          While Annie was a student, she continued to study Spanish.  She studied in Valencia, Spain for a fall semester.  During the summer of 2005, Annie taught English in Equator.  After getting her law degree, she clerked for the Honorable Thomas M. Piccione, Court of Common Pleas for Lawrence County in New Castle, PA.  She was then hired by Stephen Kulla, Esq., and Clinton Barkdoll, Esq., to join their practice in Waynesboro. 

          A paralegal at the Waynesboro law firm, Ginny Shockey, mentioned to her son, Graig that Annie was single...and Graig decided to renew their friendship.

          In 2013, Annie changed firms, associating with Jim Reed, Esq.  She recently received her license/number to practice immigration law, her area of greatest interest.  Annie's father came to the US from Cuba.

          Graig works for a subsidiary of Computer Science Corporation, making vaccines for the US Army.  The couple lives in Frederick, MD.  They plan to honeymoon in Rome later in the year. 

Evelyn Gomez, Annie, Graig, and Hector Gomez (parents of the bride)

          Just a note in passing, both Abby and Annie had to deal with the death of people close to them in the weeks before their weddings.  In the midst of celebration, there was loss.  Best wishes to our A List.