John Cuzzone ’80 of Arrington, Tennessee, has invented a watering product called the Trickle Ring. As described on his Web site, www.tricklering.com, the ring is a sturdy and simple 12-inch diameter drip irrigation ring that connects to a garden hose. It evenly saturates the soil, conserves water, and helps trees and shrubs survive droughts. It was recently featured in The American Gardener, the official magazine of the American Horticultural Society. John, a former member of UMass AFROTC, retired from the military in 2001 after flying KC-135 air refueling aircraft for 20 years in the Air Force and the New Hampshire National Guard. He has flown as a commercial airline pilot for 15 years and, along with owning Trickle Ring LLC, works as a Realtor in Franklin. He lives with his wife, Colleen, and their two children above a barn they designed and built six years ago. He writes, “Living in a barn is efficient and has worked out great for our horses and corgis. I love New England, but Williamson County, south of Nashville, is a gorgeous compromise and a lot of people and businesses are relocating here. I’d be happy to send out information on the area to anyone who is interested.” Reach him at tricklering@hotmail.com.
David Reizian ’89 of Lakeville owns Deval Products
LLC, which manufactures and distributes Simply Spray, Simply Spray
Upholstery Fabric Paint, and Stencil Spray to retailers such as Wal-Mart,
Michael’s crafts, Joann Fabrics, and A.C. Moore. He writes, “After
watching the show American Inventor last season I realize I have done
something that is extremely difficult to do, inventing a successful
patented product.” Visit simplyspray.com for
more information.
Frank Sykes ’92, whose company sells Phonies cell-phone
holders in an array of whimsical styles, including collegiate mascots,
writes, “Five national cell-phone accessory chains are hanging my clip-strip
display and the American Cancer Society offered to test market my Breast
Cancer Awareness cell phone accessory at its national summit in D.C.
this summer. Minuteman Sam made his cell-phone debut last fall.” Visit www.phonies4u.com for
more information.
Willard MacDonald ’94 ’96G who had worked for nine
years as a senior design engineer at Agilent Technologies in Santa
Rosa, left that job to start his own solar technology company, Solmetric
Corporation. His first invention, the SunEye, is a hand-held digital
tool that measures the solar potential of any location. This information
can then be used by builders, solar contractors, architects, or landscape
designers. For more information visit www.solmetric.com.
