Class Notes We’d like to know where your life has taken you since graduation. Use the Class Notes section to tell us where you’re working, about marriages, children and successes you’ve had. Promotions, moves and what your WT education has helped you to accomplish are great things to share. Leave your own class notes in the comments section. Class notes are printed in the West Texan Alumni Magazine. Fall 2012 Skip to Spring 2012 Class Notes
2009/2010 Class Notes (PDF) In memoriam Warren Hasse, longtime voice of the Buffs, died Feb. 19. He broadcast Buff football and basketball games from 1953-1985 and was inducted into the Panhandle Sport Hall of Fame in 1981 and the WTAMU Hall of Champions in 1993. Jesse Powell ’70, died June 14 in Lubbock. He was a Buff defensive line/linebacker from 1966-68 and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the ninth round of the 1969 draft. He played five seasons in the NFL and was a two-time Super Bowl champ. He was inducted into the West Texas Hall of Champions in 1988. Dennis Walling, former WT men’s basketball player and head coach, died Aug. 19 at the age of 80. He played Buff basketball from 1949-1953 and served as the Buff’s head coach for six years beginning in 1967. He was inducted into the WTAMU Hall of Champions in 2009. Lloyd Watkins, former WTAMU president, passed away March 1 in Bloomington, Ill. He served as president at WT from 1972-1977. He was named president of Illinois State University in 1977 and retired from the position in 1988. He continued as a professor in ISU’s communication department and permanently retired in 1991. Mike Zoffuto ’69, died Feb. 26 in Amarillo. He played Buff football 1966-67 and was a former WT coach. He gained national fame for his broadcast of the 1994 Plano East-Tyler John Tyler playoff game when a late touchdown return prompted him to say on air “God bless those kids. I’m sick. I think I’m gonna throw up.” Classnotes Red Steagall ’60, is the recipient of the Boss of the Plains Award for his support of the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. Steagall, a western recording artist, entertainer and the 2006 Texas Poet Laureate, was presented the award June 1 at a special dinner and gala in the Red McCombs Main Gallery at the National Ranching Heritage Center. His support of the western way of life also has earned Steagall inductions into the Texas Trail of Fame in Fort Worth and the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Congratulations to David Sims ’65 and his wife Suzy, who just celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary in June. Sims played football at WT under Joe Kerbel and after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in geology, he worked for Texaco and Schlumberger. The family eventually transferred overseas with Schlumberger and spent 24 years living in Venezuela, Angola, Trinidad, France, Iran, Argentina, Dubai, England and Indonesia. They are now retired and living in Helotes. They have two daughters and seven grandchildren. Jack Woodville London ’69, took part in the Writers on Deck library tour this summer to encourage active duty personnel to read and discover literature. The one-of-a-kind tour was designed for active duty military members and their families stationed in Italy and Spain. London traveled to Signella, Italy, Naples, Italy and Rota, Spain. London, author of the French Letter series, Virginia’s War and Engaged in War, is a trial attorney, award-winning author and World War II historian. Andy Cole ’76, received the American Society of Animal Sciences Award in Ruminant Nutrition Research during the organization’s annual meeting in Phoenix in July. Doug McDonough ’76, has been named editor of the Plainview Herald and started his new duties in May. He has a long history with the paper, joining the staff in 1976 as a farm editor and feature writer. He was named news editor in 1983 and promoted to managing editor in 2006. Shott Miller ’76, and his associate, Linda Young ’85, have been named for the third consecutive year to Barron’s Top 1000 Financial Advisers in the United States. Barron’s magazine publishes the list each year to recognize top financial advisers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The 2012 list ranks Miller and Young at number 32 in the state of Texas. They are with Merrill Lynch in Fort Worth. Bobby Kleinecke ’78, was inducted into the Texas Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December. He played at WT and won five Missouri Valley Conference titles. He was inducted into the WTAMU Hall of Champions in 2008. He spent 26 years as women’s tennis coach at Texas A&M University and now coaches at Willis High School. Cody Myers ’79, is the recipient of the 2012 Lifetime Administrator Achievement Award of Outstanding Commitment to Music Education presented to him at the Texas Bandmasters Association’s annual convention in July. He has been director of fine arts at Amarillo Independent School District for 15 years and has taught band in Tulia, Dimmitt, Dumas and Midland. David Willis ’79, was featured in the inaugural issue of Who’s Who in Black Dallas, a publication showcasing accomplishments of African Americans in the Dallas area. Willis is the chief executive officer of Renaissance Enterprises, Inc., where he has been involved with more than $350 million in new real estate construction projects. He also will chair the 2012 Africa American Student Reunion at WTAMU. Cynthia Gregory ’80, retired in May from the Plainview Independent School District (PISD) after a 30-year career in teaching—28 of those years were spent in PISD. She plans to read, travel and spend tie with her two schnauzers. Gregg Bynum ’81, received the 2012 Alumnus of the Year Leadership Award during the July graduation ceremony of the Southwest CUNA Management School (SCMS) in Fort Worth. He is president and CEO of the Education Credit Union in Amarillo and has been elected twice tot he SCMS alumni board and serves on the Texas Credit Union League’s governmental affairs committee. Bynum also serves on the WTAMU Foundation and on the board of directors of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Tony LoPresti ’82, is the author of the children’s book My Cat, published by 4RV Publishing. The book shares a young girl’s journey with her feline companion. LoPresti is an award-winning screenwriter, who has worked in theatre and independent film production. He and his family live in Oklahoma City. Randy Ray ’84, is the author of Thank the Lord for Leroy: A Humorous Look at Life, Love, Friendship and Faith, published in January by CrossBooks. Ray uses humor to share his life experiences from life on the road to raising children. The former recording artist is now director of broadcast engineering at WTAMU. Jon Drake ’86, was promoted in December to senior executive vice president of Peoples Bank. He joined Peoples Bank in 2006 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Drake continues to serve as CFO with the promotion. Nick Scales ’89, was an invited performer at the Orfeo Music Festival July 6-23 in northern Italy. He taught a masterclass in double bass and performed in two chamber music concerts and two orchestra concerts. The Orfeo Music Festival offers a full program of international classical performers along with a full roster of classes taught by artists in residence and guest artists. Students get the opportunity to study and learn from some of the finest musicians in the world. Betsy Baughman ’91, has been named the head coach for girl’s basketball at Tascosa High School in Amarillo. She played at WT under Bob Schneider and has served as head coach in Amarillo, Happy, Merkel, Crawford, Seagraves and Mineral Wells. Chad Fitzgerald ’91, was a contestant on season two of TLC’s Next Great Baker. The Dallas-area baker made it to the final four of the show and is now back home, where he is co-owner of The Cake Guys and a high school math teacher in Duncanville. Lynn Mock ’91, is the recipient of a prestigious Teaching Excellence Award at Midland College. Mock, an associate professor of nursing, was nominated and selected for the award by her colleagues. Gregory Arp ’92, has been named Secondary Teacher of the Year for 2012 by the Plano Independent School District. Arp is the performing arts director at Plano Senior High School. Paul Phillips ’92, has been named president of Maxi-Lift, Inc., an international manufacturer and marketer of plastic elevator buckets and accessories. He serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and last year was the recipient of the AFIA Member of the Year award. Mark Kammlah ’94, is the new principal at Williams Elementary School in the Arlington Independent School District. He has been the assistant principal at the district’s Goodman Elementary School since 2002 and has taught at Williams Elementary and at Bishop Elementary in Everman. Amy Lanham-Reid ’95, has been named the new executive director Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Baltimore County in Maryland. She joins CASA from World Vision U.S. Programs, where she served as the community engagement specialist and program manager. Kevin N. Word ’95, is the new principal for Parkway Elementary School in the Lubbock Independent School District. He began his career in the Amarillo Independent School District in 1996, where he served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. Natalie Essary ’97, is the author of Helluva Luxe, set for release Sept. 1 by Lethe Press. She is a freelance editor and writer and contributor to Therapy Sucks and Love is a Many Splintered Thing, available as ebooks through Amazon.com. Ryan Hazelwood ’99, has joined the team at Amarillo’s ABC affiliate KVII as news director. He previously worked as a broadcast engineer and instructor at WTAMU. Hazelwood also owns his own production company. Matt Muir ’99, is the writer and director of Thank You a Lot, an original feature film about the Austin music scene. The film, produced by Chris Ohlson and starring Blake DeLong and James Hand, tells the story about a music agent and his reclusive, legendary father. Mark Kellogg ’00, is the new head coach for women’s basketball at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. He joined the Bearcat family after seven season as head coach at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. Marcus Brockman ’01, was promoted to senior vice president at Peoples Bank in Nazareth. He joined Peoples Bank in April 2005 and has served as branch manager and loan officer. Nathan Fambro ’01, and Dynamo Innovations Group, Inc., business partner Brent Boswell have developed the Stabil-i Case, a pocket-sized video stabilization phone case. The duo’s invention is backed by years of experience in the film and television industry. Andrea Stevens Keller ’03, was named the 2011-2012 Teacher of the Year by the Texas Computer Education Association and recognized as one of the “20 to Watch in 2012” by the National School Board Association at the Consortium for School Networking Annual Conference March 6 in Washington, D.C. The “20 to Watch in 2012” individuals represent emerging leaders in education technology and enrich the lives of students, teachers and school districts. Keller is a LIFE K-5 special education teacher at Elliott Elementary School in the Irving Independent School District. Johnathan Leonhart ’04, has joined NCW Insurance in Amarillo as a risk consultant. He will work with corporate professionals and business owners on their commercial insurance needs. Lee K. Howard ’05, is a weekend sports anchor at WKYT 27 in Lexington, Ky. Clay Beardemphl ’06, has been promoted to banking officer in the operations department at Peoples Bank. He is now responsible for the automatic clearing house and wire transfers activities and serves as the coordinator of the ban’s business continuity planning. He joined Peoples Bank in 2006. Jack ’06 and Helene ’02, ’08, Hayward were presented the WT Foundation’s prestigious Pinnacle Award during the Old Main Society’s formal induction ceremony in June. The Haywards were recognized for their support of the University. In 2008 the Haywards gifted the University with the Hayward Spirit Tower, the clock tower that now marks the north entrance to WTAMU’s Pedestrian Mall. Michelle Resendez-Mata ’06, is a certified Professional in Human Resources, a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and serves as a board member for the San Antonio Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). She met with Rep. Francisco Canseco and several legislative aides last fall on Capitol Hill to discuss workplace training and development-related issues on behalf of ASTD. Pamela Garrett ’08, was named the Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Amarillo Independent School District during the district’s Lamar Lively Teacher of the Year breakfast in May. She is a prekindegarten teacher at South Georgia Elementary. Spring 2012 West Texas A&M University inducted six members into the coveted WT Athletic Hall of Champions during Homecoming festivities in October. The new inductees are: • Beau Brown ’96—men’s soccer; • Nay Hale ’23—men’s basketball • Ed Harris—administration • Mickey Matthews ’76—football • Jim Reid ’68—men’s basketball • Bob Schneider—women’s basketball coach Mila Gibson ’66 has been appointed to the Texas Commission on the Arts by Gov. Rick Perry. Her term on the commission will expire in August 2015. Gibson is founder and former director of Amarillo Opera and a retired music professor at Amarillo College. She now resides in Sweetwater. Sandra Chaney McMillen ’67, has been re-elected to a second three-year term as international second vice president/collegiate adviser of Mu Phi Epsilon Professional Music Fraternity at the 2011 International Convention in August in Rochester, N.Y. She works with collegiate chapters worldwide and supervises all fraternity district directors. She previously served as district director for the North Texas District and is active in the Dallas alumni chapter. She and her husband Philip ’66, reside in Duncanville. Dr. Michael L. Evans ’74, takes over in January as the new dean for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Lubbock. He will come to Lubbock from the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes Jewish College in St. Louis, where he has served as professor and chief executive officer since 2006. Doug McDonough ’76 was named Journalist of the Year by the West Texas Press Association in July. The honor follows on the heels of his induction into the Panhandle Press Hall of Fame in April. He has spent more than 40 years in the newspaper business and currently serves as managing editor for the Plainview Daily Herald. Dr. Daniel Barnard ’80, has returned to Texas after 20 years to take a job as director of the Arts Center at the University of Texas—Brownsville. Butch Henderson ’83, has been named the new head football coach at Wayland Baptist University. Football is returning to the university’s athletic program after more than 70 years, and Henderson will coach the first team during the 2012 season. Dr. Michael Gilbert ’86, was recognized as a Texas Tech Distinguished Alumni Nov. 4, marking his third honor from the University. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2004 and as a Texas Tech Outstanding Agriculturalist in 2005. He is president and general manager of Bayer Cotton Seed International. Raymond Root ’87, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for his dedication, leadership and excellence in mental health care. Root, who lost both legs below the knee to peripheral artery disease, specializes in rehabilitation counseling for injured Iraq war veterans and speaks on rehabilitation at various medical centers. Joe Wyatt ’87, took first place in the Vile Puns category of the 2011 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. The annual event, sponsored by the English department at San Jose State University, challenges writers to compose an opening sentence to bad novel. Wyatt, communications coordinator at Amarillo College, is no stranger to the contest. He won first place in the Adventure category in 2009 and earned a dishonorable mention in the Vile Pun category in 2007. His winning entry this year read, Detective Kodiak plucked a single hair from the bearskin rug and at once understood the grisly nature of the crime: it had been a ferocious act, a real honey, the sort of thing that could polarize a community, so he padded quietly out the back to avoid a cub reporter waiting in the den. Royce Robinson ’90, is the author of a book released in October titled The Dark, Ugly Side of IT. Robinson lives in Bryan and works as an IT systems administrator for Texas A&M University. Chad Schmidt ’98, started the fall semester as the new principal at Anderson Elementary School in the Spring Independent School District. He first joined the Anderson faculty as a fourth-grade teacher before moving into an instructional specialist position. He then served as the school’s assistant principal for six years before being named principal. Kisaundra Harris ’00, a science teacher at Tascosa High School, has been selected as the 2011 Outstanding Texas High School Science Teacher of the Year by the Science Teachers Association of Texas. She has taught at Tascosa for the past 11 years. Regina Blye ’01, executive director of the Texas State Independent Living Council, was appointed in August by President Barack Obama to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board. Mercy Murguia ’01, was sworn in as Potter County commissioner for Precinct 2 on Nov. 22. She was appointed to the position by Pottter County Judge Arthur Ware to replace the late Manny Perez. Precinct 2 covers east Amarillo. Misty Hobbs ’02, ’06, placed seventh in alumni reining at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) and was named the reserve national champion in alumni horsemanship for the second consecutive year. She competed at the national level by earning at least 28 points in both classes during the regular season. Hobbs was named reserve champion in both classes at the IHSA regionals in March and at the western semi-finals. She currently serves as the regional representative for IHSA alumni. George Pacheco Jr. ’03, has been named the University Educator of the Year by the Texas Speech Communication Association. He was recognized during the association’s 2011 convention Oct. 15 in Irving. Pacheco is an assistant professor of communication at Angelo State University, where he teaches classes in public speaking, rhetoric of humor and nonverbal communication. Luke Longhofer ’04, is the recipient of the James B. Gardner Commerce Street Capital Scholarship from the SW Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. The scholarship is given to second- and third-year students who represent the educational ideals of merit and leadership. Longhofer, who was valedictorian of this year’s graduating class at the SW Graduate School of Banking, is a loan review officer for First Financial Bankshares, Inc. Steve Jackson ’05, who once played basketball for WTAMU and helped win a couple of Lone Star Conference titles, is now serving as head boys basketball coach at Tascosa High School which also happens to be his alma mater. Anthony Holmes ’07, received a military award in September for his service on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He received the award from Adm. Michael Mullin, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (I have a photo of this) Jackie Kingston ’08, has been named an evening anchor at KAMR NBC 4 in Amarillo. She joined the KAMR team in 2009 as the anchor for the station’s morning show and moved into the evening position in October. Andrew Donnelly ’11, served as a technical apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera during the summer of 2011. He was one of 73 selected from more than 700 applicants. 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