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. Spring 2010 Class Notes
Fall 2009 Class Notes
Bill Bandy ’85, is serving as the president of the WTAMU Alumni Association for 2010. He also recently joined the staff at Kids Inc. as the vice president for development and marketing.
Stuart Boslow ’03, producer with KTVT in Dallas/Fort Worth, won a Lone Star Emmy in October as producer of a story on the investigation of travel spending among DART executives. The Lone Star Emmy awards represent television professionals in all of Texas’ 19 television markets. Boslow’s win was in the politics/government—news single story/series/feature category.
Kelsey Bratcher ’01, ’03, is the recipient of the University Excellence Rising Star Award at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She is the assistant director of risk education and alcohol and drug programs in the Office of Student Activities at UTSA. The award recognizes employees who have made significant contributions to the university community.
Marcus Brockman ’01, was promoted in December to branch manager of the Nazareth Banking Facility of Peoples Bank. He joined the bank in April 2005 as an assistant vice president and was promoted to vice president in 2006.
Jermaine Cantu ’09, was named Secondary Teacher of the Year for the Amarillo Independent School District and was recognized during the annual Lamar Lively Teacher of the Year breakfast in May. Cantu is an eighth-grade teacher at Sam Houston Middle School in Amarillo.
Tyra Guill ’04, has joined the Department of Communication and Marketing at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo as its new senior designer.
Katie Hambley ’08, was recognized by Texas Business Women of Amarillo as the Young Career Woman for December 2009. She is an independent agent representing AFLAC.
Katie Kirkpatrick ’00, had an article titled “Fashion Retailers Set Trends in Email Markets” in the Dallas Morning News Email Marketing Guide 2009. Kirkpatrick is a senior copywriter and content strategist at T3.
Lynda McCarty ’79, has joined Toot’n Totum as its new director of human resources. She previously served as the director of human relations at the Harrington Cancer Center.
Steven McCraw ’79, ’81, has been named director of the Department of Safety by the Texas Public Safety Commission. He left his position as director of Texas Homeland Security for the governor’s office to take the position. He is the 12th director in the DPS’s 74-year history.
Tonya Murry ’05 and her fiancé Ty Coke are the winners of a Dancing with the Brides competition sponsored by Brides magazine. They competed in Dallas and advanced to the finals in New York City in August where the judges were Karina and Maksim from ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. More than 60,000 ballots were cast and as winners, Tonya and Ty won the $10,000 grand prize and a special trophy as well as a feature spot in an upcoming issue of Brides magazine.
David Prescott, ’95, was recognized as one of Amarillo’s Top 20 under 40 by the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce at a special awards banquet Nov. 19. The awards are designed to recognized rising stars among Amarillo professionals. Prescott is the CEO of Talon/LPE in Amarillo.
Larry Shields ’85, has joined Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc., in Amarillo as billing supervisor.
Dr. Bret Taylor ’94, scientist with USDA Agriculture Research Service in Dubois, Idaho, was named the Young Scientist for the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science at the organization’s annual meeting June 16-18 in Fort Collins, Colo. The award recognizes outstanding research achievement.
Melissa Ziedy ’99, 10 p.m. producer with KPHO CBS News in Phoenix, won a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award in the category of News Special during award ceremonies Oct. 24 in Phoenix. Her Emmy was for a piece titled “Assault in Arizona.”
Jane Blea ’76, ’83, is using her alma mater to show some second graders that a college education is something they all can achieve. Blea is a second grade teacher at Lee Britain Elementary School, a Title I school in Irving, where the teachers are determined that the students are exemplary in language arts, math and science. And to help encourage that, each classroom has adopted a university.
“I chose West Texas A&M University to represent my classroom because I am an alumni, and I loved my years in Canyon,” Blea said. “I also believe WTAMU is a wonderful place to get an education and am proud to share my experience with my students.”
The WTAMU Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages worked with Blea to help her promote the University. Her classroom is decorated with banners and posters, and the students are busy exploring the University’s web page and the many career options available to them. The school also is discussing college readiness with the students and explaining the hard work involved in getting to college.
“I have tried to answer all of their questions because their curiosity has been sparked as to what college life is really like,” she said. “They are getting very excited, and it is beautiful to see the idea of achievement being something that they are now considering for their own lives.”
Dr. Anne A. Watson ’99, was invited to perform as a guest artist with the Belgian Clarinet Choir Claribel at the 2010 Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio. Watson, an international performer, received her bachelor’s degree from WTAMU and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Arizona State University. She has served as principal clarinet with the Arizona Opera Orchestra of Phoenix for the last 10 years and in 2004 was named as a finalist to the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami. She has been a recording artist for Carl Fischer Music Co., LLC since 2005.
Sherry Killingsworth Sunderman ’69, was presented the Dr. Jamesanna Kirven Outstanding Counselor of the Year Award for 2009 by the Texas Counseling Association. She has three children and seven grandchildren. Her husband Kirby served as alumni director at WT in the early 80s. Mrs. Sunderman currently serves as the district coordinator of guidance and counseling with the Conroe Independent School District in Conroe. Fall 2009 Class Notes Col. Michael Keller '79, Plainview, received the Distinguished Leadership Alumni Award from Wayland Baptist University (WBU) during the university’s centennial homecoming in February. Keller earned undergraduate degrees in nursing and biology at WTAMU and a master’s at WBU. He is program director and assistant professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Battalion Commander of the 413th Civil Affairs Battalion in Lubbock. Amarillo police Cpl. Janie Cortez '85, has been nominated for the police department’s Life Saving Award. Cortez responded to a call on April 17 of a man having a heart attack, and she used the automated external defibrillator in her patrol car to get Mike Hardy breathing again. In May, Hardy and his fellow Burlington Northern Santa Fe employees presented Cortez with a plaque of appreciation. Molly Smith '98, is a Peace Corp volunteer and teaches English and media studies at PreCarathian National University in the Ukraine. In June she presented a seminar on “College Radio in the U.S.” as part of the 10th Annual American Summer Institute at Yevpatoriya Branch of Volodymyr Dal East Ukrainian National University in Crimea. Smith lead the seminar, and her former professor, Dr. Leigh Browning, associate professor of mass communication and director of broadcasting, joined the session via the Internet to talk about WTAMU’s campus radio station KWTS 91.1 FM. Dustin Johnson '02, has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in partial fulfillment of his doctorate in sociology at the University of North Texas. Johnson, who was mentored by Dr. Robert Beckley, WTAMU professor of sociology, used data from Texas juvenile delinquency cases and examined the variables that explain the level of involvement the juvenile offender could have within the Texas juvenile justice system. Airman 1st Class Jose Cabezuela '04, shook hands with vice president-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 13 at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq. Cabezuela was one of the troops Biden thanked for their service when he was visiting the base and talking to Iraqi officials. Cabezuela is assigned to the 506th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron and deployed from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. He earned a degree in graphic design at WTAMU and after graduation felt compelled to serve his country. He has served in the Air Force two years and is on his way to being an officer. Christian Ponce '06, won a $1,000 scholarship as the first-place prize for his poster presentation at the Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference in April in San Antonio. Ponce earned his master’s degree in 2006 and is currently working on his Ph.D. in a joint collaboration between WTAMU and Texas A&M University, with all his research being conducted at WTAMU. His poster, which was one of 23 posters presented, was titled “Effects of ruminally degradable N in diets containing wet corn distiller’s grains with solubles and steam-flaked corn on feedlot cattle performance and carcass characteristics.” Jorge Calvo '07, news reporter with KINC-TV Univision Las Vegas, won an Emmy Award in the category of General Assignment News Story from the Pacific Southwest region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. His Emmy was for “Se Paga Caro” (The Price is High), a two-episode news story recorded in the Clark County Detention Center. The piece aired during May sweeps, and the Emmy Awards were handed out June 13 in San Diego. Russell Farrow ’08, is the lead author of an article published in volume 82 (2009) of Meat Science titled “An Exploratory Observational Study to Develop an Improved Method for Quantifying Beef Carcass Salable Meat Yield.” The article is published from his master thesis work and co-authors are Dr. Guy Loneragan, associate professor of beef cattle health and management, Jeremy Pauli, instructor of computer information systems, and Dr. Ty Lawrence, assistant professor of animal science. Let us know what you're doing by leaving a comment. | 