Alumni Notes
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DELTA STATE
Zeta Beta
Rhett Nelson ’08 was a pledge in 1988 but not initiated at that time. By special initiation brother Nelson was initiated October 4, 2008, and now serves as a proud Zeta Beta alumnus. His father was initiated at Ole Miss in 1950 and his brother was initiated at Delta State in 1983. Professionally, Nelson has been a paramedic, police officer and fire fighter. He is now half way through medical school and wants to continue serving the public as a physician.
Charles Woods ’96 and his wife, Claudia, reside in Sarasota, Florida, where he is a teacher with Sarasota Middle School. He may be reached at chuck1282000@yahoo.com.
EAST CAROLINA
Epsilon Mu
Marcus Conner ’03 and Julia Petrasso were married on November 1, 2008. They are both law students at New England School of Law, and will graduate in May 2009. He is currently working with the New England Innocence Project, and plans on returning to North Carolina upon graduation to practice criminal law. He may be reached at marcuswconner@yahoo.com.
EAST CENTRAL
Epsilon Omega
D. K. Robertson ’97 is an inside sales rep for Tyler Technologies in Lubbock, Texas. He and his wife, Tiffanie, have a son, Connor, and he may be reached at dk.robertson@tylertech.com.
EASTERN ILLINOIS
Zeta Gamma
Joe Martin ’90 and his wife, Daniela, announce the birth of their third child, Benjamin Joseph, on July 20, 2008. He was welcomed home by his sister, Brooke, and brother, Jacob. The family resides in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where Martin is a financial consultant with Martin & Martin Investment Group of Wachovia Securities.
EASTERN NEW MEXICO
Epsilon Tau
Kevin Alarcon ’82 resides in Dumas, Texas, where he is a laboratory tech with Valero Energy - McKee Plant. He may be reached at kevin.alarcon@valero.com.
EMORY
Beta Kappa
Robert Certain ’67 delivered the September 2, 2008 Invocation during the Republican National Convention. Certain, while serving in the United States Air Force, was shot down over Vietnam in December 1972 and released as a POW in early 1973. He attended seminary and has served as an Episcopal priest since he graduated. He was President Gerald Ford’s pastor at the time of his death, and was seen on the news during various parts of the Ford funeral service. Certain retired in California in January 2007, and shortly after that was named interim pastor in Marietta, Georgia, in 2007. He and his wife expect to be in Marietta until 2009 when the church names a permanent pastor.
Stephen Filreis ’74 is a senior tax manager at the Atlanta CPA firm of Berman and Associates, specializing in tax and estate planning and compliance for high net worth individuals. He lives near Emory with his wife, Ellen, and their two children, Jamie and Daniel. He may be reached at Stephen@filreis.net.
FERRIS STATE
Zeta Kappa
Kevin Flannery ’78 was invited to sail aboard Coalescence, a Cape Dory 40, in the 2008 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, which marked the 100th year of the race. Each year sailing enthusiasts take part in the 333-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Michigan, during the world’s longest and most prestigious annual freshwater race. The event, better known as The Mac, starting in 1898 with only five boats and has now evolved into a world class sporting event with hundreds of boats entering the race each year. The Mac remains primarily an amateur event, but always attracts some of the finest sailing talent in the sport. Coalescence should have received the most improved yacht because in 2007 they didn’t finish within the time limit and received a DNF, but this year they finished 5th in section, and 11th in their 40 boat division. He is currently preparing his boat, Shindig, to compete in the Marblehead, Massachusetts to Halifax, Nova Scotia race, then the 2010 Newport to Bermuda race. He and his wife, Kelly, and their three children reside in Newton, Massachusetts, where he is a mortgage broker and may be reached at kflannery@mortgagemasterinc.com.
FLORIDA
Alpha Eta
Paul Anderson ’79 returned to South Florida from Washington, D.C., after serving almost five years in the administration of President Bush as commissioner and designated by the President as chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, to become president of International Oil Shipping Company in Boca Raton, Florida. Anderson has joined the board of directors of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and serves on the Orange Bowl Committee. He and his wife, Sarah, have a son, Jordan.
Harman Gilbert ’77 works for Florikan as a national technical fertilizer manager. He lives in Burlington, North Carolina, with his wife, Becky. They have three adult children, Brittany, Caitlin and Griffen.
Mike LoConte ’79 and his wife, Janet, reside in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where they have their own media consulting company, Advantage Systems Inc., specializing in new advertising clients for radio, TV and cable systems. They work with clients in over 100 markets throughout the United States. Their daughter is a senior at Clemson University.
Bart O’Brien ’77 and his wife have two children, Emily and Mason, and they live in Napa, California. He owns a winery, O’Brien Estate (www.obrienestte.com), which produces about 5,000 cases of wine per year. His wines have been featured on national television shows including Good Morning America, ABC World News, The Today Show and Fox Business News. If you are in the Napa area, stop by O’Brien Estate and enjoy a 20% Pike discount on purchases.
Connelly Woody ’76 and his wife, Linda, are now living in the Portland, Oregon area, and they have two college-age children, Sean and Lauren. Woody is a partner in a small commercial development company, Novasource Development, which does development work in most of the markets in the western United States. He also stays busy with various real estate projects, playing ice hockey in a non-checking league, and enjoys scuba diving, skiing, white water rafting and biking.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Kappa Gamma
Justin Puente ’01 and his wife, Nicole, welcomed their first child, Victoria Marie, on August 20, 2008. The family lives in Miami where Puente is an accountant with Chepenik Puente & Stein, CPA firm. He may be reached at justin.puente@gmail.com.
FLORIDA STATE
Delta Lambda
Fred Buhl ’69 completed his retirement flight from Amsterdam to Houston, Texas, on November 2, 2007. During his 30 years at Continental Airlines, Captain Buhl safely completed over 21,000 hours of domestic and international flying. He also retired from the Air Force Reserve where he flew 22 years in the A-7D and F-16C. He is enjoying retirement in Elizabeth, Colorado.
Jay Hurley ’71 was appointed as a Broward County (Florida) judge within the 17th Judicial Circuit. The appointment was made by Governor Charlie Crist ’76 in July 2008. Hurley’s private practice focused primarily on criminal trial law, and he previously served with the Broward State Attorney’s Office from 1990 – 1992. He also served as an officer in the United States Navy from 1984 – 1992.
Shawn Hutcherson ’01 has been promoted to account manager for the Contract Engineering Division of Aerotek, a leading provider of technical, professional and industrial recruiting and staffing services. Hutcherson previously worked for three years as senior director of growth and marketing with Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Headquarters.
FRANCIS MARION
Theta Delta
Chris Hardy ’92 has been chosen as the new president of the Clemson Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to this position, Hardy served as vice president of government and public relations for the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce in Rock Hill, South Carolina. During his tenure, Hardy’s responsibilities included studying and evaluating local and regional programs, trends, bills and proposed actions, as well as informing members of their outcomes.
GANNON
Epsilon Upsilon
Michael Sampson ’84 is currently the associate professor of sports medicine and family medicine at the Georgia Campus-Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Sampson also serves as a medical team physician with the Georgia Force arena football league, the team physician for the Georgia Tech women’s basketball team and Norcross High School, and is in private practice with Sports Medicine South, LLC in Atlanta. He also serves on the board of directors for the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine. He was previously the team physician for Virginia Tech and Family Medicine Department Chair at the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Sampson was involved with the Epsilon Chapter at Virginia Tech during his time in Virginia. He would like to get together with Pikes in the Atlanta area, and he may be reached at michaelsampson@pcom.edu.
GEORGE MASON
Kappa Theta
Ajoy Kumar ’93 has completed his medical residency program and has joined the faculty at Bayfront Family Medicine Residency in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is also a part of the FL-3 Disaster Medical Assistance Team, on the Board of Governors of the Pinellas County Medical Association, and the Advisory Board of the Pinellas Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Jeff Mathewson ’95 and his wife, Liz, have been co-owners of Cheer Dynasty in Manassas, Ashburn and Stafford, Virginia, for the past seven years. In October 2008 they also started a wedding suites and stationary company, www.ellaspaper.com. They reside in Bristow, Virginia, with their two children, Ella and Ty, and may be reached at jeff@ellaspaper.com.
GEORGIA COLLEGE
Theta Gamma
Terry Lee Richardson ’98 and Brandi Johnson were married on September 6, 2008 at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee in Eatonton, Georgia. Theta Gamma alumni in the wedding included Best Man Dirk Ledford ’98, and groomsmen Duane Wilson ’99, Ernie Giles ’99, Matt Parks ’98, Jon Filson ’96, Ben Harris ’98 and Tyler Rodenberg ’99. He may be reached at terryleerichardson3@yahoo.com.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Iota Upsilon
Brian DeBold ’93, founding father of the Iota Upsilon Chapter, is running in the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon on January 11th in memory of Anthony Brian Perez ’93, also a founding father of the chapter, who lost his life to leukemia shortly after graduation. For more information on the Team In Training program that DeBold is participating in, visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/wdw09/bdebold. He may be reached at bdebold@charter.net.
IDAHO
Zeta Mu
Bob Sonnichsen ’77 has been with Idaho First National Bank/US Bank for 28 years. He serves as the vice president and manages the Private Banking Division for Southern Idaho/Eastern Oregon. He may be reached at Robert.sonnichsen@usbank.com.
Steve Sander ’80 has been a forklift operator with Guy Bennett Lumber Company for sixteen years. He has also served as a volunteer fire fighter for Nez Perce County for fourteen years. Sander may be reached at sjsander45@cableone.net.
ILLINOIS
Beta Eta
Marcus Funk ’88 was honored by the US Attorney General’s Office with the prestigious John Marshall Award due to his outstanding work on the prosecution of the highly publicized Family Secrets trial in Chicago. The John Marshall Award is named in honor of the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, who is credited with establishing the independence of the judiciary and enhancing its moral authority. This prestigious award was established by the American Bar Association Justice Center to recognize those dedicated to the improvement of the administration of justice.
Alex Peterson ’80 is the sax player for the San Diego-based band, The Professors, who released a new CD, Destination: Moon, in June 2008. Peterson has been playing sax and writing new music with The Professors for two years, spreading their unique brand of surf/western/spy rock across southern California. They have recently played shows with legendary bands like The Ventures, Los Straightjackets, and 40 oz to Freedom, and have been enjoying radio airplay in the San Diego area. For more on The Professors, tour dates, and a sampling of their music, visit www.myspace.com/theprofessorslounge.
Jay Severance ’55 and his wife, Kathryn, own and operate Gallic Traditions LLC, an online retailer of European linens and housewares at www.gallictraditions.com. Severance and his wife met at a chapter event at the University of Illinois and are now celebrating 50 years of marriage. He may be reached at jay@gallictraditions.com.
ILLINOIS STATE
Kappa Alpha
Jacob Crow ’98 is the controller for Lincoln Land FS, Inc. in Jacksonville, Illinois. He and his wife, Victoria, reside in Franklin, Illinois, and may be reached at jdcrow_78@llfs.com.
Michael Neville ’01 is in his second year of medical school at Midwestern University. He writes, “Over the summer I traveled to Quito, Ecuador for six weeks to learn about the healthcare systems of underdeveloped countries. My other focus was to learn Spanish because there are many Spanish speaking patients in Chicago and it is important that I be able to communicate with them. During my time in Quito I saw patients in a maternity hospital, an emergency department and in a clinic for the underserved/poor population. I also took Spanish classes and lived with a host family that helped me learn about South American culture. I studied all the different endemic diseases including malaria, chagas disease and parasitic infections. In addition, I made many friends from other medical schools around the U.S. who traveled to Ecuador with the same Humanitarian Aide program. Before I left for Quito, I collected desperately needed medical supplies to donate to the hospitals. Being in Ecuador was a truly eye opening experience for a kid like me who grew up in Naperville. There were stray dogs walking around the clinics, dust all over the exam tables from the dirt roads, homeless children begging on every street corner, pollution and an endless flow of patients who needed medical attention. It was an extremely gratifying experience to be able to volunteer my time to help. The people of Ecuador were very friendly and they have a beautiful country. I managed to travel through the Andes mountains, the Amazon Rainforest and even the Galapagos Islands in my free time. It was interesting to see how healthcare is practiced in other countries and to learn about the alternative forms of medicine. I even was able to visit a shaman and watch him perform a ceremonial healing on an indigenous Ecuadorian. My trip made me realize how fortunate we are to live in the United States and have access to quality healthcare. This trip has inspired me to want to specialize in internal medicine and spend my future medical career helping the underpriviledged, whether it be in Chicago or abroad.” Neville may be reached at Michael.Neville@mwumail.midwestern.edu
INDIANA
Delta Xi
Perry Adair ’68 has retired from the U.S. Department of State after a career spanning 34 years with three federal agencies. Joining him in retirement is his wife, Nancy, who accompanied him during 23 years of overseas assignments in seven countries. The couple lives in Bellingham, Washington, and he may be reached at adairpm@state.gov.
Erik Holm ’96 has completed his MBA at DePaul University, and is working as a search engine marketing manager with Wolters Kluwer in Riverwoods, Illinois. Since graduating from Indiana University, Holm has traveled to over 25 countries and looks forward to seeing more of the world. He may be reached at erik.holm@wolterskluwer.com.
INDIANA STATE
Theta Omicron
Jonathan Anderson ’90 has rejoined the law firm of Krieg DeVault LLP as partner. Anderson concentrates his practice in complex financing, community revitalization and preservation, and economic development, including tax credits and other incentives. He will be a member of the firm’s Municipal and Public Finance, Business, Real Estate, Lending and Tax Practice Groups.
Michael Conner ’80 is retiring from the United States Air Force Reserves after 23 years of service, including 5 ½ years of active duty as a space and missile operations crew commander with HQ Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado. He resides in Castle Rock, Colorado, where he is an account manager, business aviation with Jeppesen.
Andrew Lurker ’00 graduated from Indiana State in May 2008 with a Master’s of Science degree in Student Affairs and Higher Education. He is the chapter development coordinator for the Delta Upsilon International Fraternity. Lurker resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, and may be reached at alurker@mac.com.
Ralph Webb ’84 and his wife, Cindy, reside in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, with their son, Bruce. He may be reached at rwebbiii@comcast.net.
IOWA
Gamma Nu
Bob Kendall ’93 and his wife, Laura, welcomed their first child, Madelyne Clair, on October 14, 2008. Kendall is an executive with Van Kampen Investments in Chicago.
Eric Wulf ’93 will assume the role of executive director and CEO of International Carwash Association on January 1, 2009. Wulf’s selection is the result of the board of directors’ “continual focus on succession planning,” according to a press release issued by the ICA. During his time with the ICA, Wulf has been instrumental in the creation of new programs to deliver knowledge and best practices to the professional carwash industry, officials said. Those include partnering with carwash owners and operators in the creation of a best practice networking program called BIGs (Business Improvement Groups), the launch of a new ICA website, and the development of online video presentation and a weekly video newsletter. Wulf joined the ICA as associate executive director in 2006. He has more than 10 years of association management experience, including his previous role as the executive director of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity’s national headquarters. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree in business administration from Union University and holds the title of certified association executive from the American Society of Association Executives.