Alumni Notes
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NEBRASKA
Gamma Beta
Bradley Olson ’99 received his PhD from Michigan State University in biochemistry and molecular biology in May 2008. He was also awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. This fellowship will support his research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. He may be reached at Bradley.olson@gmail.com.
Ben Zitek ’00 and Melissa Petrik were married on July 5, 2008 in Lincoln, Nebraska. They were honored to have the following Pikes as part of the wedding party: Groomsmen Zach Bauman (Nebraska, Gamma Beta ’00), Eric Fluckey (Nebraska, Gamma Beta ’00) and Vernon Miller (Nebraska, Gamma Beta ’99) as well as ushers Josh Fly (Colorado State, Epsilon Theta ’99), Shawn Hutcherson (Florida State, Delta Lambda ’01) and R. Eddie Scott (East Central, Epsilon Omega ’94). The couple lives in Lincoln, Nebraska where Zitek is a development officer for the University of Nebraska Foundation.
“The Ocho”, chapter consultants during the 2004-05 academic year, posed on the 50 yard line at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium while in town for Ben Zitek’s wedding. Bottom row: Josh Fly, Kyle Verhoff (Missouri S&T, Alpha Kappa ’00), Oren Falkowitz (Central Florida, Eta Phi ’01), Dan Forrester (Georgia State, Epsilon Nu ’00); Second row: Bryan Benson (South Dakota, Kappa Pi ’99), Brandon Cochran (Charleston, Lambda Kappa ’04), Ben Zitek; Top row: Michael Auda (Northern Arizona, Theta Rho ’01), Shawn Hutcherson. Zitek can be reached at benzitek@hotmail.com.
NEBRASKA-OMAHA
Delta Chi
Steven Massara ’03 served as an intern in Washington, D.C., with Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska after his graduation from UNO. Upon completion of the internship, he attended Air Force Officer Training School and earned his commission as a second lieutenant. He is currently assigned as an aircraft maintenance officer at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. He may be reached at steven.massara@gmail.com.
Gary Sallquist ’57 was among the past chairpersons of the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors who returned to campus in May 2008. In the group of past chairpersons, there were four Delta Chi brothers represented. They included Sallquist, Jim Leslie ‘60, Robert Schropp ‘52, and Larry Stoney ‘56. Sallquist is also a member of the Cincinnati Cougars basketball team which competes in the 70 – 75 age group. After finishing as winners in its qualifying basketball tournaments, the Cincinnati Cougars will once again play in the National Sr. Olympics Basketball Tournament next June at Stanford University. Over the years this team has won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal in competition in the National Senior Olympics. The men practice several times a week, and Sallquist laughs as he comments, “We have so much medical support gear, braces for knees and backs, shoulder and wrist wraps, etc., that practice looks like the emergency room of a hospital”. Dr. Sallquist enjoys his grandchildren and serves on the pastoral staff of North Cincinnati Community Church.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Gamma Mu
Xavier Mahoney ’99 is living in Quincy, Massachusetts, and has received his M.Ed. degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is a history teacher at Blue Hills Regional High School in Canton, and may be reached at xaviermahoney@yahoo.com.
NEW MEXICO STATE
Kappa Eta
Alan McBee ’00 and his wife, Jolene, announce the birth of their daughter, Addison Elizabeth, on March 3, 2008. The McBees own an ice cream store and he is also the district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Services of the Department of Agriculture in Kingman, Arizona. He may be reached at alan_mcbee129@hotmail.com.
NORTH ALABAMA
Theta Alpha
Dee Black ’98 and Andrea Maurice were married on July 26, 2008, in Birmingham. Black is the CEO of North Alabama Baseball and may be reached at sputtermill@yahoo.com.
Gordon Cobb ’90 is the general sales manager of Gilbert and Baker Ford in Albertville, Alabama. He and his wife, Chandra, and their children, Reagan and Reese, live in Guntersville.
Mike LeCroix ’83 is the owner of myboytravels.com, myboytravelsblog.com, and is the president of Millbrook Mens Club. He and his wife, Kathy, and their two children, Amanda Mabry and Luke Henri, live in Millbrook, Alabama. He may be reached at mslecroix@mac.com.
NORTH CAROLINA
Tau
Todd Badgley ’89 works with Luquire George Andrews, one of the Southeast region’s leading advertising, marketing and public relations agencies. Badgley heads up the agency’s client services department and drives business development for the firm. Prior to joining LGA, Badgley was senior vice president in the Chicago office of Brandimage – Desgrippes & Laga, a global brand design firm that provides holistic services from brand strategy and consumer insight to brand identity, industrial design, package design, graphics, innovation, interactive, retail experience and architecture to build brands. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina and his master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. He previously co-taught a branding and identity class at Kellogg School of Management and has been a frequent speaker on branding and the power of design at various industry conferences and client-led training sessions.
NORTH CAROLINA-PEMBROKE
Eta Omega
Quin Morrison ’86 is the owner of P&K Painting in Hope Mills, North Carolina. He and his wife, Glenda, have two daughters, Paula and Kelly. Morrison may be reached at quinmm@yahoo.com.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Alpha Epsilon
Brian Maclaga ’96 and Katy Buttermore were married on April 26, 2008. Katy is the daughter of King Buttermore (Vanderbilt, Sigma ’63) and the granddaughter of Harry Buttermore, Jr. (Transylvania, Kappa ’98). Pike brothers in the photo to the (left, right, above, below): Andrew Mercker (Georgia, Alpha Mu ’99), John Michael Williams (Oklahoma State, Gamma Chi ’68), David Newsome ’98, Danny Seelos (Georgia, Alpha Mu ’97), Jason Greene ’97, Taylor Vernier (SMU, Beta Zeta ’98), Don Parnell (Vanderbilt, Sigma ’63), John Fitzgerald (Vanderbilt, Sigma ’63), Bobby Dulin (Georgia State, Epsilon Nu ’76), Buttermore, Jr., John Willis (Georgia State, Epsilon Nu ’75), and Buttermore.
Andrew Matthews ’02 and Susan Alexandra Williams were married on August 16, 2008 at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina. He is an estimator / assistant project manager with Matthews Construction in Charlotte, North Carolina.
NORTH DAKOTA
Zeta Rho
Kenneth Williment ’93 and his wife, Melissa, welcomed their daughter, Onaleigh, in April 2008. He is the community development manager with Halifax Public Libraries in Canada, and may be reached at willimen@msu.edu.
NORTHEASTERN
Kappa Delta
James Askew ’98 and Stacey Hill were married on August 8, 2008 in St. Thomas, USVI. The couple lives in St. Thomas where Askew is a US customs and border protection officer with the Department of Homeland Security. He may be reached at james.m.askew@dhs.gov.
NORTHEASTERN STATE
Theta Epsilon
Edward Miller ’85 received the honorable award of Outstanding Young Alumnus for 2008 from the Northeastern State University Alumni Association. The award was presented during the 2008 Homecoming events. He has been a steadfast and platinum contributor to the chapter’s alumni association for many years. The chapter and alumni salute and thank him. He is chief executive officer of Bios Companies, Inc., a company that provides home care for people with developmental disabilities as well as the elderly. He and his wife, Kendyll, reside in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, with their three children, Jonathan, Zachary and Madison. You may reach him at emiller@bioscorp.com.
NORTHERN ARIZONA
Theta Rho
Scot Cochran ’82 and his wife welcomed the arrival of their son, Robert Marshal, to their lives and to the United States. After two years of struggles and paperwork they were able to adopt their fantastic two year old boy from the city of Pavlador in Kazakhstan. Cochran is a technical project manager with Somfy Systems in Poway, California, and may be reached at scotcochran@cox.net.
Jamie Varner ’08 is the current WEC World Light Weight Champion. The WEC is the home of some of the best lightweight fighters in the world. It is owned by the UFC and gives fight fans free mixed martial arts (MMA) on the Versus Channel. MMX is something Varner has spent his whole life preparing for. As far back as he can remember he has been boxing, wrestling or doing a combination of both. He trains full time out of Arizona Combat Sports. In February 2008 he won the World Extreme Cagefighting World Title from “Razor” Rob McCullough. This highly anticipated match up was considered one of the main events since McCullough had been undefeated in the previous four years and had never been knocked out – that is until he met up with “Showtime” Jamie Varner. In the 3rd round Varner scored a devastating KO over the Champ, propelling him into the spotlight of the MMA world.
OHIO STATE
Alpha Rho
Tony Mayne ’85, a captain in the U.S. Army, is the Task Force 2-6 Infantry Assistant Operations Officer. He is currently deployed to Salman Pak, Iraq. This is his fifth deployment in support of the War on Terror.
OKLAHOMA
Beta Omicron
Paul Seikel ’94 and Giulia Restaino were married on August 9, 2008. The couple resides in Tulsa where he is an engineer with Spirit Aerosystems.
OKLAHOMA STATE
Gamma Chi
Robert Hardy ’64 works with Southwest Airlines out of Oklahoma City. He has directly assisted in several humanitarian efforts, including disaster relief and medical supplies in Armenia after the earthquake of 1989, and worked to set up food assistance in parts of India, spending two months in those and other areas of Northern Africa and Eastern Europe.
OREGON
Gamma Pi
Eric Ramsing ’70 lives in Seattle where he is a senior architect with CASE Forensics Corporation. He joins a group of diverse engineers and scientist working nationwide determining cause, effect, and mitigation of building failure. He and his wife, Debbie, have a daughter, Kjerstin, and a son, Alex. He may be reached at eramsing@caseforensicscorp.com.
PENNSYLVANIA
Beta Pi
Nick Miccarelli ’05 had his college career interrupted twice to serve in the military overseas. The 2007 Penn alumnus and Iraq War veteran has long been preparing for a life of service – he completed basic training with the Pennsylvania National Guard before finishing high school. Miccarelli enrolled at Temple University in the summer of 2001, and was deployed to Kosovo in March 2003. While there he applied to Penn and transferred to the University for the fall 2004 semester. Within two years his military service would again interfere with an average college experience when he was deployed to Iraq in January 2006. Miccarelli ran for and won a position in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly, taking a spot in the state House of Representatives as a Republican in Delaware County.
PITTSBURGH
Gamma Sigma
James Dimel ’39 is a retired colonel with the United States Air Force. He is enjoying retirement from a retirement home in Boca Raton, Florida, and may be reached at charjim@comcast.net.
John Jacecko ’48 has written a children’s book, Wedding Gifts of Diana and Prince Charles. The book tells a story that will teach children about the value of kindness and the importance of being fair. Jacecko is a retired educator, and has taught elementary through university levels. He and his wife have four children. More information on his book may be found at www.Xlibris.com.
RHODES
Theta
Larry Rice ’71 is the senior partner at Rice, Amundsen and Caperton, PLLC. He is certified as a Family Law Specialist by both the National Board of Trial Advocacy and the Tennessee Board of Specializations. In September 2008 he was the featured speaker for PESI’s Annual National Conference where he spoke on law office management, client retention and trial preparation. In August 2008, Rice was a speaker in Lake Ozark for the Missouri Bar’s 2008 Family Law Conference. He shares his expertise through his lectures and his book, The Complete Guide to Divorce Practice: Forms and Procedures for Lawyers, as well as founding www.aboutdivorce.com. He has been practicing law for 31 years and may be reached at lrice@ricelaw.com.
ROCKHURST
Kappa Epsilon
Andy Axsom ’98 was selected as one of fifty outstanding new professionals in the field of student affairs to attend the New Professionals Institute of the Southern Association for College Student Affairs and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Region III. Axsom is a student development coordinator at the University of North Texas Health Science Center where he oversees the Career Services and International Student Services functions for the Division of Student Affairs. He may be reached at AAxsom@hsc.unt.edu.
Michael Vogel ’94 and his wife, Molly, announce the birth of their son, Xavier Joseph, on August 1, 2008. Xavier was welcomed home by siblings Clare and Will.
ROSE-HULMAN
Iota Delta
Matthew Brandt ’01 has relocated to Saint Louis, Missouri, where he took a job with DEMA Engineering as a support engineer. DEMA is in the valve, warewash and laundry industry, and also works with the dispensing of chemicals for various other industries.
Robert Hodge ’96 and Rebecca Robinson were married on October 11, 2008. The couple lives in Alexandria, Virginia, where Hodge is a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
RUTGERS
Alpha Psi
Michael Dworacek ’95 and his wife, Allyson, announce the birth of their daughter, Amy Lynn, on September 15, 2008. Dworacek is a vice president at Merrill Lynch, and recently took on new responsibilities in mutual fund product management. He may be reached at Michael_dworacek@ml.com.