Class Notes Spring 2017

Frank Wilcox ’64 recently received the Louisiana Housing Council’s most prestigious award given in recognition of excellence in service after dedicating over 40 years of service to the development of viable and sustainable housing.

Dana (Murrell) Moseley ’67, ’70 recently retired from Arkansas Tech University where she served as the director of Gift Planning and Travel.

Jim Thurman ’69, ’70 celebrated his 44th year as an associate professor in the field of communication sciences and disorders at UCA. In 2015, he was recognized by the Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association as the 2015 Recipient of the Honors of the Association for distinguished contributions to the field of Communication Disorders.

Dr. Terry Fiddler ’70 recently retired after serving the Conway community for 43 years as a dentist.

Lavon Morton ’72 recently retired after serving as senior vice president with ArcBest Corp. of Fort Smith for 20 years.

Debbie (Purtle) Merritt ’74, ’85 married Jerry Merritt Jan. 1, 2017.

Robert Baugh ’77 retired from Merck & Co. after spending a total of 33 years with the Fortune 500 company.

Waldo Fisher ’78 was inducted into the Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame.

Hadrian Hatfield ’80 was listed as one of the Top Divorce and Family Law Lawyers for 2016 by Washingtonian Magazine.

Rana McClain ’80, ’82 retired from the Pine Bluff School District after teaching mathematics for 36 years.

Charlie Strong ’82 was named head coach of the University of South Florida football team.

Chuck Adkins ’81 was inducted into the Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame.

Melinda (Morrow) Hammerschmidt ’82 earned her Doctor of Philosophy in curriculum and instruction at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

Tab Townsell ’84, Conway’s longest serving mayor, retired Dec. 31, 2016 and was named executive director of Metroplan January 2017.

Dave Smedley ’85 invented a classroom product called the Teacher’s Pet, which has been nominated for an Edison Award, which recognizes worldwide innovation in the areas of products and services.

Curtis Barnett ’86 was promoted to president and CEO of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Laura (Creasey) Fine ’87 was named the state director of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Brenda Hatton-Ficklin ’88 has been named the director of Alumni Relations at Philander Smith College in Little Rock.

Stephanie (Scurlock) Thornton ’88 joined the nightside anchor team at WREG in Memphis, Tenn.

Annetta Tirey ’88 has been hired as the executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation.

Kim (Uhiren) Hoffman ’89 was elected president of the Southeastern Conference on Public Administration.

Dorie (Foster) Pearson ’90 is the co-owner of the Texarkana Therapy Center, which recently opened its doors to a new facility at a ribbon cutting ceremony. She and her fellow therapists serve children with autism, learning disabilities and sensory processing disorders in this center.

Teresa (Johnson) Conner ’92 won the Arkansas Business Health Care Professional of the Year in the Health Care Heroes awards program, which honors those who make a significant impact on the quality of health care in Arkansas.

Amy (Vint) Fecher ’92 was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchison to lead the newly created Office of Transformation, a position she will hold concurrently with her current role as executive vice president of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Kyle Miller ’92 won the 2015 Chicago Black Harvest Film Festival for his film “Jeremy Brooks”. In 2016, Miller was also appointed as director of the Delta Cultural Center in Helena.

Amy (Rozzell) Hubbard ’92, ’07 celebrated 15 years of teaching special education at Conway Public Schools.

Dorothy “Dot” Williams ’92, ’97 was elected to the North Little Rock School Board.

Susan Miller ’93 received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award in Accounting at the Arkansas Business CFO of the Year awards luncheon.

Dr. Kofi Boahene ’94 published a memoir, “However Far The Stream Flows: The Making of the Man Who Rebuilds Faces,” that is available on Amazon.

Morrie Mullins ’94 completed a three-year term as editor of “The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist” and was also elected to the executive board of the Global Organisation for Humanitarian Work Psychology.

Adam Carson ’94, ’95 was selected as a finalist for the Arkansas Business Health Care Professional of the Year in the Health Care Heroes awards program, which honors those who make a significant impact on the quality of health care in Arkansas.

Shawn Womack ’94 joined the Arkansas Supreme Court as an associate justice after completing his eighth and final year as a circuit judge in Arkansas’ 14th Judicial District.

Anita Cegers-Coleman ’95, ’99 was selected as the 2016-17 Conway School District Teacher of the Year and was chosen to represent Ruth Doyle Middle School as Teacher of the Year for their school. She was also one of 14 regional finalists in the State of Arkansas Teacher of the Year Competition.

Marvin Williams ’95 was recently recognized on the Senate floor by Sen. Tom Cotton as the Arkansas of the Week.

Taniesha Richardson-Wiley ’98 was elected to the North Little Rock School Board.

Brian Self ’00 has joined the Little Rock office of WD&D Architects.

Jenny Dodson ’03 was promoted to director of the Student Experience Center, formerly known as the Office of Campus Life, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She was previously associate director of campus life at UALR.

Chad Russell ’03 and Erica Russell ’09 were named honorary chairpersons of the 59th Annual United Way Campaign at the United Way Campaign CEO Luncheon.

Jason Bell ’04 was promoted to vice president of Fulfillment Operations for Target.

Jordan O’Roark ’04, ’06 was named the director of Development for Student Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Jamille Rogers ’04, ’06 was awarded the prestigious 2016 “I Love My Librarian” award and is one of only 10 librarians in the country to receive this national honor.

John Fincher ’05, ’10 was named the 55th president of the Arkansas Student Affairs Association during the annual Partners for Student Success Conference.

Dr. Pearl McElfish ’05 has been promoted to vice chancellor at the northwest Arkansas campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Barrett Baber ’06 released a new album, “A Room Full Of Fighters,” on Nov. 4, 2016.

Paul Bradley ’06, ’10 joined Edafio Technology Partners.

Ben Smith ’06, ’09 is the co-owner of the Texarkana Therapy Center, which recently opened its doors to a new facility at a ribbon cutting ceremony. He and his fellow therapists serve children with autism, learning disabilities and sensory processing disorders.

Nichola “Nikki” (Williams) Driver ’07 became the new campus director of the Nonprofit Leadership Studies program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Dr. Lauren Nolen ’08 joined the Conway Obstetrics and Gynecology team as their new physician.
Jessica (Johnson) Amis ’09 was promoted to marketing director at KTHV in Little Rock.

Janice Ivers ’09 was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to a four-year term on the Arkansas State Board of Nursing.

Jacob Perry ’09 created and cofounded Patagonia Bee Products and is selling honey varieties from the rainforests of Patagonia, Chile.

Seyi Oluokun ’10 was named to Arkansas Business’ “The New Influentials: 20 In Their 20s” for 2016. He is an insurance associate at Pricewaterhouse Coopers where he is also on the board of Junior Achievement and the volunteer coordinator.

Will Walker ’10, ’12 was selected as a finalist for the Arkansas Business Workplace Wellness in the Health Care Heroes awards program, which honors those who make a significant impact on the quality of health care in Arkansas.

Gordon Garlington ’11 retired after 44 years as a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister. He retired as pastor of Park Hill Presbyterian Church in North Little Rock. His previous pastorates included First Presbyterian Church of Bentonville from 1980-2003.

Blake Roberts ’12, ’13 joined the board of the Ronald McDonald house.

Martin Resendiz ’13, ’16 was chosen by Wal-Mart as one of its 20 “Commander in Teach(ers).” Resendiz teaches Spanish for native speakers at New Technology High School in Rogers.

Daley Johnston ’14 has joined Kids Unlimited Learning Academy in Searcy as a speech-language pathologist. Johnston graduated from Louisiana Tech University’s speech pathology program in May 2016.

Brooke (Keel) Plack ’14 was featured in Arkansas Online for her work in mental health awareness and for being an advocate for suicide prevention.

Kevin Barton ’15 was named to Arkansas Business’ “The New Influentials: 20 In Their 20s” for 2016. He was also named Arkansas Pharmacists Association’s Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year in June 2016.

Dr. Barrett W. M. Petty ’15 was selected as the recipient of the 2017 Association of Teacher Educators Distinguished Dissertation in Teacher Education Award. His dissertation was “Factors that Contribute to the Completion of Programs of Student at Arkansas Institutions of Higher Education for African-American Males.”
Derek Walter ’16 accepted a new position at the Arkansas Activities Association.

Melanie Roach ’16 joined Ageless Health & Fitness as a physical therapist.