’50s
Johnelle (DeBusk) Hunt was recognized as the Legacy of Leadership Award winner as part of the 33rd Annual Arkansas Business of the Year ceremony hosted by Arkansas Business.
’60s
Ellen (Funk) Morris ’69 was recognized in the fall 2020 issue of the Phoenix of Alpha Sigma Alpha magazine and received the Evelyn G. Bell Award.
’70s
David Jacks ’72, who founded South Arkansas Urology in 1981, will join the medical team at CARTI Urology.
William (Bill) E. Ott ’72, was recently elected to the Eureka Springs (AR) City Council to serve a two-year term. The election victory comes on the heels of his retirement from the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa and the 1905 Basin Park Hotel after serving the two Eureka Springs historic hotels for 23 years as director of marketing and communications. Ott served two terms as president during his 11 years on the UCA Alumni Board.
Carlton “Sonny” Rhodes ’76 was named the 2020 Journalism Educator of the Year by the Arkansas Press Association.
’80s
Barry Lueders ’82 was awarded the 14th annual Buddy Harding Award for the 2019-20 school academic year. Lueders is a former Conway High School baseball coach.
Steven Quattlebaum ’82 was listed in the 2020 Mid-South Super Lawyers list. He is an attorney at Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull PLLC in Little Rock.
Benny Baker ’84 was hired as director of sales for Fairfield Bay Conference Center.
Jacqueline “Jackie” (Kordsmeier) Elsinger ’84, ’16 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Pamela (Patton) Jolly ’84, ’92 was the 2020 Outstanding Tree Farmer of Arkansas.
Lori (Hawkins) Case Melton ’85 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Dr. Denise (Langley) Neill ’85, ’97 was named the new department head for the School of Nursing at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Dr. Sharon (Willcox) Stone ’86 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Timothy Grooms ’87 was listed in the 2020 Mid-South Super Lawyers list. He is an attorney at Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull PLLC in Little Rock.
Brenda Hatton-Ficklin ’88 was hired as sales director for multicultural and religious markets at the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hatton-Ficklin is former president of the UCA Black Alumni Chapter.
Ranae Bartlett ’89 was elected to the Madison City Council in Alabama and was sworn into office in November 2020.
Charles “Chuck” Buchan ’89 was promoted to general counsel at TeleComp, Inc.
Dr. Susan (Sanders) DeBlack was appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Optometry in November 2020 by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Vickey (Freeman) Kirkemier was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Dr. Bethany Knight has joined Baxter Regional Health System Hometown Clinic at Calico Rock, Arkansas.
’90s
Tami (Mitchell) Marsh ’91 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women
in Business.
Raymond Raphael ’91 has created a new company, Iron Shield Roofing & Restoration,
in Springdale, Arkansas.
Dr. Kyle Miller ’92 is a fellow of the 2021 Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) Executive Academy.
Patty Shipp ’93 was named chief fiscal officer at the Arkansas Department of Information Systems.
Dr. Shawn Bediako ’94 is a director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Cindy Hudson ’95 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Rosalyn “Denise” (Ealy) Perry ’96 received the 2020 Outstanding Women in Business Award presented by the Conway Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Ayisha Canant ’97, ’00, ’14 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Amy (White) Beams ’98 has been promoted to director of people operations at Edafio Technology Partners in North Little Rock.
Shannon (Owens) Hendrix ’98, ’02 has been named chief administrator at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest in Springdale.
Nicole “Nikki” (Fiddler) Lovell ’98 is a new board member for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.
Veronica (Ponce) Palmer ’98 has been hired as the digital marketing project manager at Arkansas PBS.
Michelle (Naron) Phillips ’98, CPA, was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Jennifer (Martinez) Belt ’99 has been hired as the director of development for Peel Compton Foundation in Bentonville.
’00s
Sara (Richardson) Owen ’00 has written a book, “Seth and Mattie’s Big River Adventure.”
Jennifer (Long) Boyett ’01 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Elizabeth Hall ’01 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Dr. Leanne (Conatser) Lefler ’01 has been inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Keegan Nichols ’01 was elected regional director for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Dr. Amanda (Hearne) Bledsoe ’02 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Elizabeth “Beth” (Becker) Franks ’02 has joined Applied Technology Group USA as the vice president of marketing.
Dr. Alexis (Bussell) McCollum ’02 joined the Washington Regional Her Health Clinic in Fayetteville. She is also a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Clint O’Neal ’02, ’08 is a fellow of the 2021 Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy.
Dr. Shaneil (Fuller) Ealy ’03 received the 2020 Outstanding Woman in Nonprofit Award presented by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.
Emily (Yawn) Walter ’03 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women
in Business.
Josh Baker ’04 was promoted to city president at Citizens Bank in Hot Springs.
Jeremy Hawkins ’05 has joined Community Insurance Professionals in Batesville as an insurance professional.
Michael Pierce ’05, ’07, CPA, has been selected to receive the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants Outstanding Emerging CPA Award for 2019.
Beth (Wilkinson) Reed ’05 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Laura Hendrix ’06 was recognized by the American Society of Interior Designers in the 2020 Ones to Watch initiative.
Jerry “Bill” Pendergist ’06 has been hired by Colliers International Arkansas in Little Rock as vice president of brokerage.
Sarah (Slocum) Collins ’08, J.D., has been named chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman.
Ashley (Haskins) Gill ’08 has been named a member of the Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard law firm, effective Jan. 1. She practices estate planning and administration, taxation, commercial transactions and corporate law.
Adrienne (Morris) Griffis ’08 has been elected to partnership in the Little Rock law firm of Dover Dixon Horne. She first joined the firm in 2017.
Carmeon (Burgess) Hamilton ’08 won the HGTV Design Star: Next Gen competition that began in February.
Drew Smith ’08, CPA, was named treasurer at Windstream Holdings.
Emily Gassman ’09 was hired as a public relations account executive at MHP/Team SI.
Kara (Seiter) Smith ’09 was named regional marketing director at GH2 Architects LLC.
Elizabeth (Parsley) Tucker ’09 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
’10s
Leigh Anne Fortner ’10 has authored and published her first children’s book, “The Light,” with the help of current UCA student Anastassiya Selezneva as the book’s illustrator.
Holly (Threm) Goslin ’11 was awarded the annual Outstanding Faculty Award at the
University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.
Kyle Putman ’11 will own the first Fort Smith location of Marco’s Pizza.
Jason Ronza ’11, ’14 was promoted to vice president at RP Power LLC in North Little Rock.
Lea Whitlock ’11 was hired as communications director of the Arkansas Foodbank in Little Rock.
Andrew Hadley ’12 was promoted to senior manager in the tax division at the Little Rock office of the HoganTaylor accounting firm.
Lee Hogan ’12 was named the director of communication at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jaison Sterling ’12 and Callie (France) Sterling ’13 founded Rock Town Sports, a subsidiary company of the co-owned company, Sterling Imageworks Photography. Rock Town Sports is an online news platform, covering all sports across central Arkansas.
Lisette (Naquin) Washispack ’12, CPA, was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women in Business.
Leo Cummings III ’13 and Whitney (Farris) Cummings ’08 won $10,000 on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
Lauren (Boyles) Fendley ’13, ’15 was hired as a client relations and media manager at Barry M. Corkern and Company Inc.
Derek Ratchford ’13 was selected to receive a 2021 Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, a field-based professional development opportunity made possible by a partnership between National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions.
Dr. Josh Lyon ’14 joined All For Kids Pediatric Clinic in Little Rock as a pediatrician.
Margaret Smith ’14 was promoted to marketing project coordinator and event specialist at Conway Corp.
Forrest Stobaugh ’14, JD, was hired as an attorney for Jones, Jackson, Moll, McGinnis & Stocks, PLC.
Maria Kramer ’14 and Logan Wile ’13 were married on Oct. 15, 2020.
Dr. Bobby Gragston ’15 was hired as a physical therapist and athletic trainer for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Spencer Freyaldenhoven ’16, ’17 was promoted to manager in the tax division at the HoganTaylor accounting firm in Little Rock.
Heather Masson-Forsythe ’16 won the COVID-19 category of the 2021 Dance Your PhD Contest sponsored by Science Magazine. Masson-Forsythe is a doctoral candidate at Oregon State University.
Callie (Clifton) Parks ’16 was named associate vice president of ambulatory innovation at Baptist Health Medical Center.
Abby Perdue ’16, ’18 was promoted to a senior in the tax division at the HoganTaylor accounting firm in Little Rock.
Susanna (Travis) Post ’17, the math and business technology teacher at Belle Point Alternative Center in Fort Smith, is the 2021 Arkansas Teacher of the Year.
Noressa (Kennedy) Hinkler ’18 was accepted into the Forbes Communication Council in Little Rock. She is the marketing and communications director of Travel Nurse Across America.
Elisha (Cummins) Johnson ’18 was promoted to manager in risk assurance at the HoganTaylor accounting firm in Little Rock.
Mary Majors ’18 was promoted to a senior in risk assurance at the HoganTaylor accounting firm in Little Rock.
Amy (Dunlap) Rehm ’18 was featured in Faulkner Lifestyle magazine’s 2020 Women
in Business.
’20s
Ashley Luningham ’20 joined WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, in March as a
multimedia journalist.
Ty McDonnough ’20 accepted a driver manager position at PAM Transport.
Madison Swaim ’20 has started the Master of Library Science program at Texas
Woman’s University.
Dr. Shannon Williams ’20 was named Arkansas Community Foundation’s affiliate officer.