Sawdust: Class Notes

Lumberjacks Make Great Friends: Members of the 1960s Pikes (Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at SFA) fraternity met for their 14th reunion at The Middle Ground Ranch in Hext, Texas. After a four-year absence (2009-13), the Pikes were rechartered at SFA in May 2015. Subgroups represent the decade members attended SFA and meet annually to catch up. Currently, SFA has more than 1,100 Pikes alumni.

Eugene Mitchell Weatherly ’70 of Kerrville recently was inducted into the U.S. Army Cadet Command Reserve Officer Training Hall of Fame, which recognizes overall excellence and accomplishment in leadership, in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

A Nacogdoches County native, Weatherly is one of only a handful of cadets to receive this honor.

“I am both immensely honored and humbled to be inducted into the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame,” Weatherly said. “Throughout the past 100 years, 600,000 cadets have been commissioned through ROTC and only 323 chosen for the Hall of Fame — a sitting Supreme Court justice, a Medal of Honor recipient, hundreds of distinguished Army generals and a few business leaders like me. One could not help but feel greatly honored and humbled.”

Weatherly was inducted into the ROTC Hall of Fame for his exceptional accomplishment as a leader in business. He retired as executive vice president for Pier 1 Imports in 2007. In that role, he oversaw operations of all 1,200 Pier 1 Import stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Three generations of SFA graduates unexpectedly bumped into each other in Mikkeli, Finland, in January during a Nordic Masterclass for Conductors: from right, Randy Navarre ’73 of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, Mark Crim ’03 of White Oak and Tristan Roberts ’15 of Kilgore.

“It was a remarkable experience conducting the St. Michel Strings, a wonderful professional orchestra. The three of us had a great time telling SFA stories and remembering faculty members. We all agree, the SFA School of Music greatly prepared us for our careers in music. I am quite proud to be a Lumberjack,” Navarre said.

Chair of the SFA Board of Regents Dr. Scott Coleman, right, ’80 of Houston and Kent Underwood had grandsons born within hours of each other between July 24 and 25, 2015. Coleman and Underwood were roommates in Hall 16 nearly 40 years ago when they were both SFA freshmen. Both men attended the 2016 Southland Conference Championship game with their grandsons, Parker and Easton.

Sixty-eight golfers convened at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Nacogdoches April 23 for the 22nd annual Robert Dickerson Memorial Golf Tournament. This event has become a reunion and annual remembrance of Dickerson’s friends, family and fraternity brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Dickerson graduated from SFA in 1991. He died of cancer in 1994. The event benefits the Robert D. Dickerson Memorial Sigma Phi Epsilon Housing Fund and adds to the Robert D. Dickerson Memorial Scholarship, which was established by this group in 2013.

Brandy Haddox ’14 of Nacogdoches advanced quickly in her professional career with Pilgrim’s, formerly known as Pilgrim’s Pride, most recently taking a training program administrator position in Greeley, Colorado, with Pilgrim’s parent company, JBS.

“It’s just crazy all the things that have completely fallen into place,” Haddox said. “I’ve been with Pilgrim’s for two years, so I’ve been learning a lot. And in the human resources world, I kind of get a taste of everything, and I feel like now I am getting to do what I wanted to — my dream job.”

After graduating in May 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness, Haddox began a six-month management training program that ended with her placement in a higher-level coordinator position in January 2015. She was then promoted to human resources supervisor in November 2015 and again as a training program administrator in May.

Ray Robberson ’16 of Nacogdoches, manager of mechanical maintenance and building trades with the SFA physical plant, graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in May after nine years of attending classes. He is pictured with his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Hilton, and SFA President Dr. Baker Pattillo.

In 2013, Robberson received the SFA President’s Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and excellent service. This past year, he received the annual mentor ring given to those who exemplify what SFA considers a model student.

“The mentor ring and President’s Award meant as much to me as the degree,” Robberson said. Though he battled cancer throughout a significant portion of his time in school, he prides himself on only missing two classes in almost a decade of education.

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1960s

Robert Loper ’66 and ’76 of Jacksonville, Texas, announced his retirement from Frankston ISD following 50 years in education. Loper will complete his 41-year head-coaching career with 867 wins — 610 of those achieved during the past 28 years he’s spent with Frankston ISD.

1970s

Mike Mathis ’70 of Lufkin was named the 2015 Justin Committeeman of the Year by the John Justin Standard of the West Award program, which annually recognizes 100 behind-the-scenes individuals and one grand prize winner for his/her outstanding volunteer contribution to local rodeo. Mathis is the rodeo coordinator for the Angelina County Benefit Rodeo in Lufkin and has been a committee member for 40 years.

Mark Moseley ’70 of Middletown, Virginia, was honored by the National Football League with $5,000 and a gold football presented to Livingston High School for his participation in a Super Bowl game. Moseley was named the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1982, and he won a Super Bowl ring with the Washington Redskins in 1983.

Dr. Horace Stearman ’73 and ’87 of Grand Prairie was named assistant vice president for accreditation, planning and policy at the University of North Texas at Dallas.

Rep. Marvin Abney ’75 of Newport, Rhode Island, was named chairman of the Rhode Island House Finance Committee.

Dr. Richard White ’75 of Quitman was voted 2015 Clergy of the Year by the Greater Quitman Area Chamber of Commerce.

Terry Comingore ’76 and ’79 of Wylie was named the 2016 inductee for the Texas Distance Learning Hall of Fame. The recognition honors long-term distance learning practitioners or advocates whose careers are characterized by exceptional commitment, outstanding achievements and enduring impact.

Terry Parker ’76 of Murchison coached the Chireno Lady Owls to the 1-A semifinals of the Girls Basketball State Tournament in San Antonio.

Karl Lindekugel III ’78 of Tyler was named to the Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors in the country — a list designed to recognize the top 1 percent of advisors nationwide. Lindekugel works with Merrill Lynch and is senior vice president of wealth management for and founding partner of the LMT Management Group.

Eric Beaty ’79 of France, the economic and commercial attaché to the United States Consulate for Western France, visited the University of Kentucky for the College of Arts and Sciences Year of Europe event this academic year. He presented “U.S. and European Union Trade Relations: The French Example.”

1980s

Brian Bondy ’81 of Conroe is president of the Lake Conroe/Conroe Chamber of Commerce.

Mickey Bufalini ’81 of Houston was honored by SFA with the 2016 Edna Wilkin Teagarden Award for exemplary service in human sciences. Bufalini has been an interior designer for 35 years and has received numerous awards at the national, state and city levels.

Kathrine Stewart ’82 of Grandview is principal of Grandview Elementary School, which was recently awarded the title of 2015 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

Gary Lamar ’84 of Fort Davis coached the Fort Davis High School Indians to the 1-A semifinals of the Volleyball State Tournament.

James Muckleroy ’84 of Whitehouse was promoted to senior vice president of UBS Financial Services.

Reah Suzanne Reedy ’84 of Arlington was selected as administrative officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fire Management Branch at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Harmon Smith ’85 of Atlanta, Georgia, was named chief operating officer of PulteGroup Inc.

Joe Sigler ’87 of Beaumont coached the Silsbee ISD Tigers to the 4-A semifinals of the Boys Basketball State Tournament in San Antonio.

Stacey Stroman ’88 and ’89 of Spring coached the Dekaney High School girls’ basketball team to the 4-A semifinals of the Girls Basketball State Tournament in San Antonio.

1990s

The Gilmer ISD Board of Trustees renamed Buckeye Stadium in honor of Jeff Traylor ’90 znd ’02. Traylor is a former Gilmer football coach who brought the Buckeyes to five state final championships, winning three. He now serves on the University of Texas coaching staff.

John Eastman ’92 of Quitman was selected as the new athletic director and head football coach of Troup High School.

Dr. Jeremy Moreland ’93 of Glendale, Arizona, was appointed provost for the University of the Rockies, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is founding editor-in-chief of the award-winning Journal of Leadership Studies.

Carl Lucas ’94 of Dallas was hired by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas as lead communications consultant. He is responsible for creating and overseeing implementation of communication plans supporting Texas group marketing and sales.

Holly Reichle ’94 of Pearl, Mississippi, and her Mississippi School for the Deaf girls’ basketball team were honored by the Mississippi House of Representatives after winning the 2016 Mason-Dixon Schools for the Deaf Athletic Championship girls’ basketball tournament.

Donna Ullrich ’96 of Kingwood was named the new principal of Humble High School. With 25 years experience as an educator, Ullrich moved to the high school from the board offices where she served as curriculum coordinator for two years.

Whitney Keeling ’97 of Marshall coached the Waskom High School Wildcats to the football team’s second-straight 3-A state championship win in December at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Kyle Manary ’97 of Lufkin was named the new head men’s basketball coach for Angelina College. While at SFA, Manary was a student assistant under Ned Fowler and third assistant under Derek Allister.

Shane Rohrbach ’97 of Flint was one of two presenters at the Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas’ Lunch.Learn.Lead Workshop in March. He is a CPA with Gollob Morgan Peddy Certified Public Accountants.

Siblings Dr. Marie Sesay ’98 and Yarta “Jr.” Sesay ’06 recently visited Bangkok, Thailand.

Cameron McElroy ’99 of Center graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation at Southern Methodist University. He is a vice president of Shelby Savings Bank in Center.

2000s

Stephen Selman ’00 of Woodway was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas Animal Health Commission, which works to protect and enhance the health of animal populations across the state.

Leslie Jo Sena (Moss) ’00 of Albion, Washington, was named assistant director of first-year programs at Washington State University in Pullman.

Jeff Collum ’03 of Hallsville was hired as superintendent of Hallsville ISD.

Dr. Son Mai ’03 of Lake Charles, Louisiana, is the quality enhancement plan director at McNeese State University.

Kevin Foster ’04 of Village Mills coached the Big Sandy ISD Wildcats to the team’s second-straight Boys Basketball State Tournament appearance in the 1-A semifinals.

Mary Amanda Musselwhite ’04 and ’08 was named Aledo Middle School principal. She had been the school’s assistant principal since 2013.

Casey Page ’05 and Sarah Page ’07 of The Woodlands welcomed their second daughter, Marjorie Kay Page, on March 16.

Dr. Joshua Rhodes ’06 of Austin was invited to speak at Harvard in June and also spoke at an international conference in Italy. He finished his doctoral degree at the University of Texas, where he currently serves as a staff member, and he is part owner of IdeaSmiths, a private company that assists with engineering work for inventors.

James Daniel Hobbs ’07 of Ennis was named assistant principal of Waxahachie ISD’s Ninth Grade Academy.

2010s

Dr. Valerie Baxter ’11 of Tyler was named assistant superintendent of student services and human resources for Pine Tree ISD.

Theda Strickler ’11 of Austin received her juris doctorate and accepted a position as an attorney with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in Austin.

Jordan and Jesse Gallegos ’12 and ’14 celebrated their two-year anniversary on July 21. The couple met at St. Mary’s Catholic Campus Ministry while attending SFA.

Candra Daniel ’14 and Chad Huckaby ’15 were married June 6, 2015. Chad is serving as student regent on the SFA Board of Regents.

Matthew Goode ’14 of Marshall served as assistant coach for the Waskom High School Wildcat football team when the team won a second-straight 3-A state championship in December at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Jessica Klingsick ’14 of Buda received the Genius Educator Award at Kyle Elementary School in Hays CISD.

Zachary Stewart ’14 of Grandview was elected to a second term on the Grandview City Council.

Marina DonLevy ’15 of Houston is associate editor for Houston History magazine. She is working as a research assistant within the Center for Public History and is interning with Vince Lee, the archivist at the University of Houston’s Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive.