Class Notes

1960s

Scott Eubanks ’68 of Scottsdale, Arizona, wrote a book titled “Mad Dogs, Marbles and Rock Fights” about his days growing up in Marshall.

Glenda Barron ’69 of Bullard was one of nine individuals inducted as members of the Class of 2017 on the Bullard ISD Wall of Honor.

John M. Vaught ’69 of Denver was selected as president-elect of the Colorado Bar Association.

1970s

Former Nueces County Commissioner and former City Councilman Joe McComb ’70 of Corpus Christi was elected mayor of Corpus Christi.

Five SFA alumni took a Caribbean cruise earlier this year, including Dr. Dave Hylink ’71 & ’72, Steff Hylink ’72, both of Rapid City, South Dakota; Steve Casey ’73 and his wife, Janet, of Houston; and Bill Murphy ’73 and Dr. Marla Murphy ’73 of Plano.

Bill Owens ’73 of Denver was one of five former Colorado governors to speak at a Governor’s Forum hosted by the Denver office of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig regarding their perspective on issues impacting Colorado.

Deborah Keys ’75 of Rowlett published a book titled “Why Do You Think I Call You Mama?” Her book gives an honest and sometimes humorous account of her time as a caregiver to her mother, who suffered from dementia.

Texas Monthly recognized Phyllis Martin ’75 of Houston, a financial advisor for MassMutual Greater Houston, as a five-star wealth manager in 2015 and 2016. Forbes’ special issue, Forbes 2016 Investment Guide, also recognized Martin as one of eight wealth managers in the country based on certain benchmarks that identify high quality in the industry.

Jim Phaup ’75 & ’78 of Sunnyvale was named CEO of Sanden International USA. He also began his ninth term as Sunnyvale mayor in May.

Dr. Ross Tomlin ’75 & ’80 of Tillamook, Oregon, was chosen as Tillamook Bay Community College’s new president.

Paul Beran ’78 & ’80 of Fort Smith, Arkansas, is chancellor of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and recently oversaw the development of the university’s 2017-22 Strategic Plan.

Thomas Brown ’78 of Kilgore was awarded the Blue Ribbon Medal of Excellence for Student Success by Kilgore College.

Charles Castle ’79 of Colorado Springs will have his book, “Inspiration for the Heart,” published by SFA University Press.

Dr. Sherilyn Emberton ’79 & ’81 of Huntington, Indiana, was selected as the 2017 Panola College Alumna of the Year.

1980s

Doice Grant ’82 of Longview was inducted into the SFA Band Directors’ Hall of Fame.

Brian K. McCabe ’82 of Tyler was appointed senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Southside Bancshares Inc.

E. Paul Cauley Jr. ’83 of Dallas joined Drinker Biddle and Reath as a partner in February.

James M. Jones ’83 of Southlake joined WellMed Medical Management as associate growth officer for North Texas.

Kathy Morgan ’83 & ’88 of Austin was the community professional winner of the Austin Child Guidance Center’s fifth annual Phyllis Richards Austin Icon for Children Award.

Dr. Philip T. Reynolds ’83 opened San Augustine Smiles in December 2015.

Sarah Ward ’83 of Tyler retired from Whitehouse High School after teaching Spanish and French there for 20 years.

Jeff Pownall ’85 of Lufkin was named interim managing editor of The Lufkin News.

Pat Stacey ’85 of Tyler, vice president and general manager of KLTV-TV and KTRE-TV, was guest speaker for the Gilmer Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 annual membership banquet.

Marc Jernigan ’86 of Orange Park, Florida, was elected president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors in January.

Cyndi Lemke ’87 of Keller is an English and journalism instructor at Keller High School and advisor to the student-run newspaper. She also coaches UIL journalism events.

Deidre L. Shearer ’89 of Houston was appointed vice president and corporate secretary of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation.

1990s

Cherokee County Judge Chris Davis ’91 & ’01 of Alto was one of three people appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas County and District Retirement System Board of Trustees.

Kevin Atkinson ’92 of Denton is the new head football coach and athletic coordinator at Marcus High School in Lewisville.

Scott Callaway ’92 of Bullard was named athletic director and head football coach at Bullard High School.

Michael B. Croswell Jr. ’94 of Irving, the chief financial officer of Zion Oil & Gas, was appointed to the company’s board of directors.

David Lynch ’94 of Longview was named principal of Spring Hill Junior High.

Michael Smith ’94 of Decorah, Iowa, conducted the Trombone Choir and Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble during a performance by Luther College’s brass ensembles in April. Smith is associate professor of music at Luther College.

Donny Webb ’94 & ’99 of Lufkin was named Hudson ISD superintendent.

Kayla Cagan ’95 of Los Angeles had her book “Piper Perish” published by Chronicle Books.

Mario Canizares ’95 of Denton was named assistant city manager for the City of Denton.

Rebecca Daniels ’95 of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, is now an innkeeper at The Lake House, a bed and breakfast on Lake Winnisquam.

David Bradley Cates ’96 and Leigh Ann Woitena, both of Santa Fe, Texas, were married in September.

Troy L. Carson ’97 of Houston was named chief financial officer for Hoover Ferguson Group.

Shane Rohrbach ’97 of Flint, Texas, presented at the Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas’ March Lunch.Learn.Lead. workshop. Rohrbach is a certified public accountant with Gollob Morgan Peddy.

Jeffrey Baggett ’98 of Corsicana was named environmental compliance officer with Texas Environmental Training and Compliance.

Dr. Robert Long III ’98 of Tomball, principal at Delores E. Thompson Elementary School in Spring ISD, was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve on the Texas School Safety Center Board.

J.P. Richardson ’98 of Gladewater was named Tatum ISD superintendent.

Sereniah Breland ’99 of Alvin was elected director-at-large to the Texas City Management Association Board of Directors.

Kinnie ’99 and Jason Reina ’03 & ’17 of Nacogdoches announced the April birth of Evan Michael.

2000s

Mandy Sargent ’00 of Austin was named principal of Rooster Springs Elementary School in Dripping Springs ISD.

D. Robert Holcomb ’01 of Wylie joined 7-Eleven Inc., headquartered in Irving, as digital legal attorney.

Dr. Donny Lee ’02 was named Oakwood ISD superintendent.

Brooke Lipsey ’02 of Carthage was appointed to the Panola College Board of Trustees. She is an auditor for Panola County.

David Madrid ’02 of Bossier City, Louisiana, was recently honored by Jack’s Compliance Master Group as the 2016 Member of the Year for his contributions to the group.

Brett A. Richardson ’02 of San Antonio was selected as a semi-finalist and received honorable mention in the college/university wind ensemble conducting category of the 2016 American Prize Competition.

Bullard ISD named Season Caughlin ’03 as the district’s first girls’ soccer coach for the 2017-18 year.

Tim King ’05 of Crockett was named park superintendent for Fairfield Lake State Park.

Greenville ISD Board of Trustees named Dr. Demetrus Liggins ’05 of Duncanville as superintendent.

Candice ’05 and Cory Rivenburgh of Attleboro, Massachusetts, announced the December birth of Cooper Jay.

DeAndre ’05 and Andrea Smith ’05 of Houston announced the February birth of Cameron DeAndre’ Smith.

Lucie ’06 and Adam Blye ’07 of Cedar Park announced the October birth of their second son, Knox Hunter Blye.

Curtis ’06 and Kim Cole ’06 announced the March birth of their second son, Carson.

Benjamin Hairgrove ’06 & ’14 of Fort Worth was named principal of Mandela International Magnet School.

Amber Burda ’09 of Santa Fe, Texas, was named executive director of sponsorships, business and corporate development at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Helene Cortinas ’09 was named assistant principal of Bullard Middle School.

Olivia Ross ’09 of Houston was named senior communications specialist for CenterPoint Energy in Houston.

Veronica Weaver ’09 & ’11 and Johnnie Beavers ’16, both of Nacogdoches, were married in April.

2010s

Ben Bagley ’10 of Kilgore was named senior pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

The Plainview ISD Board of Trustees named Robin Salazar ’10 as the new director for accountability and assessment.

Two SFA alumnae were named principals at Forney ISD schools. Jenny Harstrom ’11 of Gun Barrel City was hired as principal of Lewis Elementary School, and Leslie Rader ’13 was hired as principal at Crosby Elementary School.

Alex Ranc ’11 & ’13 of Lufkin joined the Angelina College faculty as a full-time speech instructor.

Emma Gorman ’12 of McKinney and Justin Gautreaux of Lafayette, Louisiana, were married in November in Plano.

Rebecca Newman ’12 of San Antonio received her Certified Tourism Executive Certification at the Texas Travel and Tourism College Conference.

Errol Reid ’12 of Killeen was hired as a logistics business improvement specialist for Tesoro Corporation.

Tameika Sanchez ’12 of Arlington was named Dallas Mavericks Classroom Champions’ Teacher of the Year.

Casey ’14 and Morgann Hawkins ’14 of Dallas announced the March birth of Avery Laine.

Allena Perry ’15 of Italy, Texas, traveled to Guatemala on a mission trip with Story International. She spent several months teaching orphans English, art and Bible classes.

George Lane ’16 of Washington, D.C., is assistant director of external relations at the Federalist Society for the Law and Public Policy.

Laura Maher ’16 of Cleveland, Ohio, was featured in the February publication of Interiors + Sources magazine.

Ally Gallier ’17 of Nacogdoches completed an internship with Henry & Peters and was hired as a staff associate in the Tyler office in June.