Class Notes

1960s

Robert Loper ’66 & ’76 of Jacksonville was inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame. A coach at Frankston, Gary, New Summerfield, Bullard and Neches high schools, Loper coached for 50 seasons and retired in 2016.

Jack Randall Rice ’67 was elected mayor of Farmersville.

Artist Carol Hart ’69 of Fayetteville, Arkansas, hosted her eighth solo show titled “A Bend in the Road” at the Story Gallery at Grace Point Church in Bentonville.

Frances Vick ’69 of Dallas co-authored a book titled “Dr. Arthur Spohn: Surgeon, Inventor and Texas Medical Pioneer” with Jane Monday and Dr. Charles Monday.

1970s

Cal Varner ’73 received a Presidential Citation award from the University of Texas at Austin. The citation recognizes the extraordinary contributions of individuals who personify the university’s commitment to the task of transforming lives.

 Mike Hahn ’76 of Seabrook retired in January 2018 after 41 years in the petrochemical industry. He spent the past 20 years with General Electric.

 Patricia Wells ’77 of Tyler recently released her collection of poems titled “LodeStar.” The book is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

Winsell Coleman ’78 & ’80 is president of the Longview NAACP.

1980s

Laurie Justus Pace ’82 of Dallas held an art exhibit titled “HorsePower” at the Beréskin Gallery and Art Academy in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Allisyn Roszel ’82 of Cazenovia, New York, was named volunteer of the month for the Community Resources for Independent Seniors’ Cazenovia Area Transportation. CRIS CAT is a volunteer organization providing medical transportation to area residents.

Joe Brewer ’85 of Limon, Colorado, was elected to the Logan County Economic Development Corporation’s board. Brewer is the senior relationship manager at TBK Bank.

Mike Mattina ’85 of Houston joined the Plastics Pioneers Association.

Lili Portilla ’85 of North Potomac, Maryland, served as the speaker in March for the webinar “Advancing Innovation in the Equality State: NCATS, SBIR AND STTR Programs for Small Businesses in Translational Science.” Portilla is director of the Office of Strategic Alliances for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

 William S. Anderson ’86 of Houston was elected to serve a three-year term on international law firm Bracewell LLP’s management committee.

 Shannon King ’86 of Bridge City received the 2019 Wayne A. Reaud Excellence in Education Award, which was created to celebrate and recognize the superior contributions of teachers who inspire a diverse group of students.

Dr. Charles Lopez ’87, ’92 & ’11 of Cheney, Washington, was appointed dean of student services at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.

Donald Hubbard ’88, ’02 & ’03 of Jasper retired after 31 years of coaching and accepted a full-time worship pastor position at Hillcrest Baptist Church.

 Chris Peden ’88 of League City was appointed president and chief operating officer for BouMatic LLC.

Shannon Lee ’89, ’91 & ’01 of Hemphill won the Gilbert I. Low Excellence in Education Award. Lee is a teacher at West Sabine Elementary School in Pineland.

1990s

 Patti Eden ’90 of Jacksonville was named Fine Arts Teacher of the Year by the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools executive board.

 John Gosselink ’90 was promoted from Bastrop High School’s assistant principal to principal.

 Craig Young ’90 of Tomball was named executive vice president of the CBRE Group’s real estate valuation and advisory services.

The Whitney Independent School District’s Board of Trustees selected John McCullough ’91 of Reno as district superintendent.

Stacy Trost ’91 & ’02 became principal of Lost Pines Elementary School in Bastrop.

Darren J. Birkelbach ’92 of Cypress is president of American International Chemical, a subsidiary of LBB Specialties.

Catharine Darst-Knight ’92 of Allen was named sales director for Athens Administrators.

Eric Gage ’92 of Tyler was named Texas region broker in charge of the real estate team for American Forest Management.

Theresa Beauchamp ’93 of Orange was elected to serve as Orange County Precinct 2 commissioner.

Dr. Cole Franklin ’94 of Shreveport, Louisiana, received the 2019 Bennett Strange Coach of the Year Award from the International Public Debate Association.

 Dr. Jess Kelly ’94 & ’96 was named executive dean of STEM, physical education and intercollegiate athletics at Eastfield College in Mesquite.

 Paul McNutt ’94 of Port Neches was promoted by BMO Capital Markets to managing director, global head of power for utilities and infrastructure.

The Jax Federal Credit Union Board of Directors named Joseph Nowland ’94 of Arlington, Virginia, as the credit union’s new president and CEO.

Coach David Schmitt ’94 led Shelbyville High School’s varsity basketball team to a state title in the Class 2A UIL basketball playoffs.

Holly Wilson ’94 & ’01 of Mustang, Oklahoma, featured her sculpture and photography exhibition titled “Below the Surface” in Kansas City, Missouri, in March.

Jason Holman ’95 & ’02 was appointed Tatum Independent School District’s athletic director.

 Margaret O’Brien ’95 of Sunnyvale was elected Dallas County justice of the peace for Precinct 2, Place 1. O’Brien is the first woman to be elected to this position.

David Reed ’95 was named Palestine High School’s head softball coach.

Terry Short ’95 is athletic director for the International Christian School of Budapest in Hungary.

 Dr. Derek de la Pena ’96 of Manvel received the 2019 Frank P. Forwood Award for academic excellence in presented research. He is a full-time faculty member of the psychology department at Wharton County Junior College in Sugar Land.

 Cassie Bering ’98 of Fort Worth was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas Juvenile Justice Advisory Board.

Jennifer Adams ’99 of Houston joined international law firm Hogan Lovells as a partner in its environment and natural resource practice.

James Crocker ’99 of Friendswood was named Pasadena Memorial High School’s head football coach.

2000s

Grace Manor, a nonprofit child-placing agency, opened a Nacogdoches office staffed with six SFA alumni, including Rebecca Daniel ’16, Courtney (Dykes) Britain ’14, Brenda Wright ’00, Lauren (Skinner) Prince ’12, Trish Dueboay ’14 & ’16, and Jordan Schmidt ’12.

 Jenna Armstrong ’02 of Humble, president and CEO of the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce, was selected as one of the Houston Business Journal’s 2019 40 Under 40.

Sarah Grayson ’02 of Louisville, Kentucky, joined the Baldwin CPAs firm as a staff accountant.

Crystal Dew Matovich ’02 was named Katy Independent School District Elementary Library Media Specialist of the Year.

 Dr. Brett A. Richardson ’02 of San Antonio was elected by his peers to membership in the Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Mu, an honorary bandmaster fraternity. Richardson is director of bands and coordinator of music education at University of the Incarnate Word.

Russell Washburn ’02 of Longview was promoted to the rank of captain with the Longview Police Department. He has been with the department for 26 years.

Justin McFaul ’04 of Longview was named vice president and trust officer with Texas Bank and Trust Co.

T. ‘Dandy’ Byers Jones ’05 & ’09 of Bronson started her own business, Inspired Inflations, which services the Lufkin and Nacogdoches areas with balloon-twisting entertainment, balloon bouquet delivery and small-scale balloon decor.

 Dr. Christopher Moran ’05 of Whitehouse was named Region 7 Education Service Center superintendent of the year. He serves as superintendent for the Whitehouse Independent School District.

Zach Carnley ’06 of Burleson was installed as the president of the North Texas Funeral Directors Association for 2019-20. Carnley is manager of the Lucas and Blessing Funeral Home.

Tony Moline ’06 of Cedar Park was appointed to the Texas Association of Business’ Board of Directors.

 Adam ’07 and Lucie Blye ’06 of Cedar Park announced the April birth of their third son, John Adam.

Jon Jett ’07, owner of a Tyler Nutrition Station franchise, opened a second location in Longview.

Brad King ’07 and Beth Burchfield ’11, both of Austin, were married in May. King also graduated with a doctoral degree in religious studies in August 2018.

 The Royse City Independent School District named Kara Onken ’07 of Tyler principal at Ruth Cherry Intermediate School.

Christal Calhoun ’08 was named the 2019 National Association of Elementary School Principals’ national distinguished principal for Texas. Calhoun is principal at Tool Elementary School.

Cherry Downs ’09 of Tatum was named All-East-Texas volleyball coach of the year. Downs is the Beckville High School volleyball coach.

2010s

 Christine Broussard ’10 married Jacob Barnhill ’14 & ’19 in November.

 Charles Van Hoose ’10 of Austin is a geographic information system supervisor for West Safety Services. He is responsible for the deployment and support of web mapping products used by first responders across the country.

 Amy Hahn ’11 received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Houston and is now a nurse practitioner at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Cedar Park.

Andrew Upshaw ’11 of Tulsa, Oklahoma, won the Fishing League Worldwide Tour held in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Emily Funk ’12 of Rockwall was named High School Teacher of the Year by the Wolfforth Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Kelsey Richardson ’12 of Rowlett was hired at Covenant Health Plainview as a family practice physician.

 April Adams ’13 of Nacogdoches received her pilot wings with Air Evac Lifeteam in Jasper. Her duties include critical care transports as well as trauma-related flights.

 John Cleveland ’13 of Norman, Oklahoma, graduated in May with his juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law.

Mitch Davis ’15 of Longview was promoted to assistant vice president at First State Bank and Trust.

 Matt Butschek ’17 graduated with a master’s degree in physics from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

 Hannah E. Jones ’17 of Aledo married Zachary Wilke ’15 of Lufkin in March.

Deidra “Dee” Case ’18 of Winnsboro was hired as a staff associate at Henry and Peters Certified Public Accountants.