Class Notes

1980s

Suzii Paynter ’80 of Austin was named co-director of Pastors for Texas Children, a nonprofit organization that exists to provide care and support for public education and other child advocacy issues.

Rick Wright ’84 retired from the City of Lake Jackson Police Department after more than 31 years of service.

William S. Anderson ’86 of Houston was elected to serve a three-year term on the management committee at Bracewell, an international law firm. Anderson is a partner in Bracewell’s Houston office and is co-chair of the firm’s corporate and securities department and head of its financial institutions practice.

Chris Mueller ’88 of Hermantown, Minnesota, was named vice president for college advancement at the College of St. Scholastica.

1990s

Joe Cauthen ’90 was hired as the new defensive coordinator at the University of Houston. Cauthen served the past five years as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Arkansas State University.

Kevin Cooper ’90 of Austin was named assistant chief of governmental relations for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Catharine Darst-Knight ’92 of Allen is the sales director for Athens Administrators, a company that provides workers’ compensation claim management services.

Jason Downing ’92 of Dallas became the first U.S. vice chairman of Deloitte. He has been with the firm for 26 years.

David Oldani ’92 of Plano joined the management team of Ryan, an award-winning global tax services and software provider, as senior vice president.

Jennifer Conner ’93 of Temple was named principal of Charter Oak Elementary. She served in the same role at Miller Heights Elementary since 2011.

Vercie McMullen ’93 of Pollok was named executive director of the Lufkin Education Foundation. Its mission is to provide opportunities for excellence in education, promote innovation in teaching and partner with the community to enhance the quality of education for all students within the Lufkin Independent School District.

Terri Jo Box ’94 of Nashville was named a distinguished alumna by the Nacogdoches High School Alumni Association. Box is a singer-songwriter who wrote for Merf Music Group for seven years and currently writes for her own publishing company.

John Wink ’95 of Longview was named superintendent of Carthage Independent School District. He previously served as superintendent of Blue Ridge ISD.

Dr. Angela Pool-Funai ’96 of Enoch, Utah, published her first book, “Ethics in Fiscal Administration: An Introduction.” Pool-Funai is director of Southern Utah University’s Master of Public Administration program.

2000s

Scott Haygood ’00 of Longview was promoted to senior vice president and senior lender for BancorpSouth.

Tobi Duckworth ’01 of Springdale, Arkansas, was named president and CEO of Ana-Lab Corp., the 15th-largest environmental testing laboratory in the nation.

Rachel Hunt ’01 of Lufkin was named president-elect of the Texas College Reading and Learning Association.

Jay Miller ’01 of Gilmer was elected Upshur County commissioner.

Dr. Cynthia Ball ’03 joined UT Health East Texas Physicians North Campus in Tyler. She is a board-certified occupational medicine physician.

Isaac York ’05 of Franklin, Tennessee, presented a program during a meeting of the Visually Impaired Support Group of Cumberland County in November. York is the Tennessee VISG coordinator for the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System.

Lacey Russell ’07 & ’16 started her own flower-growing business, Alice Creek Flowers, after purchasing and moving to a small plot in Whitehouse with her family. Russell supplies flowers to Tyler and Whitehouse florists.

2010s

Matthew Collins ’13 & ’15 was promoted to commercial lender for BancorpSouth in Longview.

Jed Crisp ’14 of Marshall created the program Tuning Texas, a platform for singer-songwriters from across the state and country to be spotlighted.

Hannah Johnson ’15 of Itasca and Brandon Luther ’18 of Kaufman married in November in Washington.