CLASS NOTES

1950s

Larry Wilson ’56 – Larry retired from Brown Insurance in 2020.

1960s

Andrew Wargo ’64 – Andrew was inducted into the 2021 Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in January 2021. While at Arkansas State University, he was part of the Sport Parachute Team that won the 1964 National Collegiate Championships.

Richard Hartness Sr. ’68, MA

’78, MA ’14 – Richard published a book, Someday You’ll Know, in August 2020, and is a current board member of the A-State Alumni Association.

1970s

Dr. Joe Johnson ’70 – Joe, known as the Las Vegas “Rock Doc,” announced his retirement in December 2020.

Dr. Jane Gates ’73 –

Jane was named interim president of Connecticut College System in November 2020.

Thomas “Gary” Hudson ’75 – Gary retired as CEO of Farmers and Merchants Bank and The Bank of Fayetteville in December 2020, after leading the bank for the past 11 years.

1980s

Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in November 2020.

Dr. Beatrice Reed MSE ’83 – Beatrice was appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Optometry in May 2020, by Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Carol Langston ’85 – Carol is the director of public affairs at Galveston College in Galveston Island, Texas, and was named communicator of the year at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 4 conference in November 2019.

Alec Farmer ’86 – Alec was named to the EC Barton and Company board of directors in December 2020.

Nancy Everitt ’87 – Nancy, the CEO of HEOPS, a firm that enables the nation’s best health plans to scale their business through outsourced services, was featured in October 2020, on The Health Storm.

1990s

Chad Heritage ’91 – Chad was named program director for Kix106 & 98.9 The Bridge in Memphis in September 2020.

Ryan Underwood ’91 – Ryan was named one of Arkansas’ 250 Most Influential Leaders by Arkansas Business Publishing Group in October 2020.

Jason Ball ’92 – Jason was named vice president and news director at KTLA-TV in Los

Dr. Joe Johnson ‘70 Michael Lewellen ‘83 Susan Vowels ‘97 Eric Blackwell ‘01 Tiffny Calloway ‘07 Mitchell Nail ‘07

Angeles. He is also host of The News Director’s Office, a podcast about local media and its importance.

Suzanne Allen ’94 ’00 ’16 –

Suzanne was named to the list of NEA Women in Business by NEA Talk Business & Politics in October 2020.

Jonathan Davis

‘94 – Jonathan was named chief operating officer of FirstHealth of the Carolinas system in December 2020.

Susannah Marshall ’94 – Susannah was appointed as commissioner of the Arkansas State Bank Department by Governor Asa Hutchinson in September 2020.

Penny Toombs ’95

’06 – Penny was named director of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home and the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in September 2020. Tamika Jean-Baptiste ’96 – Tamika was named keynote speaker for Ventura County’s 35th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Observance in California in December 2020.

Jeremy Lewis ’97 ’18 – Jeremy was named superintendent of the Highland School District in Arkansas in December 2020. Susan Vowels ’97 – Susan was named executive director of the Cleburne County Community Foundation in November 2020.

Susan Beasley ’98 – Susan was named to the list of NEA Women in Business by NEA Talk Business & Politics in October 2020.

Amanda Herget ’99 ’01 – Amanda was named to the list of NEA Women in Business by NEA Talk Business & Politics in October 2020.

Neely Camp ’00 – Neely was named to the list of NEA Women in Business by NEA Talk Business & Politics in October 2020.

Kasey Holder

‘00 – Kasey was named to the list of NEA Women in Business by NEA Talk Business & Politics in October 2020.

Sylvia McDaniel Roland ’00 – Sylvia was named president of the Americus Kiwanis Club for 2020 after teaching in public schools in Arkansas, Florida and Georgia for 19 years.

2000s

Eric Blackwell ’01 – Eric was named manager of government affairs at NRG, Inc. in Houston in December 2020. He will be managing the PAC and Texas government relationships. Emily Devereux ’02 ’06 – Emily was honored with the outstanding doctoral student award for the 19-20 academic year by the College of Business and Public Management at West Chester University. She started working for the University of South Carolina College of Engineering and Computing as director of proposal development.

Bianca Phillips

’02 – Bianca was named to Memphis Business Journal’s 40 under 40 2020 class.

Lindsey Brown Woodard ’03

– Lindsey was named cocoordinator of the Guide By Your Side program for Arkansas Hands & Voices in 2020.

Chris Prothro ’05 –

Chris was named head baseball coach at Eastern Kentucky University in October 2020.

Courtney Rowe ’05 – Courtney was named director of strategic communications and engagement for President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Response Team in December 2020.

Jessica Camp ’06 ’10 ’18 – Joined the A-State College of Nursing and Health Professions as Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield endowed professor in November 2020.

Jeramy Pappas ’06 – Jeramy began his new position as director

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of digital marketing and strategy with OU-Tulsa in April 2020. Tiffny Calloway ’07 – Named director of operations of The Delta Population Health Institute in November 2020.

Lauren Dowless Cherry ’07 MPA ’08,

DOT ’19 – Lauren received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree and is now working for The Learning Center in Jonesboro as an occupational therapist.

Mitchell Nail ’07 – Mitchell was named media relations manager for St. Bernards Healthcare in July 2020. In his role, Nail oversees St. Bernards’ external communications with members of the press and the general public.

S. Anthony Childress ’08 – Anthony curated an exhibit highlighting the professional career of Pauline Pfeiffer, second wife of author Ernest Hemingway, for the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center at Piggott. Currently, the exhibit is housed at the University of Missouri at Columbia’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, Pfeiffer’s alma mater.

CLASS NOTES CONTINUED

Jervonne Newsome ‘09 Katie Beineke ‘11 Latasha Moore ‘14 Brennon Gurley ‘15 Tyler Zuber ‘17 Haley Stotts ‘18

Lindsay Malatesta ’08 – Lindsay is now a board certified neurologist after passing her exams in 2020. She has accepted a job at Vanderbilt University.

Lane Pruitt ’08 – Lane was named to the Arkansas Business 40 under 40 2020 class.

Graycen Bigger ’09 – Graycen received the Emerging Young Alumni award from the Alumni Association in September 2020. She was also named to the Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 2020 class and named one of NEA Women in Business by NEA Talk Business & Politics in 2020.

Jervonne Newsome ’09 – Jervonne was recognized as one of Dallas’ Top 50 Women Lawyers by the National Diversity Council in August 2020. Allie Rouse ’09 – Allie was named director of planned giving for Arkansas Community Foundation. Her nonprofit experience includes work with the Arkansas Nonprofit Alliance, the World Disaster Management Community College in Kanana, South Africa, and Partners for Inclusive Communities in Little Rock.

Amy Wills ’09 – Amy was recognized by The Communications Group as a Newest Women in Industry Inductee in November 2020.

2010-Present

Katie Beineke ’11 – Katie was named senior associate athletic director and Title IX deputy coordinator for athletics in 2019 at University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. Dillon Burks ’11 – Dillon completed his pediatric residency at UT Houston Health and Science Center in December 2020. He obtained his M.S. in cellular physiology and molecular biophysics from UAMS in 2013, and his M.D. from UAMS in 2017.

Meredith Hale ’14 –Meredith was named the director of development for CareLink, Central Arkansas’s Area Agency on Aging in July 2020. Latasha Moore ’14 – Latasha won the Emerging Minority Business Award from the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce in September 2020. Brennon Gurley ’15 – Brennon won his first Emmy award for reporting as part of the morning newscast at KLTV in Tyler, Texas in September 2020.

Bethany Anderson

’16 - Bethany joined the Navy in 2018 to gain relevant experience to accompany her M.S. in disaster preparedness and emergency management from A-State. She is currently stationed onboard USS Donald Cook DDG-75, and as a Cryptologic technician 2nd class, is responsible for signals and communications intelligence and analysis of foreign adversaries. In 2020, she was awarded the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist pin.

OBITUARY – NEIL GRIFFIN, BENEFACTOR OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, PROVIDED HISTORIC GIFT

Neil Griffin, ‘48, of Kerrville, Texas, namesake of the Neil Griffin College of Business, died June 27. After fighting for his country in World War II, Griffin returned home to Arkansas and resumed his education. Like many of the veterans who took advantage of the GI Bill, Griffin worked hard to earn a college degree, in business administration, and prepare himself well for a highly successful career.

After his years in professional accounting, he moved into banking, investment banking, and service as CEO of two publicly held corporations. In semi-retirement, he kept highly involved in philanthropic activity and angel investing with emerging industries.

In 2018, A-State announced Griffin’s historic gift of $10 million, the largest individual gift to an academic program, to endow a range of scholarships, professorships and enhancement funds for the operations of the College of Business. The ASU Board of Trustees renamed the college in his honor.

His passion for others and for education was evident in his gifts, not only to Arkansas State, but to other colleges, universities and philanthropic causes. Click to see Neil Griffin’s story as presented at the ceremony for the naming of the Griffin College