SPORTS!
fall/winter 2009-10
emu... preparing students to serve and lead globally
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 1
vol. 90, No. 2
photo by jim bishop
crossroads
fall/winter 2009-10, Vol. 90, No. 2 Crossroads (USPS 174-860) is published three times a year by Eastern Mennonite University for distribution to 16,000 alumni, students, parents and friends. A leader among faith-based universities, Eastern Mennonite University emphasizes peacebuilding, creation care, experiential learning, and cross-cultural engagement. Founded in 1917 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, EMU offers undergraduate, graduate, and seminary degrees that prepare students to serve and lead in a global context. EMU's mission statement is posted in its entirety at www.emu.edu/president/mission. Board of Trustees: Susan Godshall, chair, Mount Joy, Pa.; Wilma Bailey, Indianapolis, Ind.; Myron Blosser, Harrisonburg, Va.; John Bomberger, Harrisonburg, Va.; Andrew Dula, Lancaster, Pa.; Gilberto Flores, Newton, Kan.; Curtis D. Hartman, Harrisonburg, Va.; Shirley Hochstetler, Kidron, Ohio; Gerald R. Horst, New Holland, Pa.; Charlotte Hunsberger, Souderton, Pa.; Joan King, Telford, Pa.; Clyde Kratz, Harrisonburg, Va.; Kathleen (Kay) Nussbaum, Grant, Minn.; Kathy Keener Shantz, Lancaster, Pa.; Lillis Troyer, Walnut Creek, Ohio; Diane Zimmerman Umble, Lancaster, Pa.; Paul R. Yoder, Jr., Harrisonburg, Va. Associate trustees: Jonathan Bowman, Manheim, Pa.; Steve Brenneman, Nappanee, Ind.; David Hersh, Line Lexington, Pa.; Robert P. Hostetler, Erie, Pa.; E. Thomas Murphy, Jr., Harrisonburg, Va.; Amy L. Rush, Harrisonburg, Va.; Judith Trumbo, Broadway, Va. Loren Swartzendruber, president; Fred Knissr, provost; Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement; Andrea Wenger, marketing and communications director. Bonnie Price Lofton Editor/writer bonnie.lofton@emu.edu
Jon Styer Designer/photographer jon.styer@emu.edu
Paul T. Yoder Mileposts editor paul.t.yoder@emu.edu
Jim Bishop Public information officer bishopj@emu.edu
Marcy Gineris Web content manager marcy.gineris@emu.edu
Jason Garber Web/new media coord. jason.garber@emu.edu
Lindsey Kolb Project coord./videographer lindsey.kolb@emu.edu All EMU personnel can be reached during regular work hours through calling (540) 432-4000, or via contact details posted on the university website, www.emu.edu. Cover photo EMU womens volleybal team, courtesy EMU archives. (The editor would welcome knowing the year this was taken and the identities of the two women.) POSTMASTER: Submit address changes to: Crossroads Eastern Mennonite University 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg, VA 22802
The president thanks long-time Loyal Royals member, Marjorie Guengerich ’35, who has attended hundreds of events with her husband Paul Thomas (“P.T.”). P.T.’s health no longer permits him to come. Also honored this fall were Loyal Royals members Dick and Helen Ours, who have attended 90% of the home games since 1974, or almost 2,500 events! For more on the Loyal Royals, see page 35.
Life-Long Memories of Sports I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of the 2,200 alumni who have done intercollegiate sports at EMU still recall the impact, the lessons, of that experience. Each day, we are generating new life-long memories for the 215 athletes currently playing for the Royals. According to Dave King, our athletics director, almost half of our incoming undergraduates want to play intercollegiate sports. Each time I step into Yoder Arena to watch our women and men play volleyball or basketball, I am grateful to the donors who made it possible for us to have a beautiful double-sized gymnasium for games, training, intramurals and recreation, along with other necessary facilities, such as a weight room. Each time I stand on the sidelines of a field hockey or soccer game and watch our athletes play on our state-of-the art turf field, installed in 2008, I am grateful. Current students Michael Allen and Richy Bikko would not be competing at the national level of track and field and (in Bikko’s case) cross country, if donors had not enabled EMU to have quality track and field facilities. Like many of you reading this, I have a particular memory of being an intercollegiate athlete. Mine dates to the fall of 1968 when I was one of two first-year students on the men’s basketball team at EMU. My memory is that I played a few minutes in two or three games prior to the Christmas break. The coach was Art Mullet and he had learned that I was planning to transfer to the University of Iowa the following year to study pharmacy. Concurrently he knew of a local high school player who wanted to enroll at EMU after the holidays. Coach Mullet contacted me during the holidays to ask me to turn in my uniform after returning to campus. Given that I was not playing much and that I didn’t plan to return for my sophomore year, I was not surprised. Twenty-five years later I was a candidate for the presidency at Hesston College in Kansas. During the campus visit weekend I went to Yost Center to watch a basketball game and immediately saw Coach Mullet in the stands, then (and now) the athletic director and baseball coach at Hesston. He greeted me with, “I think that I know you from the past but I can’t quite remember where.” I responded with a smile, “Yes, you cut me from the basketball team at EMU in ’68. And, now I may be coming here as your president!”* As Athletics Director King says in this issue and in his numerous speeches, we are about the task of preparing student athletes for life beyond college. With a few exceptions, the last contest at EMU marks the end of a career in a formal sense. For some of us, that last contest came much earlier than for others! For all of us, however, the lessons learned will stay with us for a lifetime. Please join us in cheering the Royals when you can.
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*the full version of this story has some additional twists. It is posted at www.emu.edu/crossroads/presidentialstory
Loren Swartzendruber President
2 EMU Homecoming 2009
Big turn-out for music, theater, sports, reunions.
4 We Want You To Be Successful
4
In this Issue
6
Dave King explains EMU's sports philosophy.
6 New Country, New Sport
Initially he couldn't hit the ball to save his life.
8 Our Healthy Balance
We prepare students for the long haul.
22 On the Pro Sports Track
Erik Kratz of the "Indians" doesn't give up.
25 Tale of Struggle & Success
8
22
27
28
Top athlete arrived unmotivated, left a success.
26 Dougherty Fires Us Up
New coach quickly molded national contender.
27 Sports & Love for Life
Hundreds of athletic alumni have tied the knot.
28 Hall of Honor
Permanent recognition for our top athletes.
30 Sports & Education
They never left what they loved in school.
34 Stories Left Untold
How to sum up the lives of 2,200 competitors?
37 2007-08 Donors
We gratefully publish the names of our donors, who gave a record amount.
EMU homecoming 2009
See mORe PhOTOS Online aT:
emu.edu/alumni/homecoming/09/galleries
Save Oct. 8-10, 2010, for next year's homecoming!
photo by Jon styer
The tight harmonies of Reunion Vocal Band -- a mix of folk, folk-gospel, gospel, country, jazz -- entertained a nearly full house in Lehman Auditorium on Saturday night.
photo by Lindsey KOLB
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After a dedication service, visitors toured Cedarwood, EMU's new residence hall and first certifiably sustainable building. More information at www.emu.edu/begreen
photo by Jon styer
An overflow crowd gathered in Hartzler Library to view the new "Unity Bell" exhibit and recall the "miracle library drive" 40 years ago that raised $111,000 in four days for a new library.
photo by Jon styer
Alumnus of the Year Anthony Pratkanis '79, PhD, social influence expert, delivered a rousing call to support EMU. More information at emu.edu/giving/pratkanis
photo by Jon styer
"Weaving our lives together in Christ" was the theme of Sunday morning worship led by Sara Wenger Shenk, associate seminary dean, and Kevin Clark of Eastern Mennonite Seminary.
photo by Jon styer
Class of '59 members gather for their 50th reunion, left to right: Grace Shenk, Bob Hostetler and Dan Hess. They were one of nine class reunions, plus a Jubilee alumni reunion.
photo by Lindsey Grosh
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 3
We WanT
yOu
TO Be SuCCeSSful if yOu’Re an aThleTe, you’ll likely agree that collegiate-level sports offers a unique experience. The experience is somewhat akin to intensely engaging in music, art, and theater at college, but athletes primarily tune, shape, and act with their bodies. All student-athletes struggle to balance their academic work with the time and physical demands of the sports they play. All learn about dealing with both failure and success. With being self-disciplined. Recovery from injuries. Pain. Relationship building. Team work. Setting goals and meeting them (or not). Taking responsibility and deferring to authority. When athletes make obvious mistakes in front of spectators or fail to deliver as the coach expected – especially under pressure – they may struggle with selfesteem issues. Or when playing time is less than they would like. Or when their performance seems to have hit a plateau, or perhaps even worsened.
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All this is true of athletes at Division I, Division II, or Division III colleges, such as EMU. But there’s a difference at EMU: We take a long-term view; we focus on the athlete’s well-being. Athletes will be people a lot longer than they will be athletes, so our key concern is who the athlete will be when he or she is 35, 45, 55 or 65. We ask: How will the experiences you’re having as a student-athlete contribute to your future roles in the community, workplace, and church? To be successful as humans, you need to develop Christian character traits and life skills that will see you through adulthood. In short, we want you, the athlete, to be successful, not just the program. We want sports to enhance your college education by being a positive impact on your understanding of self, others and God. For instance, EMU’s “star” athletes are helped to grasp that their gifts do not make them better or more important humans than others. They need their team
sports photos courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
Dave King's sports philosophy is both a product of, and an influence on, the "EMU Difference" in the athletics department.
members as much as their team members need them. And they need to appreciate what they can learn and offer in other venues – in the classroom, on a crosscultural venture, in an art gallery, or in a soup kitchen. The athletes who aren’t standouts also learn important lessons – some of the best coaches I know were the ones who spent much time on the bench. They are able to break down the game and teach others how to play. Typically in Division 1 colleges, the emphasis is not on the particular student-athlete being successful, but on the team as a whole having a great record, which enhances the school’s reputation and income. In other words, in most Division I sports programs – and in too-many Division II and III programs as well – the spiritual, emotional, physical and academic well-being of each athlete is secondary to the over-arching goal of racking up wins. At EMU (I repeat) the long-term wellbeing of the student comes first.
Not that winning is unimportant. The EMU Athletics Department has set a minimal goal of 65% wins for all EMU intercollegiate competition, combined with at least one team competing for conference championship every three years. But these achievements will be a byproduct of working hard, smart and together, while all concerned – players, coaches and teachers – were also working at staying “balanced and integrated” in the Christian sense, as compassionate, service-oriented human beings. – Dave King, Athletics Director Dave King ’76 played three intercollegiate sports – soccer, basketball, and (as a freshman) baseball – at EMU. His wife, Debra ’77, played volleyball here. Their three children all came to EMU and played intercollegiate sports: Derek ’03, volleyball; Ryan ’07, basketball; and Lisa ’08, field hockey. All three have gone on to graduate school or responsible jobs. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 5
photo courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
Jason Axford '98, MA in Counseling '03, is now an assistant volleyball coach at Mary Baldwin College.
neW COunTRy, neW SPORT, neW life "I could not hit or connect with the ball to save my life" JaSOn axfORd, a native of South Africa, heard about EMU from his uncle, a church worker married to a Mennonite woman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Axford had started playing competitive soccer at age 4, but by his teens he was a standout in track and field, becoming a junior national champion in the high jump and triple jump. Growing up in a segregated society, Axford first competed against other “coloreds,” but had crossed into mixed black and white competition by the time he finished secondary school in South Africa. Coming to EMU in 1994, Axford lived with relatives of his Mennonite aunt, shouldering a full course load while working in the snack bar as many hours as EMU permitted. He ruled out joining the EMU track & field team after seeing them train through freezing rain, snow and bitter cold. He also wanted a sport that would allow him to keep his snack bar job. “I was used to running when it was 90 or 100 degrees at home – I didn’t do track [at Eastern Mennonite] because it was so darn cold,” Axford recalls with bemusement, now 6 | crossroads | fall/winter 2009-10
that he has experienced 15 years of bonechilling winters. His snack bar work permitted him to see the men’s volleyball team practicing in the nearby gym. Noticing Axford on the sidelines, Coach Sandy Brownscombe made a point of getting to know him and eventually invited him to try playing volleyball. “I could not hit or connect with the ball to save my life, but I could jump,” Axford said. Brownscombe recognized a gifted athlete and set about teaching 6-foot-2-inch Axford the basics of volleyball. * Four years later, Axford was co-captain of the team that went to the Final Four. After graduation, Axford played a season with a professional Austrian volleyball team. He is one of four EMU alumni to “go pro” 1
*Dr. Sandy Brownscombe became the founding coach of the men’s volleyball team at EMU in 1990. She likely was the first woman to coach a men’s intercollegiate volleyball team in the United States (if anyone knows of an earlier one, please e-mail the info to Crossroads@emu.edu, or we may keep saying this.). Sandy recalls meeting another woman coach at a men’s volleyball tournament in the mid 1990s, but until then Sandy was the lone female among male coaches. It is still uncommon.
– five, if we count Maven Huffman '99 who moved from EMU baseball to the World Wrestling Entertainment circuit, followed by roles in action films. [The three others are former EMU basketball player Larry Sheets ’87, a slugger for the Baltimore Orioles in the late 1980s (see page 15 for more on Sheets), Erik Kratz ’02, now playing for the Indianapolis Indians (see page 22 for more), and Dominick Porter ’07 (pictured on page 20), who played with a German volleyball team in 2008-09.] Axford became an even better volleyball player in Austria – measured with a 42-inch jump “on a good day” – but it was each man for himself (each player even warmed up by himself ) and little sense of being team members that supported each other. Axford also found himself in a region that had residual Nazi leanings, an uncomfortable environment for someone clearly nonAryan. And he didn’t speak German. When Axford returned to EMU in 2000, he had a new goal: earn a master’s degree in counseling while working as a residence director at EMU. In 2002, three years after
sports photo courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
Sandy Brownscombe, who introduced volleyball to Axford, has coached men's volleyball, women's basketball and field hockey.
"Coaches need to be able to figure out what causes an athlete to excel and what causes them to shut down and to work with each person somewhat differently."
Brownscombe gave up coaching men’s volthe game, but frees him from the timeleyball, the job again opened up, and Axford consuming duties of recruiting and traveling agreed to coach the team. to away games. Axford speaks about the In Axford’s first year as coach, men’s vol“moral victories” of good coaching, which he leyball achieved its first winning season ever, views as much more than the x’s and the o’s racking up 19 wins and 7 losses (.731 percent of volleyball. win). Now, to be fair to Axford’s predeces“There is lots of cross-over between coachsors, the year 2002 also marked the year that ing and counseling,” he says. “Every person men’s volleyball shifted from competing learns differently. And the two genders in EIVA – where EMU was arrayed with require different styles of coaching. many powerful universities that are Division “Based on your emotional health, the I today, such as Harvard, Princeton, and template you have created up to now either George Mason – to the North East Colclashes or is in harmony with what you are legiate Volleyball Association (NECVA), trying to do. Coaches need to be able to The life lessons Axford has learned so far where at least some of the colleges are closer connect with people, based on their differall get funneled into his counseling work to EMU’s size, such as Lancaster Bible Colent learning styles and emotional ‘templates.’ – he works at the Woodrow Wilson Rehalege and Hunter College. EMU has enjoyed “Coaches need players that are able to bilitation Center, one of the best centers winning seasons for seven of the last eight focus, act with confidence and overcome in Virginia for rehabilitating people who years in NECVA. their fears. Coaches need to be able to have suffered severe injuries. One day, he In 2004, Axford followed in the footsteps figure out what causes an athlete to excel expects to return to being a head coach for a of Brownscombe and led his team, with and what causes them to shut down, and to women’s or men’s volleyball team. its 9-3 NECVA record, to the Final Four, work with each person somewhat differAxford feels he got this from his years at known as the “NCAA/Molten Division ently, depending on that person’s particular EMU: A life of service, intertwined with III Tournament.” Then, like Brownscombe, attributes.” sports and study. Teammates who will be Axford stepped away from coaching. In supAxford says he started learning these friends forever. Compassion. port of his main career, he sought to acquire important lessons about coaching from For the EMU athletics department, a license as a professional counselor, with Brownscombe, his first model coach. He Axford is a success story. Not because certification for rehabilitation counseling. also learned how not to coach by playing in he was able to hold his own on Europe’s Today Axford contents himself with being Austria, under a coach whose usual motivaprofessional volleyball circuit – though that an assistant coach of the women’s volleyball tional words to Axford were “we must jump is certainly something to celebrate – but team at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, high and hit hard.” That and yelling angrily because he is a whole person, well prepared Virginia. The job keeps him in touch with in incomprehensible German. for a long, positive life.
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OuR healThy BalanCe
We prepare student-athletes for the long haul eaSTeRn mennOniTe univeRSiTy did not have intercollegiate sports from its founding in 1917 until the mid 1960s. This was almost a century after colleges in the Northeast, such as Harvard, Yale, Amherst, Williams, Cornell and McGill, first began competing against each other in track and field, rugby, baseball, and football. Part of Eastern Mennonite’s avoidance of such sports in its first 50 years was philosophical: Would intense athletic competition foster aggressive, prideful behavior within an institution that emphasized wearing modest clothing, simplicity, humility, love and reconciliation? Moreover, sports would require major investments – in regulation-sized gyms, tracks and fields, athletic uniforms and equipment. Travel to away games would not only cost money, it would siphon students’ time away from their classes and church activities. For all these reasons and more, should a Mennonite-rooted educational institution be doing intercollegiate sports? SOund mind in SOund BOdy Initially the administration considered physical exercise valuable mainly to achieve “the ideal of a sound mind in a sound body,” wrote Hubert R. Pellman, author of EMU’s official bi-centennial history, Eastern Mennonite College, 1917-1967. “[T]he faculty opposed interschool games and immodest athletic dress.” In 1925, the college tried to ensure that students exercised enough to be healthy by requiring them to walk, do physical labor, or hike for a minimum of two hours per week. In the December 1952 Eastern Mennonite College Bulletin, physical education director Harold D. Lehman argued that sports had merits beyond health, though he still did not favor having an intercollegiate program similar to other colleges: We possess an inborn desire for activity for its own sake. Play as well as work has a place in our physical make-up. God has equipped
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Middle Eastern countries – A. Nwankwo, our bodies for such activities as running, M. Maitarya, N. Sakwa, S. Habash, and jumping, throwing, climbing, striking, and kicking. The various sports and games combine M. Shadid – along with these 13 players: F. Metzler, L. Brubaker, J. Miller, these physical elements in a manner that is R. Brubaker, R. Cope, D. Wenger, H. emotionally and socially satisfying, that is Rosenberger, L. Moyer, G. Stoltzfus, D. enjoyable and that truly recreates. Stoltzfus, S. Boettger, K. Lind, and R. By the early 1960s, EMU – then known Eshleman. (Note the preponderance of as EMC – had men’s and women’s basket“Mennonite” names on the roster – this is no ball teams that played a loose schedule of games. During his freshman year in 1963-64, longer the case at EMU.2) “Myron was a breath of fresh air, he really Jim Bishop recalls informally – and almost secretively – taking part in wrestling match- was,” says Wayne Yoder, who played on the 1965 men’s basketball team. “I have a deep es with Bridgewater students. Like all male appreciation of him to this day for many students of that era, Bishop was required reasons. It was not difficult to convince the to wear long pants to gym class, while the faculty. For the most part they were supgirls were required to wear culottes or kneeportive of (athletics).” length, billowing skirts.1 But some leaders in local Mennonite COllegiaTe SPORTS emBRaCed churches objected, viewing athletics (like When Myron Augsburger became rock music and dancing) as vehicles taking president in 1965, he brought an interest young people down the wrong road toward in intercollegiate sports, with paid coaches conformity to the secular world. (not just PE teachers coaching on the side Augsburger recalls one church leader as volunteers) and refereed competitions expressing his dismay when he saw young against other institutions. people running around campus in shorts, playing sports. Augsburger had gone to a public high school in Ohio, where he practiced with the “mORe ROunded individualS” football team, but did not play in games in The Weather Vane opined on May 26, 1967: deference to his conservative Mennonite “A varsity program is an instrument that can parents and church. “My parents said it be used in different ways. Here it has been [playing football] was up to me, but they used to build better and more rounded had a lot of caution.” individuals, to develop the capacity for At EMC, soccer was Augsburger’s choice cooperation among individuals and to as the first official intercollegiate sport because, “it doesn’t take the expense that football does, we had children of missionar2 Of the 18 players on the 1965 men’s soccer roster, 72% were from Mennonite backgrounds (almost all ies that had played overseas, and we had from outside Virginia), and 28% were from overseas. By international students.” comparison, on the 2009 roster, 55% are from Mennonite Based on a caption under the first soccer backgrounds, and 100% come from U.S. high schools, usually from nearby Virginia schools. The trend toward team photo in the 1965 yearbook, physiathletes coming from close-by Virginia schools, with cal education instructor Eugene (“Gene”) backgrounds different from traditional Mennonite, is even more evident on the basketball team. In 1965, 77% of Hostetler inaugurated soccer at EMU the men’s basketball team had a Mennonite background, with five young men from African and almost all coming from Pennsylvania or Ohio. On the 1 Ironically, the culottes the basketball-playing girls wore in 1965 don’t look terribly different from the long, baggy basketball “shorts” worn by collegiate players of both genders today.
2009 roster, 87% of the team does not have a Mennonite background, and only one comes from Pennsylvania (a Christopher Dock High School grad). The rest come from Virginia or West Virginia high schools, and the majority are African Americans.
photo taken in 1995 by blair seitz '67
sports
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 9
photo courtesy Laura Rosenberger
photo courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
Gloria Horst Rosenberger '70 was a Royals cheerleader (in '69 photo at top left); daughter Laura Rosenberger '03 was the national pole vault champion (Div. iii) in 2000 and 2001, national runner up in 2002, making her EMU's top award-winner ever. Laura missed the 2000 Olympic Trials by 2 cm. now an MD, Laura is a surgical resident at UVa: "i greatly enjoy working at UVa's Medical Center as there are many EMU graduates and undergraduates working and rotating through the hospital."
provide positive contacts with other schools.” Until recently, EMU’s coaches had to be highly versatile, shifting among very different sports. After arriving in 1967, Roland Landes, for example, coached cross country, track and field, men’s basketball and baseball. Art Mullet, a Goshen College graduate who had played minor league baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates for four years at the single-A level, also joined the staff in 1967. Mullett, taking over for Hostetler, coached men’s basketball (not baseball!) from 19671970. He also started the baseball program. “When I came, our (basketball) jerseys still had sleeves,” Mullet recalled in a recent interview. He laughingly cites showing a little
more skin as “one of my major accomplishments.” Larry Yoder, Wayne’s brother, played his first season of basketball in 1969-70 for head coach Mullett. “The highlight of my career was when Madison College came over to EMC and we whipped them,” Larry says of that 58-57 win on Dec. 9, 1969. “It was so cool. We packed the gym out.” Mullet is now the athletic director and baseball coach at Hesston College. Shenk: SOCCeR, WReSTling, TRaCk Other early coaches included Ron Koppenhaver (men’s soccer for three years), Luke Drescher (men’s basketball for two years) and Byron Shenk (16 years with
soccer, plus shorter stints with wrestling and track). Shenk joined the staff in 1970 after finishing his master’s degree at the University of Oregon.3 Across town from EMU, Madison Col3 Byron Shenk, a graduate of Goshen College, earned an Ed.D. from UVa and returned to his home state of Oregon in 1990, becoming a professor, coach and trainer at George Fox University, a Quaker school where he continues to work. Shenk’s 20-year tenure at EMU was remarkable for its breadth. He coached men’s soccer for 16 years, wrestling for 9 years, and men’s and women’s track and field for 9 years. He was named ODAC coach of the year in 1982, when his team had a 10-4-5 record. He coached Ken Shank (father of current player Ben Shank) who was an ODAC first-team player that year (’82). Ken Shank was also a NCAA All-American in 1982. Byron Shenk was inducted into the George Fox Sports Hall of Fame for his success in coaching women’s soccer there from 1991 through 2002, achieving a record of 96-87-11.
MEn'S SOCCER 1968 // Coached by Ron Koppenhaver (in alphabetical order), Jonas Borntrager, Don Burkholder, Raymond Cope, Richard Garber, Leo Goshow, Phil Guengerich, Gene Hershey, Louis Holmen, Phil Horning, Marvin Horst, Tom Horst, Ralph King, Terry Koppenhaver, Lester Lind, Carl Martin, Darrell Miller, Robert Miller, Allen Peachey, Floyd Schrock, Emil Shaer, Ernest Swartz, Stephen Yoder, Joe Zehr // CHEARLEADERS 1969 // Pauline (Weaver) Habegger, Rachel (Brubaker) Horst, Naomi (Leidig) Litwilller, Gloria (Horst) Rosenberger, Josie (Smucker) Smith, Grace (Berkey) Stutzman // WRESTLinG 1969 // Coached by Vern Martin, Bob Bishop, Donald Bomberger, Daniel Bueno, Larry Cullen, Dennis Herr, Kenneth Herr, Glenn Metzler, Alan Miller, Vernon Myers, Dennis Peachey, Donald Stoltzfus, Douglas Stutzman
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sports lege began as a women’s school in 1908, started accepting male day students in 1946, and became fully coed in 1966, playing sports all along. In 1977, it became known as James Madison University (JMU). In the 1960s and 1970s, the two schools played each other in several sports, with EMU always competitive and sometimes winning. In 1965, for example, EMC’s men’s basketball team played Madison twice, winning 84-46 the first time and 87-60 the second time. EMC also beat Messiah 98-73 and Washington & Lee 87-60 that year. (So much for the stereotype of non-competitive Mennonites!)
Honor. Hostetler died in 2006, but the lifelong impact a coach like Hostetler can have was highlighted by this 11/16/09 e-mail message to Crossroads from Mardic Marashian, a non-alumnus who is an attorney in Boston, Massachusetts: Mr. Hostetler was my gym teacher and coach (soccer and basketball) at Montgomery Hills Junior High, Silver Spring, Maryland, in the early 1970s. He was the first teacher I remember who took an interest in helping me both as a student and as an athlete. Mr. Hostetler also supervised the Saturday open gyms at the school, where students would hang out under his watchful eye and play basketball. He constantly helped me improve my game and I always remembered the lessons he taught me and others about working hard, respecting your fellow teammates, students, and teachers, and being prompt. I lost touch with him when my family moved from Maryland in 1973 but I always remembered the encouragement and support he provided to me and other students when we most needed it. I was and remain forever grateful to him for helping me improve as a student, an athlete, and most important, as a human being. The lessons he taught I try to apply to my daily work and family life. When I received word of his passing, the least I could do to thank him was to make a contribution to EMU to honor his name and his memory.
miRiam mumaW PaveS Way In 1966, Miriam Mumaw, whose father had preceded Augsburger as school president, joined the coaching staff and became a pioneer for women’s athletics, coaching three sports – volleyball, basketball and field hockey – at different intervals. Her women’s basketball team beat the Madison team in February 1967, with a score of 36-31. As the first women’s volleyball coach, she compiled an 11-year record of 151-99, including an undefeated season in 1976. EMC volleyball beat Madison in one state championship and was a runner up to George Mason in another. In Mumaw’s era of college sports, “the competition among women’s sports was on an equal level. When the larger schools “minOR” SPORTS geT aTTenTiOn got athletics scholarships, it made it harder Yearbooks from the late 1950s and early for us to compete against them.” Mumaw 1960s show that informal flag football games moved to the Washington D.C. area in 1980, were popular (exclusively played by guys) in where she now is a controller for a major the years before EMC fielded intercollegiate law firm. teams. It is an intramural sport to this In 2002, Mumaw and Eugene Hostetler day. Intercollegiate football, however, has were inducted into EMU’s Athletics Hall of remained off the radar screen, to the relief
WOMEn'S VOLLEYBALL 1976 // Coached by Miriam Mumaw (in center photo), Lois (Zook) Arndt, Margie L. Clement, June E. Davidhizar, Shirley (Saner) Garber, Bonnie (Showalter) Greene, Mary Lou (Meck) Guntz, Jill (Waibel) Johnson, Debra (Glick) King, Joyce Anne Stokes, Kathy (Detweiler) Walker // WRESTLinG 1977 // Coached by Byron Shenk, Dee Freeman, Ross Hostetler (pictured), Daryl Landis, Harry Mott, Dale Weaver, Stanley Yoder
Here's What He Saw: Faith Put to Work BaSeBall PlayeR Changed By emC Baseball coach Mark Mace [pictured below] came to EMU as a freshman in 1985 because he had no choice. Or so he felt. Raised amid the 1,600 residents of Fairfield, Va., Mace was the son of a Baptist preacher married to a schoolteacher. No question – he was going to a Christian college within easy driving distance of his home between Lexington and Staunton. To the south, Liberty University looked too big to him – there were only 50 kids in Mace’s high school graduating class. So Mace went north and landed at Eastern Mennonite, where he initially cared about one thing: playing baseball. “Hey, I was 18 and the 18-year-olds I hung out with were only thinking of one thing, and that was athletics, or maybe going to the mall.” He did play baseball at EMU – catcher and outfielder through 1990 – but he felt challenged off the field too. “My first year, it was the year of a big flood, and busloads of students went to help clean up after the flood. “It’s one thing to hear about it and talk about it, but I was at a place where I saw people actually doing it. They were putting their faith to work. EMU started challenging me to do more than drop two dollars into a box for charity when going through the grocery line.” Mace’s coaches explained that players needed to give back to the community. So Mace got involved with kids in the local Special Olympics in the spring and summer of his junior year. The experience opened a new door: “This is where I belong, this is a fit. These kids need me, and I feel I can do well with them. I was really led. This is where God wanted me.” Another pivotal experience was his cross-cultural as a senior, where he spent time on Navaho and Hopi Indian reservations. “I was afraid of the cross-cultural. It was really out of my comfort zone. But I was very glad I did it. “It was an eye-opening experience. You don’t really realize the need we have within our own border. When you think of a third-world country, you think of a place where a missionary comes to your church and tells you about it.” Now Mace works days as a literacy teacher in Harrisonburg High School, where most of his students were born in other countries, where he is awed by the amazing obstacles they have overcome to arrive in his classroom. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 11
photos courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
1970s and 1980s alumni who run together in Harrisonburg several times a week: (above, left to right) Lee A. Martin '83, Mennonite pastor; Ken L. nafziger '79, EMU vice president of student life; Mike Lehman '77, middle school teacher; Marlin Yoder, '75, high school teacher; Kenny Layman '81, store manager. At far left (top), nafziger is shown in his undergraduate days, with professor Mark Stauffer, and (bottom) Layman is shown as an undergraduate at a track & field meet.
of some in the athletics department – “it has kept us able to provide for everybody,” said Sandy Brownscombe, who coached field hockey, women’s basketball and men’s volleyball from 1978 through 1998.4 “I think it helps us all value everybody in a better way because we don’t have this huge massive group, taking the lion’s share of resources 4 Sandy Brownscombe coached 36 teams over a 20-year period, guiding two teams almost every academic year. Brownscombe was ODAC coach of the year five times in field hockey and led the program to two NCAA Division III tournaments. She won 139 games in women's basketball and led the Royals to the 1985 ODAC title, when she was also ODAC women's basketball coach of the year. In men's volleyball, she guided the team to the Molten Division III Final Four Championship in 1998.
and garnering the most attention.” CheeRleading COmeS & gOeS From the 1960s until 1971, the yearbooks also show EMC females dressed in cheerleading uniforms, rallying the spectators. In the years prior to the Title IX Act of 1972 (which mandated equal funding for women’s sports), women interested in vigorous physical activity found that their options were limited. At EMU, they could do basketball, field hockey and volleyball. They could also be unofficial cheerleaders. The 1971 Shen – the last year when female cheerleaders are seen in the yearbooks (some
guys dressed up as cheerleaders appeared in the 1980s) – contained this revealing comment from a cheerleader: “We don’t really do much... Some of the fault is ours, but we’re put down so much we begin to feel inferior. When we stand in front of the bleachers during a game, kids yell at us to sit down. You can’t lead cheers sitting down.” Considered “minor sports” at most schools, teams such as cross country, field hockey, wrestling, volleyball, and softball have excelled at times. Kenny Layman and Darrell Zook were cross country All-Americans in the 1970s in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
CROSS COUnTRY 1979 // Coached by Elton Horst, Ruth Jones (Glassburn), Drew Hess, Bill Hostetler, Dick Kauffmann, Faith Eidse (Kuhns), Don Martin, Wes Nolt, Dennis Simonetti, Eric Stoltzfus, Darrell Zook // SOFTBALL SPRinG 1984 // Coached by Peggy Kellers (assisted by Joe Widrick), Deana (Moren) Baker, Sue Blauch, Cheryl (Bergey) Derstine, Mary Alice Dix, Janice Graber, Tracie (Paton) Hall, Valerie Hershberger, Jewel Lehman, Robin Little, Miriam (Zehr) Martin, Gail Metzger, Beth (Hershey) Reigner, Kendra (Good) Rittenhouse, Cindy (Graber) Wetmore
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sports Layman felt support from the EMC administration, noting the team traveled by air to a national championship event in Illinois in the late 1970s. “I think they [EMC administration] took us as far as we could go,” Layman said. “They didn’t say it was too far away or it was too much money. There was no holding us back in that way. We ran year-round.” Layman, who was an NCAA All-American runner in 1978, came in fourth nationally in the 5000 meters. The school records he set three decades ago in 5000 and 1500 meters remain unbroken. Layman now manages a non-profit thrifttype store in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and still runs at least three times a week, five to seven miles per outing, often with some old EMC buddies of his, including Ken L. Nafziger, now EMU’s vice president of student life. (Layman is pictured at far left and far right on the facing page.) mulTi-SPORT aThleTeS Twenty or 30 years ago, EMC’s athletes often shifted from one sport to another with the seasons. Dave King, now EMU’s athletic director, played basketball, soccer and one season of baseball. Student life vice president Nafziger did four sports at some point as an undergraduate: soccer, cross country, track and wrestling. Linda Burkhart Myers played field hockey and basketball as a transfer student from Goshen in 1983. “That is where I felt like family was, NOTE: IN THE "FILM STRIP" RUNNING ON THE BOTTOM OF PAGES 10-19, TEAM MEMBERS ARE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY BY LAST NAME, INCLUDING INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY NOT BE PICTURED.
travelling with Sandy [Brownscombe] and the players,” Myers says. “There was a sense of belonging and a sense of unity there. You became like a little family. It was a very secure feeling.” “I certainly felt supported from the school, [especially with] the support that the professors gave you when you had to travel and miss a class.” Myers is now a surgeon in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Another of Brownscombe’s basketball players was Sue Blauch (who also played softball), now recognized as one of the nation’s top referees for women’s basketball (read more about her on page 18). Jewel Lehman was the player of the year in ODAC volleyball for three years, 1984-86, under head coach Peggy Kellers, who also coached softball at the school (also played by Lehman). An All-American catcher before coming to EMC, Kellers subsequently earned an EdD at UVa and became a professor in the JMU department of kinesiology.5 “Peggy was a great role model for me and her influence gave me the desire to be a coach,” says Lehman, who is chair of the physical education department at Goshen College. “She taught me so much about integrity, excellence and trust. I learned to love the game and to figure out how to win. I learned how important team play and team dynamics are in sports.” Lehman has coached women’s volleyball at Division III 5 There is something of a pipeline from EMU to JMU’s kinesiology program. To name a handful among many alumni, Jewell Lehman and Goshen colleague Valerie Hershberger both earned MS degrees from the JMU kinesiology department after graduating from EMU. EMU basketball coach Kirby Dean and field hockey coach Brenda Bechler did the same, as did Lori Schrock, head cross country coach at Bridgewater College. Assistant men’s soccer coach Mike Martin is finishing his MS.
TRACK & FiELD 1987 // Coached by Byron Shenk, Gretchen (McCue) Baugher, Regina (Lutz) Beidler, Tamara (Hunsberger) Denlinger, Lisa (Schweitzer) Greeley, Eric Hostetler, Trish (Hostetler) Kratz, Patty (Irvin) Lambert, Phil Landes, Sarah (Witmer) Lehman, Jen (Kulp) Martin, Tim Miller, Neil Reinford, Kevin Schwartz, Paul Shelly, Chuck Snader, Jonathan Weaver, Mike Weaver, Todd Weaver, Phil Yoder
The Spiritual Beauty of Collegiate Sports enduRing leSSOnS fROm 28 yeaRS agO Excerpts from an unsigned essay in the 1971 Shen. Sports at EMU has always occupied a precarious position. For years the school’s interpretation of Christian values in education minimized intercollegiate athletics. Most people agree that now sports at EMC is well developed for a small college. Every major men’s sport except football has a varsity schedule. Women play intercollegiate basketball, field hockey, and volleyball. Luke Drescher, basketball coach, describes the difference since the gradual change in official attitude toward varsity sports. “We have a good philosophy of athletics now. A student can cultivate his talents in varsity sports somewhat like a vocalist relies on school choirs to express his skills.” What makes a person willing to submit to the tight schedules and grueling workouts that are demanded of an athlete? “Sports offers the same thing as an artist’s painting or a musician’s recital,” says Byron Shenk, wrestling and soccer coach. “When I execute a well-timed gymnastics motion I get a tremendous feeling of control over my body. That adds significantly to my psychological and spiritual discipline.” [Shenk is pictured doing the flip above.] Ken Herr, wrestler, offers another reason, “Sports fulfills my desire to be part of a team, to be needed. Even though wrestling is an individual sport you have to depend on your teammates. After a while the team starts developing as a unit.” Crowd support is important to varsity athletes. "A lot of excitement of sports participation is displaying your ability to other people," claims coach Shenk. Though school spirit is rising, athletes are sometimes disappointed by inconsistent fan support. "The crowd is wild if they think we have a fighting chance," coach Drescher notes, "but they don't help the team much when we need it most, when we're behind." So far the department should be credited for not placing sports on a level that subverts the primary function of the college: education. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 13
photo by wayne gehman
photo courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
At Homecoming 2009, family physician Jim Herr '79 met and congratulated music-education student Michael Allen who has matched the long jump record Herr set in 1977 (23'10"). As a freshman competing in 2008-09, Allen was named an nCAA AllAmerican. He set school records in the indoor long and high jumps and (indoor & outdoor) triple jump. He also sprints for EMU.
Goshen and Division I Campbell University and has been an assistant coach at JMU. One activity where athletes tend to specialize, rarely venturing into team sports, is running. This may be because many of the best runners at small schools tackle various distances, doing cross country in the fall, indoor track and field in the winter, and outdoor track and field in the spring. EMC’s first intercollegiate female runner, Faith Eidse (Kuhns) trained as the first and sole female runner on the 1978 track/field and cross-country teams (though she was joined by Ruth Jones in 1979). Faith placed first at all double and triple track meets and
12th in the state meet. She also set a school record in the 5000-meter run (19:48.14). This was broken four years later by Ellie Bain Gathright, who is pictured on page 29. Ellie’s time of 17:39:44 has stood unbroken for 27 years. Neither Faith nor Ruth nor Ellie did team sports at EMU. Instead, in an era when EMC’s track and field was dominated by males, they paved the way for women as serious, competitive runners. In the 1970s, EMC’s larger competitors began to offer athletic scholarships, enabling them to recruit more of the top players in a particular sport. This put the smaller non-scholarship-offering colleges at a huge
disadvantage. To make competition more even, the scholarship-offering colleges became Division 1 schools in the NCAA and the small ones arranged themselves into Division II (limited athletic scholarships) and Division III (no athletic scholarships). EMC was one of the founding members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) in 1976, beginning with men’s sports. ODAC embraced women’s sports in 1982. Men’s volleyball, which ODAC doesn’t sponsor, is the only sport that plays in a different conference. Our team belongs to the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association, requiring much road travel.
CROSS COUnTRY 1989 // Coached by Lester Zook (assisted by Mary Jo Heckman), Steve Campbell, Tracey (Good) Clore, Tamara (Hunsberger) Denlinger, Pam (Brunk) Fahndrich, Jeana (Driver) Golin, Robert Kanagy, Rick Kratz, Phil Kreider, Sarah (Witmer) Lehman, Steve Miller, Buck Smith, Scott Unruh, Kim van Donk // FiELD HOCKEY 1996 // Coached by Linwood Vrolijk (assisted by Brenda Kratz & Melissa Brubaker), Kim Brenneman, Valerie (Todd) Ehst, Kirsten (Brubaker) Fuhr, Kelly (Hess) Histand, Laura (Hess) King, Kathleen Kuehn, Jen (Goshow) Lacher, Monica (Rohrer) Lederman, Meghan Neumann, Lydia Price, Mindi (Roland) Schrock, Krista (Ebersole) Sensenig, Jen (Zimmerman) Stoltzfus, Karla (Alderfer) Tierney, Sherri (Allebach) Vass, Sharon (Miller) Yoder, Kate Zook
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sports Five years after women’s sports entered ODAC, EMC accomplished a nevermatched feat: every fall women’s team (field hockey, volleyball and cross country) went unbeaten in ODAC regular-season play. high-COmPeTiTiOn OdaC Head soccer coach Roger Mast, whose 19 years at EMU make him the longestserving current coach, recalls that ODAC schools varied widely in their abilities in the early years of the conference. Of the dozen or so ODAC schools, only Virginia Wesleyan, Washington & Lee, and Roanoke offered consistent competition to EMU in men’s soccer, basketball and baseball in the 1980s, says Mast. That has changed. “The talent pool throughout the conference has grown exponentially,” he says. “Most of the colleges attract students who have been playing their sport since they were little kids. Specializing early is almost a necessity for kids if they want to play at the college level.”6 Nowadays the metaphorical playing field is mostly level among these 13 colleges in ODAC – Bridgewater, EMU, Emory & Henry, Guilford, Hampden-Sydney, Hollins, Lynchburg, Randolph, Randolph-Macon, Roanoke, Sweet Briar, Virginia Wesleyan, and Washington & Lee. With few exceptions, each college battles hard for each win. 6 While it is statistically undeniable that the majority of today’s college-level athletes focused on a particular sport or two during most of their youthful years, this Crossroads contains some exceptions that suggest that determination may be the ultimate factor in one’s success – Jason Axford (page 6) played his first volleyball game as a college freshman; after graduation, he played professionally in Austria. Richy Bikko (page 26) ran his first cross-country course as a college junior and advanced to national competition that same year. Bikko first ran in track-and-field meets as a senior in high school.
But such competition also raises the performance level and offers fans a good show. In the 1980s the men’s basketball team, coached by Sherman Eberly (now vice principal of Eastern Mennonite High School), attracted two of the most notable athletes in school history. Larry Sheets was one of the best rebounders in the nation at the Division III level during his college career that ended in 1982. He later played Major League Baseball for Baltimore, Detroit and Seattle.7 Sports Illustrated did a story on Sheets while he was at EMC, focusing on his decision to leave pro baseball (a decision which proved to be temporary) and play hoops at a small Christian college. The magazine published a photo of Sheets, sitting on the porch of the little white house that was home to the physical education department. He now owns Larry Sheets’ Players Family Amusement Center in Westminster, Maryland, where he also instructs young players. Leonard Dow, a first-team all-ODAC player all four years, was the 1985 ODAC player of the year and set school records for points (2,192) and rebounds (1,102). He was the first EMC athlete to have his jersey 7 A left-handed hitter, Larry Sheets was used primarily as an outfielder and designated hitter, playing for the Baltimore Orioles from 1984 through the 1989 season. He was the Most Valuable Player for the Orioles in 1987 when he had the best season of his major league career with 31 homers, 94 RBI and an average of .316. Sheets also suited up for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners and played pro ball in Japan. Sheets ended his major league career in North America with 94 homers and a batting average of .266 in 748 games. Sheets had been drafted out of R.E. Lee High in Staunton in 1978 by the Orioles. He earned his degree, majoring in physical education, in 1987 by attending EMC during his off seasons. At EMC he was not eligible to play baseball since he had turned pro in that sport, though he did serve as an assistant baseball coach under Roland Landes in 1983.
MEn'S BASKETBALL 1997-98 // Coached by Tom Baker (assisted by Cedric Moore), Mike Caldwell, Chip Coleman, Troy Gerber, Keion Green, Forrest Hundley, Joel Kauffman, Carey Keyes, Neal Lewis, Quincy Longacre, Mike McElroy, Cory Mullet, Bryan Werner, Matthew Yoder // WOMEn'S TEnniS 2000 // Coached by Harlan de Brun, Abigail Bauer, Jennifer (Glass) Eagle, Jessica (Stauffer) Kline, Amy (Sauder) Lehman, Emily Mullet, Melinda (Bontz) Roynon, Laura (Miller) Schubert
Soccer Alumnae Aim To Be Pros a CRediT TO emu WOmen’S SOCCeR Late in the game and trailing by a goal, the heavily favored Boston Aztecs sent shot after shot at Lancaster Inferno keeper Joy Shaiebly ’07 [top photo], who kept her team ahead with a series of saves. Then, in the game’s final seconds, Lancaster forward Katie Lamm ’09 [middle photo] fielded a long clearance, took one touch around the Boston keeper – straying up to attack in desperation – and scored on an empty net from 30 yards to secure a 3-1 upset and a spot in the league semi-finals. “[Katie and Joy] were making EMU proud,” said defender Kendra Martin ’05 [bottom photo], a third EMU women’s soccer graduate who played last season for the Lancaster Inferno of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL). Most WPSL rosters, including Lancaster’s, are filled with standout college players and recent graduates; some are farm teams for professional clubs in Women’s Professional Soccer – the country’s top women’s league. Shaiebly said the fact that the three former Royals stars – all of them made multiple AllODAC teams – played important roles on a competitive WPSL team is a credit to EMU’s 10-year-old women’s soccer program. A few days after the win against Boston, the Inferno’s season ended with a loss, in penalty kicks, to a team from New Jersey. The 2010 season will start in May. “I plan to play as long as the coach wants me,” said Lamm, now a substitute teacher for Lebanon (Pa.) City Schools. Or until another coach wants her. Lamm and Shaiebly have both attended open tryouts for professional teams, and both are hoping for an opportunity to play at an even higher level. Shaiebly, who taught in Page County, Va., after graduation, even decided to forgo a teaching contract this year, in case she makes a professional roster by next spring (she’s now an assistant soccer coach at EMU and head coach of a U-18 girls team in the Shenandoah Valley).
– By Andrew Jenner '04
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 15
photo by Lindsey KOLB
photos courtesy emu archives
Six Shank men (five pictured at Homecoming 2009) have soccer in their blood. First came Don Shank '80 (back row, center & far left, top -- now a biotech lab supervisor in Harrisonburg), then Don's brother Ken '83 (back row, right & far left, middle), now a teacher in West Liberty, Ohio, followed by brother Jeff '95 (far left, bottom), now a Florida school superintendent. The brothers are all in the Athletics Hall of Honor. Don's son Adam '06 (back row, left, a school-community liaison in Harrisonburg) was the first in the next generation, then Ken's son, senior Ben (front right) and sophomore Bryce (Don's 2nd son, front left).
retired and was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 1986. Dow has been the pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in his native Philadelphia for about 10 years. CulTuRal ChallengeS Dow, who graduated from Christopher Dock Mennonite High School north of Philadelphia, was an African-American at a mostly white school in the 1980s. “Culturally, there were some challenges on campus and off campus,” he says. The biggest challenge was just being
in Harrisonburg. It was quiet. There really wasn’t an international flavor in Harrisonburg at that point.” In 1990, the men’s and women’s cross country teams – coached by Lester Zook, assisted by Mary Jo Heckman – did exceptionally well. The women went undefeated, coming in first in ODAC. The men came in third, at 6 wins, 3 losses. Zook, who wrapped up 20 years of coaching after the 2008-09 school year (but who still teaches P.E. at EMU), measures the success of his athletes, in part, by the fact that 21 of them
have coached after graduation.8 In April 1995, the men’s volleyball team of Penn State, the defending national champion from a school 30 times larger than EMC, got to be guest players in EMU’s old gymnasium (today slated to be renovated into theater space). “It was almost comical when they walked into our small gym,” says Eric Gehman, who is No. 2 in career kills (1,079) 8 Lester Zook is the central person in an essay of appreciation submitted to The Christian Century on 09/08/09. Read it online at www.emu.edu/crossroads/LesterZook.
MEnS TEnniS 2000 // Coached by Harlan de Brun, Mark Barsteika, Kevin Burnett, Brian Miller, Mark Miller, Tim Musser (pictured), Eloy Rodriguez, Kevin Steiner // WOMEn'S SOCCER 2001 // Coached by Greg Steffen (assisted by Jason Moore), Audra Baker, Kristin (Mishler) Boer, Jen (Morey) Edris, Deborah Good, Ellie (Lind) Holsopple, Julie Kauffman, Kristi Kobs, Kendra Martin, Stephanie Moyer, Rachelle O'Connor, Holly Showalter, Jill Wenger, Lauren (Stubbs) Wildasin, Becky Yoder, Heather (Bauman) Yoder, Rochelle Yoder
16 | crossroads | fall/winter 2009-10
sports in EMU men’s volleyball history.9 The Royals jumped out to a quick lead in the first game, 8-0, and the home fans began chanting “overrated.” Penn State called a timeout and the head coach fired them up. “I think they scored 13 in a row,” says Gehman, whose team lost that match. “We had more attendance at volleyball than other teams, and our opponents would comment on that. It was high intensity and very high energy at our home games.” Nine years later the Penn State coach Mark Pavlik told the Daily News-Record: “After that match the crowd engulfed both teams. I’ve always had a soft spot for EMU.” In 1998, the men’s volleyball team played in the Molten Division III Invitational at Springfield College in Massachusetts, losing in the semifinals to Juanita, the eventual national champion that year. (Read about one of the players on that team, Jason Axford, on page 6.) 1998 SOCCeR ChamPS The 1998 men’s soccer team made EMU history with a yet-unsurpassed win record: 7-1-1 (.833) in ODAC. They won the ODAC championship and went to the NCAA national tournament. That year coach Roger Mast, who had played both soccer and baseball as an EMC undergraduate, was named soccer coach of the year by both ODAC and the Virginia Sports Information Directors. Why the exceptional success of that 1998 team? “We had good leadership from some of the players. They had a great work ethic – 9 No. 1 is Brandon Ratliff, who played 2004-2007, with 1,150 kills. For more on Eric Gehman, see page 29.
I didn’t have to be on them all the time,” he says. “The spirit on the team was studentled, and it was passed from the older ones to the younger ones. “These were players who refused to be defeated, who were not afraid to take a risk,” he adds. “They were difference-makers. In a big match, they stepped forward to make a goal or to make a big play.”10 In 1999, 34 years after the men’s soccer team was launched, EMU’s women got their own soccer team, with Greg Steffen as their founding coach. Steffen, who coached for seven years through 2005, led the team to its best overall record yet, 15-4 (.789) in 2001 and to the ODAC semi-finals twice. Ellie Lind Holsopple ’03, now a producer at a Harrisonburg TV station, delivered an astounding 76 goals and 31 assists while playing for Steffen, including 21 in the 2002 season alone. Three former standout players – Kendra Martin ’05, Joy Shaiebly ’07 and Katie Lamm ’09 – are now aiming to go pro with the fledgling Women’s Premier Soccer League (for more, see sidebar on page 15). Regardless of who coached the men’s volleyball team (there have been five coaches from 1990 through 2009), the team has had remarkable success, making it to the confer10 Only one of the 27 members (4%) of this 1998 men’s soccer was from another country – Joe El-Attar from Israel. In contrast, five members of the 18-man soccer team (28%) in 1965 were from overseas. Why the decline in EMU international students playing the most popular game in the world? Today’s intercollegiate athletes must devote considerable time to their sports, with much travel to away games. Unfortunately, the typical international student has on-campus employment and must juggle job and studies, making it difficult to find the time to do sports too. Some also have more trouble meeting the NCAA requirements regarding their undergraduate course load.
TRACK & FiELD 2002 // Coached by Paul Johnson (assisted by Steve Hess, Bob Nachtigall, Seth McGuffin, Mary Jo Saunders), Lori Abbott, Kim (Hein) Bannister, Michael Carpenter, Sarah (Herr) Davis, Jen Fawley, Vincent Friesen, Justin Hawkins, Erin Hisey, Emily Huffman, Andre Jenkins, Andrew Jenner, Andrea (Good) Leaman, Diane Ludwig, John Michaels, Amanda (Stoltzfus) Myers, Renee Neufeld, Kai Orenic, Josh Ott, Josh Pachis, Erlo Remeus, Wendy (Driver) Rhodes, Russ (McAlister) Rodriguez, Dave Rohrer, Laura Rosenberger, Eb Samuel, Kurtis Sensenig, Nathaniel Shank, Ryan Sisson, Adam Starks, Kara (Freed) Thoman, Sarah Willingham, Janaya Willis
Building Community From the Sidelines geTTing OuT Of OuR SilOS, TOO If there’s an inter-collegiate game – men’s, women’s, indoors, outdoors – chemistry professor Matthew Siderhurst [pictured below] is likely to be there. So is education department chair Cathy Smeltzer Erb. If he’s in town, President Loren Swartzendruber will be there. And the director of Seminary admissions, Don Yoder. Would you believe, Lynn Roth, the executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding? Him too. Not saying the majority of the faculty and administrators come out to watch. But here are some reasons why a number of them come. “Athletics is a big part of the personal identity of many of my students – they spend a lot of time with it,” says Siderhurst, who watches games with his two preschool children. “It is easier to connect with my students when they know I’ve been there, cheering for them.” Siderhurst recognizes the “time conflict between playing a sport and class,” but he views athletics as largely healthy for both the participants and for EMU. Intercollegiate sports “brings us together as a community.” For Cathy Smeltzer Erb, watching sports is “a good, enjoyable break in my work-filled week.” Last year, Erb saw six of her female students in action in Yoder Arena. “It’s important for students to see that their teachers are interested in their lives outside of the classroom and understand some of the other demands they are dealing with,” she told Crossroads. From the graduate programs, Yoder of the Seminary and Roth of CJP both say they simply enjoy working in a place where they can relax watching skilled athletes playing great games, all for free (faculty and staff and their families are admitted at no cost). Meanwhile, some sports folks also make a point of getting out of their silos and partaking of the opportunities around the rest of the university. Athletics director Dave King goes to almost everything, including the music department's lunch recitals. Men’s soccer coach Roger Mast regularly takes his school-aged sons to EMU's theater productions. Men’s basketball coach Kirby Dean frequents the twice-weekly chapels. Both Mast and Jason Good, women’s soccer coach, will be leading separate cross-cultural trips to Central America in 2011. “We are a community,” Loren Swartzendruber likes to say. Indeed. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 17
photo courtesy emu archives
photo by Jon styer
Sue Blauch '86, who played Royals softball and basketball, has become one of the top basketball referees in the world. She was named one of two Americans (among 30 men and women from many countries) officiating at women's and men's basketball games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She officiated for the 2006 World Championships in Brazil and 2005 World University Games in Turkey, besides multiple officiating stints at WnBA finals and nCAA Division i tournaments.
ence quarter-finals, semi-finals, or finals every year and competing at the national level twice. Athletics director Dave King traces the popularity of men’s volleyball at EMU to the playing of volleyball at Mennonite family picnics and church socials, making the activity a natural for Mennonite schools. Steve Benson, the current coach, does not restrict his recruiting to Mennonite schools, but he does have to travel frequently to Pennsylvania, the Tidewater area of Virginia, or even to his former state of Florida to find his players – for some reason, men’s volleyball is hardly played at Virginia’s high schools, not even at Eastern Mennonite
High School. Similarly, on the women’s side, field hockey is hardly played in this state. Coach Brenda Bechler relies on Pennsylvania’s schools for her players. Of the 17 players currently on her roster, all but six come from Pennsylvania. Like men’s volleyball, field hockey has a long, glorious history at EMU. For six straight seasons, 1995 through 2000, field hockey went undefeated in ODAC.11 In 1995, EMU field hockey ad11 From 1995 through 1998, Linwood Vrolijk was the coach, then Kim Brenneman in 1999 and Cindy Toms in 2000. Field hockey was also undefeated in ODAC in 1987 and 1992, coached by Sandy Brownscombe, and in 2007 coached by Brenda Bechler.
vanced to the NCAA Final Four in Trenton, N.J., where it lost in the semi-final match. It finished third in this national tournament. With field hockey and men’s volleyball, EMU clearly is drawing out-of-state students who want to continue playing their favorite sport in college and who probably would not otherwise choose to come to Eastern Mennonite. In fact, Dave King says that 40 percent of EMU’s undergraduates arrive planning to play one or more intercollegiate sports. If the college were to cease offering these sports, no doubt our number of undergraduates would drop precipitously. In short,
MEn'S VOLLEYBALL 2002 // Coached by Jason Axford (assisted by Chad Hackman), Matt Bahn, Brandon Bergey, Kevin Docherty, Conrad Erb, Brad Gerbrandt, Daren Good, Derek King, Jeff McCutcheon, Matt Musselman, Allan Reesor-McDowell, Geoffrey Sakuda, Zac Stark // BASEBALL 2002 // Coached by Rob Roeschley (assisted by Tony Veney & Dave Ramsey), Jeremy Auker, Darren Delp, Logan Evjen, Chris Flynn, Kevin Forry, T.J. Frazier, Ethan Hilliard, Josh Jarboe, Erik Kratz, Tavis Laws, Matt Lewellen, John Lonneman, Ryan Martin, Chuck Miller, Barnaby Quick, Drew Robertson, John Rohrbough, Matt Thompson, Chad Thornton, Dana Sauder, Casey Severs, Chris Severs, Jason Stuhlmiller, Josh Wood
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sports in the past half-century, athletics has shifted from being a criticized pastime to being one of EMU’s greatest sources of life. mORe ReCenTly Besides those mentioned on other pages, highlights of the past 10 years include: Three baseball players – Erik Kratz, Barnaby Quick and T.J. Frazier – who were named either ODAC Player of the Year or Rookie of the Year in 2001 and 2002. Track and field coach Paul Johnson was named ODAC coach of 2001. Under 12-year coach Rob Roeschley, helped by Kratz, the 2002 baseball team established the best overall record in EMU’s 41-year history of baseball playing, with a 29-13 overall record (.690). (The 1990 team coached by Ted Kinder approached this, with 13 wins/6 losses, or a .684 win rate.) In 2003, Kirby Dean returned to his alma mater as the men’s basketball coach after several years as a Division I assistant at VMI. He played basketball for EMU from 1988 through 1992, being named best defensive player in 1989, 1990, and 1992. Kirby has been gradually building up his team – climbing, with a dip or two, from an overall win record of .240 in 2003-04 to a .577 record in 2008-09. In 2003, Andrea Good (1500m and 3000m) was named female ODAC athlete of the year while Adam Starks (hurdles) was named male ODAC athlete of the year. Rich McElwee, a former Royals infielder, led the women’s basketball team to the ODAC title and the NCAA “sweet 16” tournament in 2003-04. In 2006, Jeremy Webster (200 meter dash) was named ODAC athlete of the year. Kevin Griffin was named ODAC coach
of the year for women’s basketball in 200607, when he had a record of 17-8 (.680), which he surpassed the following year with a record of 19-7 (.731). Coach J.D. McCurdy led softball to a school-record 25 wins in 2007 and was named ODAC coach of the year. (A previous softball coach who earned this honor was Roger Mast in 1992 – he coached softball from 1992 through 1996 while also coaching men’s soccer.) Brenda Bechler was named ODAC co-coach of the year in field hockey in 2003 (.810 winning record) and coach of the year in 2007 (.588). Her overall record for the last seven seasons is .622 Alyssa Derstine became EMU's most awarded field hockey player in late 2009. See page 58. WReSTling & TenniS gOne Two sports are no longer available at EMU, though you’ll see them pictured in this Crossroads and in EMU’s Athletics Hall of Honor. Wrestling,12 which began in 1966, withered in the late 1970s due to lack of sufficient numbers of wrestlers in each weight class – the sport was officially dropped in 1979 – as was the women’s tennis team in 2006, also for lack of interest. The men’s tennis team was eliminated in 2007 when EMU needed to make budget cuts throughout the institution, including $20,000 from the athletic department’s budget. Faced with a no-win choice of paring down funding for each sport – thus hobbling all the coaches and student12 Read about EMC's best heavyweight wrestler of the late 1960s, Glenn D. Metzler, who was both an undergraduate and seminary student, in "Honoring a Gentle Giant." The article, by Jim Bishop '67, is posted at www.emu.edu/crossroads/fall2005.
WOMEn'S BASKETBALL 2006 // Coached by Kevin Griffin (assisted by Jennifer Thompson, Jackie Bryan, Eric Payne), Ebony Dennis, Bebhinn Egger, Tara Jones, Kathleen (Steele) Kitchen, Jolene Kratz, MJ Lewis, Amanda Madden, Jessica Madison, Takita Mease, Frances Pfister, Dana Powell, Carolyn Riley, LeLe Shumate, Miranda Wolfe
Tennis Pro from Japan Got Start at EMC TeaChing hundRedS aT age 71 Born in 1938, Takashi "Bob" Wakiyama’s first memories are of living amid the deprivation and devastation of Japan during World War II. After the war, Wakiyama’s home city of Osaka was heavily occupied by the U.S. military. Seizing opportunities to learn English and to gain familiarity with Americans, Wakiyama attended American church services – he is Presbyterian – where he met an African-American man from Harrisonburg, Va., who was an assistant chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. This man suggested Wakiyama write to Eastern Mennonite College and ask for scholarship assistance to enroll. Wakiyama did so, though he had no idea what “Mennonites” were. John R. Mumaw, then president of EMC, replied and eventually offered Wakiyama a full EMC scholarship, including tuition, room and board, books, and partial coverage of transportation. After arriving at EMC in the all of 1958, Wakiyama became close friends with two men who later became well-known physicians – his second-year roommate, Glen R. Brubaker, and ingida Asfaw, a fellow soccer-playing student from Ethiopia. In addition to soccer, Wakiyama played intramural tennis, beating everyone (he had played the game in Japan since age 6). Wakiyama needed money to survive year-round, which he raised by doing maintenance at a Bucks County (Pa.) country club for 60 to 70 hours weekly each vacation and summer, eventually becoming a tennis instructor. He also transferred as a junior to Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn., a Presbyterian school which viewed him as a future Presbyterian pastor in Japan and offered him generous financial aid. In the end, however, Wakiyama chose a different route for himself: he married an American from southeastern Pennsylvania, became a social worker (retiring in 1995 after a 35-year career), raised three children, and all along worked as a tennis pro and instructor. In 1999, the United States Tennis Association (Eastern Pennsylvania District and Middle States Section) honored Wakiyama by naming him their Professional of the Year. Today, 71-year-old Wakiyama continues to hold tennis clinics and offer lessons to about 100 kids each summer in and around his hometown of Orwigsburg, Penn. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 19
photo by Wayne gehman
photo by Jon styer
in 2008-09, Dominick Porter '07 played professional volleyball in Germany with the Dresden Volleyball Club. "My first season in Germany was tough," he says. "There was nothing physically that could have prepared me for their workouts and training sessions, usually early morning hours, plus three hours in the evening. The major pitfall for me was my height. i am only 6'0'' tall. Being the shortest on the team, hitting and blocking took a lot more effort." Like Jason Axford (page 6), Porter found the Dresden team unsupportive -- instead of looking out for each other, it was "each man for himself." He hopes to return overseas to play pro. For now he has an office job with the Coors Corp., assists in coaching track & field at two public schools, is working toward an MBA, and plays with a north Carolina team, the international Jammers. (At right, Porter in the EMU weight room in november 2009.)
athletes – or trimming by giving up a sport with comparatively few participants, King chose the latter course of action. EMU’s long-time tennis coach, Harlan de Brun, is still on board – he continues to teach PE at EMU.13 Dave King hopes to see tennis 13 Harlan de Brun has an unusual background for a PE teacher and coach. He holds an M.Div. from GordonConwell Theological Seminary. He has extensive international experience, including teaching tennis in Lesotho (southern Africa) for three years and serving on a sports counsel committee for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In the fall of 2009, de Brun co-led an EMU cross-cultural trip to South Africa and Lesotho.
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enthusiasts launch club-based tennis at EMU, which the college could host the way it hosts a highly popular summer soccer league for the wider community. emu’S healThy BalanCe Throughout the 40 years of intercollegiate sports at EMU, the questions surrounding the appropriate role of sports at an institution based on Anabaptist-Christian values have never been definitively answered. That’s probably a good thing. It means EMU’s faculty and staff will continue
pondering how to keep the right balance in preparing EMU’s student-athletes for every challenge they will face in life, not just the physical ones. It is also a plus that EMU insists that all students, including athletes, must experience the world outside of their own culture, even if they miss a season of training or playing. As the life of baseball coach Mark Mace shows (see page 11), EMU uniquely combines a love for sports, with the wisdom of knowing that sports alone cannot see people through their entire lives.
sports With a PhD in psychology, Ken L. Nafziger, EMU vice president for student life (who did four sports as an EMC undergraduate), has done graduate-level research or counseled athletes at three Division I schools – Penn State, University of Iowa, and University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). Nafziger found that many athletes arrived as former high school sports stars, and they simply assumed they would be able to continue playing their sport through college and afterwards as professionals. “By their junior or senior year, they began to recognize the reality that very few will make it as pros,” says Nafziger. “Some have suffered from injuries and come to realize that they are not invulnerable. They realized they could quickly be replaced. Even if they had previously been stars and standouts, they found themselves sitting on the bench for the first time. That’s when they get ‘career maturity.’ They begin to see that the most valid part of being in college is getting a degree.” CaReeR maTuRiTy When “career maturity” sets in, Division I athletes often find that their coaches have little or no interest in what else their athletes need or wish to do with their lives. They must find their way on their own, perhaps with the help of sympathetic counselors or professors from other parts of the university. That is not the case – never has been – at EMU, where every athlete is given this message from the beginning: “We want you to be successful.” This means successful not just at hoops (or field hockey, running, jumping, etc.), but in every aspect of life. EMU aims to give its athletes the very best start on the rest of their lives, while enabling them to pursue their passion for sports during their years on campus. It is win-win, regardless of the official sports score. It’s winning in the game of life. Freelance writer David Driver '85 and editor Bonnie Price lofton, MA '04, collaborated on this article, with each contributing about half. (more on driver in box at right).
Sports World Needs Supporting Players The world of competitive sports needs athletes and coaches to function, of course, but it also needs other people who understand sports well and who devote themselves to enabling the sports world to keep turning. On page 18, Crossroads looked at Sue Blauch ’86, who is a world-class referee for women’s basketball. Here are three more alumni who are playing key non-athlete roles.
david dRiveR ’85 Sports Writer David Driver established the historical highlights of the article beginning on page 8 and did many interviews for it. An English major and journalism minor, Driver is sports editor of the weekly Laurel Leader in Maryland and a freelance writer for regional and national publications, mostly in the sports world. He was sports editor for the daily Baltimore Examiner, which began in 2006 and folded in 2009. He also covered sports while living with his family in Hungary from 2003-06. He played first base for the Royals as a freshman in 1981, then focused on journalism, sports information, and academics the rest of his time at EMU. He can be reached through www.davidsdriver.com, where one can also access his blog on sports in Washington D.C. and Baltimore.
Phil guengeRiCh ’70
Wayne gehman ’84 Sports Photographer Nobody has taken more photos of Royals athletes than Wayne Gehman. For the last 16 years, he has been the official photographer for all EMU team photos and for a representative group of action photos for each sport. Though he has a day job (Third Way Media producer), he is a familiar figure at evening and weekend Royals events. Since buying his first digital camera in 2003, he estimates that he has taken more than 200,000 photos for the Royals. Gehman was rostered on the men’s soccer team for his freshman year. He says, however, that he didn’t have the skills necessary for college play and quit before the first game to put his energies elsewhere – a fortuitous decision for EMU, in terms of visually capturing the ongoing history of the Royals. Gehman is responsible for most of the archival photos from the mid-1980s forward in this issue of Crossroads.
EMU Athletic Events Coordinator In 2000, Phil Guengerich retired from 30 years of teaching fifth graders at Linville Elementary School, just outside Harrisonburg. EMU administrators knew of Guengerich’s passion for sports and love of kids and offered him a part-time job (now full-time) that would combine his two loves. He is now in charge of getting games set up, tickets and food sold, advertisements in programs, uniforms cleaned, stadium banners up, and other auxiliary tasks necessary to playing and watching sports. He is assisted by 18 workstudy students, whom he motivates, supervises and (very obviously) loves. Guengerich seems to have a perpetual smile on his face and bounce in his walk, as if he is thoroughly enjoying whatever he is doing. It’s an accurate perception, he says. “I could be hanging out with the AARP [American Association of Retired Persons] crowd, but I get to be around 18-year-olds! They energize me!” Guengerich was on the Royals' soccer team as a freshman and sophomore, but decided his gifts were not in actually playing the game, but in supporting athletics in other ways. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 21
On The PRO SPORTS TRaCk
‘Team Kratz’ Accepts What Comes By Andrew Jenner '04, photos courtesy Sarah Kratz 'o1
eRik kRaTz ’02 was getting desperate last winter. He’d parted ways with the Toronto Blue Jays after seven seasons as a catcher in the organization’s minor league system, making it as far as the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs but never quite getting that one final bump to the Major Leagues. At 28, he was getting old for a catcher still hoping for a break. His wife, Sarah Troyer Kratz ’01 , was pregnant with their second son, and his best job prospect was with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who’d offered him a backup spot with their Double-A affiliate in Altoona, Pa. He took what he could get. 2009 looked like it would be Erik’s last season of professional baseball. Erik played well enough in training camp, though, to earn the backup catching job with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. A few weeks later, when the Indians starter moved up after an injury to a Pittsburgh catcher, Erik became the Indians go-to catcher; game by game, he started putting together his best season as a pro. In June, he batted .308. In July he was selected for the International League AllStar team. At the All-Star game in Portland, Erik went 2-for-2, with a decisive home run1 that secured the International League a 6-5 victory and earned him the game’s Top Star award. Erik finished out the season even better than he’d started. Before it ended, he signed another one-year contract with the Pirates. “He was the most improved player from start to finish on the field,” said Scott McCauley, the radio announcer for the Indians. “What he did this year gives him a legitimate chance of making the Major Leagues next year.” A lot can change in a year. A career can get back on track. A career can fall back off. If Erik’s learned anything in baseball, it’s this: nothing is for sure. 1 This wasn’t just any pedestrian homer. With two outs and one man on in the sixth inning, Kratz hit a 3-0 fastball from Albuquerque Isotopes knuckleballer Charlie Haeger clear out of PGE Park and onto 18th Avenue in downtown Portland.
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Erik didn’t make the varsity team at Christopher Dock High School until 11th grade, and didn’t really distinguish himself until his senior year, said Mike Childs, who coached Erik for two seasons at CDHS. Still, Erik graduated with no scholarship offers or serious interest from big college programs. “I don’t remember anybody calling for him, to be honest,” said Childs, who would never have guessed that Erik had the makings of a pro. The summer after high school, Erik made a last-minute decision to go to EMU, where then-coach Rob Roeschley was looking for a starting catcher. Erik’s foot-speed wasn’t too impressive, Roeschley said, but he had a great arm and was driven to improve, spending hour after off-season hour hitting balls in the batting cage. He could hit a baseball really hard. “[Erik] … worked harder than what he needed to do to be a good player,” said
The Kratz "team": Sarah, Erik, Brayden and Ethan
Roeschley. “He worked his tail off.”2 Erik became the Royals starting catcher his freshman year, when he also met Sarah, then a sophomore, during a midnight bowling expedition. Erik went on to catch every single pitch thrown in every single EMU game during his four-year career. He and Sarah got married over Christmas break before his senior season. That year, Erik set school season records for runs (48), doubles (25), home runs (14) and batting average (.507), and for the second straight year, was named ODAC Player of the Year.3 It was all good enough for the obscurity of the 2 In practice, Kratz once crushed a home run to center left field that smashed through the back window of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community’s Park Place Apt. 244. 3 Additional statistical trivia: in 2002, Erik also set singleseason records with 72 hits, 59 RBIs, 141 total bases and a .585 on-base percentage. He holds EMU career records for batting (.415), RBI (159), HR (33), H (220), 2B (77), R (147), SLG (.762), bases (404), putouts (1019) and GP (155). His 77 career doubles still stands as an NCAA Division III record.
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Erik Kratz
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 23
29th round of the 2002 draft, in which the Toronto Blue Jays took Erik as the 866th overall pick. Erik headed off to Alberta for a first season in Rookie League, played his first game of professional baseball for the Medicine Hat Blue Jays on June 20, 2002. During the next seven seasons, Erik bounced across the continent, rising through the Blue Jays ranks.4 He got off to a promising start and made a one-game Double-A appearance in his second season. He first played Triple-A baseball in Syracuse in 2006, about the time that things got frustrating. Other catchers, who didn’t always seem deserving, got fasttracked to the Majors while Erik stayed put, yo-yoing between Double-A and Triple-A. But that’s the way baseball goes. Skill and dedication aren’t always enough. At some point, you have to get lucky. “I think Erik has everything a player needs to succeed in the Major Leagues,” said Mike Basso, Erik’s coach for several seasons at the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. “[But] you have to get a break … It’s just really a tough industry.” During Erik’s first few seasons, Sarah taught middle and elementary school English in Rockingham County, Va., before joining him, wherever he happened to be playing, every summer. After their first son, Brayden, was born, Sarah quit teaching and committed full-time to Team Kratz (Erik and Sarah consistently use “we” to discuss Erik’s career – e.g., “we signed with the Pirates”). Professional baseball and family life are tough to juggle. Late-night calls requiring immediate moves can come at any time. At nine months, Brayden had already flown nine times; he’d lived in four states before his third birthday.5 In turn, though, having a family has offered the Kratzes’ a new perspective on baseball. When Erik has a good game, Brayden is proud of dad; when Erik has a rotten game, Brayden is just as proud. It’s enough to make batting averages seem a little less important than they did earlier in Erik’s career. 4 Since Medicine Hat, Erik has played at least one game with the Charleston (W.Va.) Alley Cats, the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays, the New Haven (Conn.) Ravens, the Dunedin (Fl.) Blue Jays, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Peoria (Ariz.) Saguaros, the Syracuse (N.Y.) Chiefs and the Indianapolis Indians. 5 Brayden Kratz made frequent post-game appearances at Victory Field in Indianapolis throughout the 2009 season. He once circled the bases there eight consecutive times without stopping and regularly volunteered his time and broom skills to help the field crew groom the infield. Ethan Kratz, in his rookie season of life, mostly stuck to the double stroller this summer at Victory Field.
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Erik Kratz in the indianapolis indians dug-out
Erik Kratz celebrating a run for the indians
Erik is quick to admit that, had things been up to him, he would have been catching for the Toronto Blue Jays years ago. He’s just as quick to emphasize his gratitude for all the frustrations and stutter-steps of his professional career, which, one by one, have driven home a lesson that’s easy to say and hard to really accept – God’s plans don’t always include one’s immediate hopes. “That’s something I definitely learned at EMU, and I’ve been able to put it in practice … in baseball,” said Erik. Come spring training next February, he’ll have a legitimate shot at the Major Leagues. It’s a motivating possibility – compared to, say, the prospect of sitting on the bench in Altoona all summer – and nerve-wracking all at the same time. Expectations come with the pressure to live up to them.
Neither Erik nor Sarah knows if his professional baseball career is nearly over or if the best part is just about to begin. God has seen them through hard times, Sarah said, and they trust God will see them through the next one. When Team Kratz talks about the uncertain future, you can sense their contentment, in surrender to the notion that whatever will happen – be it momentous call from Pittsburgh or anti-climactic assignment to Altoona – will happen for a reason. Regardless, Erik said, they’re going to be “100 percent okay” with it. Andrew Jenner ’04, a former Royals athlete (cross country & track), is a Freelance writer based in Harrisonburg, Va.
sports
Tale of Struggle, Progress and Success
photo by Wayne Gehman
ThiS STaR aThleTe aRRived unmOTivaTed In 2001, Eric "E.J." Arrington arrived at EMU as a talented basketball and football player from nearby Stuarts Draft, Va., who didn’t have the grades or SAT scores to get a look from Division 1 recruiters. EMU enrolled him under “conditional admittance.” His Royals main recruiter, assistant men’s basketball coach Bill Hale, saw a young man who, in addition to being a gifted athlete, was bright and backed by a devoted mother. “She worked two or three jobs – she raised us (him and his younger sister) as a single mother,” Arrington said in a recent interview. “But she came to every single one of my games – football and basketball – from Little League on.” Arrington’s father lived in the Los Angeles area of California. In football, he had gotten as far as the Raiders training camp, but he hurt his knee. While partying in a gang-ridden area, he got shot six times, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Arrington’s mother took her children away from the urban violence, moving to rural Virginia when Arrington was seven years old. As a first-year student at EMU, Arrington did great on the basketball floor – he made the freshman All-American team – but he struggled academically, succumbing (he says) to financial and personal issues. While flunking or scraping by with a low D, however, Arrington was “becoming accustomed to the EMU way of living,” he says. He liked the fact that the “people were nice, classes were small, and people weren’t just black and white, but there were lots of people of different nationalities." At the beginning of Arrington’s junior year, Kirby Dean arrived as the new head men’s basketball coach. Dean organized daily study hall for the team, which Arrington attended. Dean also stressed teamwork, rather than play centering on one or two standouts. Arrington had a (self-described) “attitude” and pushed back. Then, in the second game of his junior year, a major knee injury sidelined Arrington. He had no health insurance. Dean found a surgeon in Charlottesville willing to treat him. Dean and his wife, Gina, were in the University of Virginia Hospital room when Arrington came out of surgery. "That’s when he started to develop trust in me,” says Dean. Arrington agrees: “Coach wanted me to succeed. He checked up on me.” Arrington also came to appreciate Gina Dean, who always sat in the stands near the team, cheering their efforts. He especially liked the chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies she baked for the team. In the Deans, Arrington saw a good marriage. As a red-shirt that year, Arrington started to get more serious about his schoolwork. When his speech teacher, Barbra Graber,
"E.J." Arrington '06 overcame challenges on and off the court.
got exasperated with his lack of effort and flunked him, he admits that initially he was indignant. But now Arrington reflects, “She changed my route. She challenged me. Being tough, I needed that.” He re-took speech in a community college, made an A, then enrolled in a theater class taught by Graber, where he also made an A. Arrington spent the summer of 2005 at what is now called Washington Community Scholars' Center, where he enjoyed exploring D.C. and had what he describes as the “priceless experience” of working in a studio with a music director from Howard University. Arrington graduated in 2006 with a major in communication and a minor in psychology, becoming the first college graduate in his family. With references provided by EMU contacts, including Coach Dean, Arrington parlayed his psychology minor into a job working with youth in Richmond, Va. Today he is a school-based counselor, with a case load of six at-risk middle-school boys, who he “re-directs when they get off track.” He aims to “make sure they succeed.” In his spare time, he is working with two other basketballplaying alumni – Marcus Harris '05 and Jeremy Miller (class of '05) – to launch a music career under the name AllMindzBonded (visit www.myspace.com/AllMindzBonded).
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 25
photo by Jon styer
Matt Dougherty, new head coach of cross country and track & field, with his wife, Mary, one of his two assistant coaches.
dOugheRTy fiReS uS uP!
New coach quickly makes fledgling runner into national contender You would not expect a head coach to make a measurable difference after just three months on the job, but Matt Dougherty has. Dougherty encouraged EMU junior Richy Bikko * to try running cross country for the first time ever. This was a bold move for Bikko, who tried track and field for the first time as a senior in high school after moving from Kenya to Harrisonburg. For his first two years at EMU, Bikko ran the 600-, 800- and 1000-meter events. In the 800-meter last spring, he earned spots in the EMU record book among the top three for indoor and outdoor times. He was certainly a contender on the regional level, but nationally? That awaited the arrival of Dougherty, who was hired to be head coach of both cross country and track & field, men's and women's. Dougherty brought help. Two * Richy Bikko originally came to Harrisonburg with his mother, Doreen Ruto, who was pursuing a master's degree from EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. Ruto was left a widow (and Richy and his younger brother, Ronnie, were left fatherless) when her husband, Wilson, was killed in a 1998 terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The embassy had been fortified against such attacks, but the building beside the embassy, where Richy's father and other Kenyan educators worked, collapsed. Richy's mother earned her MA in conflict transformation in 2006. When she returned home to Kenya, Richy remained behind to be educated here. Ruto is now employed by USAID in Kenya.
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former Houghton college track stars – Mary, who is married to Matt, and Joseph Campagna – are his assistants. When Dougherty arrived in the late summer, he found that his fall cross-country team consisted of exactly three students – one guy and two girls. Dougherty started tapping the shoulders of others on campus, including Bikko. Bikko proved to be highly responsive to Dougherty’s coaching, despite the difficult regimens designed to extend Bikko’s limits. Just before Thanksgiving (’09), Bikko turned in an astonishing performance at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Meet. Coming in 9th out of 174, Bikko became the first cross country runner to advance to the national meet since Andrew Jenner in 2000 and just the second male since Kenny Layman went in 1979. Bikko was awarded First Team All-Region Honors for his race. In Dougherty, Bikko has a tough but sympathetic coach. Quiet-spoken Dougherty knows what it is like to train through pain and to perform beyond anyone’s expectations. After running competitively as an undergraduate at Houghton College in New York State, Dougherty was a member of the U.S. Triathlon team (requiring a 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run per competition) from 2002 through 2005.
He has done more than 100 triathlons. Not just that. He did them while earning his living as a coach and completing a master’s degree in education. Somewhere along the line, Dougherty slowed down enough to start dating Mary, a runner he met at a track meet – she was running for Houghton, while he was coaching a rival team for Paul Smith's College. The Doughertys say they have carved out different coaching roles – he has more expertise, but she can relate well to the females. She also knows his training practices and philosophy. In fact, she feels she would have had a far better collegiate career as a runner if he had trained her all four years. Campagna previously was an assistant cross country coach for Morrisville State College. As a collegiate athlete, Campagna ran in two cross country national championship meets and four track & field national championship meets. Matt supplements his field trainings with yoga classes twice a week to assist his athletes to focus, stay limber, and relieve stress. Well known in New York State sports circles, Matt expects to draw prospects from that region. The three coaches are also aggressively recruiting at mid-Atlantic meets. They already have posted 4,000 letters to prospects, with many showing interest.
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SPORTS & lOve fOR life Of The 2,200 alumni WhO have dOne inTeRCOllegiaTe SPORTS, mORe Than 300 maRRied eaCh OTheR...
Lisa (Ehst) Shank '05, a nurse who played field hockey and basketball, with husband Joel '06, a human resources specialist who played soccer. Says Lisa, assistant field hockey coach: "We can't live without sports in our lives." Adds Joel (laughing): "i hope we have sporty kids so we can live through them too."
healThy, SmaRT, SPORTy TWOSOme ShaRPen SPaniSh On COnTinenT
John Leonard '92, a high school English teacher who played Royals basketball and baseball, with wife Glenda (Kratz) '91, a 6th grade teacher who played field hockey and ran track. Their two daughters, Karen and Anisa, play soccer and basketball.
Bryn Mullet Good ’06, a nurse who played Royals basketball and tennis for one season, is married to women’s soccer coach and associate admissions director Jason Good ’05. This photo was taken at the Eiffel Tower as the Goods were wrapping up a year in Spain, where Jason worked entirely in Spanish to earn a master’s degree in Hispanic Studies from the Universidad de Cadiz. Jason was an honors student at EMU, a four-year starter on the soccer team, and a recipient of the President's Award, EMU’s top honor for excellence in academics, leadership, and service. Bryn, daughter of EMU psychology professor Judy Mullet ’73, is earning a nurse-practitioner master’s degree at James Madison University. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 27
aThleTiCS hall Of hOnOR memBeRS TO diSCOveR Why TheSe alumni have eaRned TheiR PlaCe in emu'S hall Of hOnOR in The univeRSiTy COmmOnS, PleaSe viSiT emu.edu/athletics/hallofhonor. TO Be COnSideRed fOR The hOnOR, One muST have Been an emu STudenT fOR aT leaST TWO yeaRS, have gRaduaTed aT leaST 10 yeaRS agO, and have aThleTiC aChievemenTS BeyOnd The lOCal level. BASEBALL: DARYL LAMBERT ’72 Tell us!* BRiAn ALDERFER ’83 Businessman in real estate, Pennsylvania. DOUG BYLER ’85 Schoolteacher, Ohio MAVEn HUFFMAn ’99 Entertainer/actor, Virginia
MEn’S BASKETBALL: MiLES YODER ’79 School administrator, Pennsylvania TiM CRAWFORD ’81 Schoolteacher, Virginia LARRY SHEETS ’83 Owner, amusement facility & baseball instructor, Maryland LEOnARD DOW ’86 Mennonite church pastor, Pennsylvania GARY CHUPP ’92 Basketball coach, Indiana
CRYSTAL CAMPBELL ’95 Schoolteacher/coach, Virginia
Ann WEnGER WHiPPLE ’88 Hotel administrator, New Jersey
BESSiE LAWS ’99 Schoolteacher, Virginia
TinA BOOK ’91 Schoolteacher, Colorado
MEn’S SOCCER:
MiCHAEL S. OSinSKi ’94 Certified public accountant, Virginia
MARVin BUnTinG ’79 Safety/industrial hygienist, Maryland
DARYL BERT ’97 Finance consultant, Dell Corp., Texas
DOn SHAnK ’80 Biotech laboratory supervisor, Virginia
ERiC D. GEHMAn ’98 Manager, engineering & environmental division of large mining/construction co., Pennsylvania
RADELLA TODD VROLiJK ’92 Full-time mother, Virginia JEAné HORninG HERSHEY ’94 Full-time mother, Pennsylvania JEn KOOKER PEiFER ’96 Clinical social worker, Maryland CAnDAnCE SAUDER KinG ’96 Businesswoman in autos, Pennsylvania KRiSTA EBERSOLE SEnSEniG ’97 Tell us!* SHERRi ALLEBACH VASS ’99 Nurse, Pennyslvania LAURA HESS KinG ’00 Nurse, Pennsylvania
KEnnY SHAnK ’83 Schoolteacher, Ohio MiCHAEL (“MiKE”) RAY MARTin ’85 Building contractor, Virginia KURT SAUDER ’89 Pediatrician, Virginia JEFF SHAnK ’94 School superintendent, Florida CLAY ROSEnBERGER ’95 Tell us!*
MEn’S CROSS COUnTRY:
Miriam Mumaw
Kurt Sauder
COACH/ADMiniSTRATOR:
nATHAn (“nATE”) DERSTinE ’96 Family physician, Pennsylvania
EUGEnE R. HOSTETLER ’01 Deceased MiRiAM L. MUMAW ’01 Law firm controller, Washington D.C. area SAnDRA BROWnSCOMBE ’04 Professor of education, EMU
MEn’S TRACK & FiELD:
ELTOn HORST ’70 Part-time office cleaner, Maryland
JiM HERR ’79 Family physician, Pennsylvania
WOMEn’S CROSS COUnTRY:
KEnnY LAYMAn ’81 Retail manager, Virginia
FAiTH EiDSE (KUHnS) ’79 Environmental educator/writer, Florida SARAH WiTMER LEHMAn ’89 Tutor/freelance writer, Ohio JEAnA DRiVER GOLin ’93 Homemaker in missionary family, Thailand
FiELD HOCKEY: MELAniE GEHRET BAKER ’83 Schoolteacher, Pennsylvania CHERYL BERGEY DERSTinE ’85 Full-time mother, part-time payroll & accounting consultant, Pennsylvania
28 | crossroads | fall/winter 2009-10
LOiS zOOK ARnDT ’79 Tell us!* RACHEL ALiCE HERSHBERGER ’79 Schoolteacher, Virginia DEBBiE DiCKERSOn SAnDERS ’83 Tell us!*
CHARLEnE YUTzY JACOB ’88 Nurse, Virginia
DAWn MARKER MCFARLAnD ’81 Schoolteacher, West Virginia
MiSSY HEnSLEY ’92 School principal, Virginia
JUnE DAViDHizAR ’78 School guidance counselor, Indiana
JEWEL LEHMAn ’87 Professor of physical education, Indiana
WOMEn’S BASKETBALL:
Ann WEnGER WHiPPLE ’88 Hotel administrator, New Jersey
WOMEn’S VOLLEYBALL:
JiLL BASinGER MULLET ’84 Accountant for family business, Ohio
CAREY KEYES ’98 Real estate agent & coach, Virginia
SUziE FREnCH WELCH ’88 Tell us!*
R. DARYL GROSS ’93 Tell us!*
BECKY DERSTinE ESCH ’84 Bookkeeper, homemaker, Kansas
VAUGHn TROYER ’93 Businessman in insurance, Ohio
DEAnA MOREn BAKER ’86 Pharmaceutical engineer, based in Minneapolis/St. Paul
MEn’S VOLLEYBALL:
LinDA BURKHART MYERS ’86 Surgeon, Pennsylvania
BURRELL FiSHER ’84 School facilities manager, Virginia PHiL LAnDES ’87 Schoolteacher, Virginia TiM CRESSMAn ’91 Tell us!*
MiKE zOOK ’99 Businessman in landscaping; co-owner of scent-masking product for hunters, Virginia
SOFTBALL: DAWn GEHMAn LAnTz ’82 Retreat center staffer, Pennsylvania AniTA GRABER MiLLER ’83 Owner, Counseling Care of Northern Michigan DOnnA WEnGER WiDRiCK ’90 Full-time mother & homeschooler, New York TinA BOOK ’91 Schoolteacher, Colorado KARLA ALDERFER TiERnEY ’98 Pre-school teacher's assistant, Virginia
WOMEn’S TRACK & FiELD:
MEn’S TEnniS:
CHARLEnE PEACHEY BRAWLEY ’83 Tell us!*
GLEnn DEPUTY ’81 Neurologist, Virginia
ELLiE BAin GATHRiGHT ’85 Swim instructor & homemaker, Virginia
WOMEn’S TEnniS:
GRETCHEn MCCUE BAUGHER ’88 School psychologist, Virginia
AMY SAUDER LEHMAn ’00 School counselor, Washington D.C.
RUTH STEinER FRiDAY ’89 Tell us!* HEiDi KinG ’89 Staff, Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, Indiana BECKY MiLLER LYDA ’92 Homemaker, Oregon
WRESTLinG: GLEnn METzLER ’70 Retirement community chaplain, Pennsylvania ROSS HOSTETLER ’79 Auto dealership service advisor, California
*nAMES in PinK REPRESEnT THOSE WiTH RETiRED JERSEYS. We rely on our alumni to keep us up-todate on where they are living and how we can reach them, on changes in their home situation (such as marriages, births and deaths), and on their professional and other activities. Unfortunately, sometimes we lose touch with certain alumni in the rush of life and have to say please “tell us!” if anyone knows anything about these people. Please send any current alumni information you have to these e-mail addresses: Crossroads@ emu.edu and Alumni@emu.edu. Thank you!
sports photo by Jon styer
photos courtesy emu archives
Ellie Bain Gathright ’85, in the Hall of Honor for track & field, went from setting running records at EMU to competing in triathlons. in 1988, within days after her marriage, she competed in the ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii. “A testament to her perseverance was that she got seasick during the swim, had a flat tire on her bike, and ran the marathon with a contact lens out of place, and she never considered dropping out of the race,” writes her husband, Tim, who witnessed the triathlon as part of their honeymoon. After injuries took their toll, Ellie focused on Master’s Swimming, qualifying for the national Short Course Championships in 2000. She did this while pregnant with their son, Thomas. Ellie has coached track and taught swimming around Charlottesville, Va.
Congolese Beginning
Emotion-Filled Ending
miSSiOnaRy daughTeR BeCame fiRST female RunneR
iT’S aBOuT PeOPle, nOT TROPhieS
Faith Eidse (Kuhns) ’79, in the Hall of Honor for cross country, began running as one of four daughters of Mennonite missionaries in what was then the Belgian Congo, where she was born in 1955. (Yes, Eidse is familiar with the bestselling novel Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which paints an unflattering picture of a 1950s and 1960s-era missionary couple in the Congo with four daughters. No, she doesn’t like the book, feeling that it does not represent the work of her parents.) During her school years, Eidse joined her Congolese girlfriends in running all day, usually linked to the indigenous girls’ role as “the workhorses” of village society. They ran to the river to collect water, ran with the water (balanced on their heads) uphill home, and ran to gather food. When Eidse came to EMU in 1977, only males trained and competed in cross country and track & field. She sought and received permission to train with the guys. EMU’s runners “would get up at the crack of dawn and be running before daylight,” Eidse recalls. In the absence of a women’s team at EMU, Eidse joined the women of James Madison University for meets. By her third year at EMU, Eidse had persuaded her roommate, Ruth Jones (now a podiatrist in West Virginia), to join her in running. Eidse is married to Philip Kuhns, a Goshen College alum who is a physicist at Florida State University. She is a public information staffer for the Northwest Florida Water Management District. She co-wrote Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global (2004) and wrote Voices of the Apalachicola, a 2007 book about Florida's culture and history.
Eric D. Gehman ’98, in the Hall of Honor for volleyball, writes: "I would be lying if I didn’t admit to reminiscing about my days on the court over 11 years ago. It would have been nice to have beaten the Ohio State Buckeyes on their own turf or better yet to have overthrown the defending Division 1 National Champion, the Penn State Nittany Lions, in our gym. [But] most of my memories surround people… I can still feel the emotions that poured out during our team banquet in 1998 when we, the seniors, had to say goodbye to the team and our coach, mentor, friend and surrogate mother Sandy Brownscome, as she retired from coaching men’s volleyball. "It is certainly cliché, but life parallels sports. Every day we knowingly and unwittingly work in teams towards a common goal. Each day brings us success and failures that require equal grace and humility. We constantly rely on our skill developed through training to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. "If there is one thought I could impart to a student contemplating participating in organized sports, it is that life (much like sports) is not about winning or losing, and certainly not about a trophy or plaque for your achievement, but more about the experiences had, the lessons learned, the memories cherished and the indescribable appreciation for the people who stand with you in the face of adversity. Eric Gehman, who ranks among EMU’s top all-time hitters, blockers and diggers, is employed in Pennsylvania as manager at Haines & Kibblehouse, Inc., a vertically integrated mining and construction company employing nearly 2,300 people. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 29
photo by Jon styer
Alumni staffers: Front row (from left) field hockey coach Brenda Bechler '95, asst. field hockey coach Lisa Shank '05, women's soccer coach Jason Good '05, asst. women's soccer coach Joy Shaiebly '07, athletic events coordinator Phil Guengerich '70, asst. men's basketball coach Mat Huff '06, asst. men's basketball coach Carey Keyes '98. Back row, asst. women's soccer coach Ted Erickson '05, women's basketball coach Kevin Griffin '93, men's soccer coach Roger Mast '85, athletics director Dave King '76, asst. men's volleyball coach Ethan Fry '08, baseball coach Mark Mace '90, men's basketball coach Kirby Dean '92.
They STayed in SPORTS & eduCaTiOn
Former college athletes go into myriad professions. yet those who choose to stay involved in sports and kids – working as athletic directors, coaches, recreation specialists, and/or educators – seem to outnumber those in any other particular profession, such as medicine, social work and accounting (though many also are in these fields). This listing represents examples of alumni working in sports and education, with the collegiate sport(s) they played italicized and their current hometowns on the last line of their listings. this sampling was drawn from 16 states. BRiAn ALGER ’92 Basketball PE teacher John C. Myers Elem Sch., Varsity girls’ basketball coach Broadway High School Harrisonburg, Virginia
JAMES (“JiM”) BULLER ’75 Soccer Guidance counselor, Boys basketball coach Bethany Christian High School Goshen, Indiana
MiKE BARSTEiKA ’03 Tennis Blue Ridge Powersports employee Elkton, Virginia
JAMES BURKE ’80 Baseball Math, physics teacher, coach Page County Public Schools Luray, Virginia
APRiL BECK ’97 Volleyball Limited English Proficiency teacher Wauseon Schools Wauseon, Ohio GAYBETH (“BUMPY”) BiRKY ’89 Volleyball, softball Head volleyball coach, 1997-02 Tusculum College; PhD candidate in curriculum Albuquerque, New Mexico CRAiG BOnTRAGER ’92 Track & field, cross country Director, Burkley Wellness Center Skiing & racquetball instructor Concordia University Milford, Nebraska DAniEL BUEnO ’71 Wrestling, cross country Math teacher/football, soccer coach Garland Independent School District Lewisville, Texas
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RYAn DETWEiLER '07 Volleyball, soccer Manager, fitness center Christopher Dock Mennonite H.S. Telford, Pennsylvania WEnDELL EBERLY ’75 Basketball Director of Recreation and Facilities Rockingham County Harrisonburg, Virginia
CRYSTAL CAMPBELL '95 Track & field Coach, throws Turner Ashby High School Mt. Crawford, Virginia
TiMOTHY EHST ’76 Basketball Athletic director, teacher, girls basketball coach Christopher Dock Mennonite H.S. Bally, Pennsylvania
PAUL DE LA GARzA ’93 Track & field Assistant principal Rockingham County Schools Grottoes, Virginia
MARK EWinG ’73 Soccer Principal South Walton H.S. (Santa Rosa Beach) Niceville, Florida
DERYL DEnLinGER '81 Basketball, track & field Golf coach Lancaster Mennonite High School Lancaster, Pennsylvania
JAMES EYE ’08 Lacrosse prior to transferring to EMU Assistant football coach Turner Ashby High School Behavior spec., Shenandoah Academy Harrisonburg, Virginia
DOUGLAS DERSTinE '82 Soccer, track & field PE teacher Upper Moreland Middle School Telford, Pennsylvania
ALLiSOn FLAnDERS ’85 Field hockey Part-time teacher, PE & health Christian School of York York, Pennsylvania
RODERiCK FRETz ’76 Soccer Womens soccer coach & adjunct Instructor Western Oregon Univ/ Federal Emerg. Management Agency Salem, Oregon DUSTin GALYOn '06 Basketball Mens basketball coach Hesston College Hesston, Kansas AnDREA (STEFFEn) GAnGER ’88 Field hockey Language teacher Fairfield Jr/Sr School Goshen, Indiana DWiGHT GinGERiCH ’81 Basketball Guidance counselor, coach, assistant principal Iowa Mennonite School Kalona, Iowa J. MiCHAEL (MiKE) GREEnE '76 Basketball, baseball Algebra I teacher; coach, baseball, girls basketball; assistant football coach Park View High School South Hill, Virginia MELAniE HAAS ’83 Track & field, field hockey PE teacher, field hockey coach Menchville High School Newport News, Virginia
sports
naThan fRanklin ’04
lORi heRTzleR SChROCk ’93
Royals basketball Recreation specialist City of Roanoke, Virginia
Royals cross country, track & field, field hockey Head cross-country coach & assistant track coach Bridgewater College, Virginia
“Coach [Bill] Hale was and still is an outstanding assistant coach that EMU should truly be thankful to have. Coach Hale taught each player respect, honesty and what it means to fight through adversity. Without a shadow of a doubt, the experiences of EMU basketball players past and present are better because of him. As a recreation professional I face obstacles each day, but I am able to withstand anything that is thrown my way because of those lessons learned while at EMU. I would like to thank EMU because I would not be where I am now – in a position that I can be proud of – without my EMU experiences and degree.”
“I wanted to know the hows and whys of coaching, so I earned a master's degree from JMU – I totally fell in love with exercise physiology. I love using evidence-based research to train my athletes to reach higher and higher levels of performances. I have coached numerous athletes to ODAC titles and all-conference selections. I've been coaching mostly endurance runners since 1993. I've also coached hurdlers, jumpers and throwers. My athletes make up the majority of the names on Bridgewater College’s top 15 lists in middle and long distance. I love the challenge of coaching, and I love seeing people run faster than they ever thought possible.”
meliSSa (“miSSy”) henSley ’92
mike k. yOdeR ’93
Royals basketball, track & field (in Hall of Honor for basketball) Principal Signal Knob Middle School Shenandoah County, Virginia
Royals baseball Athletics director & teacher, economics & government Lancaster Mennonite High School Lancaster, Pennsylvania
“Nobody in my family ever went to college. [Discovering that she had been tracked into high school vocational classes,] I went to see my guidance counselor in my senior year and got my classes changed. I wanted to play college basketball and the word ‘can’t’ wasn’t, and still isn’t, in my vocabulary. [Under her leadership at Signal Knob] our school operates as a team, which means we are all in this together. Our students are performing better in the classroom and in extracurricular activities and our school environment has become a cohesive unit." In three years, Hensley has led her "team" to ever-better scores on standard evaluative matrices.
“I’m involved in athletic administration because I believe in the value of athletics as a part of the educational experience. I am an educator first, always emphasizing the importance of a quality learning experience. I also know first hand, through my own high school experiences and college experiences, how valuable it is to be part of something bigger, to be part of a team working toward a common goal. Athletics builds character and relational skills that are integral to daily life for the present and future. It shows the value of a quality effort and preparation. It requires heightened discipline in order to balance the educational realm with the athletic realm.”
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 31
SHELDOn RiCE '02 Soccer Varsity boys soccer coach Turner Ashby High School Bridgewater, Virginia STEPHAniE RiTTEnHOUSE ’06 Soccer, tennis PE teacher, tennis coach Christopher Dock Mennonite H.S. Telford, Pennsylvania BRUCE SCHLABACH ’77 Tennis, basketball Teacher physics/science; has coached basketball, golf, softball & track at Triad public schools West Liberty, Ohio JERRY SHAnK ’05 Baseball Assistant baseball coach University of Hartford West Hartford, Connecticut LARRY SHEETS '87 Basketball (also asst. baseball coach) Owner, recreational facility, baseball instructor Lutherville, Maryland
Larry Sheets '87, no 19 on the Orioles, in a watercolor painting by Tim Swartz '79 VALERiE HERSHBERGER ’84 Softball, volleyball Intramural director/assoc. prof. of PE Goshen College Goshen, Indiana
LiSA KinG '08 Field hockey JV field hockey coach Manheim Central Middle School Manheim, Pennsylvania
KURT HOSTETLER '01 Soccer Coach, women’s & men’s soccer Hesston College Hesston, Kansas
ASHLiE KiTE ’90 Softball Director of Women’s Athletics California State University at Northridge Northbridge, California
MARJORiE (RUSH) HOVDE ’79 Tennis Associate professor of English and technical communication Indiana University/ Purdue University Indianapolis Mulberry, Indiana
D. JOLEnE KRATz ’08 Basketball Grade 5 teacher Rockingham County Schools Harrisonburg, Virginia
DARRYL JACKSOn ’74 Soccer, track & field Assistant varsity track coach Garden Spot High School New Holland, Pennsylvania ADAM JAnTzi '98 Soccer, baseball Asst. coach, womens & mens soccer Bethel College Newton, Kansas DEnniS KAUFFMAn '72 Wrestling (briefly) Track and field coach Lancaster Mennonite High School Lancaster, Pennsylvania CYnTHiA KAUFMAnn ’90 Softball, volleyball P.T. assistant production mananger/ summer manager Goshen College Goshen, Indiana KiRK KinG ’98 Baseball Sr. manager, group & inside sales New York Mets Floral Park, New York
32 | crossroads | fall/winter 2009-10
STEVE KYLE ’80 Baseball Teacher, coach Augusta County Schools Stuarts Draft, Virginia HERMAn LAPP ’95 Basketball Math teacher, coach (on sabbatical 2009-10) Hotevilla Bacavi Community School Hotevilla, Arizona AMY (SAUDER) LEHMAn ’00 Tennis School counselor Holy Trinity School in Washington D.C. Alexandria, Virginia
DAViD E. MARTin '78 Soccer Guidance counselor (taking break from coaching 2009-10) Conestoga Valley Middle School Lancaster, Pennsylvania DEnniS MAUST '75 Tennis Coach, tennis Lancaster Mennonite High School Lancaster, Pennsylvania RiCHARD MCELWEE ’83 Baseball Athletic director Glenvar High School Riner, Virginia LAUREn MiCHEL '08 Field hockey, softball Field hockey coach Holly Grove Christian School Princess Anne, Maryland MARCUS MiLLER '80 Soccer Social studies teacher, mens soccer coach Iowa Mennonite School Wellman, Iowa JASOn MOORE '99 Soccer, track & field Coach, womens & men’s soccer Bethel College Newton, Kansas
JEWEL LEHMAn '87 Volleyball, softball PE depart. chair, assoc. prof. of PE & secondary education Goshen College Goshen, Indiana
TAMMY MOORE ’96 Softball PE teacher John Wayland Elementary School Bridgewater, Virginia
DARRin LEiCHTY ’00 3rd grade teacher; coach of golf & JV boys basketball West Liberty-Salem Schools West Liberty, Ohio
MATTHEW MOYER '94 Soccer PE teacher, varsity boys soccer coach Christopher Dock Mennonite H.S. Souderton, Pennsylvania
CRAiG MARTin ’95 Basketball Dean of students Wooster High School Wooster, Ohio
SARA nORMAn ’95 Softball Athletic Trainer Bridgewater College Bridgewater, Virginia
ORA SHETLER ’73 Basketball, soccer PE instructor/retired coach Green Local Schools Kidron, Ohio DAniELLE SiEMBiDA '99 Volleyball P.E. teacher, volleyball coach Boardman Glenwood Middle School Salem, Ohio BUCK SMiTH ’93 Track & field, cross country Director of administrative services Warren County Schools Strasburg, Virginia GinA CAMPBELL TROYER '93 Softball, basketball, volleyball Special education teacher Turner Ashby High School President of Loyal Royals, 2009-10 Bridgewater, Virginia CHUCK WEnGER ’94 Baseball, track & field Teacher, athletic trainer Broadway High School Harrisonburg, Virginia nEiL YODER ’02 Soccer Soccer coach Mid-Prairie High School Kalona, Iowa PHiL YODER ’96 Tennis Athletic director/coach, varsity boys soccer and basketball Conestoga Christian School Leola, Pennsylvania HERB zOOK '76 Cross country, track & field, wrestling, tennis Former athletic director current PT business manager Belleville Mennonite School Belleville, Pennsylvania
sports
Bits and Pieces nOTeS fROm OTheR STORieS SuBmiTTed fOR ThiS iSSue Of CROSSROadS
For “J.C.” (John Carl) Shenk ’71 (above), doing cross country at EMC launched him into four decades of running. At age 60, he received his first All American award for exceeding the criterion for his age group of running 400 meters in 1:05 or less (he did it in 1:04.87). He has competed in national-level track meets for 21 years, most recently in the U.S. Senior Games and U.S. Track & Field Masters Meets. J.C., an accountant, is married to Jewel ’65, a pathologist. They live in Sarasota, Florida. Craig Bontrager ’92 also has remained a serious runner, as he was at EMC – he competes in the 800 meter in his age group. But he has branched into doing “adventure races,” where he and his teammates go through different checkpoints using a topographical map, traveling by canoe, bike, foot or whatever non-motorized method available. Bontrager is a health center administrator in Milford, Nebraska. Melissa Adamire Delancey ’96 (“Chippy” on the EMU ballfield) wears many hats: she is an Amateur Softball Association umpire in Pennsylvania, a state where only 10% of ASA umpires are females; she is a licensed clinical social worker who supervises about 20 staff members as program manager of the children and adolescent units of Meadows Psychiatric Center near State College, Pennsylvania; and, with her husband Shawn, she runs their 60-cow dairy farm and small sawmill, while raising a daughter, who takes after her mother in loving to play ball. Gary Helmuth ’96, who pitched and played
shortstop for Royals baseball, finds that the lessons he learned as a college athlete in juggling many balls come in useful in his role as director of UVa’s Executive Management Search Group and director of UVA’s Temporary Staffing Services. Helmuth and his sister, Cheryl Helmuth Logan ’91, both did sports at EMU (she ran cross country) despite coming from a decidedly non-collegiate-athlete background. Their parents were raised Amish in Ohio, had formal schooling only through grade 8, and spoke to their children in Pennsylvania Dutch. Though Michael (“Mike”) Ray Martin ’85 is in the Royals Hall of Honor for soccer, these years he spends more time watching baseball (which he also played as an undergraduate). He’s got two sons, both seniors, on the EMU baseball team: Aaron and Daniel Martin. Both boys started their collegiate baseball careers at Hesston College in Kansas, and both transferred in September 2008 to EMU. Aaron, the older son, is the starting shortstop and Daniel is the starting third baseman. According to a 04/16/09 article in The Weather Vane, the boys playfully engage in sibling rivalry. Aaron is quoted as saying: “We help each other keep our competitive edge. He’s beating me in batting average, but I’ve got more home runs. So who’s better at baseball?” The wife and mother in the family, Yvonne, is the office assistant for EMU’s Master's in Education program. Joel Reinford ’82, who never did intercollegiate sports at EMU, has just wrapped up 10 years as an international volleyball referee. He wrote that he played intramural volleyball at EMC, then went to a referee clinic at Turner Ashby High School. He has refereed for the World Cup, World Championships and other international tournaments, including the 2007 World Cup in Japan (pictured here). In May 2009 he stepped off the international circuit to spend more time with his wife and son in Richmond, Va., while working in information technology. Curtis Berkey ’74 played basketball, soccer and tennis at EMU. So what does he do now? He cycles and flies planes! (Well, he plays some tennis too.) He e-mailed: “Every year, I get together with three other EMC grads or former students” – English professor Dan W. Lehman ’72, David Emery Schrock, class
of ’74, and attorney Alan D. Wenger ’74 – “for a week of cycling somewhere in either Virginia or Ohio.” Berkey was named a 2009 “Super Lawyer” for California; he is a managing partner of Alexander, Berkey, Williams & Weathers LLP, a firm that specializes in representing Native American tribes and communities. Rodney A. Martin '85 (below) came to EMU from his family's farm near Waynesboro, Va., enjoyed playing with Leonard Dow '86 and others on his basketball and soccer teams, married S. Renee Martin '85 and returned to his homeplace. With a heart for ministry to the elderly, he became co-owner/administrator of the Stuarts Draft Retirement Community in 1998. Deryl Denlinger ’81 has moved from playing Royals basketball and doing track & field (100 meters, long jump, javelin) to focusing on golf as a competitor and coach. In 2009 he was the Lancaster County Senior Champion. He started the golf program at Lancaster Mennonite High School in 1999 and has led it to numerous section titles. Denlinger is director of sales and marketing for Pellman Foods Inc. James (“Jim”) Buller ’75 has coached the varsity boys’ basketball team at Bethany Christian School in Goshen, Indiana, for three decades. He has won four sectional championships and two regional ones – with a coaching record of 329-323 – despite frequently facing larger schools. A local sportswriter dubbed him the “dean of Elkhart County basketball coaches” for having the longest tenure at one school. “One of my greatest rewards in coaching,” said Buller (on Bethany's website), “is the relationships with players that continue as they grow into adults.” He takes time to nurture faith and leadership skills in his players. His captains function more like assistant coaches as Buller talks with them regularly about which teammates need to be encouraged or to feel more included. Buller is also Bethany’s guidance counselor. Up and coming athletes include several members of EMU’s Honors Program. Senior Michelle Leaman, for example, has broken the school’s hurdle records, both indoor and outdoor, has been named “ODAC Player of the Week” several times and was EMU’s Woman Athlete of the Year as a sophomore. She also managed to find time to make the Dean’s List and be active in the Royal’s Society, the math club and Student Education Association. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 33
photo by blair seitz '67
2,000 unTOld STORieS
By Bonnie Price Lofton, MA '04, Editor in The PReCeding 33 PageS, we have glanced at the lives of a small fraction of the 2,200 EMU alumni who have participated in intercollegiate sports. And we haven’t even broached the fact that two-thirds of our students now play intramural sports. Dozens of alumni took the time to write Athletics Director Dave King or me to offer thoughts for this sports issue, usually centering on their memories of, lessons from, and current involvements with athletics. All who wrote – or who answered our phone calls or e-mails – helped shape this magazine. (Thank you!) Harvey Chupp ’69, a Mennonite pastor in Shipshewana, Indiana, sent us an interesting thread about his son, Gary Chupp ’92, the third top scorer in EMU men’s basketball history. Gary is now head men’s basketball coach at Goshen College. He shares space in EMU’s Hall of Honor with colleague Jewel Lehman ’87, the head of Goshen’s P.E. department and former women’s volleyball coach. As small children, Gary and Jewel attended the same Sunday school at Gospel Hill Mennonite Church in rural Fulks Run, Virginia. After graduating from high schools in different states (Gary was a protégé at Bethany Christian School of long-time basketball coach Jim Buller ’75, described on page 33), both Jewel and Gary came to EMU, where they were stand-out athletes (he in basketball, she in volleyball and softball). Each worked as coaches in other colleges and universities before winding up at Goshen, EMU’s closest “sister school.” Sarah Witmer Lehman ’89 wrote: “Lester Zook was really the first coach I had who emphasized the strengthening of mind, body and spirit in our training. He taught us that in order to be successful runners we not only need to work our bodies hard, but we need to run smart and stay focused on our relationship with God.” Lehman married an alumnus (Joel ’88) who became a medical doctor. Together they have played key roles in planting a 34 | crossroads | fall/winter 2009-10
Mennonite church in Dover, Ohio. Lehman has a master’s degree and experience as a high school teacher, but these days she is focused on non-salaried work: building her church community; raising her three daughters, ages 7, 11 and 13; volunteer coaching an elementary-school track team; and living and modeling a healthy spiritual and physical lifestyle, which includes a daily 6 a.m. run of 4 to 8 miles. Many other alumni (especially alumnae, to be honest) also made it clear that part of their “healthy balance” was tending to their children in their formative years. Pam Brunk Fahndrich ’91, another runner coached by Lester Zook, is the co-founder with husband Tim ’89 of a web design and marketing business in Salem, Oregon. But on their company website, http:// thethirdriver.com, Pam’s bio makes it clear that she has responsibilities beyond the business: “In her spare time she manages the Fahndrich household, coaches middle
school volleyball, is the worship leader at her church…” Donna Wenger Widrick ’90, in our Hall of Honor for softball, runs a horse-boarding business in Adams, New York, while homeschooling her children and being a self-described “soccer mom.” Her husband Joe ("Jay") ’89 is an accountant. Yet alumni-fathers also referred in their messages to the well-being of their children. Kurt Sauder ’89, a Shenandoah Valley pediatrician who is in the EMU Hall of Honor for soccer, wrote about leaving behind his days of doing marathons: “Now my athletic involvement consists of running and biking for exercise, playing church league softball, and being a father and sometimes a coach for three children involved in soccer, basketball, baseball, and swimming.” Sauder, who married a volleyball player, Cindy Yoder '90, thinks his experience as a Royals baseball and soccer player might have helped him gain admission to UVa’s
sports residency program, where he became chief resident of pediatriacs: “I noted in my application essay how disciplines I learned playing intercollegiate athletics had helped shape what kind of doctor I would be.” Steve Godshall ’92, a family physician in Harrisonburg, agreed that being an EMU soccer player helped form him into the adult he is today: “Even at age 40, it is very obvious to me that the values and skills I learned from playing a physically demanding team sport were invaluable in my subsequent life experiences.” Today Godshall, who also married an EMU volleyball player, Sara Leichty '94, mainly runs and cycles. Another physician, Colorado-based cardiologist Brian Stauffer ’91, wryly noted that “my participation in athletics has decreased” since his wife Christine gave birth to twins – Jack Alexander and Genevieve Rose – on July 3, 2009. “Hopefully this will be a temporary thing!” he added (referring, we hope, to the decrease in exercise, not to the presence of kids). Stauffer sent along a photo of the babies bundled up in a pull-along carrier attached to his mountain bike. “For myself the value of participating in intercollegiate sports was several-fold,” wrote Stauffer in an e-mail from his office as an assistant professor of cardiology at the University of Colorado-Denver. “(1) It mandated discipline with studying and practices. This discipline has helped me through all stages of my medical training and even now as faculty. (2) It provided an opportunity to improve teamwork/teambuilding skills, also necessary in other aspects of my personal and professional life. (3) It pulled me out of the books and provided a social structure while in the demanding pre-med program.” For most alumni-athletes, the gratitude they felt at the lessons learned from sports was tied to the wisdom and modeling provided by certain coaches. Dwight Gingerich ’81 is one of the most successful high school coaches in Iowa – his 27-season coaching record at Iowa Mennonite School is 487-136, and he was the State of Iowa’s nominee for 2009 National High School Coach of the Year. He wrote to Athletics Director Dave King: “A significant memory for me was a conversation I remember having with Keith Phillips (then head coach of men’s basketball) where he encouraged me to think of college as a ‘preparation’ time for being able to serve God effectively later. That helped me relax at the time and to allow myself to learn and experience a lot of different things that have helped me over the years as a coach, coun-
selor, teacher, and administrator.” Just as Crossroads was going to press on 12/10/09, Washington Post columnist Lenny Bernstein issued an appeal for funds to help Elton Horst ’70, MDiv ’73, cover expenses associated with recently discovered heart problems. Bernstein described 64-yearold Horst as “a legend in the Washington County, Md., running community.”(Horst, who taught Bible and coached at EMC from 1977 to 1984, is the only cross country competitor in our Hall of Honor; he left EMC to earn a doctorate in theology, but stopped at the dissertation stage.) The Post reported that Horst was laid off from his job at an office supply company several years ago, losing his health insurance. The Cumberland Valley Athletic Club (at 1012 Valleybrook Dr., Hagerstown, MD 21742) is trying to raise money to meet Horst’s medical needs until he becomes eligible for Medicare at age 65. Why is Horst “a legend”? It turns out that Horst was one of the earliest and best “ultra-marathon” runners, who run for 26 to 50 miles at a time. “In 1971, at age 25, Horst shattered the record for the JFK 50-Mile race, the oldest of those events by more than an hour,” clocking 6 hours, 15 minutes, 42 seconds,” the Post reported. Another story with a medical thread: Insurance business owner Jonas L. Borntrager ’70 wrote us about Ron Koppenhaver, the men’s soccer coach from 1967 to 1970. Barely in his 20s, Koppenhaver was close to the ages of Borntrager, his goalkeeper, and the other guys he coached, including brother Terry ’69. * The sons of Mennonite missionaries, Ron and Terry had grown up playing soccer in Argentina. Interviewed by phone in early December (’09) at his Kansas home, Ron recalled that his soccer team benefited from having missionary kids with international soccer experience and a sprinkling of foreign students. “We always had fun playing against the big schools, like Virginia Tech and UVa, and beating them,” Ron said. Prior to Ron’s third and final season as EMC’s soccer coach, Ron recalled that he received a letter from UVa saying “they could not continue to play us because we were too good.” 1
* The outstanding athleticism of the Koppenhaver brothers has not been able to stave off chronic diseases – Terry died of colon and liver cancer at age 38. Another brother, Danny, had cancer in his late 40s. Ron, now in his mid-60s, has a terminal bone marrow disease, which causes much fluid retention and pain. Throughout 2009, however, Ron still managed to rise from bed long enough to coach track and cross country. Messages for Ron can be sent to rkoppenhaver@cox.net.
Diane and Marv Holsopple
Supporting Sports lOyal TO eaCh OTheR & ROyalS The Loyal Royals consists of more than 800 individuals, couples and businesses who want to help EMU continue to positively influence young people through athletics. For Marv ’71 and Diane ’73 Holsopple, the Loyal Royals is a natural extension of their own involvement in athletics 40 years ago, when Marv played soccer and Diane played volleyball. Two of their three children also did intercollegiate sports at EMU – Kurt ’04 played soccer (and married the all-time top women's soccer player, Ellie Lind ’04) and Lori ’06 played softball. Marv, a sales manager for CCP Industries of Cleveland, Ohio, and Diane, a homemaker, attend the majority of the home basketball and soccer games. Another Loyal Royals member, Roland Landes, helped launch EMU into intercollegiate athletics as one of the college’s early coaches. In the first 11 years of the men’s cross-country team (1966 to 1977), Landes coached it all but two years. Landes led his teams to impressive records of 62% to 100% wins per season. He also coached track and field, baseball and basketball at intervals until the early 1980s. His son, Phil Landes ’87, played basketball, soccer, and baseball, while also managing to set records in the javelin and high jump in spring track and field meets. Both father and son and their wives are Loyal Royals. Dozens of businesses also belong to the Loyal Royals, including banks, insurance companies, large and small retailers, major and minor corporations, and local and national firms offering services such as rental cars and floor coverings. The Loyal Royals provides funding for special projects and events beyond the regular budget, such as softball field renovation, the message board on the turf field, golf carts for carrying equipment, a concession trailer, and endowments. For more information about the Loyal Royals, visit www.emu.edu/athletics/contribution.
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 35
EMU Finances at a Glance For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2009 and 2008
2008-09
2007-08
2,139,856
2,114,156
484,896 890,559
856,052 542,656
3,515,311
3,512,864
17,787,221
17,287,021
Contributions (same as “total contributions� above)
3,515,311
3,512,864
Grants and contracts (government and nongovernment)
1,708,149
1,404,379
Auxiliary enterprises (such as room and board, apt. rentals, book store)
3,763,688
3,806,818
Other income (such as summer conference income, endowment earnings)
3,776,215
3,956,580
30,550,584
29,967,662
13,802,089
13,271,084
Academic support
3,185,615
3,196,017
Student services
4,123,783
4,077,304
841,183
844,999
Auxiliary enterprises
3,009,517
2,960,855
Institutional support
4,503,132
4,358,289
29,465,319
28,708,548
1,085,265
1,259,114
(8,793,236)
(3,812,847)
50,795,925
53,349,658
43,087,954
50,795,925
CONTRIBUTIONS For use where most needed (e.g., the various annual funds and undesignated gifts) For designated purposes Endowment and capital projects Other designated purposes
Total contributions
OPERATING REVENUES Tuition and fees (net of student financial aid)
Total revenue and gains
OPERATING EXPENSES/LOSSES Instruction
Public service programs
Total operating expenses Change in net assets from operations (the difference between operating revenues and operating expenses)
NON-OPERATING ACTIVITIES NET ASSETS Beginning
Ending
These figures have been summarized from audited statements. For a complete financial statement, e-mail your request to: Crossroads@emu.edu.
36 | crossroads | fall/winter 2009-10
photo by jon Styer
mileposts Kacie Ruark, a junior who plays Royals soccer
Faculty and Staff
James R. Engle, professor of Old Testament, is one of three professors from EMU/S who have recently taught at Meserete Kristos College (MK College), Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. The other two persons are n. Gerald Shenk ’75, professor of church and society, who also teaches peacebuilding and conflict transformation, and Lawrence M. Yoder, professor of missiology. This is a program created several years ago after MK College asked EMS to create a seminary program for pastors of Meserete Kristos Church (MKC), (meaning Christ is the Foundation) the Mennonite body in Ethiopia. MKC has grown at an annual rate of 10% or more for a number of years. Last year, the church added 16,000 new members. Current membership is 172,000 with a faith community of 377,000. This summer, these three professors taught graduate level courses to 29 students at the college. This arrangement will potentially enable students from the college to obtain a degree from the United States or from a seminary in Africa. All three of the professors have taught in overseas settings: Engle returned in January after a semester of teaching at MK College; Shenk spent eight years studying and teaching in Yugoslavia; Yoder taught in Indonesia for nine years prior to coming to EMS. Cynthia (Cyndi) Detweiler ’93 Gusler, professor and chairwoman of the Visual
Arts and Communication Department, has provided leadership in organizing her senior arts seminar class to collect shoes for the Well of Shoes project. New and used shoes in good condition, from area residents, are being prepared for shipment to Kenya. The project is being coordinated with Well of Hope, a nongovernmental agency based in Kenya whose goal is to help the many impoverished women and children in the nation. Hundreds of shoes, ranging from heels to tennis shoes, have already been deposited in the storefront display of the former Jack Collins shoe store in downtown Harrisonburg, Va. nancy R. Heisey, MDiv ’94, professor of biblical studies and church history and chair of EMU’s Bible and religion department, became president-elect of Mennonite World Conference in 2000. The conference consists of delegates from 96 world-wide Mennonite churches. As president, Nancy moderated the world conference in 2003 in Zimbabwe. She served as moderator for the final time at the conference in Asuncion, Paraguay, July 11-17, concluding her term as president of Mennonite World Conference. Lindsey Roeschley Kolb ’07 works in EMU Marketing and Communications and recently produced a short video about EMU's cross-cultural program. See it at www.emu.edu/crosscultural. Gloria ileen Rhodes ’88, associate professor of conflict analysis and peacebuilding, received her PhD in conflict analysis from George Mason University in January 2009 Her dissertation was titled, “Conflict Resolu-
tion and Conflict Transformation Practice: Is there a Difference?” In August Gloria became chair of EMU’s department of applied social sciences. Samuel (Sam) Weaver ’66, associate director of development, is featured in the August 2009 issue of Connections, jointly published by Virginia Mennonite Missions and Virginia Mennonite Conference (VMC), upon his retirement as a bishop/overseer in the Northern District of the conference from 1996-2009. As a young man, Sam worked for Colony Dairy, rising to the director of the wholesale division, an on-the-job introduction to finances and marketing, which has served him well in his church-related administrative roles over the years. Sam served as youth minister for VMC, 1966-68, and principal of Eastern Mennonite High School, 1968-81. He was the first full time VMC executive secretary and director of Virginia Mennonite Conference Center, 1981-99.
1920-49
Harold D. Lehman, HS ’36, GT ’39, Harrisonburg, Va., a retired professor at EMU and JMU, was featured in the May 30 Daily News Record for his 4-year role and work as a conscientious objector to military service in WWII. Harold first went to a Civilian Public Service camp No. 39 in Galax, Va., to work along the Blue Ridge Parkway. When it was determined the work did not qualify as work of “national importance,” Harold was transferred to Vineland Training School, Vineland, N.J., an institution for mentally handicapped children. His task was to teach the children rudimentary reading, writing and mathematical skills.
Paul G. Kniss ’49, Harrisonburg, Va., a former missionary in India and Trinidad, and his new bride, Naomi Mast Hostetler Kniss, together participated in a long-standing tradition of the Mennonite churches of Trinidad and Tobago to hold a joint worship service in the fifth Sunday morning worship. More than a hundred persons gathered in the Sangre Grande Mennonite Church on Sunday morning, May 31, for the ordination of Ramesh Jaimani. Ramesh had chosen to serve as a licensed minister for over eight years. Paul brought the ordination message entitled, “The Divine Call.” Paul L. Kratz ’61 Sem ’93, bishop/overseer, officiated in the ordination of Ramesh.
1950-59
James R. Brunk ’50, Harrisonburg, Va., a retired physician, was featured in the May 30 Daily News Record for his two-year (1944-46) service in the Civilian Public Service as a conscientious objector to participation in WWII. Jim served as smokejumper in Montana for six months, making 14 jumps, seven of them for training purposes. On two occasions, he assisted colleagues to transport severely wounded fellow jumpers for many hours over difficult mountainous terrain. On his 13th jump, Jim suffered a sprained ankle, resulting in the need to ride 18 miles in a mule convoy back to his camp. After James completed his role as a smokejumper, he was transferred to Maryland, clearing swamp and working as a merchant mariner before receiving his discharge papers in 1946. Arthur (Art) Kennel ’53 and his wife, Lois Ruth ’53 Kennel, Rochester, Minn., have
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 55
been keenly interested in helping others benefit from the strong academic and caring community they enjoyed as students at EMU. To accomplish this, the Kennels raised llamas for 25 years, enabling them to provide college educations for their children and to support programming that benefited many students. Art became a successful cardiologist for 40 years at Mayo Clinic. Lois taught school in several states. Together, they spent two years serving under MCC in a 2,000-bed hospital in Zaire.
1960-69
EMU Royals senior D.J. Hinson
Midnight Madness For Mens' Basketball Yoder Mileposts Kirby Dean '92,New the men’s basketball coach, decided toEditor launch his
team’s ’09-’10 season in a way that nobody had yet seen at EMU: Paul T. Yoder ’50 is the new editor of Mileposts, with 15 hisagainst first series with a basketball game that began at midnight on Nov. of alumni Bible. notes to appear theminute winterof 2006-07 of Crossroads. Lancaster It was the in first the firstissue official day that his Yoder succeeds team could play. Paul T. Guengerich, who assembled “Mileposts” for 24"There's years asnot a part-time until III he retired thiscan summer at age 93. another job Division team that say they played Like us," Guengerich, Yoder brings deep roots and a wide network in before Dean said. theWhen Mennonite community to the task used of combing church Dean was a child, his mother to tell him thatperiodicals, nothing newspapers andafter other information gathering good happens midnight. Deansources, has proved Mom news wrongnotes – at on least activities, achievements milestones 15,000-plus if post-midnight activityand is restricted to on theour basketball arena.alumni. Watched 1956– to 1977, Yoder was aLoren missionary physician in –Ethiopia, byFrom 455 fans including President Swartzendruber the Roythe onlyLancaster physicianBible in a city of 30,000 in his first few years of service. als beat 96-53. Upon returning to the United States, medicine in EMU scored first in the game with Yoder a layuppracticed from Todd Phillips and around Harrisonburg, Va. HeThe staffed a family for (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro). Royals scoredpractice the nextoffice six and eight years. Then the with medical needs of prisoners then quickly blewhe thetended lead toto15-2 a three-point play fromand senior nursingTwine home (Dublin, residents,Va./Pulaski while simultaneously serving thethe bishop Austin County) just 6:04 as into game. andPhillips overseer themen Harrisonburg district as of he Virginia Conledofsix in double figures, had 17Mennonite points, seven ference. four assists and a pair of blocked shots. D.J. Hinson rebounds, Yoder has beenVa./Menchville) married for 57 years Daisy, in whom he met when (Newport News, also to dumped 17 points with four she attended EMHS and EMU from 1946 to 1949. They have four assists. children: Debra (Gullman), Daniel, Paultransfer Jr., and Eli Judith (Stroop). In his first game in an EMU uniform, Crawford Yoder grew up on Lee) a Delaware as one 13 children under finthe (Staunton, Va./R.E. scored farm 13 points andofmade seven steals, care ofone his parents – 9 biological siblings,George one adopted sister, and two ishing shy of tying a school record. Johnson (Richmond, additional School) youngsters. Due13to decision by the as state Delaware Va./Miller scored inalimited minutes he of returns to form to expel Mennonite children for not saluting the American flag, the after a preseason injury. Yoder childrenby had difficulty high school. prior to the As reported Mike Barbercompleting in the Daily News-Record As a young teenager eager to be a missionary doctor, Yoder was game, Johnson said there is excitement on campus for the Royals' permitted to come to Virginia to enroll in grade 9 at Eastern Menyear, but he didn't want to make any bold predictions. nonite the only where one ofIhis with a college "Last High year I School. ran intoHe thisis problem saidsiblings we were going to do education. this and do that," Johnson said. "Then we got down into the ODAC Get in touch with Paul T. we Yoder – feel free totalent call him “Paul” rather and I stunk it up. This year, have the most we've had since thanbeen “Dr.here. Yoder” – with yourgoing alumni news. at (540) 432-4205 or I've I think we're to be wayHe’s better than last year. I'll paul.t.yoder@emu.edu. just leave it at that." As for EMU’s sleep-deprived president, he later reported that he went to IHOP for breakfast after the game, got a short nap and rose in time to make to the 9:30 a.m. service at Park View Mennonite Church. fall 2007 2009-10 56 | crossroads | fall/winter
Richard F. Keeler ’60 and his wife, Margaret, have returned to Trinidad after a two-month home leave, to continue providing pastoral leadership of the Sangre Grande Mennonite Church on the eastern side of the island. The Keelers have spent a number of years as missionaries in Trinidad and Tobago. Lareta (Reta) Halteman ’62 Finger, Harrisonburg, Va., a ’58 alumnus of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, Lansdale, Pa., received the Christopher Dock 2009 outstanding achievement award at the Oct. 17 student fall concert. Reta has been teaching New Testament at Messiah College, Grantham, Pa., since 1995. She has authored three books, co-authored one, written numerous articles, essays, and book reviews. She has been the keynote speaker/preacher at numerous conferences across the U.S. Reta has a thirst to understand and a passion to share with laypersons what Jesus’ gospel means for women and men today.
A. Willard Shertzer ’63, MA ’88, was installed as intentional interim lead pastor at Mount Joy Mennonite Church, Mount Joy, Pa., on May 18. Carl ’65 and Vera King ’64 Hansen, have returned to Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, to continue their teaching and administrative responsibilities at Meserete Kristos College. Carl and Vera have served in various roles in Kenya and Ethiopia for more than two decades under Eastern Mennonite Missions. Ruth Lapp ’68 Guengerich, Goshen, Ind., assumed the board presidency of Mennonite Women USA during the Mennonite Church USA assembly in Columbus, Ohio, in July. Ruth says, “I have felt called to work with women’s issues within the church. I desire to see women in Mennonite Church USA overcome the hurdles that may have limited them in finding their niche within church structures or that prevented them from finding fulfillment in their daily lives. It is my goal that Mennonite Women will be a means of empowering women to use their energy in positive ways to serve God, empower others through friendship and challenge the church to reflect the diversity that we bring.” A professional clinical counselor for 25 years, Ruth works as the international personnel counselor and recruiter for Mennonite Mission Network.
James L. Rosenberger ’68 is professor of statistics at Penn State University in State College, Pa. James was the speaker at the Friday evening, Aug. 7, worship service of Allegheny Mennonite Conference’s 133rd Annual Meeting at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa. The worship theme was “Conformed to Christ.” The conference theme was “Formed by God’s Hands Isaiah 64:8.” James served the conference as treasurer and a member of the stewardship commission. Currently, he chairs the Mennonite Education Agency for Mennonite Church USA. He is an elected member of the Borough Council of State College, Pa. Thomas E. Horst ’69, Maugansville, Md., was appointed director of Cumberland Valley Relief Center (CVRC), beginning June 2, by its board of directors. CVRC is affiliated with MCC, serving as a local collection and assembling center of school and hygienic supplies. This is a cooperative ministry sponsored by the peace churches of Cumberland Valley, supported by a wide variety of people from the community. Thomas continues as part-time chaplain at ManorCare, Chambersburg, where he has worked since Aug. 2000. He brings broad experience to this new role, including laboratory technician, director of Christian education and a two-year volunteer term with MCC’s Teachers Abroad program (1969-71) in Newfoundland, Canada. He has also served in various volunteer activities. Earlier, Thomas and his wife, nancy L. Headings ’69 Horst, participated in the annual meat-canning events held in their area. Given his experience and connections with MCC, he is familiar with the ideals and goals of MCC, both in the United States and overseas.
1970-79
Allen Peachey ’70, Goshen, Ind., retired from teaching sheltered classes to English language learners at Goshen High School at the end of the 2008-09 school year. He previously taught Spanish at Bethany High School in Goshen for 25 years. Allen’s graduate work was done with Middlebury College in Madrid, Spain. He taught English classes one year in Choele Choel, Argentina, under the auspices of Mennonite Board of Missions (now, Mennonite Mission Network). He plans to remain active as a volunteer in the Goshen area and continue his hobbies of golfing, biking and birding. Dorinne Olga Peratalo ’70, Hibbing, Minn., medical technologist at Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital, is listed in Cambridge Who’s Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of medical services. With 31 years of experience in her role at the hospital, Dorinne specializes in laboratory management, hematology and chemistry. Dorinne was interested in becoming a medical technologist since
ninth grade. She is interested in moving into a pharmacy while continuing her laboratory work. Arlin (Rich) Yoder ’70, New Holland, Pa., Rose Esch ’71 Ross, Comins, Mich., John Longacre ’70, Fairview, Mich., Ruth White ’70 Roth and Dwight Roth ’69, Rocky Mount, N.C., formed a Folk Gospel singing group, The Optimists, as students at EMC. They sang at the college, in churches and for youth groups in Virginia and Pennsylvania. They made two record albums, one in 1969, “Through Any Storm,” and one in 1970, “The Song We Sing.” After 40 years, The Optimists met for a reunion at the home of Rich and Rachel Yoder in New Holland, Pa. Mervin Stutzman ’73 is the assistant director of student financial aid at Goshen College, Goshen, Ind. He has operated a drywall business, been business manager at a private school in Puerto Rico and worked as an accountant. Alta Brubaker ’74, a child psychiatrist of Keezletown, Va., and her husband Wayne Teel, took their two adopted children, Daude Teel and Alcinda Brubaker, to their homeland, Mozambique, this summer. Daude and Alcinda were both left in an orphanage in Mozambique, prompting Alta and Wayne, who were living in Mozambique at the time, to adopt them. Wayne, a professor at JMU, was asked to take part in a study-abroad trip to Africa which focused on Kenya. Alta and their two children “tagged along.” After a month in Kenya, the family visited Daude and Alcinda’s homeland. Cheryl Weaver ’74 Landis recently graduated from Millersville University with a master of science in nursing with a focus on nursing education. She was the recipient of the D. Joan Godfrey Nursing Award. She also received a Best Practice Award at a nursing conference in May upon presentation of “An Excursion of an Erythrocyte Through the Circulatory System,” as an example of creative teaching strategy. She continues teaching practical nursing students at the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center in Willow Street, Pa., where she is the clinical simulation lab coordinator. Earl ’75 and his wife, Pansy King ’75 Sheats, Pocomoke City, Md., are in the process of establishing a new Mennonite church on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They are co-pastors of a venture that began in their home. Beginning in Oct. 2008, the group began meeting in the Holiday Express Motel on Saturday evenings. Due to renovations at the hotel, they were obliged to move to the Days Inn. Earl and Pansy have a goal of starting a cell-based church that reaches persons who have not yet made a commitment to live for Christ. Marian Eberly ’78, South Bound Brook, N.J., was welcomed by Sussex County Community College (SCCC), Newton, N.J., as the new dean of liberal arts,
social science and education. Marian will be leaving her position as associate dean of the Franklin Center at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) to begin at SCCC this month. Eberly received her MA in applied English from Michigan State University, and her EdD from Rutgers University. Prior to her position as associate dean at RVCC, Eberly was the assistant dean for academic foundations at RVCC. The search committee cited Marian’s strengths as her liberal arts background and her experience as both a classroom instructor and program coordinator. Eric D. Martin ’78, Salem, Ore, was licensed, July 26, as chaplain for the Mennonite Village, Albany, Ore. Eric completed his seminary training at George Fox University in Portland in May. He primarily serves residents and staff for Quail Run Assisted Living and support for residents in the Village community through pastoral visits, Bible studies, Sunday worship, and staff enrichment. He has over 25 years of experience in Christian education as teacher and administrator. His wife, Susan Rohrer ’77 Martin, is an elementary special education teacher. Gerald J. Ressler ’79, Lititz, Pa., is the new executive director of Samaritan Counseling Center. Gerald worked at Philhaven, a behavioral health care center in Mount Gretna, for about 30 years, most recently as vice president of support systems.
1980-89
Marcia L. Augsburger ’81, Sacramento, Calif., a shareholder associated with McDonough Holland & Allen PC, was named as a 2009 Northern California Super Lawyer. Published by Law & Politics, the Super Lawyers list is compiled through peer nomination and research. Approximately five percent of the Northern California Bar received the distinction. Marcia, McDonough’s Health Care Practice group leader, also heads the firm’s wellness programs, which focuses on all aspects of health care law affecting providers, health plans, insurance companies, agents, brokers, other fiduciaries and employers. She handles a broad range of civil litigation matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts, class action lawsuits, and other complex business litigation. Augsburger also counsels on coverage and reimbursement issues, fiduciary duties, joint venture arrangements, transactions, partnerships, and employee benefits, including Health Savings Accounts and wellness programs. She earned her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law, in 1989. Mike Miller ’82, Burkittsville, Md., has been accepted and approved by the dean of Hood College into the next level of his masters of educational leadership program. The program has three levels. Mike has successfully passed
Four Soccer Players Honored by ODAC
For the first time since the inaugural year of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Eastern Mennonite University placed three men's soccer players on the All-ODAC First Team. Forward Mitchell Leap (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), keeper Dillon Brunk (Dayton, Va./Eastern Mennonite) and defender Jared Troyer (Harrisonburg, Va./ Eastern Mennonite) were each named to the 13-member First-Team. The only other time the Royals placed as many men on the All-ODAC First Team was in the conference's first year (1976) when Jon Yoder, Marvin Bunting, and Ken Fath were given top honors. Mitchell Leap Midfielder Bryce Shank (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), a transfer from Longwood University, garnered AllODAC Honorable Mention. The all-conference recognitions highlighted a pair of strengths: the young core of the EMU team, as three of the four are sophomores; and also the quality of play at Eastern Mennonite High School, as all four athletes played their high school ball at the Harrisonburg school. Dillion Brunk Brunk, who took over for 2008 AllODAC First Teamer Jackson Maust, led the ODAC keepers in saves (131) and saves per game (6.89) while finishing second in save percentage (.840%). Leap was EMU's main offensive weapon, as he scored 12 of the men's 26 goals on the season. No other Royal had more than two goals. The forward was fourth in the ODAC in goals (12) and goals per game (0.63). He also led EMU with three Jared Troyer assists and 27 total points and was fourth in the league with 1.52 points per game. Troyer, one of just three seniors for the Royals, served as team captain and anchored EMU's defense. He started all 52 games in his three seasons with the men. Shank, a high school teammate of Brunk and Leap, transferred to EMU this season after a year with D-I Longwood. The midfielder started all 19 games and Bryce Shank contributed one goal and two assists. Eastern Mennonite finished 2009 with a 7-5-5 mark, including 5-3-2 in ODAC play. It was the best conference record for the Royals since going 5-2-2 in 2003. The Royals lost 1-0 to eventual ODAC runner-up Roanoke in the ODAC quarterfinals. – James De Boer, Sports Information Director
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 57
level one. Mike and his wife, Elena, have purchased a house in Boonsboro, Md., where the plan to settle.
Alyssa Derstine
Alyssa Derstine Named An All American & All-Star
Eastern Mennonite attacker Alyssa Derstine (Telford, Pa./ Christopher Dock) was named a member of the 2009 All American Second Team and a 2009 Division III Senior All-Star by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Derstine, who was also recently honored for the second consecutive year as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year, played with 37 other top field hockey seniors in the Senior All-Star Game on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Mass. with his first series Paul T. Yoder ’50 is thein new editor of Mileposts, Derstine comes from athletic alumni stock – her mother, Sally of alumni notes to appear in the winter 2006-07 issue of Crossroads. Landis Derstine ’82, played field hockey and her father Douglas Yoder succeeds Paul T. Guengerich, who assembled “Mileposts” for Derstine was a health four years93.of 24 years as'82 a part-time job and untilPE hemajor retiredwho thisplayed summer at age intercollegiate soccer. Like Guengerich, Yoder brings deep roots and a wide network in being named the ODAC's Co-Player of thechurch Year inperiodicals, 2008, theAfter Mennonite community to the task of combing Derstine won the award again this year. She led the Lady Royals newspapers and other information sources, gathering news noteswith on 16 goals, 5 achievements assists and 37 and points, and alsoon won league's Player of activities, milestones ourthe 15,000-plus alumni. theFrom Week1956 honor for Oct. 26-Nov. to 1977, Yoder was a 1. missionary physician in Ethiopia, For her career, Derstine sits the leaderboards of years all three major the only physician in a city of on 30,000 in his first few of service. offensive categories at EMU. She finished with 58 goals, good Upon returning to the United States, Yoder practiced medicinefor in 7th 140 total points, for and 24aassists, 13th place. andplace; around Harrisonburg, Va. 9th; He staffed familyfor practice officeThe for senioryears. is alsoThen on the at medical Eastern Mennonite. eight he Dean's tended List to the needs of prisoners and The Lady Royals endedwhile the year with a 10-8 overall and 6-1 nursing home residents, simultaneously servingrecord as the bishop in the ODAC. EMU finished as the runner-up in the ODAC tourand overseer of the Harrisonburg district of Virginia Mennonite Conney for the fourth consecutive year. ference. [On page Derstine is for visible practicing soccer in the Yoder has 7, been married 57 years to Daisy, whom hebackground met when behind Sandy Brownscombe.] she attended EMHS and EMU from 1946 to 1949. They have four – James De Boer, Director children: Debra (Gullman), Daniel, Paul Sports Jr., andInformation Judith (Stroop).
Yoder New Mileposts Editor
Yoder grew up on a Delaware farm as one of 13 children under the care of his parents – 9 biological siblings, one adopted sister, and two additional youngsters. Due to a decision by the state of Delaware to expel Mennonite children for notPa., saluting thethe American flag,ofthe Kate Hess Kooker '72, Christiana, realized fulfillment Yoder children had difficulty completing high school. a 21-year dream with an event known as "60 for Hope" on July 25. As ahelped youngstart teenager eager to be Lancaster a missionary doctor, Yoder was21 Hess Bridge of Hope & Chester Counties permitted to come to Virginia to enroll in grade 9 at Eastern Menyears ago in an attempt to end homelessness for single mothers and nonite High School. is the only one ofpartially his siblings with a college their children in thoseHe counties. Hess was motivated to assist education. in forming this organization in honor of her mother, Kathryn Hess, Get in touch with Paul died T. Yoder feel free callfour himsiblings “Paul” were rather whose husband suddenly when– Kate andtoher than Yoder” – with news. He’s while at (540) 432-4205their or aged “Dr. 3 to 13. Kathryn hadyour to bealumni a single mother, managing paul.t.yoder@emu.edu. 86-acre farm. Kate turned 60 his year. To celebrate this milestone Kate decided to cycle 60 miles with 60 friends to raise $60,000 in the "60 Hope" event. Her 87-year-old mother rode five miles on a tricycle to participate in the event. – Paul T. Yoder '50, MAL '92, Mileposts editor
Kate Hess Offers Hope
fall 2007 2009-10 58 | crossroads | fall/winter
Judith Reitz ’82 Trumbo, Bergton, Va., is featured in the summer 2009 issue of Bloom, a publication of Rockingham Publishing Co., Inc, Harrisonburg, Va., for her role in leading the transition of Rockingham Memorial Hospital (RMH) from its current location to its new, multi-million dollar, technologically advanced, facility on Port Republic Road. Her responsibilities include leading a six-person staff to prepare RMH’s 2,300 employees to meet the challenges generated by the changes. Judith is an avid cyclist and regular hiker, believing they are effective stress-relievers. She succinctly states, “I base my life on three Fs plus two Fs: family, faith, and fitness, then friends and fun.” Cassandra Mannhardt ’83, Spotsylvania. Va., graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine, Bridgeport, Conn., with a doctorate in naturopathic medicine in 2007. She also received the academic achievement award for excellence in naturopathic medicine. She was a member of the college’s Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Cassandra has worked as a nurse and in other medical arenas since her graduation from EMU. Currently, she is in the private practice of naturopathic medicine in Spotsylvania. Cassandra focuses on providing preventive and wellness oriented health care, using clinical nutrition, lifestyle and diet counseling. Henry L. (Hank) Moyer ’83, Waynesboro, Va., began employment in July as a sales consultant with the Paul Obaugh, Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury auto agency, in Staunton, Va. Paula A. Waller ’83 Ritchie, Colonial Heights Va., has taught cooking and music in a Richmond (Va.) preschool for 13 years. She is married to Keith Ritchie ’83, who is a senior pastor at Highland United Methodist Church in Colonial Heights. Their lives began at EMU, when during Paula’s final year in social work and music; she married Keith at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Harrisonburg on Dec. 18, 1982. Given the overwhelming number of family members and friends attending the graduation ceremony that year, the ceremony was held at James Madison University. Cheryl Sell ’84 Hollinger, Lancaster, Pa., was licensed May 3 as Christian education director at Forest Hills Mennonite Church, Leola, Pa. Sonya Stauffer ’85 Kurtz, Rochester, N.Y., was licensed on May 31 for ministry at Rochester Area Mennonite Fellowship by New York Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Church USA. Lisa Gallagher ’85 Landes, is employed by the U.S. Department of State as a nurse practitioner for the U.S. Embassy personnel and their families in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. She arrived in May and was joined by her family in July. Lisa’s husband, David
Landes ’86, is interested in learning more about traditional music in Turkmenistan while he looks for employment. The Landes’ daughter, Kelsey, returned to the States in August to become a junior at EMU. Jeffrey (Jeff) A. Mumaw ’86, MDiv ’06, was ordained as associate pastor at Clinton Frame Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., Aug. 16. Edwina (Winnie) Hughes ’87 Pieper, Woodstock, Md., has worked at Liberty Christian School for the last six years. She and her husband, Chris, will serve as chaperones for their daughter, Claire’s 8th grade class on a mission trip to La Carpio, Costa Rica, in February 2010. The group will work with a local church, getting to know the youth in the villages, presenting songs and carnivals for the children and doing construction work. More importantly, they will encourage persons to become disciples of Jesus. Amy (Amy) Deneen Raezer ’87, Akron, Pa., has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a very painful and terminal lung disease. She desires that her former classmates know she has the website listed below. Given the nature of her disease, she invites her former classmates or other alumni to stop in to visit, to view her story, journal entries and pictures. She robustly desires for them to sign her guestbook. Her website is very secure. Amy has left the security level lower to make life easier on all who sign in – no password/code words needed. Her Caringbride website address is: www. caringbridge.org/visit/amyraezer Michael (Mike) Brislen, MDiv ’88, Willow Street, Pa., and his wife, Cindy, were recently recognized at an Eastern Mennonite Mission (EMM) banquet in honor of missionaries at Willow Valley Resort. Given their retirement from EMM, they were honored for their 16 years of missionary ministry in Djibouti. Mike compared missionary life to that of a professional baseball player, a career he once aspired to. “They get paid for doing something they enjoy—playing ball. I don’t understand why more people don’t go into missions. We get paid to travel, learn language, and talk about Jesus.” During their 21-year sojourn in France, Djibouti and Kenya, Mike said their living room often became a meeting place for the nations as they related to a rich mix of Somali, Ethiopian Afar, and French guests. Marcia zehr ’88 Lehman and her husband, Phil, Harrisonburg, Va., have resettled in the U.S. after completing ten years of missionary service in Bari, Italy, under Virginia Mennonite Missions. When they responded to the invitation to work in Italy, they did not anticipate extended terms of service. Therefore, they chose to homeschool their children, keeping them linked to American style education. Theodore (Ted) Swartz ’89, MAL ’92, Harrisonburg, Va., a ’74 alumnus of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, Lansdale, Pa., received the Christopher Dock 2009 distinguished
service award at the Oct. 17 student fall concert. Ted creates and performs dramatic and comedic plays. For 20 years, most of that creative work was written and performed with the assistance of his colleague, Lee Eshleman ’86. Since Lee’s death in 2007, Ted has been writing and performing new plays with a number of other artists. Ted & Company TheaterWorks performed “What Would Lloyd Do?” during Dock’s Homecoming Weekend.
1990-99
Michelle Witmer ’91 Dula, Lancaster, Pa., was licensed as associate pastor of Christian formation at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church on May 17.
Steven P. Hunsberger ’91, Telford, Pa., has joined Advanced Living Communities as vice president of philanthropy. Steven brings with him nine years of fundraising experience with the Mennonite Foundation of Telford. In addition to being an EMU alumnus, he is a graduate of Temple University, a certified financial planner and chartered financial consultant. His responsibilities include building a comprehensive development department, overseeing the philanthropy and capital campaigns and maintaining relationships with the funding community. Gilberto Perez, Jr, ’94, GC ’99 (Conflict Transformation), Goshen, Ind., was the keynote speaker for the annual convention of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work in Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 29-Nov. 1. Gilberto, the Bienvenido Program Director at the Northeastern Center in Indianapolis, Ind., spoke on: “Empowering Diverse Communities, the Three V Way.” Gilberto has worked at Northeastern Center Inc., a community mental health center in Ligonier, Ind., for the last six years. He is the founder and author of the Bienvenido Program, a prevention curriculum for Latino immigrants that focuses on access to mental health services. He serves as a member of the State Mental Health Planning Council and is a member of the Transformation Working Group, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Indiana. He has also been a keynote speaker at two national teleconferences with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Reducing Stigma Campaign and with the Specialty Practice Sections Committee of the National Association of Social Workers. Keang Kok ’94 Beiler, Hazle Township, Pa., graduated from East Stroudsburg University in December 2008 with a master degree in secondary education and teaching certification in English secondary education. She was employed in July by Hazleton Area School District to teach English as a second language at Hazleton Area High School. Elaine M. Shenk ’94, Philadelphia, Pa., is assistant professor of Spanish and
linguistics at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Her spouse, Ken Beidler ’92, is at home with their two sons, Tobias, 6, and Ezra, 2. He does freelance writing and creates pottery. Robert (Bob) E. Yoder ’94, campus pastor for Goshen College, Goshen, Ind., and adjunct professor at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind., was the speaker at the Sat. evening, Aug. 8, worship service of Allegheny Mennonite Conference’s 133rd Annual Meeting at Laurel Mennonite Church Center in Mt. Pleasant, Pa. The theme of the service was “Informed by the Spirit.” Benjamin Stevens ’98 and his spouse, Hyacinth (Heidi), were licensed as co-pastors at King of Glory Tabernacle, Bronx, N.Y., May 3. Chad Umble ’98, Lancaster, Pa., recently won first place for a feature story in the New Era of Lancaster about how many local residents were unable to name the Lancaster County commissioners when asked. Chad has covered business and local government for the New Era since 2005. Dawn Ranck ’99, MDiv ’02, associate pastor, Plains Mennonite Church, Hatfield, Pa., joined a team of peacemakers for two weeks in July, traveling to the Middle East.
2000-09
Joél Kempf ’00 and Jenny Bishop Kempf ’00, Chimoio, Mozambique, have been serving on a four year-term under MCC since Oct. 2006. Jenny is a women’s community development worker and Joel is a sustainable agriculture consultant. They anticipate completing their assignment in Oct. 2010.
Mark ’00 and Sarah Hawkins ’02 Schoenhals, Harrisonburg Va., with their newborn daughter, Heidi, will serve in the Emerald Triangle of Southeast Asia in leadership development. The Schoenhals have a joint appointment in tranSend of Virginia Mennonite Missions and Eastern Mennonite Missions. Jeremy Yoder ’00, Harrisonburg, Va., was a recipient of the 2009 Award of Achievement for academic excellence in accounting studies by the Virginia Society of CPA’s. Alicia Horst ’01, MDiv ’06, has been appointed executive director of NewBridges Immigration Resource Center, Harrisonburg, Va. NewBridges was established by congregations of the Harrisonburg District of Virginia Mennonite Conference in 2000. Alicia grew up in Sicily and is fluent in Italian and Spanish, significant assets in her work with newcomers to Rockingham County from overseas. Todd A. Lehman ’01, Hesston, Kan., was licensed by South Central Mennonite Conference for specific ministry as campus pastor of Hesston College and installed at Hesston Mennonite Church, June 14. Stephanie Jean nafziger ’01, Weyers Cave, Va., is special education teacher
Jon Spicher and Lars Akerson at the end of the six month trip
Mission Accomplished: Bike Trip to Paraguay
Jon Spicher, now a senior at EMU, and math major Lars Akerson '08, now working with autistic children in a Harrisonburg (Va.) elementary school, spent more than six months – early January to mid-July 2009 – bicycling from Harrisonburg to the Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay. Here is how the experience was summed up on their website, americas.bikemovement.org: “We…have traveled though 12 countries and more than 12,000 kilometers (around 7,750 miles), spent time in many places and with many people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs; we’ve been through many seasons and climates, and now we’re here, among many others, also representing many experiences, cultures, and congregations. May God be glorified in these days - in our interactions, conversations, worship, meals, and recreation!” The largest lesson or memory from the trip centers on the hospitality the young men received: “Though we carried a tent for the whole trip of nearly 8000 miles, we often wondered why. We only unpacked it twice; each of the other 182 evenings, we were hosted by Anabaptists, Catholics, and Evangelicals, restaurant owners and bicitaxi drivers, architects and ranchers, in homes, schools, and hospitals, parishes and community centers. To be received as unexpected and uninvited guests in so many places, time and time again was an overwhelming and humbling experience.” Visit www.americas.bikemovement.org to read more of their reflections and to see their stunning trip photographs.
Bicycle Co-op Now On Campus
The Bible and Religion department house on campus has new occupants this year. EMU's bike co-op has taken up shop in the bluecarpeted basement. Membership costs students $10 for a year-long membership, $20 for life. Faculty lifetime membership is $40. Renting a bike from the program costs $50 but students get $25 back if they return the bike in good condition. The money is used to pay for tools and other supplies such as brake cables and grease. Student Joe Heatwole says, "The biggest thing about biking is that it's something you feel comfortable doing, and can do it safely. If you drop by the bike co-op, the volunteers would love to talk to you about why they bike, tips for feeling safer on the road with cars, and ways to gradually improve your own biking skills." The co-op volunteers also teach students how to fix their bikes. – Sarah Harder, Weather Vane staff writer www.emu.edu | crossroads | 59
at Grove Hill Elementary School in Page County, Va., providing services for a regional autism program.
community members and encourage the Mennonite churches with music and Bible studies.
Brad Hoffman '02 is employed at Emergenetics International in Denver, Colo.
Brian ’05 and Elizabeth (Betsi) Ridings ’05 Roggie have moved to Rochester, New York. Brian is beginning his medical residency in emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Betsi has taken a position as infant lead teacher at Doodlebugs Children’s Center.
Marilyn E. Kurtz, CMS ’02, Willow Street, Pa., was ordained as lead pastor at Rossmere Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pa., a Lancaster Mennonite Conference congregation, May 31. Mark E. Miller '02, Denver, Colo., is director of marketing at Emergenetics International, Denver.
Loren Swartzendruber
Swartzendruber Elected Chair Of Private Colleges
President Loren Swartzendruber is serving as chair of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV) for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Swartzendruber was elected at the fall meeting of the CICV board of directors and will serve in this role through Sept. 30, 2010. The CICV is an association of 27 nonprofit, private colleges and universities in Virginia. Founded in 1971, CICV is the legislative advocate for Virginia private colleges and provides services to members in the areas of research, marketing, and consortium purchasing. The presidents of the 27 member institutions serve as the CICV board of directors. As chair, Swartzendruber promotes collaboration and consensus-building among member institutions, advocates on behalf of Virginia private colleges during the Virginia General Assembly session, and advises CICV's staff on all policy matters, including legislative and marketing priorities. "Loren has been active with the CICV for many years," said Robert B. Lambeth, Jr., CICV president. "His election as chair indicates the high regard the other private college presidents hold for him." CICV, with headquarters in Bedford, Va., was instrumental in starting the state's Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) program. This year, approximately 21,000 Virginia residents will receive a non-need based tuition grants of $3,000 (undergraduate) and $1,300 (graduate students in health professions). – Jim Bishop ’67, Public Information Officer
EMU Library Ranks High
In comparison to its college-library peers within the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), EMU’s library is doing very well indeed, according to Beryl Brubaker, director of the Sadie Hartzler Library. Out of 87 libraries at CCCU members, EMU’s ranked No. 6 in terms of volumes per student, expenditures per student, and other matrices of quality. EMU’s library outranked those of Calvin and of Tabor, for example. Wheaton’s library was ranked No. 1.
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Jeremiah Denlinger ’03, Newark, Del., graduated in May with a master in history degree from the University of Delaware. Derek ’03 and Rebekah (Becky) Horst ’07 King, have served as directors of Laurelville Mennonite Church Center’s, Mt. Pleasant, Pa., summer camp for the last three years. Derek is employed halftime at Gift and Thrift, Harrisonburg, Va., and began study at EMS this fall. Becky is a teacher of middle school science in the Staunton (Va.) public school system. Josh Suderman ’03 graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in May. In June, he began his residency in anesthesia at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Eric Kennel ’04, Lancaster, Pa., recently participated in an East-West workshop in Jordan, sponsored by MCC and the Middle East Council of Churches. The North Americans joined a group of young people from countries throughout the Middle East. The backgrounds of participants were as diverse as the region in which they met. The group included Orthodox, Protestant, Sunni and Shia Muslim, atheist and Mennonite individuals. Eric states, “We eagerly plunged into lengthy discussions on the importance of peacebuilding.” Despite the common interest in promoting peace and mutual understanding, participants brought differing life experiences and deeply held convictions. The reconciliation the group desperately sought to promote was buried under layers of mistrust based on personal experience. Eric maintains he emerged from the experience with a stronger conviction that the true message of Christ’s peace can only be expressed through love. Joanna Goins ’04 Myers, Arlington, Va., received her J.D., with honors, from George Washington University Law School in 2008. She is an associate at the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan in Washington D.C. Her husband, Benjamin Myers '05 is a full-time freelance photographer. Lindsey Yancey ’04 nice, her spouse, Rodney, and their children have accepted a two-year assignment from Virginia Mennonite Missions for service at the Maranatha School for the Deaf in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. They will assist in classroom instruction, relate to
Bryce J. Bergey ’06, Hatfield, Pa., is the newest, and at age 25, the youngest member of the Mennonite Economic Development (MEDA) board. He is an investments officer with Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania, Souderton, Pa., working with the institutional investments team to assist clients with corporate retirement plans. He was recruited while a business administration and economics student at Eastern Mennonite University. Ken Hochstetler, a senior Univest executive and MEDA board member, came to EMU and invited Bryce to become a corporate management trainee at Univest. Bryce agreed, and ended up staying. When he succeeded Hochstetler on the MEDA board he continued decades-long tradition of Univest involvement with MEDA. Carol Buhrman ’06, Orange, Va., recently completed a three-year term with MCC in Cambodia. Carol is attending graduate school at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., for master in human nutrition. Andrew Eshleman ’07, Hagerstown, Md. is employed by Washington County as an engineer responsible for inspection, maintenance, and bid specifications for all the bridges and culverts in the county. His spouse, Ashley Chupp ’07 Eshleman, is a registered nurse at Community Mental Health Services, an outpatient clinic in Hagerstown. She is also working on her graduate degree at Shenandoah University in Winchester to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Amina Auezova ’07 Shenk, Staunton, Va., is company relations manager of SNL Financial, Staunton. Katrina Alger ’08 has joined the EMU staff as the development assistant. Katrina has six years of office experience, including financial and database software applications. Carl (Boomer) Bauman ii ’08 is a uniquely talented author and artist residing in Dalton, Ohio. As of July 27, 2009, he officially became a professionally published children’s book author and illustrator, with the publication of One Star at a Time. In this story, and others soon to follow, Boomer creates memorable tales with meaningful lessons for both kids and adults alike. Angela Dietzel ’08 has been promoted to the position of program director by Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa., as of July 1.
D. Jolene Kratz ’08, Harrisonburg, Va., has completed her first year of teaching in the Rockingham County Public School System. Jolene received the Exxon Award for her work as a 5th grade math teacher at Cub Run Elementary School, Penn Laird, Va. The award, created by professional golfer, Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy, in partnership with ExxonMobil, was established to provide teachers the opportunity to enhance their mathematics and science teaching skills and to discover new ways to motivate their students in these areas. In late July, Jolene participated in the 2009 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy at Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, N.J. This all-expenses-paid five-day professional development program was for third-through fifth-grade teachers. Julie Denlinger ’09, Lancaster, Pa., began an advanced standing masters in social work graduate program at Temple University in July. Julie was awarded a full scholarship and a research assistantship with Temple. Amy Michelle Yoder ’09 and Daniel ’09 Landes, Abbotsford, British Columbia., began a two-year term with MCC, serving people with disabilities at Communities Supportive Care Society in British Columbia. Dan’s title is choices & connections day time support worker. Amy’s is infant-kind records business manager. Peter Lehman ’09, Harrisonburg, Va., responded positively to the invitation to become a member of tranSend, a program of Virginia Mennonite Missions for service in Costa Rica. Peter will leave in January to work with Pura Vida Missions in Heredia, Cost Rica. Pura Vida Missions is a center that facilitates, organizes, and assists in short-term mission groups. Peter looks forward to improving his grasp of the language, experiencing the culture of Central America and interacting with fellow Christians in Costa Rica. Erica Yoder ’09, Kalona, Iowa, was joined by her sister, Elaine, a 2002 graduate of Hesston College, Hesston, Kan., to launch a new event planning business, The Empire House, in Kalona. Both have worked together at Sisters Garden for years. Sisters Garden maintains an inventory of modern and antique farm furniture, architectural trimmings, garden and apothecary goods, displayed in charming vignettes. It is “upscale, retro and quirky.” Erica and Elaine, each with unique personalities which enhance her work, work as a team. They aim to bring the same atmosphere that exists at Sisters Garden to their newest venture, providing creative resources for engagements, weddings and for any of life’s celebrations.
Marriages
Paul G. Kniss ’49 to Naomi Mast Hostetler, May 9.
Geneva M. Rufenacht ’64 to Melvin H. Thomas ’79, May 2. Cassandra Mannhardt ’83, to Joseph Trindall, Aug. 8, 2008. Ronda Histand ’97 to Rafael Jimenez, May 17, 2008. Katherine (Katie) Goins ’01 to Thomas Frewen, Aug. 15. Alyssa J. Miller ’02 to Michelo Kalambo, May 16. Ryan Shetler ’01 to Laterra Harmon, June 20. Kristy Marie Henkel ’02 to Todd Arnold Wetmore, Dec. 6. Amy Potter, MA ’02, to Bart Czajkowski, June 20. Devin Yoder ’02 to Liz Immel, Aug. 1. Justin Schweitzer ’03 to Veronica Erb, May 30. nathaniel (nat) C. Franklin iii ’04 to Kristen Lenae Simpson, April 18. Jonathan (Jon) Trotter ’04 to Meredith Wine, July 20. Janae Yoder ’05 to Rodney Hostetter ’05, June 13. Elizabeth (Betsi) Ridings ’05 to Brian Roggie ’05, May 9. Dan Sandberg ’05 to Megan Yoder, June 2. Alexis Sauder ’06 to Jason Rutt ’06, June 6. Kathrine Joy Baker ’07 to James Austin Baer ’06, May 31. Debbie Boese ’07 to Mark Horst ’05, May 16. Lindsey Roeschley ’07 to Bradley Kolb ’08, Sept. 12. Kevin Eby ’08 to Kara Schlabach ’09, May 30. Kara Glick ’08 to Donovan Tann ’08, July 11. Andrea n. Shellenberger ’08 to Jameson Wade, Sept. 26. ingrid K. Vendrely ’08 to Bryan L. Kauffman ’08, July 25. Drew Ebersole ’09 to Kara Weaver ’08, July 11. Kristina Landis ’09 to Gregory Yoder, July 25. Kimberly Gross ’09 to Benjamin Moyer ’09, May 9. Alicia Hertzler ’09 to Zachary Hurst, Aug. 15. Rebecca Souder '09 to David Gish ‘08, June 27.
Egypt, from Middle East cross-cultural 2008
Middle East Cross-Cultural Holds 20-Year Reunion
Decades after parting ways and losing touch, Larry Guengerich ’89 and Craig Boyers ’91 reconnected on Facebook early this year. To their astonishment, they realized 20 years had passed since they’d spent a semester together in the Middle East with an EMC crosscultural group. Guengerich, communications coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee East Coast, and Boyers, a CPA in Waynesboro, Va., exchanged a few off-hand comments about organizing a reunion; in short order, they found themselves planning an event. They soon made contact with all but two of the original 34 students in the group, and on a Saturday in mid-August, eight participants and their families met at the MCC offices in Akron, Pa., to renew old friendships and reminisce about the trip. Over pizza and an actual, old-fashioned slide show, they shared memories and talked about the cross-cultural’s ongoing significance in their lives. “There was a real sense [that] this was a really important event for us,” said Guengerich, who said his experience that semester continues to influence his perspectives on politics, Anabaptist pacifism and current events in the Middle East. The reunion also gave attendees the opportunity to meet classmates’ spouses and children, and hear old stories they’d forgotten. As the afternoon drew to an end, everyone exchanged contact information and expressed interest in a yet-unplanned subsequent reunion. Al Keim ’63, then a history professor at EMC, and his first wife Lenna, who taught in the art department, led the trip in the spring of 1989. After spending several weeks in Egypt and Jordan, the group settled in Jerusalem for nearly two months’ study of Biblical history and archaeology, modern history and current events in the region. “It was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Boyers, recalling the group’s visit to the pyramids, his walk along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Old City during Holy Week, the day in Bethlehem when he watched Palestinian boys throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, and a tour of Europe by rental car just before the flight home. “It was quite a whirlwind of a trip,” he said. “It was certainly one of those experiences I wouldn’t trade for anything.” – Andrew Jenner ’04, freelance writer
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Amy nicole Boshart ’09 to John Tyson ’09, June 27.
Perry ’98 and Rebecca Miller ’99 Shank, Aurora, Colo., Lukas Eli, Apr. 27.
Births
Sidney (Sid) Jason ’98 and Kristi Lee Coulson ’01 Ruth, Telford, Pa., Kolton Lee, Mar. 30.
Michael (Mike) ’82 and Elena Miller, Boonsboro Md., Elizabeth Michelle, May 17.
Bruce Lee ’87 and Melissa Stoltzfus, Valparaiso, Ind., Emily Grace, Mar. 10. Marcile (Marcy) Troyer ’88 and Michael (Mike) Gabriel, Bradenton, Fla., Madelyn Elaine, June 29.
Lee Eshleman '86
Coming: Studio Theater Named for Lee Eshleman
EMU will celebrate the life and work of Lee E. Eshleman '86, 19632007, by naming the University Commons studio theater in his honor. A small gallery at the theater entrance will showcase some of Lee’s art work and photos of him on stage. Funding of $250,000 is needed to establish the Lee E. Eshleman Studio Theater as part of renovating the old gym area in the University Commons. More than $100,000 has already been committed by family and friends to this project. EMU invites the support of the broader community of many individuals who have been enriched by Lee’s life and work. The names of donors (or groups of donors) who make a gift of $500 or more will be listed on a plaque in the theater gallery. To contribute or for more information, visit www.emu.edu/giving/studiotheater or phone 1-800-368-3383. Lee was the last student to graduate with a degree from EMU’s art program in 1986 when the program was temporarily suspended for budgetary reasons. After graduating, he worked in the school print shop and as a graphic designer for EMU. “The 'knowing line' was what Lee was good at,” recalls former EMU art professor Jerry Lapp, MFA. “He captured particulars and peculiarities in animals, humans or objects rendered, that caused one to stop and gaze, ponder, chuckle.” Lee also began his stage career at EMU. "Lee wasn't afraid to take his fear and pain on stage with him," says Barbra Graber ’76, MFA, who directed the EMU drama program 1981-1997 and 2001-2005. "But he also wasn't afraid to let that Divine Comedian morph the pain into something else, something magnificent, poignant, deeply truthful, and so very funny." In the fall of 1987, Lee teamed up with Ted Swartz ’89, who was a ’92 Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduate, for a humorous sketch at a church camp. That chance teaming became the springboard for a 20-year partnership - Ted & Lee TheaterWorks. "It’s hard to say how much Lee meant to me," reflected Swartz in November 2009. "He was my comedic and theatrical soul mate as well as a great friend. We grew as artists together and Lee taught me much about humor, about word choice, about clarity of objective. But he also made me laugh more than anyone before or since.” Your gift will honor the work and life of Lee Eshleman and support theater at EMU for years to come. – Andrea Schrock Wenger ’86, Marketing/Communications Director fall 2007 2009-10 62 | crossroads | fall/winter
Rhonda J. Miller ’90 and Matthew Miller, Forest, Va., Patrick Michael, July 25, 2008. Larry ’89 and Kendra Peifer Guengerich, East Petersburg, Pa., Hudson James Peifer, Aug. 31. Beth ’89 and Jon ’90 Weaver-Kreider, York, Pa., Josiah Pearse, Mar. 30. Robert E. ’90 and nancy Harman ’90 Ranck, Weyers Cave, Va., Isaac Samuel, Feb. 5. Brian '91 and Christine Stauffer, Golden, Colo., Jack Alexander and Genevieve Rose, July 3. Lori Hochstetler ’91 and Karl Kuder, Chesterfield, Va., Megan Joy, Oct.17. Julie Lichty '92 and Mary C. Rhodomoyer, Glenside Pa, River John Lichty Rhodomoyer , Nov. 8. Jonathan (Jon) ’93 and Lian Yang Hartzler, Cleveland, Ohio, Gabriella, Feb. 15. Tema Gerber ’93 and Alex Tellado, Souderton, Pa., Simion Auriel, May 5. Kevin ’93 and Ruthie Griffin Harrisonburg, Va., Jeremiah Evan, Nov. 10. Jonathan ’93 and Ann Ruppert Moyer, Alburtis, Pa., Gabriella Rose, Sept. 1. Carla R. '94 and Jeremy B. '94 Armstrong, Richmond, Va., Abigail Rose and John Bryant, Oct. 17, 2008. nedra King ’94 and Ian Rutherford, Kansas City, Kan., Zephaniah Luke, Sept 4. Krista Jo Martin ’96 and Craig Martin ’95, Wooster, Ohio, Annika Jean, Sept. 24.
Monica Hartzler ’99 and Matt Beachy, Millersburg, Ind., Jeremiah Bemnet, Dec. 11. Received from Ethiopia for adoption, Apr. 22. Kirsten Brubaker ’99 and Adam Fuhr, Midlothian, Tex., Ava Grace, June 4. Darla Knepp ’99 and Eddie Trejo, Balwyn North VIC 3104, Australia, Stella Magdalena, Sept. 11. Monica Sue Miller ’00 and Korey ’01 Bromley, Middlebury, Ind., Sophia Lee, Feb. 14. Darrin '00 and Sarah Christopher '99 Leichty, West Liberty, Ohio, Isla Jeanette, July 18. Crystal Gosnell ’00, Denver, Pa., Thomas Emmanuel, July 18. Adopted, from the orphanage where she works in Nigeria, in November 2008. Joél Kempf ’00 and Jenny Bishop Kempf ’00, Chimoio, Mozambique, Nadia Grace, June 26. Kevin ’00 and Sarah Struck ’00 nafziger, Josiah Peter, May 15. Jonathan ’00 and Heidi Lantz-Trissel ’00, Harrisonburg, Va., Jesse Sayer, July 30. Dennis ’00 & Teresa Weber, Woodland, Mich., Collin Nathanial, Aug. 12. Cedric ’01 and Christy Landis ’01 Steiner, Lancaster, Pa., Isabella Nicole, June 19. Eric ’01 and Peggy Sterling ’00, Brubaker, Harrisonburg, Va., Lydia Hope, Oct.9. Tara Williams ’01 and Fred Cupp, Dayton, Va., Emma Paige, Oct. 18. Ericka Histand ’02 and David Gingerich ’02, Canby, Ore., Josiah Douglas, Aug. 9. Laura Hurter ’02 and Eric Linder, Lancaster, Pa., Carson Eric, Nov. 28, 2008. Sarah Hawkins ’02 and Mark Schoenhals ’00, Heidi Elizabeth, May 14.
Daryl ’97 and Carrie Stambaugh ’97 Bert, Pflugerville, Tex., Maren Genevieve, Oct. 3.
Bradley (Brad) ’02 and Jessica Yoder Miller, Englewood, Colo., Silas Emerson, Nov. 1.
Susan Gascho-Cooke ’97 and Teman Cooke, Atlanta, Ga., Vivienne Annali, May 7.
Steven Jay (Steve) ’02, MDiv ’05, and Katie Grove ’03 (MA ’06) Swartzendruber, Leesburg, Va., Noah Dean, June 1.
Ronda Histand ’97 and Rafael Jimenez, Wycombe, Pa., Kaitlyn Susana, July 20, 2008.
Alex R. ’02, MBA ’08, and Shannon M. Lamb ’03 Yoder, Harrisonburg, Va., Ben Reno, Aug. 11.
Deborah Horst ’97 and Ralph Muenstermann, Lancaster, Pa., Lily Sophia, Jan. 2.
Jeffrey, MBA ’03, and Elizabeth Smith Mcneal, MBA ’03, Dayton, Va., Makenna Grace, Aug. 16.
Jamey ’98 and Genevieve (Gen) ’97 Moyer-Groff, Harrisonburg, Va., Miriam, June 10.
Teresa Walker ’03 and Travis Heavner, Franklin, W.Va., Ty Daniel, Aug. 16, 2008.
Lisa Gascho ’03 and Andrew Hershberger ’02, West Liberty, Ohio, Braden Emery, July 24, 2008. Ellen Miller ’03 and Steve Rohrer, Orrville, Ohio, Isabelle Faith, May 16. Cara Wagler ’04 and Tyler Kauffman ’05, Harrisonburg, Va., Sienna Danae, July 2. Caleb ’04 and Sarah Miller ’05 Stitely, Harrisonburg, Va., Ryan Malachi, May 15. Heather Risser ’05 and Bryan Harper, Bergton, Va., Cassidy Faith, June 3. Elizabeth (Liz) Hagey ’07 and Jared Morgan ’06, Pinto, Md., Joshua Hagey, June 30. Jared ’09 and Adrianne (Addie) Miller ’09 Leaman, Goshen, Ind., Sophia Marie, Sept. 10.
Anniversaries
Orval ’48 and Dorothy Yoder Shank, Harrisonburg, Va., 60th, married Sept. 30, 1949.
J. Paul ’49 and Erma Yoder Lehman, Newport News, Va., 60th, married June 25, 1949. Daisy Byler ’52 and Paul T. Yoder ’50, MAL, ’92, Harrisonburg, Va., 60th, married Aug. 7, 1949. David W. ’59 and K. Grace Witmer ’59 Shenk, Mountville, Pa., 50th, married June 13, 1959. Kenneth (Ken) ’60 and Kathryn (Kass) Hunsberger Seitz, Harrisonburg, Va., 50th, married Sept. 5, 1959. Glenn R. (Sem ’79) and Velma Horst, Winchester, Va., 50th, married Sept. 12, 1959. Robert ’74, MA ’85, and Esther Troyer Mast, Chesapeake, Va., 50th, married Aug. 29, 1959.
Deaths
Martha Frances Wenger ’32, Harrisonburg, Va., died Oct. 22, at the age of 95, at Oak Lea Nursing Home. Martha had worked at Shenandoah Manufacturing, Staley's Silk Mill and EMU. She was a member of Weavers Mennonite Church. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Floyd Dwight Hartman ’34, Harrisonburg, Va., died Apr. 27 at the age of 94. His parents moved to Sterling, Ill., when Floyd was two years old. Once, when Floyd and his sister, Alta, were in the house alone and playing with matches while their parents were milking, the kitchen began to burn. They ran out of the house and got their father, who put out the fire. The Hartmans moved back to Virginia in 1945. He helped his father and Uncle Carl on their 160-acre dairy farm in Waynesboro to bottle milk to sell. In his younger years, he worked at the Pickle Factory and Stehli Silk Mill, both in Harrisonburg, before entering the Air Corp in 1942. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans and the
American Legion Post 27. In 1944 he took a job with the Harrisonburg Postal Service and retired after 30 years of service. Mary Florence Shenk (GT ’34) ’43, Harrisonburg, Va., died July 17 at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community at the age of 92. Mary Florence was a devoted and stalwart disciple of Jesus, spending a lifetime serving others and in the Christian faith community. She began teaching Sunday school as a teenager, continuing this ministry many years. She also taught in Vacation Bible Schools most of her life. Mary served 40 years, 1943-83, as an administrative assistant to deans of EMU and EMS. In this role, she served as a counselor to students from other countries. After retirement, Mary was involved in a variety of volunteer assignments, including MCC Ten Thousand Villages, Akron, Pa., and at Gift and Thrift, Harrisonburg, Va. John T. Showalter ’39, Ruther Glen, Va. died May 20 at the age of 89. John graduated from Bridgewater College. He served in the United States army in WWII. He was employed with RCA Inc./ General Electric as a field engineer until retirement. His hobbies included Ham and MARS Radio and real estate. Ruth Brubaker (BRE ’49) ’54 White, died Dec. 1 at age 92 at the Mennonite Home, Lancaster, Pa. Ruth received her RN degree from Lancaster General Hospital in 1945. She practiced nursing in West Virginia and Colorado, where she lived for 40 years. Ruth Good ’50 Krady, Harleysville, Pa., died June 8 at the age of 81. Ruth was a homemaker and an accomplished seamstress and enjoyed designing and baking wedding cakes. She cultivated indoor and outdoor flowers. Ruth was a gifted writer of poetry and scriptural meditations. Her husband, Dan ’51, survives. John L. Ropp ’50, Kalona, Iowa, died Aug. 27, at the age of 87. He and his wife Violet Martin (HS ’40) Ropp ’50, lived in Nashwauk, Minn., working as church planters over 13 years. In 1963, they moved to Kalona where he was a pastor of Fairview Conservative Mennonite Church. He also worked as a rural mail carrier and carpenter. In 1989, they moved to Carlsbad, N.M., where they enjoyed exploring the state. In 2008 he returned to Kalona. He was a member of the Fairview Mennonite Church and the Carlsbad Mennonite Church in Carlsbad. He enjoyed golfing and fishing. He is survived by his children, Leland ’76, Brighton, Mich., Lowell ’73 of Woodstock, Ga., and Ruth Ann Ropp ’78 of Carlsbad. Elsie K. Witmer ’51 Ritter, Harrisonburg, Va., died at Oak Lea Nursing Home in Harrisonburg, Oct. 22 at the age of 88. Elsie worked as a missionary, involved with starting new churches and relating to young members of those
Seminary Dean & Associate Dean Tapped for Top Roles
Mennonite Church USA Executive Board has named Ervin R. Stutzman, MAR'99, of Harrisonburg, Va., as the denomination's next executive director. Stutzman is vice president and seminary dean as well as professor of church ministries at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg. He had served on the Executive Board for Mennonite Church USA from 1999 to 2005 and as denominational moderator from 2001 to 2003. He expects to begin as executive director in early 2010. In a separate recruitment process, Sara Wenger Shenk '75, associate dean of the Ervin Stutzman seminary, was tapped to be president of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Ind., beginning on or before Oct. 1, 2010. Wenger Shenk has been a member of the faculty and administration of EMS since 1995. In addition to serving as associate dean, she is also associate professor of Christian practices. "I love my job at the seminary and I am deeply committed to the mission of EMU and EMS,” said Stutzman. "I responded Sara Wenger Shenk to the job because I love Mennonite Church USA, my gifts, interests and experience are a strong fit with the job description, and I felt a strong inner and outer sense of call." That call included a unanimous recommendation from the search committee, made up of 10 members from across the denomination. "Ervin has provided wise and innovative leadership to the seminary, enhancing the quality of its program and extending its reach," said provost Fred Kniss '79. "While we at EMU certainly regret losing him as a colleague and administrator, we know that Mennonite Church USA will benefit from his skills and experience.” Concerning the departure of Wenger Shenk, "it is obvious to me why Sara would have been on the AMBS search committee's radar from the beginning," said president Loren Swartzendruber. "She is gifted and prepared to take on this significant role in the life of the church, and I have pledged my support in the transition and beyond.” Addressing EMU’s faculty and staff in an e-mail, Swartzendruber discovered a bit of humor in the loss of two talented, experienced leaders: “I was reminded of a speech by a presidential colleague in the state who said it is his professional goal to place as many vice presidents in other presidential roles as possible. I’ve never considered that to be my goal but perhaps I should reconsider that possibility! To be sure, the alternative of hiring individuals that are not wanted elsewhere does not seem to be a good idea.” Wenger Shenk's varied career includes a study/service assignment in Bosnia and Croatia for nine years, pastoral ministry for four years, extensive speaking in academic and church venues, the writing of six books, as well as many articles and chapters in various publications, and leadership in a new, experimental community of worship called The Table. She previously served as interim dean of the seminary during 1999-2000. —Jim Bishop ’67, Public Information Officer www.emu.edu | crossroads | 63
Alumna Laura Cattell Gets Top Peace Award
A 2009 graduate received top honors in the bi-national C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest, where she competed against winning speech-writers from other Mennonite-related colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Laura C. Cattell, an environmental science and justice, peace and conflict studies Laura Cattell major from Honey Brook, Pa., won first place with her speech on structural violence in U.S. education. "If we are to do true peacebuilding, we must address structural violence," Cattell said in her speech. "Service and individual change are needed, but without advocacy it is short-sighted. As Christians, we must continue to serve those around us, but must also embrace the role of advocacy in building a more just world.” Listen to the speech at emu.edu/blog/podcast/2009/04/03.
Music Department Grateful For Donated Steinway
The EMU music department has been given a 1911 Steinway piano by retired judge Bob Gillette of Suffolk, Va., who is a 2007 MA graduate of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. The piano, which was played for years by Bob’s beloved wife, Kay Gillette, until shortly before her 2005 death, was refurbished by a gift from Geraldine Sherwood of Fairfax, Va. "With the addition of this beautifully refurbished Steinway, our Recital Hall is now an improved performance space," said music department chair Joan Griffing. "Having an instrument of this high quality is a real bonus to our students, faculty and guest artists who wish to perform in this setting."
Holsopple in Lithuania As Fulbright Scholar
Jerry Holsopple, professor of visual and communication arts, is in Lithuania for the 2009-10 year as a Fulbright Scholar at LCC International University in Klaipeda. He is teaching courses in digital imaging, photography, popular culture and communication, and related areas. He is also assisting the college to develop a communication Jerry Holsopple concentration. In 2004, 2006 and 2008, Holsopple led EMU cross-cultural summer seminars to Lithuania. This is the second year in a row that a faculty member was selected for the Fulbright honor. Mark Metzler Sawin, associate professor of history, spent the 2008-09 year teaching courses on "constructing identity: teaching and the cultural work of history and literature" at the university in the capital city of Zagreb, Croatia. fall 2007 2009-10 64 | crossroads | fall/winter
churches. She also led the Bible Study Fellowship at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. She is survived by her four children, Brenda Rexrode, C. Eugene ’80, Annette Guengerich ’77, and Sandra Lucas. Galen n. Buckwalter ’56, Chambersburg, Pa., died Feb. 21 at age 77 at Menno Haven nursing center in Chambersburg. He and his wife, Gladys Lehman ’56 Buckwalter, who survives, lived in Arizona for many years, serving in voluntary service and teaching school. After their son, Gregg ’96, was born, they moved back to Pennsylvania and Galen took leadership of Lehman’s Egg Service, a local business owned by Gladys’ father. Galen served as president until his retirement. He was involved in many activities and organizations, including membership on the Menno Haven board for 16 years, several as chairperson. He is also survived by his son, Gregg, and three grandchildren. Wilbur A. Lentz ’59, retired pastor and teacher, died at Landis Homes, Lititz, Pa, Oct. 21, at the age of 81. Wilbur received his call to become a pastor while serving as a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during WW II. He served as a pastor at Byerland Mennonite Church, Willow Street, Pa., Fellowship, Anderson, S.C., New Life Fellowship, Ephrata, Pa., and the former Hess Mennonite Church of Lititz. Wilbur taught Spanish and Bible courses at Lancaster Mennonite School from 1960-1973. He was a former salesperson for Conklin Chemical Co. Elvin G. Kreider ’60, Philippi, W.Va., died Aug. 27 at the age of 72. Elvin earned his medical degree from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. He was the primary pediatrician and allergist in Philippi for over 30 years, with his medical practice based in Myers Clinic. Elvin also assisted as instructor in the Pennsylvania graduate program at Alderson Broaddus College. He was a founding member of the Philippi Mennonite Church and enjoyed family times, hunting and spending time outdoors. His wife, Maribeth Messner ’62 Kreider, survives. Betty Louise Hershey ’64 newswanger, Lancaster, Pa., 66, died July 4. Betty was involved in Christian education for more than 40 years as a teacher and administrator. She served at Locust Grove Mennonite School, Kraybill’s Mennonite School, New Danville Mennonite School, Good Shepherd School in Ethiopia, and was on the team that started For Love of Children Learning Center in Washington, DC. She was an active member of Witmer Heights Mennonite Church. She taught Sunday school and served as president of Lancaster Conference Mennonite Women. Betty retired from teaching at Locust Grove Mennonite School in 2006. Her passions in life revolved around her childhood dream of teaching children, as well as her family and friends, her
husband Wes, scrapbooking, traveling, and reading. Her husband, R. Wesley ’67, survives. Kenneth E. nauman ’70, Arcadia. Fla., died Sept. 15 at the age of 72. Kenneth pastored churches for 40 years in Homestead, Sarasota and Arcadia until his retirement. He was a charter member in the formation of the Redlands Christian Migrant Association and the Arcadia chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Philip M. Loux ’74, Eugene, Ore, died in his home, June 13, from a malignant brain tumor, diagnosed in Nov. 2006, at the age of 57. Philip lived and worked as a medical technologist for four years in Japan in the early 1980s. After his return to the U.S, he was employed by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals from 1985-94. Phil then moved to Oregon with his family and worked in the Office of Technology Transfer, beginning in 1998. At his retirement in June 2007, Loux was assistant director of technology transfer. Orie E. Wenger ’74, Simpsonville, S.C., died June 6, at the age of 55. Orie was the senior pastor of Mount Zion Christian Fellowship at the time of his death. He was a skilled builder, at one time building a log cabin in an Iowa woods. It continues to be used for family functions. Orie was an enthusiastic sportsman and a member of the advisory committee of the American Sports Academy. In his pastoral role, he was a stalwart resource for disadvantaged persons. Young people valued his counsel and support in their Christian discipleship endeavors. Orie served as principal of Cornerstone Christian School in Broadway, Va., from 1993-97, simultaneously, he was an effective member of the Cornerstone pastoral team. Correction to Crossroads Summer 2009: Words of Hope are daily devotionals written and distributed as a personal ministry by Bruce A. Yoder ’72. They have no relationship to the Reformed Church in America. We apologize for this error. Degree Key BD - bachelor of divinity CMS - certificate of ministry studies HS - high school degree from era when high school and college were one MAL - master of arts church leadership MAM - master of arts in church ministries MAR - master of arts in religion MDiv - master of divinity ThB - bachelor of theology
Mileposts is compiled by retired physician Paul T. Yoder ’50, MAL ’92, who may be reached at paul.t.yoder@emu.edu or at (540) 432-4205. Feel free to send news directly to Paul or to the alumni office at alumni@emu.edu.
Donors' gifts shaped me Now I want to shape others Thirty-three years ago during chapel in Lehman Auditorium, Anthony Pratkanis ’79 heard economics professor John Krall make a case for supporting EMU… “He told us about some folks who paid the ‘opportunity costs’ and made a choice: to pay for my education and the education of other students.” Pratkanis recalled the chapel during an inspiring keynote at this fall’s donor appreciation banquet. He was on campus for Homecoming events and to accept the alumnus of the year award. “I grew up poor. I couldn’t have afforded the education I received at EMU if it weren’t for donors who came long before me… Those donors who gave 30 or more years ago are a part of me and everything I do, just as we are a part of what the next generation of EMU students will do.”
Join Anthony in helping to shape EMU students by supporting the University Fund. Make your donation online, by mail or by phoning with a pledge. Anthony Pratkanis, PhD, is a professor of social psychology at University of California-Santa Cruz and the author of a bestselling book, Age of Propoganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion. He has worked with the AARP on strategies for preventing economic fraud crimes, served as an expert witness in a number of high-profile court cases, and served as a consultant on persuasion and influence to two U.S. presidential campaigns. He has appeared on Oprah, Dateline NBC, CNN, the Jim Lehrer Newshour, and NPR.
Excerpts from Pratkanis' speech… When that EMU nurse holds the hand of a frightened child facing a painful operation or a life and death situation, we (donors) are with that nurse. When that EMU social worker proclaims a better way than to warehouse prisoners, we are with that social worker. When that EMU preacher makes the case for Anabaptist values, we are with that preacher. When that EMU peacebuilder seeks to calm a troubled land, we are with that peacebuilder. To the donors of the past, in the present, in the future, all I can say is "thank you" – not just as an EMU alum but as a citizen of the world.
emu.edu/giving Eastern Mennonite University Development Department 1200 Park Rd. Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Phil Helmuth Executive Director of Development (540) 432-4597 (800) 368-3383 E-mail: phil.helmuth@emu.edu
Art Borden Director of Planned Giving (540) 746-5127 (direct line) (800) 368-3383 Email: arthur.borden@emu.edu
www.emu.edu | crossroads | 65
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Our Family OF COlleges None can stop the Spirit Burning now inside us. We will shape the future. We will not be silent!
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heart & soul ...the arts
our Servant-leaderS in Science spring 2008
OUr VisiOn... dO jUstice, lOVe mercy, walk hUmbly with gOd
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VOl. 88, nO. 3
summer 2008
emu... preparing students to serve and lead globally
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vol. 89, no. 1
Recent issues of Crossroads have focused on our alumni in the sciences, in the arts, in business, and in education, as well as an overall issue on the value of Mennonite higher education. So what's next? The spring 2010 issue of Crossroads is slated to feature our alumni in ministry and pastoral work. You might be a graduate of our Bible and Religion Department or Eastern Mennonite Seminary doing church-related or other pastoral ministry. But you might not be. Whatever your field of formal study, if you are working in the ministry, please let us know. We are especially interested in how EMU helped shape you for your work.
spring 2009
emu... preparing students to serve and lead globally
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vol. 89, no. 3
summer 2009
emu... preparing students to serve and lead globally
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vol. 90, no. 1
The summer 2010 issue of Crossroads will focus on alumni in the fields of music, language and literature -- i.e., the "arts" we weren't able to cover in the summer 2009 issue on the visual & communication arts and on theater. If you are working in the fields of language, literature or music, please send us an update. Provide updates for both issues to us at (preferably):
emu.edu/crossroads/update Alternatively, email messages to
crossroads@emu.edu or send information to the address listed in the Crossroads mailing box on this page. Thank you for helping us to shape these upcoming issues!