Eastern Magazine | Winter 2010 by Eastern Washington University

Into Africa:

Alumni Provide Hope and Healing

Dear Alumni and Friends I am sure that you, like me, are having a hard time believing the calendar actually says 2010. But here we are, and I am very happy to say the new decade brings many promising opportunities for Eastern Washington University. In fact, with the holidays now behind us, this is a good time to reflect on all that has happened over the past year and what this new year might bring. As I review the state of the university, I feel it has fared very well after the challenges and uncertainties of the state budget crisis. Eastern is on solid ground because of the willingness of the university to reduce spending and make significant administrative and staff reductions. Through it all, our enrollment numbers remain strong. For the winter quarter, EWU will welcome more than 10,100 students. This represents 380 more full-time equivalent students than the same period last year. Our main goal has been to continue to provide a quality educational experience during this period of reduced funding. We have done this by making sure classes are available in critical, high-demand areas and by the willingness of our faculty to take on more students in their classes. Additionally, EWU is in the final steps of consolidating our colleges from six to four, as a way to become more efficient. Still, many challenges lie ahead as the economy continues a slow recovery. I am sure you are well aware Washington’s governor is proposing more cuts to balance the current budget. Unfortunately, unless alternative funding is generated, a big chunk of these reductions - $146 million – would come from the state need grant for student financial aid. This would hit EWU harder than any other public university in the state. We estimate that approximately 30 percent of our students could be impacted. Without that financial assistance, many could be forced to leave school. Not only would these students be denied the opportunity to receive a quality education, but Eastern would also have to consider downsizing even further because we would have fewer students to serve. I am optimistic a solution will emerge that will allow EWU to continue to flourish during these difficult times. You can be an important advocate by encouraging your legislative leaders to support higher education. As a college graduate, you understand the value of higher education and how it will help future generations prosper. As you read the pages of this magazine, you can understand why Eastern means so much to current and former students, faculty and staff. EWU is truly a unique place that has so much to offer. Thank you for taking the time to read my message, and have a great start to 2010.

EASTERN

WINTER 2010

Front

THE MAGAZINE for Eastern Washington University Alumni and Friends

Editor – Kandi Carper ‘05

Graphic Design – Ryan Gaard ‘02 Copy Editor – David Rey Contributing Writers – Kandi Carper ’05, David Rey, Dave Meany, Brad Northrup ‘03, ‘06, Dave Cook Photography – John Demke ’98, Eric Galey ‘84, Larry Conboy Editorial Board – Doug Kelley ’83, Jack Lucas ’77, Pia Hallenberg Christensen ’98, Kory Kelly ’98, Gina Mauro ’90 Vice President for University Advancement – Michael Westfall Director of Alumni Advancement – Lisa Poplawski ‘94 and ‘01 EWU Alumni Association President – Fran Bierig (Tsuchiyama) ‘76 EWU Foundation Chair – Steve Dahlstrom ‘94

ewualum@ewu.edu 509.359.4550 or 888.EWU.ALUM http://alumni.ewu.edu Office of Alumni Advancement 506 F Street, Cheney, WA 99004-2402 509.359.4551

EASTERN Magazine Letters, Comments, Queries E-mail: Phone: Write: Fax:

easternmagazine@ewu.edu 509.359.6422 Eastern Magazine, 300 Showalter Hall, Cheney, WA 99004-2445 509.359.4701

Supporting EWU For information about making a gift to Eastern, please contact the Office of Alumni Advancement E-mail: Website: Phone: Write: Fax:

ewualum@ewu.edu www.ewu.edu/supportewu 509.359.4550 Office of Alumni Advancement 506 F Street, Cheney, WA 99004-2402 509.359.4551

EASTERN, a magazine for alumni and friends of Eastern Washington University, is published in fall, winter and spring by University Marketing & Communications and mailed free in the U.S. to alumni of record.

Previous issues of Eastern magazine may be viewed at www.ewu.edu/easternmagazine.

Dr. Rodolfo Arévalo President Eastern Washington University

EASTERN Magazine

Contents Features

12 HOPE – More Than Just a Word 12 Deaf and hard-of-hearing preschoolers learn listening

and speaking skills on the Riverpoint Campus

of the Ashes 14 Out Famous fire doesn’t define EWU alum’s life

Careers Start at Eastern 18 Big Meet the Mountain Men of 49° North Africa 20 Into Eastern Alumni Offer Hope and Healing

The Cover

Departments

Into Africa:

Alumni Provide Hope and Healing

Joe Lockridge ’05, a Peace Corps volunteer in Shakawe, Botswana, Africa. Photo courtesy of Joe Lockridge.

2 4 6 7 8 25 30 31 34 35

Up Front Letters to the Editor

On the Road Sights and Sounds Eaglegram Class Notes Marriages In Memoriam The Back Page Alumni Events Calendar

Winter 2010

Letters to the

Editor

Editor’s note: Eastern Washington University reserves the right to edit letters for space, content and material of a potentially offensive nature.

Re-Remembering Reid Ryan Lancaster’s cogent account of Eastern Washington University’s Robert Reid Laboratory School did a nice job of describing some of that school’s beginnings, as well as its unfortunate termination. But having spent most of my professional education career in EWU’s Department of Education, I have a few additional vignettes I need to share. After spending 10 years as an elementary teacher and principal in southern California, I was looking for a change. Having finished my doctorate, I decided to accept an offer at Eastern Washington University. The year was 1968. At a school administrator’s meeting in Santa Barbara County, I mentioned the new position I’d just accepted at EWU (at that time EWSC). One of my administrative colleagues came racing up to me excitedly. “You’re going to Cheney?” he trumpeted. (Whoops, I was afraid I’d committed a colossal blunder.) But he continued, “EWSC turns out better teachers than UCLA, or any of the other teacher preparation institutions I know of. Whenever I need new teachers, I always go up there to find them. They have one of the very best laboratory schools in the U.S. Congratulations, you’ve made a good choice.” During my tenure at EWU, I used the Reid School facilities for various types of laboratory experiences. Because of the observation towers, teachers and researchers could watch students and instructors interact in a natural environment. In one of my research classes, several of my graduate students conducted a study which compared the number of “off task” behaviors they observed among the Reid students in an individualized reading program. They tested it without music, with soft “straight-ahead” jazz, traditional New Orleans jazz, classical, swing, rock, etc. (They hadn’t invented Hip Hop yet!) They also checked out the effects of various decibel levels on the number of “off task” behaviors. Not surprisingly, no music worked best. Our own son, Jeff, spent grades three through six at the school. He was fortunate to have superior professional instruction during his days at Reid. The heyday era of university laboratory schools throughout the U.S.A. existed during the second half of the 20th century. Eastern Washington University was lucky to have been associated with such sophisticated concepts of teacher education. The Robert Reid Laboratory School helped launch EWU into the 21st century. Let’s hope that the business of preparing outstanding teachers can still be part of Eastern’s raisons d’être (reasons for being). Bruce Mitchell, PhD Professor Emeritus Oxnard, Calif.

Keep in Touch with Old Friends I enjoy Eastern magazine and especially the fall issue which mentioned, and had a picture of, classmates Bill Anderson and Gary Higley. I have many great memories of them during my years at EWSC. Is there a database someplace that would list contacts for alumni? One time I know there was some kind of a book published that had information, but that was well before e-mail.

Jim Hamilton ‘67 Editor’s note: The best way to keep in touch with fellow alums is through Eastern’s AlumniLINK. Go to http://alumni.ewu.edu and click register now. If you have any questions you can call 888.EWU.ALUM and they’d be happy to help you. You can also keep in touch with fellow alumni and what’s going on at EWU on Facebook (facebook.com/ewueagles) and Twitter (twitter.com/ewutweet).

EASTERN Magazine

Play-off Game in Texas Reconnects Alum with Eastern A few nights before Thanksgiving, I received a phone call from a student from the EWU alumni office telling me about the upcoming Eagle football game in Nacogdoches, Texas. I asked, “Do you know where I live?” She said, “Uh, it says here on my screen that you live in Texas?” “I do live in Texas,” I replied. While my wife was indifferent about going to the game, I was beginning to figure out how I could make it all work on Thanksgiving weekend.

Admittedly, I had not been following

EWU football. The last game I had been to was when we played Montana in 2001, at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane. However, I did attend an alumni event in Washington D.C. I was living in northern Virginia and working on Capitol Hill at the time. That was my first alumni event and it was really a lot of fun, getting to chat with people that I knew from Cheney/Spokane while having dinner and drinks in our nation’s Capitol.

Because I’m a Texas resident, I have T-shirts from Texas Tech and the University of Texas. However, I own an Eastern class ring and a

variety of EWU alumni gear. In fact, I received a ticket for my EWU alumni license plate frame on my car two days before my most recent deployment to Iraq. I got the ticket because the frame obscured the word “Texas” on the plate. You can wager that if it had been a Dallas Cowboys frame I would not have been pulled over.

Back to the game – I got up early on Saturday morning, put on my EWU zip-up jacket and hopped in the car. The entire 182 miles was

like driving down the Cheney-Spangle Road. Stephen F. Austin University is in a town that looks a lot like Cheney, with pine and deciduous trees all over town and the campus.

I made my way across the field to where I had spied some Eastern jerseys. I met the parents of the several Eastern players. It seems that

a large contingent of the Hatch family was in attendance. I counted 46 heads wearing Eastern colors in the stands. The public relations director from the school told me there were about 7,000 fans total, not close to a sellout for a football playoff.

While hanging out on our side of the field, someone from the alumni office called out my name. That was a nice touch of home. I have

traveled the world, been to war, Disneyland and the Super Bowl. I have lived and worked in several different states across the country, but nothing says welcome home like hearing “Hey Kiver!” Phil Kiver ‘03 Editor’s note: The Eagles finished the season 8-4, with a 44-33 loss Nov. 28, 2009, in the NCAA Championship Subdivision Playoffs in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Printed vs. Online-only Magazine I like to sit back in my living room sofa and browse the whole magazine, cover to cover, in my hand. Sometimes, I come across people I know, sometimes, people I wished I could have said goodbye to (Dale Stradling). It was a good school and I love keeping up with all the changes. But it’s not as relaxing on the computer. Keep it in print! Jo Cook ‘94

Winter 2010

On the Road with

Eastern Magazine Kevin ’80 and Linda Fairhurst ’80, bravely displayed a copy of Eastern magazine in the middle of University of Montana fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium during the EWU-Montana football game in October. “We had a great time riding the EAA (Eagle Athletic Association) fan bus to Missoula. It was a hard-fought game (with some questionable calls) in a high-energy environment,” said Linda Fairhurst. “The Montana fans, as a whole, are always hospitable.”

Austin Ivers ’92, took his copy of Eastern magazine with him as he surveyed for Transect Archaeological, which was contracted by the Forest Service to search for culturally significant materials in the Blue Mountains. The point in the picture is an arrowhead found in the mountains south of Pomeroy, Wash.

Edwardo Solis ’99, took the fall issue of Eastern magazine with him on his first hike on the Great Wall of China in December 2009. “Visiting this part of China was an awesome experience and I would like to share it with the EWU alumni family,” said Solis.

Where in the world will Eastern magazine next be sighted? That’s up to you. Eastern alumni are invited to send in photographs of themselves holding up the current issue. Please include some information about yourself with your submission. At least one picture will be used in the next magazine. Due to space constraints, we may not be able to publish every submission, but the extra photos will be posted on the alumni website at http://alumni.ewu.edu. Send to easternmagazine@ewu.edu or Eastern Magazine, 300 Showalter Hall, Cheney, WA 99004-2445. Happy travels!

EASTERN Magazine

Sights and

Sounds Great Places Washington By John Kruse ’85, Wilderness Adventures Press, Inc. John Kruse’s personal experiences guide the reader through the myriad of public lands. He explains the geology, animal and plant life, and history of Washington’s most-storied and scenic locales, including the best local lodging and amenities. In Great Places Washington, Kruse, a lifetime resident of the state, shares information about fishing, hiking, camping, climbing, rafting, hunting, biking and snow sports. He covers adventures from the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands, to the Olympic Peninsula, down through the Columbia Gorge and Yakima River Country along the Columbia River, and back up to the Blue Mountains, and across the Okanogan Highlands and the Cascades and the rest of northeast Washington. Kruse covers the wildlife, birding and a full umbrella of outdoor activities in Washington, and lists outfitters, guides and lodges. Readers will also learn about the state’s parks, national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges and major historical sites. Great Places in Washington includes more than 120 outstanding color photos along with many detailed maps. Washington’s stunning scenery and ample public lands offer a bounty of fun for the entire family. www.wildadvpress.com

The Art of Concurrency By Clay Breshears ’83, O’Reilly Media Inc.

In the past, parallel and concurrent programming was the domain of a very small set of programmers, who were typically involved in scientific and technical computing arenas. From now on, concurrent programming is going to be mainstream. With any programming language or methodology, there are techniques, tricks, traps and tools to design and implement programs. The Art of Concurrency gives programmers the knowledge and one or two of the “secret handshakes” programmers will need to successfully practice the art of concurrent programming. Using algorithms that should be known to intermediate-level programmers, the text demonstrates how to approach the transformation of code written for a single-core machine, to an equivalent program able to correctly and efficiently take advantage of current and future multi-core processors. The Art of Concurrency provides detailed explanations and usable samples to help programmers transform algorithms from serial to parallel code, along with advice and analysis. www.oreilly.com

Seven is the Perfect Number By Bernie Loposer, Authorhouse

Loposer served as EWU associate vice president for University Relations, executive director of the EWU Foundation and interim director of development for the College of Education before he retired in 1995. Loposer has completed a mystery novel, Seven is the Perfect Number, recently released and now available in paperback at the EWU Bookstore. The book’s main character, Brad Ellis, is a brilliant college math professor with a Victorian morality. He stumbles onto a mysterious algorithm embedded in a 2,500-year-old papyrus scroll written by Greek mathematician Pythagoras. After Ellis learns his fundamentalist Baptist college in Mississippi is almost bankrupt, he shrugs off his moral opposition to gambling and sneaks off to Las Vegas, armed with the mathematical gambling system he developed from Pythagoras’ algorithm. His goal is to win enough money at the casinos’ craps tables to rescue his college. But when he starts winning at the craps tables, everything goes sideways. Loposer and his wife Ellen, reside in Spokane, Wash. www.authorhouse.com

If you are an Eastern or Cheney Normal School alum or faculty member and have written a general interest book or have a music CD on the market (self-published works will be included if space allows) and would like to have it considered for inclusion in Eastern magazine’s Sights and Sounds section, please send it (along with your contact information) to: Eastern Magazine, 300 Showalter Hall, Cheney, WA 99004-2445.

Winter 2010

Eaglegram KEWU Program Director Recognized as Best of Class Elizabeth Farriss (’05 BA electronic media and filmic art), the program director for Eastern Washington University’s Jazz 89.5 KEWU-FM has been named “Best Small Market Jazz Programmer” for 2009, by JazzWeek Magazine, the definitive jazz radio source. Farriss also won this award in 2005, when the station was named “Best Small Market Jazz Station.” With an extensive and illustrious broadcasting history in the Inland Northwest, KEWU is a non-commercial, educational radio station serving EWU and the surrounding Cheney and Spokane metropolitan area. It is also streamed live via the Internet. For more information about KEWU, visit the radio station at www.kewu.ewu.edu.

Roos’ EWU Jersey Retired

Michael Roos (’05 BA business) and his wife Katherine returned to Woodward Field Oct. 24, to have his number 71 football jersey retired. The former EWU AllAmerican and current Tennessee Titans All-Pro offensive tackle was honored in a ceremony during halftime at the 2009 Homecoming game against Montana State. “Having my jersey retired is obviously a huge thrill for me,” said Roos. “It’s something you never think is going to happen, so when I was told about it, I was definitely ecstatic. It’s an honor that not many players achieve at any level, so I feel extremely honored that Eastern has decided to retire mine.” The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Roos is quick to credit his former coaches at Eastern - offensive line coach Aaron Best and former head coach Paul Wulff. “I was very lucky to have the best offensive line coach possible in Aaron Best,” said Roos. “He taught all of us the meaning of hard work and perseverance. Also, I was fortunate that Paul Wulff took a chance on me out of high school and gave me the opportunity.”

EWU Rec Center Makes Cover of Rink Magazine Eastern’s University Recreation Center (URC) was featured in Rink Magazine’s November/December 2009 issue. The magazine is the official publication of STAR (Serving the American Rinks), a joint venture between U.S. Figure Skating and USA Hockey. The Rink article describes the unique partnership between the university and its students in building the $28.6 facility, and highlights the amenities of the center, including the NHLsized ice rink, fitness center, rock climbing wall and The Roost (the premier dining venue that overlooks the ice rink). The URC, which opened on campus in May 2008, has not only given local hockey players and figure skaters an additional practice and game facility, but sparked an otherwise untapped interest in recreational ice skating in students and people of all skills. Eastern’s Eagle logo is proudly displayed on center ice of the 200’ x 85’ rink, which is home to the EWU Hockey Club, and seats 900 fans.

EASTERN Magazine

EWU Welcomes Muskie Fellows Eastern Washington University welcomed two new international students on campus this fall as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program. This is the third year that EWU has hosted Muskie scholars. Joining the Eastern family are Oleksandr Slashchyn from Ukraine (pictured left), and Mederbek Toktosunov from Kyrgyzstan (pictured right). They are studying in the university’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program. “The Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program is very prestigious. It is an honor to be selected as a host university,” said Roberta Brooke, director of Eastern’s MBA Program. “Having these scholars on campus speaks to the quality of our program and its relevance to this region.” During the 2008-09 academic year, Eastern hosted Seda Murtazalieva, a graduate student from Chechnya, working on her master’s degree in public administration under the tutelage of Larry Luton, PhD, director of the MPA Program. Eastern welcomed its first Muskie Fellow in fall 2007. Hranush Aghayan, from Armenia, earned her MBA degree in 2009. The Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program was established in 1992 by the U.S. Congress. It aims to promote mutual understanding, build democracy and foster the transition to market economies in Eurasia through intensive academic study and professional training for fellows from 12 countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition to their academic coursework, all Muskie fellows perform community service and complete a summer internship in their field of study.

Meyer Joins the Spokane Shock ’07 Erik Meyer, BA interdisciplinary studies, has signed with the Spokane Shock professional arena football team in Spokane. As an Eagle quarterback, he was selected as the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year after both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior in 2005, Meyer won the prestigious Walter Payton Award, the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for FCS programs. Since that time, Meyer has gained experience in the National Football League, NFL Europe, and most recently, with the Canadian Football League.

EWU’s Community Indicators Project Extends North to Tri-County Region Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis will create a data-based website for three northeast counties in the state of Washington – Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille. As part of its Community Indicators Initiative, the institute has created similar websites for four other counties around the state. Each website serves as sort of a data bank that provides analytical information on relevant community topics such as business, health, crime, transportation, education and housing. “These websites provide critical data to communities around the Inland Northwest,” said Patrick Jones, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis. “Community leaders from public and private sectors utilize this information for long-range planning, grant applications and key business decisions.” Earlier this year, the institute secured a $190,000 federal appropriation so it could create more of these websites for various communities. While the residents decide on the content, EWU students gain real-world experience by programming, designing and developing the actual Web pages. The Community Indicators project for the northeast Washington counties is expected to be launched in April or May 2010. For more information about the project, visit www.communityindicators.ewu.edu. Winter 2010

Eaglegram Computer Science Department Celebrates Silver Anniversary Eastern Washington University’s Computer Science Department celebrated its 25th anniversary with a reception on Dec. 3, 2009, in the atrium of the Computing and Engineering Building on the EWU campus in Cheney. Eastern’s computer science roots go back to 1969, when Computer Science Studies were first brought to the university. Then in 1984 – the year of the Apple Macintosh debut – the Computer Science Program was formed and authorized to award both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in computer science. Today, the program is housed in the state-of-the-art Computing and Engineering Building, which opened in the fall of 2005. Approximately 2,000 students have received computer science degrees or minors since the program’s inception. “Our celebration marks the 25th year of continuing excitement – keeping up with one of the world’s fastest moving areas of knowledge,” said Steve Simmons, the only computer science professor to be at EWU since computer science studies originated in ’69. “In our history, there have been times where Eastern computer science students and faculty have outraced, by several steps, the blistering pace of rapid progress in the field.” Simmons noted as an example, a five-year project supported by a NASA grant, where Eastern students worked on an advanced flight computer that would help the space shuttle program with weather safety along the flight path.

2009 Hall of Famers Inducted Five former Eastern Washington University student-athletes and the school’s 1989 volleyball team comprise the ninth class of inductees into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame. They were honored in ceremonies that took place on Oct. 10, 2009, on the Cheney campus. The new inductees include four former Eastern student-athletes who went on to illustrious coaching careers – Curt Byrnes ’65; Ed Fisher ’71; George Gablehouse ‘48 and Tracy Walters ‘53. Combined, that foursome has already been inducted into seven halls of fame after winning numerous league, state and national championships as coaches. Pictured: George Gablehouse at the podium. Seated left-right: Ed Fisher, Tracy Walters, Curt The other individual inductee is national collegiate Byrnes, Mike Reed, Larry Weir (master of ceremonies and EWU radio play-by-play announcer), wrestling champion Mike Reed ‘79, who also won a state Jim Wasem Sr. and Suzanne Vick (now Paulsen, representing the 1989 volleyball team) title at nearby West Valley High School, in Spokane. The 1989 volleyball team, led by previous individual inductees Pamela Parks (coach) and Juli Argotow (player), was inducted on the 20th anniversary of its 25-7 finish. The Eagles won Big Sky Conference (then Mountain West Conference) regular season and tournament titles, and made the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Established in 1996, this year’s inductees bring the total number of individuals in the Hall of Fame to 49. Six teams have also been inducted. In addition, Jim Wasem Sr., who coached in more than 900 collegiate baseball games in a 23-year head coaching career, received the Eastern Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame Service and Contribution Award.

EASTERN Magazine

Sneak Peak at Get Lit! Festival Authors The 2010 Get Lit! Festival will be hosting more than 40 regional, national and international authors April 14-21, in various venues in and around Spokane.

Here’s a sneak peek at a few of the 2010 Get Lit! Festival’s participating authors:

Richard Russo, Jess Walter, Janet Fitch, Reza Aslan, Sallie Tisdale, Patricia Smith and others. Now in its 12th year, the literary festival offers 50 events for people of all ages, including lectures, readings, book signings, workshops, panel discussions and poetry slams – and genres that include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, the graphic novel, screenwriting and more.

The Get Lit! Festival has come a long way since its humble beginning in 1998, when it began as a one-day marathon of literary readings

sponsored by the EWU Press and the university’s Department of Creative Writing. Now, as many as 10,000 people participate each year. Out of 50 events, most are free to the public. Plus, this year, Get Lit! is inviting students to attend for free with their student ID.

Check out www.ewu.edu/getlit for a full list of events and participating authors, venues and ticket information.

Eastern – by the numbers

• • • • • • • • • • • •

*11,302 enrollment 43% male, 57% female 2% international students (the largest numbers from Canada, Taiwan and South Korea) **22% diversity overall **27% diversity freshman class $1,780 resident undergraduate tuition per quarter 75% students receiving financial assistance, totaling $95 million 21:1 student-to-faculty ratio 50% new undergraduate transfers from 2- and 4-year colleges 3.2 GPA, 974 SAT, 20 ACT averages of incoming freshman 66% freshman living on campus 51% freshman who will be the first in their families to earn a college degree

*includes self-support and all funding sources (10,302 state-funded FTEs) **based on student reported race/ethnicity Data compiled by Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and Demography, based on latest data as of October 2009.

Google. ESPN. Mayo Clinic. big careers start at

H op e

More Than Just

a Word

By Kandi Carper ‘05

HOPE School Helps Deaf and Hard-ofHearing Preschool Children Develop Listening and Speaking Skills Jason and Christina Yates knew before their fifth child, son Micah, was born, that there was a good chance he would be deaf. Complications during the pregnancy and his birth were contributing factors. They were as prepared as any parents could be in this situation. When Micah was 16 months old, he got a cochlear implant, a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. “Making the decision to have the surgery and implant the device wasn’t an easy one,” said Jason Yates. “It took awhile to sort that out. In a way, it

EASTERN Magazine

Left to right: Micah Yates, EWU grad student Ida Walther and Deanna Laptev.

felt like we were saying that something was wrong with Micah the way God made him. But, at the same time, if we didn’t do it, would he later ask us why we didn’t give him the opportunity to hear?” Making the decision about where Micah would attend preschool was easier. HOPE (Hearing Oral Program of Excellence) School was recommended by JoBeth Deibel, the school’s educational director and first teacher. HOPE School was the vision of a group of Spokane audiologists, speech-language pathologists, teachers of the deaf, parents of deaf children and children with hearing loss, and two physicians specializing in cochlear implant surgery. They saw a need for a Spokane-area preschool that would help children optimize their listening and speaking skills. In 2004, HOPE school opened in a dedicated classroom facility in the Health Sciences Building on the Riverpoint Campus. Faculty and students Left to right: EWU grad student Kyle Mutch, Santiago Acosta, Danyel Swenson and Jessica Degenhardt from Eastern Washington University’s Department of she cries when she can’t go. “There’s been a complete turnaround,” said Communication Disorders and Washington State University’s Department Degenhardt. “Before, she would go off by herself. She was very quiet and of Speech and Hearing Sciences are an essential part of the preschool. disengaged, but now she’s really bonded with the other kids, the grad Children learn in a small-group, language-enriched environment, students and teachers. She’s like a different child. She’s become a little where the focus is listening and talking. The school doesn’t use sign chatterbox and her confidence has just blossomed.” language. Typically, these children are either profoundly deaf and have Amy Hardie, a teacher of the deaf, is the instructor at HOPE School. cochlear implants, or they have enough hearing to benefit from the use of The children follow a developmentally-appropriate curriculum and hearing aids. enjoy activities such as free play and circle time. Jennie Wheaton (’97 MS communication disorders) is the instructional Graduate students from EWU and WSU work with children in the assistant at HOPE School. “The parents of the children at HOPE School classroom and also deliver individual speech and language therapy have chosen to have their children access oral language through modern services under the supervision of a certified speech-language technology,” said Wheaton. “These children, given the appropriate pathologist. The graduate students are extremely lucky to have this education, will have the opportunity to become functioning members of training program available to them. Currently, there are 56 juniors, the hearing world. A doctor once said to me, ‘When the right tool is in the seniors and graduate students in Eastern’s Communication Disorders tool box, use it.’ Modern hearing aids and cochlear implants are the tools Program. Graduates of the program are in high demand for employment of the 21st century.” in schools, clinics, hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. Hearing children also attend the preschool. The idea is, that by having Kyle Mutch, a first-year graduate student at EWU, works with the one or two hearing and speaking role models, the children with hearing preschoolers at HOPE School. He’s from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, loss will learn to speak sooner. Micah’s sister, Alice, spent two years at the Canada. “There’s an overwhelming joy you get from making a difference school as one of these language models. in the children’s lives,” said Mutch. “Watching them grow and develop “Without Micah’s experience at HOPE School, his life would be gives you a sense of purpose as a speech-language pathologist. I’ve dramatically different,” said Yates. “The rate at which he would learn to loved my experience at HOPE School so much I might try to specialize speak and listen would be infinitely slower. He gets one-on-one attention. in working with children with hearing loss. If everything works out right, He’s now asking complex questions like, ‘Dad, why is that up there?’ ” maybe I’ll be able to start a similar program back in Canada someday.” E The goal of the HOPE program is to prepare children for integration into mainstream kindergarten with little or no special service needs. Six-yearold Micah will be homeschooled with the rest of his siblings next year. Becky Degenhardt’s four-year-old daughter, Jessica, enrolled at HOPE School in September. Prior to that, she was in a public school environment with 16 other children. She’s now one of five children in the afternoon program at HOPE. Degenhardt learned about the preschool from her daughter’s speech therapist. Jessica’s hearing loss was confirmed when she was about 18 months old. She hears with the help of hearing aids. Degenhardt says Jessica used to cry when she had to go to school. Now

About the school and EWU’s Communication Disorders Program HOPE (Hearing Oral Program of Excellence) School is a private, nonprofit preschool taught by a certified teacher of deaf and hardof-hearing children. No child will be turned away based on financial need. For more information about HOPE School go to www.oraldeafed.org/schools/hope/index.html and click on “find local schools” or call 509.368.6899. For more information about EWU’s program visit http://cshe.cslabs.ewu.edu/deptCD/videopage.html.

Winter 2010

Out of the Ashes By David Rey

Sixty years after the most famous wildfire in American history nearly killed him, Bob Sallee (‘73 accounting) sat in a coffee shop, ready to tell the story of his narrow escape from a fate that 13 of his fellow firefighters could not move fast enough to avoid. As one of only three survivors of the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire, a tragedy so compelling it was covered by Life Magazine and chronicled by Norman Maclean in the bestselling book Young Men and Fire, Sallee has found there is no shortage of interest in his recollections of that day. “Mann Gulch rears its ugly head at least once per week,” Sallee said in a way that held out hope that maybe this would be its last appearance. “I’m always flabbergasted by it – it was 60 years ago – and that seems like a long time ago.” Sallee, who is now 77, still has a mettle about him that leads you to believe that he still may be able to get out there and fight forest fires. And he speaks with an authority that exudes self-assurance and authenticity.

Sallee at home 2009 Sallee 1949

Seventeen years old is an uncommon age to have your life force its most pivotal moment upon you, but Sallee, like it or not, will always have the Mann Gulch Fire as a biographical exclamation point. What you find out, if you decide to look before and beyond the 30 fateful minutes that would be the last half-hour for most of his colleagues, is that the fire, while a boldfaced defining event in his life, does not define Sallee’s life. While the memories of the flames eventually consumed one of the three men that survived that day, Sallee moved on in appreciation of the second chance handed him and found a way to deal with the memories.

Before the Fire During the years immediately following World War II, America turned its attention back upon itself and looked for ways to improve the country. A burst of creativity and purpose gave rise to increased investment in the country’s infrastructure and technological research. Out of the confluence of those two goals came an expanded National Forest Service, which focused its attention on two things – stewardship of the country’s forests and fighting forest fires. Sallee came into the Forest Service under the first priority, which eventually led him to the second. Sallee’s first Forest Service job came when he was 16, joining armies of young men pulling gooseberry

EASTERN Magazine

When you are young, you are afraid of most everything at the and

currant

bushes

out

of the soil to prevent the spread of White Pine Blister Rust, which was ravaging the

beginning – but by the time you jump out of an

country’s pine forests – he had to lie and say he was 18 to get the job. “There were camps all over North Idaho and Eastern

airplane, that’s it for being afraid.

Washington and they got high school and college kids in there to pull gooseberry bushes,” Sallee recalled. “They liked my work the first season and the next season they asked me to help set up another camp.” During that second season, a couple visitors to Sallee’s camp changed the direction of his Forest Service career. “We had a couple of smokejumpers come in to help – and I found out those guys were

U.S. Forest Service photo of Mann Gulch in 1949

making big bucks,” Sallee said with a smile. To earn the “big bucks,” smokejumpers parachute out of an airplane into a fire zone to attempt to suppress the fire before it grows out of control into a larger wildfire. They are the shock troops of forest fire fighting and their training methods were the framework for the establishment of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division, the United States Army’s first airborne fighting unit. Though he had never flown in an airplane before, Sallee was drawn to the idea of becoming a smokejumper, and the 23-cent raise from $1.07 per hour to $1.30 per hour fully convinced him. He went through the tough training and finally took his first airplane ride for his first jump. Having had months to think about what it was going to be like facing the decision to jump out of a plane, Sallee admitted he was a bit nervous. “But when you get up there, you’ve got your buddies with you and you just couldn’t not jump,” he explained. It took just that one jump for him to become hooked on the rush of being a smokejumper and even 60 years later, having nearly died doing it, he still has a soft spot for it. “Actually, that’s the best damn job in the world – fighting fire gets in your blood,” he said.

The Fire Bob Sallee and his roommate Walter Rumsey were the youngest of the 15 smokejumpers who boarded a twin-engine DC-3 on Aug. 5,

Smokejumpers exiting transport plane

Winter 2010

gambled would provide a safe haven from the oncoming inferno. He frantically yelled at his crew to wait and join him in the burnt-out area, but the men thought he had gone crazy and continued to run headlong up the gulch, hoping to reach what they believed would be the safety of the ridgeline. Sallee and his friend Rumsey thought Dodge had burned the hillside to create a shield from the larger fire, so they ran along the uphill side of his fire – a hellish 150-yard scramble up a 45 degree hill to a rimrock wall on the ridgeline. “Dodge was shouting ‘Up this way!’ – I interpreted that as ‘Run up alongside this fire,’” Sallee explained. Sallee’s youth and toughness served him well, and he and Rumsey reached the rimrock before the inferno, they squeezed through a cleft in the rocks and escaped to a rockslide on the gulch’s back slope, where they took shelter as the fire swept past. “Rumsey and I thought we’d dodged the bullet – and we’re damn lucky,” Sallee said. The two young men and their foreman, Wagner Dodge, were the only ones to survive the fire. The rest of their mates lost their individual races with the flames on the steep sides of Mann Gulch. Dodge’s escape fire saved his life. Over the next 24 hours, Sallee trudged up and down the gulch,

Mann Gulch four days after the fire

leading rescue teams to his dead and dying comrades. It was a grim experience, but, amazingly, he didn’t throw in the towel on smoke jumping.

1949, in Missoula, Mont., to make the 100-mile flight to remote Mann

After the Fire

Gulch, a V-shaped draw that leads steeply up from the Missouri River.

Sallee was still a teenager after the harrowing experience in Mann

They jumped into the gulch at 4 p.m., expecting to suppress what,

Gulch, and after he decided that maybe smoke jumping wasn’t a long-

at the time, looked like a routine wildfire encompassing only about 60

term career he wanted to pursue, he got back to the business of thinking

acres on the gulch’s south ridgeline. It was Sallee’s first hot jump.

about his future.

“When you are young, you are afraid of most everything at the

“After the fire, I decided I needed to give myself some other work

beginning – but by the time you jump out of an airplane, that’s it for

options, so I went to the University of Idaho,” Sallee said. “I was able to go

being afraid,” Sallee said with a nod.

for three semesters, but then I ran out of money.”

In fact, the weather was so hot that day, about 100 degrees, and the

Despite help from his landlord, who helped him secure a loan for the

updrafts bounced the plane around so much, that Sallee was actually

first year’s expenses at Idaho, Sallee couldn’t see a way to finance the

wanting to be the first one out of the plane.

entire four years of college, so he had to leave school and find a job.

Once the crew was on the ground, they started down the draw to

He ended up settling upon a job working at the paper mill in Lewiston,

start fighting the fire from a spot near where the gulch opens into the

Idaho – largely because it paid more than forest ranger wages. That

cool river. But, halfway down, at 5:45 p.m., they surprisingly found their

decision was the second most important decision he made in his life,

route to the river blocked by growing curtains of flames which had

ranking right below the decision to run straight up the hillside alongside

developed from spot fires at around 5:30 p.m. To this day, nobody is

Dodge’s escape fire to safety in the big fire.

quite sure how the fire found its way to the gulch mouth below the

While his quick decision during the fire saved his life, the deliberate

smokejumpers.

decision to work at the paper mill shaped his life.

The crew turned around to evade the fire, which started to rapidly

Sallee spent several years at the Lewiston mill, learning the multiple

move up the gulch, driven on by gusting winds from the river and the

facets of the process. Starting from the ground up in the paper mill

fire itself. By the time they’d made it 450 yards, the fire was only about

business would prove to serve Sallee in good stead as his career advanced.

a football field-length behind them and they dropped their heavy

In 1957, he took a job at a mill in Missoula, the same place he boarded

tools and backpacks and started to make a panicky stumble up the

the plane that fateful day in 1949. The mill in Missoula was a bigger

gulch as fast as their tired legs and the steep grade would allow.

operation than the Lewiston mill, shipping 200 tons per day of pulp to

After making it about 250 yards, the crew’s foreman, Wagner Dodge,

Minneapolis.

realized the race with the fire couldn’t be won and he thus invented,

Sallee proved very adept at the mill business and he received several

out of sheer necessity and hopelessness, the concept of an escape fire.

promotions over the next decade as the mill expanded to a 1,200 tons-

He quickly set the grassy hillside on fire to burn a fuel-less patch he

per-day operation.

EASTERN Magazine

Thinking it was time to change gears and get out of the paper industry, Sallee left the Missoula mill to try his hand as a farmer. “I was going to live the American Dream and be a farmer,” Sallee said. But, the results of his career change were less than he had hoped for, as the costs of farming were more than he expected, enlightening him to some pasture-side truisms. “I soon found out that farmers only bought new machinery when they are drunk,” he said jokingly. Soon, school sounded like a good idea again, so Sallee signed up for classes at Eastern and started working towards an accounting degree. He did very well in his studies, but it wasn’t long before his sterling reputation in the paper mill industry brought an offer that would lure him back into the field. An engineering firm in Oregon was interested in securing Sallee’s talents, but there was a small problem – the job required a bachelor’s degree and Sallee was still 10 credits short of graduating. Sallee decided the best route was to challenge his last two courses to get the 10 credits immediately. It was a tall task, being that the courses were upper level, but he managed to successfully challenge them and received his accounting

Sallee (center) with Norman Maclean (right) and Walter Rumsey (left) at Mann Gulch 1978

degree in 1973, making him eligible for the pending job.

diddly little fire couldn’t have been responsible for killing people – the

The job turned Sallee into a world traveler. The man who jumped

big fire was absolutely immense,” he said.

out of the first plane he ever rode in, ended up logging hundreds of

Until Maclean contacted him, that was pretty much the end of it for

thousands of miles jetting around the globe to help set up new mills in

Sallee and the fire. Sallee agreed to talk about what happened to him

foreign countries.

the day of the fire and also accompanied Maclean to the fire site in 1978,

Sallee spent a long time helping get a facility on-line in India,

guiding the aging author around the grim hillside. The events of that day

which is pretty much the opposite side of the globe, allowing him to

are engagingly captured in Maclean’s book Young Men and Fire.

circumnavigate the planet. “Every time, it seems, I went out there one way

The book went on to be a national best seller and brought the Mann

and came back the other,” Sallee said.

Gulch Fire back out of historical obscurity. But Sallee isn’t too keen on

In addition to the India project, Sallee helped set up new mills in South

some of the conclusions the book draws, especially where it essentially

Africa, Algeria and New Zealand. He also traveled extensively through

claims Sallee’s memory of where he escaped the fire was faulty. Sallee

Europe and Scandinavia, consulting on mill operations.

calmly refutes that to this day. “One thing I’ll never forget is that cleft in

But the world traveler life eventually started to lose its luster, plus,

the rocks,” he said.

Sallee’s son got older and he wanted more family time. “My son was a

Though he has problems with the conclusions in the book, he

pretty good baseball player and I wanted to be home to be able to see

acknowledges that the book makes a good read and that reconstructing

him play,” he said.

the chaotic events of the fire, 30 years after-the-fact, is a big challenge.

Settling down, Sallee began work at Inland Empire Paper in the

“He did the best he could, but the accuracy is questionable,” Sallee said.

Spokane Valley, where he lives today. The company hired him to

“He had to make a story out of it – so that’s what he did.”

rehabilitate old paper mills – which he did for the last 24 years he worked,

The reemergence of the fire into popular memory also led to an

eventually becoming chief of manufacturing for the company.

official recognition of the tragedy on Aug. 5, 1999 – 50 years, to the day,

Back to the Fire

after the fire. By then, Sallee was the only survivor of the fire, as Rumsey

During the time he was making a successful career in the paper industry,

Sallee spoke to a crowd of people on the capitol lawn in Helena, Mont.,

Sallee put the Mann Gulch Fire experience behind him, seldom dwelling on it. But, in the late 1970s, author Norman Maclean had an idea to write a book on the Mann Gulch Fire, and he called upon Sallee to see if he would be interested in giving his recollections and traveling back to Mann Gulch to the site of the tragedy to try to figure out what actually happened. The fire was a source of controversy from the day it happened. Shortly after the fire, Sallee had to give a deposition about what he witnessed that day, as the father of one of the dead smokejumpers alleged that Dodge’s escape fire was responsible for his son’s death. Sallee testified

and Dodge had died in the years after the fire. where he told the crowd that it was time to put the fire to rest and let the bad memories heal. “I know how much pain Mann Gulch has caused over the years,” he said that day, “Maybe it’s time to let go.” Of course, because the story of the fire was so tragic and compelling, interest in it still burns on today, despite Sallee’s hopes that it will someday, like the fire itself, burn out. Calmly nodding while sipping his coffee, Sallee softly summed up his thoughts about it. “I’m ready to forget it.” E

then that wasn’t the case and still stands by that assertion. “Dodge’s pee-

Winter 2010

left to right: Eric Bakken, Austin Ivers, Dan Cregger, Curt Bishop, Brad Northrup and John Eminger

big careers start at Eastern You meet them everywhere – Eastern graduates. They’re your neighbor, your accountant, your favorite author, your dental hygienist, your child’s teacher. They’ve utilized the quality education and opportunities they’ve received from Eastern and are succeeding in a wide variety of careers. John Eminger has been the president and owner of Chewelah Basin Ski Corporation, known as 49° North Ski Resort, since 1996. He and five of his crew have something in common – they’re all Eastern Washington University graduates. Eminger ’93, ’91, earned a master’s degree in history and a BA in education from Eastern.

EASTERN Magazine

He worked as a historian for EWU’s Archaeological

Northrup. “Very few other activities

and Historical Services, and was a real estate

give you the sense of freedom and

developer in Elko, Nev., prior to purchasing 49°

exhilaration that skiing does.” Dan Cregger ’02, BA recre-

North in Chewelah, Wash. He expects only the best when hiring

ation management, is the assis-

employees for the ski resort. “I have found over

tant mountain operations director.

the years that Eastern Washington University

He joined the management team at

graduates

arts

49° North in fall 2009. While at East-

grounding, making for an outstanding addition

have

excellent

liberal

ern, he volunteered with EWU’s Epic

to our business and community,” said Eminger.

Adventures Outdoor Program, and

“I can turn to an EWU graduate for any task,

worked as a boot fitter and product

large or small, and count on a work ethic that is

specialist at Lou-Lou’s Ski Chalet.

professional and world class. EWU grads are high

After graduating from Eastern, he

speed, low drag.”

pursued and obtained journeyman

I can turn to an EWU graduate for any task, large or small, and count on a work ethic that is professional and world class. EWU grads are high

Eminger believes that people who have

electrical licenses in Washington,

accomplished many things and keep their

Oregon and Idaho. A lifelong skier

interests open have a greater opportunity of

and learner, Cregger brings seven

living life to the fullest. He also believes in the

winters of ski industry experience

importance of education. As a businessman, he

to 49’s Mountain Operations Department.

speed, low drag.

really doesn’t care what your degree is, so long

Austin Ivers ’92 BA anthropology, has worked in the 49° North

as you get a degree. He says you need to be a

Lift Maintenance Department for the past five years. Prior to joining

cognitive, thinking being.

the team at 49, Austin worked as a part-time archaeologist and

49’s mountain manager is Eric Bakken ’89, BA

spent many summers on various digs throughout the Northwest. E

philosophy. Prior to coming to 49° North in 1996, Bakken worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and as a real estate developer in Elko, Nev. He oversees all operations on the mountain. Since 1996, Bakken has been vice president and board member of Chewelah Basin Ski Corporation, and he has implemented a majority of the corporation’s resort projects.

Where did Eastern take you? If you would like to share your success with Eastern magazine, send a photo and the information to Eastern Magazine, 300 Showalter Hall, Cheney, WA 99004-2445, or e-mail easternmagazine@ewu.edu. For more information, call Kandi Carper, 509.359.6422.

Curt Bishop ’96, BA outdoor recreation management, serves as chief financial officer. He has 20 years of retail, guiding and administrative experience in the outdoor industry. Bishop was EWU’s Epic Adventures Outdoor Program Director from 1999-2001. He has spent the past 10 years in the ski industry with 49° North, where he has worked his way up from the tuning shop, through various departments, to his current position as CFO. The director of sales and marketing is Brad Northrup ’06, ’03, MA and BA in history. Northrup joined the senior staff at 49° North in July 2009. While he is new to the position, he is no stranger to the mountain or the local skiing community, having spent the past eight years as an Alpine Race Coach at 49° North. With more than 30 years of skiing experience, Northrup is always excited to talk about skiing. “I see skiing as one of the last great soul sports on the planet,” said

Consistently voted the region’s best family resort, 49° North Mountain Resort (just ‘’49’’ to the regulars) offers wide-open groomed runs, moguls, desertdry powder and hundreds of acres of legendary tree skiing. The summit of Chewelah Peak offers breathtaking views of the surrounding valleys and ranges and nearly 1,900 vertical feet to the base area and lodge facilities. Located on 2,325 acres within the 1.3 million acres of the beautiful Colville National Forest, the mountain resort is a genuine winter wonderland. For more information visit www.ski49n.com.

Winter 2010

Into Africa

By Kandi Carper ‘05

Alumni Serving the World Community They’ve left the security and comfort of their homes, said goodbye to family and friends, and traveled halfway around the globe to spend time in countries that most of us couldn’t find on a map. They’ve gone for weeks, months and years to live in remote corners of the world. While at Eastern, these young alumni studied social work, anthropology and recreation management. They were inspired by what they learned, and encouraged to go out into the world and make a difference in the lives of others. In doing so, they have experienced firsthand the adversities and triumphs of those they serve. Joe Lockridge (’05 BA social work) moved from Cheney, Wash., to Shakawe, Botswana, as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2007. After earning his degree, Lockridge wasn’t sure if he wanted to get his master’s degree or go see the world. With the encouragement of his professors at Eastern, he decided to stop thinking about it and go. The 28-year-old from Colfax, Wash., had

previously worked in Spokane at Crosswalk Teen Shelter and the Spokane Regional Health District, where he gained experience working with HIV cases. “I put my money where my mouth is,” said Lockridge. “Working with HIV in Spokane is one thing, but working with HIV in the heart of the epidemic is another.” Peace Corps volunteers have been instrumental in Botswana’s progress since the first volunteers arrived in 1966, filling the gaps in manpower and making contributions in Botswana’s educational, health and economic development. In 1997, Peace Corps volunteers were no longer needed as diamond mining brought prosperity to the country.

Go to the people, live with them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know; build with what they have, but with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, ‘we have done it ourselves.’

~ Lao Tzu

Erin Whitehead leading the camel caravan into the Sahara Desert

EASTERN Magazine

But wealth doesn’t necessarily equate with good health. In 2003, the Botswana government invited the Peace Corps back to help with the HIV/ AIDS crisis that has had a devastating impact on the country. One-in-four people there are HIV positive, and southern Africa carries 40 percent of the world’s HIV cases. The living conditions in Shakawe weren’t bad. Lockridge lived in government housing – a two-bedroom with running water, electricity, a gas stove and even a Posturepedic mattress. But it was not a vacation. “It was a real job,” said Lockridge. “I worked eight-hour days and lots of weekends.” He worked with orphans and the destitute, making assessments to determine if they qualified for food rations or for a free coffin when a family member died. “The good news is that more than 90 percent of these orphans aren’t infected with HIV,” said Lockridge. “The women come in (to the clinics) for prenatal services and most live births happen in the clinics. The women at the clinic teach the HIV-positive women how to formula feed their babies.” Lockridge also developed creative ways to educate the community and students about preventing HIV/AIDS. “One of my most successful projects was a health celebration that I did with a couple other volunteers,” said Lockridge. “We threw away protocol and did Jeopardy-style quizzes and activities like bobbing for condoms. Education is important, but in the end it doesn’t matter unless there’s a behaviorial change – the most difficult thing in the world.” Lockridge also developed many friendships and personally experienced the loss of someone very dear to him. In September, he learned that his former driver, Boikhutso, had ‘passed away due to short illness.’ “No one is mentioning it, but the reality is that Boikhutso most likely died due to health-related complications of HIV/AIDS,” said Lockridge. “He disclosed his HIV status to me early on in my term in Shakawe. Many people were key players in making my experience there memorable. Boikhutso was top on the list.” After completing his two-year term in Shakawe, Lockridge requested a rare third-year extension. He now works with BOTUSA (a partnership between U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Botswana government) in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital. “Botswana is a country moving along with a variety of projects, many of which the world is watching, especially in regards to HIV/AIDS projects,” said Lockridge. “For the past two years, I worked from the ground up in Shakawe, but looking into my third year, I wanted to gain more experience from a macro-level, with a focus in public health. “As I continue to build on my work experience both from Botswana and prior, I am confident I found what I want to do for the rest of my life.” Lockridge doesn’t see himself or any other Peace Corps volunteer as anything special. “The job is to help facilitate change, not to be the person up top. They’ll remember me as the tattooed guy – not the guy who was running organizations and doing all these projects. Success is when the work is done and the job is finished, and they say ‘we did it ourselves.’”

Joe Lockridge with his driver in Shakawe, Botswana

Erin Whitehead with village women in Tissaf, Morocco

Mark Grayson in Sierra Leone

Winter 2010

soap is lacking. Most of the villagers are uneducated, or not educated beyond the age of 12. The majority of women are illiterate. Whitehead serves as a health educator, working with the Moroccan Ministry of Health. There are three major projects that she hopes to complete before she leaves in May. One of those projects is training birthing attendants. “The majority of women in rural Moroccan villages give birth at home, in unsanitary conditions, using dangerous techniques,” said Whitehead. The goal of the training is to have women in the community who will provide prenatal and maternal health care as well as to be able to assist in child birthing, thereby reducing infant and maternal mortality rates. Whitehead also teaches basic dental hygiene and teeth-brushing classes in the neighborhood schools and is working with Project C.U.R.E. to provide donated medical equipment to three marginalized provinces in Morocco. Before she arrived, Whitehead learned as much as she could about the country and its culture, but she was surprised by the country’s diverse geography – deserts, tropics, mountains. “I have summer heat in the 120-degree range and freezing cold winters,” said Whitehead. “I may not have realized that living in a Muslim country, I would be wearing so many clothes in that 120-degree heat.” Whitehead was also surprised by the gender inequalities and disparities in Tissaf. Foreign women are often viewed as promiscuous, something Whitehead is very mindful of. “I live according to

EASTERN Magazine

I wanted to push myself and experience what it means to go without, to find a deeper appreciation for things that we in the U.S. often take for granted.

Joe Lockridge teaches HIV/AIDS prevention class in Shakawe, Botswana

Mark Grayson teaches thumb wrestling to children in Sierra Leone

Erin Whitehead with children in the village where she trained

Erin Whitehead (’07 BA anthropology) became interested in joining the Peace Corps when she was only 15. At age 27, she finally made the decision to apply. “I wanted to push myself and experience what it means to go without, to find a deeper appreciation for things that we in the U.S. often take for granted,” said Whitehead. Whitehead, 30, wanted to spend a substantial length of time living in another culture, experiencing it on their terms, by their norms. “I had hoped to visit Morocco, but more importantly, I had hoped to experience life in a Muslim culture,” said Whitehead. She got her wish. Whitehead is the first Peace Corps volunteer in Tissaf, a rural town in eastern Morocco. There’s no running water and no waste management. Basic sanitation and hygiene, such as hand washing with

Joe Lockridge reaches out to a woman in Shakawe, Botswana

Erin Whitehead helps Tissaf community paint health mural

the cultural norms of my quiet conservative community,” said Whitehead. “For instance, I don’t generally look or speak to men, especially young men. I am constantly thinking about my daily actions before, during and after, and how they could be viewed from an outside perspective.” She is the only woman in the village who doesn’t wear a head scarf, the only non-Muslim, the only foreigner and the only fluent English speaker. “I expected to be challenged in many ways, but I didn’t expect the challenge presented by the cultural impact on my identity,” said Whitehead. “I even go by an Arabic name – Nassima.” While Whitehead, who grew up in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, recognizes the gender inequities of the culture, she also finds the Moroccan people to be very hospitable. “It’s amazing how giving these people are, people who have practically nothing,” said Whitehead. “And people are patient. Speaking Arabic is not my forte, to say the least. It’s hard! People, even those with no formal education, are really patient and intelligent when it comes to deciphering what I sometimes can’t say correctly. Ten-year-olds make the best teachers.” The classes Whitehead took at Eastern helped prepare her for the Peace Corps experience. “I think that my anthropology background helped me to adapt and to integrate into this culture, so vastly different from our own,” said Whitehead. “I was fortunate to have had several classes with Professor Jerry Galm. He renewed my interest in the Peace Corps and he became a mentor to me during the application process. He continues to provide wonderful support and encouragement.” After the Peace Corps, Whitehead hopes to attend graduate school for a master’s degree as a physician’s assistant. “I like the flexibility which that career offers, in that there are a variety of fields of medicine and locales, be it rural, urban or international. Likewise, I could perhaps fulfill my dream of working for ‘Doctors without Borders,’ or use my skills within another NGO (non-government organization).” Mark Grayson (’03 BA recreation management) started working at the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue just three days after he graduated from Eastern. He needed to complete a 10-week internship as a graduation requirement, and he’s been there since. Grayson, 30, grew up in Bellevue, Wash. He is the associate for high school ministries at the church. He says that the job “has broken me and built me back up,” but he feels that he’s been very blessed. “I grew up in a home with two parents who loved me and went that extra mile for me,”

Joe Lockridge uses games to teach HIV/AIDS awareness

said Grayson. “I work with students who come from broken homes, or parents who maybe just aren’t around because they work so much.” In September, Grayson and a team of six young adults traveled to Sierra Leone, Africa, to spend two weeks working with a pastor who is supported by Iris Ministries and No Boundaries International. “I went to the DR Congo last year with a friend and it was there that we made the connection with Iris Ministries,” said Grayson. “This year we felt the call to go to Sierra Leone with the vision of spending time with pastors there. We did a little bit of Biblical teaching, but we spent the majority of our time just hanging out and sharing with one another.” Grayson said he pretty much knew what to expect on his second visit to Africa. “I watched the movie Blood Diamond a few times before I left; I read a lot of stuff about Sierra Leone and I read the warnings from different people telling us that it was too dangerous to go,” said Grayson. “The decisions I have made in life have been made out of fear. Fear of not being accepted, or fear of making a mistake. This is where my faith in Jesus Christ comes in.” He has recently been offered an opportunity to move to Rwanda, Africa, to assist at the Center for Champions, a school that First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue has built there. Grayson says his visits to Africa have given him a different world view – how he has come to think about other people in the world, and how people in other parts of the world view him and the United States. As a student at Eastern, Grayson was encouraged to take risks and to build relationships. “That is what I have done for the past six years,” said Grayson. “I think that life is about relationships. I often think back to those times when my professors would encourage us to go hang out at these (recreational) conferences and just be with people.” This is how Grayson describes Sierra Leone: “Whole chicken bones consumed, roadkill purchased for dinner and the experience of bucket showers each morning – TIA – this is Africa. During our time there, we worked alongside a local pastor. We were reminded that the richness of someone’s life cannot be measured by the standards of this world, but rather by a standard marked by grace and love that has been poured onto all people. The lives of some of the people we met were, in many ways, some of the richest we have ever witnessed. Even though much of what we saw weighed heavy on our hearts, I believe God helped us to find the eternal hope within some of the most heartbreaking images our eyes might ever see.” E Winter 2010

haring S S uccess

Len Zickler had two dreams as a child – to become an architect, and to get a degree from a four-year college. He achieved both, but it wasn’t easy, and maybe not exactly how he imagined it. Zickler faced many challenges in his young life. His mom died from breast cancer when he was 2, and his dad died from a heart attack when he was 11. After that, he lived with various relatives, but it was his focus on academics that kept him going. When it came time to choose a college, Zickler didn’t have a lot of resources available. Eastern offered the best option for him. “I’m a big fan of Eastern,” said Zickler. “My education served me incredibly well.” He earned a BA in urban and regional planning from Eastern Washington State College in 1973. He learned that architects work on a single project, while planners arrange entire cities. “I fell in love with it. My degree served as the foundation for the rest of my career.” And what a career it has been. After graduating from Eastern, Zickler was hired by the city of Mercer Island, Wash. He later earned his bachelor of landscape architecture from the University of Washington. He credits his experience at Eastern with giving him the credentials and the background to do both of these things. Zickler has more than 35 years of experience working in public planning and private consulting. He’s now a principal with AHBL, Inc., the largest urban and regional planning firm in the Northwest. The firm has offices in Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, where he’s served as the manager for the past two years. Zickler has developed award-winning design plans for several neighborhoods in Spokane. Among his successes – the master plan for the 37-mile Spokane River Centennial Trail and several parks and trails throughout the state of Washington. Six years ago, Zickler and his wife Dawn began offering a scholarship to Eastern students who come from challenging family backgrounds – students who have lost their parents to disease, and who are interested in pursuing a degree in urban and regional planning. Zickler said people would be surprised how many students fall into that category. There’s an abundance of need. He believes that even in a tough economy, a degree in urban and regional planning offers a secure future. EWU graduates fill the city planning offices not only in the state of Washington, but in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and they’ve gone on to head planning departments as far away as Texas and Oklahoma. “I credit Eastern for giving me the foundation for my success,” said Zickler. Something he’s grateful for, and willing to share with others.

For more information on creating a scholarship of your own, contact: Tim Szymanowski Director of Development 509.359.6132 tszyman@ewu.edu

EWU Foundation 102 Hargreaves Hall Cheney, WA 99004

Class

Notes Alumni Photo Album Fall was full of opportunities for Eastern alums to get together – annual events like the Beer n Football Watch Party, Norther Tasting gathering and the 9 200 3, . Oct ino, Quest Cas Montana football rivalry game, as well as new opportunities like the EagleBiz kickoff event, Portland wine tasting and Showdown on the Sound – the first-ever football game played at Qwest Field in Seattle. Also new this year, football watch parties – held at Northern Quest Casino, Airway Heights, Wash., where hundreds of Eastern alumni and Eagle fans gathered to watch football away games on big screen TVs. Check out more photos from these and other EWU events at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewuphoto/collections, and to make sure you don’t miss out on the fun, check out upcoming alumni events at http://alumni.ewu.edu.

EWU-Montana game Missoula, Mont., Oct. 17, 2009

Eagle football watch party, Nov. 28, 2009

appearance at Eagles make inaugural Oct. 31, 2009 Seattle’s Qwest Field,

EWU Portland alumni group gathered for wine tasting, Oct. 10, 200 9

’00s ’09 Staci Huffman, BA accounting, has been hired as a staff accountant at McDirmid, Mikkelsen and Secrest, P.S. in Spokane.

’08 Dana Hodge, BA accounting, has been promoted at McDirmid, Mikkelsen and Secrest, P.S. in Spokane.

’09 Greg Kelly, BA accounting, has been hired as a staff accountant at McDirmid, Mikkelsen and Secrest, P.S. in Spokane.

’08 and ’05 Shawn Vestal, MFA creative writing and BA interdisciplinary studies, has been granted a $7,500 Artist Trust fellowship. Artist Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Washington state artists working in all creative disciplines. Vestal’s short stories have appeared in Tin House, McSweeney’s, The Southern Review, Ecotone, Quarterly West, CutBank, Sou’Wester, The Florida Review and Web Conjunctions. He has worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers around the Northwest for more than 20 years, most recently at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, where he lives with his wife and son.

’09 Amanda Swan, BA studio art, has been hired as marketing coordinator for Cornerstone Property Advisors’ commercial real estate team in Spokane. She previously worked as an editorial intern for Practical Horseman magazine in Washington D.C. ’08 Samuel Gay, BS athletic training, is in his second year as a graduate student at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He is a nationally-certified athletic trainer.

A d v e r t is e w it h Eastern magazine i and friends Nearly 80,000 EWU alumn magazine three of Eastern read Eastern can have your times per year. Now you to their homes business ads delivered tails, call Editor via the magazine. For de 22 or e-mail Kandi Carper, 509.359.64 .edu. easternmagazine@ewu

Winter 2010

Class

Notes

Roestel Receives Prestigious National Military Award

’07 Ryan Walters, BA business, has been hired as a property manager for the commercial management division of Kiemle & Hagood Co., in Spokane.

’00 Lisa Kirishian, BA accounting, has been promoted to manager at McDirmid, Mikkelsen, and Secrest, P.S., in Spokane.

’07 Elizabeth Williams, BA interdisciplinary studies, joined WTR Consulting Engineers as marketing coordinator in Missoula, Mont.

’98 Margaret H. Witt, MA physical therapy, has been hired by the Spokane VA Medical Center as a rehabilitation coordinator/ supervising physical therapist.

’06 and ’03 Brad Northrup, MA and BA history, has been hired as the director of sales and marketing at 49 Degrees North Ski Resort in Chewelah, Wash. He has coached alpine ski racing there for the past eight years, and has worked in the ski industry for nearly decade.

’98 and ‘96 Deborah Cox, MA public administration and BA health service administration, has been selected to participate in the 2010 Leadership Spokane. She is the administrative director of the Spokane Valley Fire Department, where she has been employed since 1999.

’06 Jared Webley, BA government, has been hired as an associate for the Spokane office of Gallatin Public Affairs. He previously worked as campaign director for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ reelection campaign in Spokane.

’96 Kathryn (Fuchs) Freshwater, BA accounting, and husband Travis welcomed their second son, Jacob, in April 2009. He joins older brother Benjamin. The family lives in Yakima, Wash., where she is a CPA at Moss Adams LLP.

’05 Selina Shehan, BA graphic communications, has started a business in Spokane, selling her handmade resin jewelry.

’95 Colin Conway, BA business, has earned a Certified Shopping Center Manager designation from the International Council of Shopping Centers. Conway works as a commercial real estate agent and property manager for NAI Black in Spokane.

’04 Jennifer E. (Nye) Pardee, BAE social science, and husband Jason welcomed their son, Jackson Charles, born on July 7, 2009. The family lives in Fort Irwin, Calif. ’03 Adam Griffith, BA finance, has been hired as a sales executive for Moloney & O’Neill’s Commercial Insurance Division in Spokane. He previously worked for Progressive Insurance for six years. ’03 and ’97 Karen M. Smith, MA public administration and BA business, has been accepted in the Naval Postgraduate School’s Homeland Security master’s degree program. She lives in King City, Calif. ’02 Heather Jo Elder, MA English, passed the Washington State Bar examination. ’02 Andrea M. Estes, BA psychology, has opened AE Consulting LLC in Spokane, specializing in project management services for small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

EASTERN Magazine

’90s

’95 Otto Guardado, BA English, has been named “Accomplished 40 & Under” by the Vancouver Business Journal. He is founder of the Otto Guardado Scholarship for incoming students looking to pursue finance degrees at EWU. A financial advisor at Ameriprise Financial, he spends time with an alumni group he founded, meeting monthly to support local restaurants in Vancouver, Wash. He serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and is active with the East Vancouver Business Association. ’95 Rob Robichaud, BA criminal justice, has been appointed as executive director of the Apollo College Boise campus in Boise, Idaho. Robichaud recently served as campus president for ITT-Technical Institute and as a consultant for New Horizons in Bellevue, Wash.

Stacey Roestel, (’07 MS, ’05 BA computer science) has received the 2009 Air National Guard Combat Communications Excellence Award for his leadership and job performance in his primary duty, self improvement outside of the workplace and for his organizational and community involvement. 1st Lt. Roestel received this award in the “Company Grade Officer of the Year” category, given to him by the general in charge of Air Force Space Command in Orlando, Fla., in December. Roestel is a commissioned officer in the Washington Air National Guard. He has served in the military for more than 14 years and was deployed to Kirkuk Air Base, in northern Iraq, from September 2008-January 2009, where he led 25 airmen supporting 30 critical communications projects and 5,000 personnel. When not in the combat zone, Roestel provides leadership and direction to 35 guardsmen in the 256th Combat Communication Squadron located at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane. Roestel lives in Cheney, with his wife Stephanie (’03 BA Finance) and their three children. He is the director of Information Technology at Kauffman & Assoc. Inc. where he oversees all corporate matters relating to information technology and security. He was able to attend Eastern Washington University on the GI Bill. “Eastern prepared me and taught me the importance of time management, especially at the master’s-degree level,” said Roestel. “Computer science teaches you to think logically.” While at EWU, Roestel served as a student representative on the university’s Board of Trustees.

EagleBiz Launched ’93 Margot Peterson, BA recreation management, has been hired as branch manager for Numerica Credit Union in Spokane Valley. She previously worked as an independent consultant in the credit union industry, and has more than 15 years of insurance and financial service experience. ’93 Dana Richardson, BA journalism, has been hired as branch manager for Integra Telecom in Spokane. Previously, he worked as general manager for XO Communications for 10 years. ’92 Thomas Hampson, BA government, has been named to a new post – the New York Philharmonic’s first-ever Artist-in-Residence. He will be the soloist in three concerts this season and conducts master classes and educational workshops. ’91 Ken Larsen, BA education, was recently elected to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Larsen lives in Bellingham, Wash., and is a Banner Bank senior vice president/Real Estate Administration manager.

’80s ’89 Greg Bever, BA liberal studies, has been elected chairman-elect for Greater Spokane Inc.’s 2009-10 board of trustees. ’88 Dave Christiansen, MS college instruction in physical education, led the University of Wyoming football team to their first winning record since 2004, and first bowl game since 2004, in his first year as head coach of the Cowboys. ’86 J. Frank Armijo, BA management information systems, has been appointed vice president, Energy and Environmental Services for Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Services – Civil (IS&GS). He has 25 years of professional experience, including 15 years in leadership roles within Lockheed Martin. Armijo has been actively involved in the Hanford, Wash., community and mentors future leaders within the corporation. ’86 Sherry Armijo, BA marketing, has been appointed by Washington Gov. Chris Gregiore to the Columbia Basin College Board of Trustees. Armijo is the sales/marketing manager for Abadan in Richland, Wash. She is a founding member of the Hispanic Academic Achievers Program.

‘90 Gina Mauro, ’03 Monica Zhang and ’01 Karen Kendall

EagleBiz, a new exciting networking platform, will connect Eastern Alumni in the community to foster relationships and build business alliances. “The purpose of networking is to meet, befriend, build trust and do business with people with whom you have a common bond – in this case, it’s our association to EWU and our passion for being Eagles,” says Gina Mauro, (’90 BA communication studies) founding member of EagleBiz. “It’s all about developing relationships, and helping alumni build their business during this difficult economy, while furthering the mission of EWU and the Alumni Association,” adds Brendan Genther (’00 BA human resources), another EagleBiz founding member. “EagleBiz also seeks to help deserving students by funding scholarships.” In October, EagleBiz was officially launched with a wine tasting event in Spokane. Guest speaker Allen Battle, LaunchPad INW co-founder, spoke about the importance of social networking during this current business climate. Additional events are being planned for 2010 – events that will provide a forum for current events, topics of local interest and promotion of member businesses. EagleBiz is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to promoting an awareness of the university and its value to the community. The organization operates in a self-sufficient manner and doesn’t use any university or Alumni Association financial or staffing resources. There’s a $25 membership fee for charter members during the first year. For more information and to join, go to www.eaglebizspokane.com or e-mail info@eaglebizspokane.com. You can also become a fan of EagleBiz on Facebook and follow EagleBiz on Twitter. Winter 2010

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Notes ’86 Jack D. Ballard, Jr., received tenure and was promoted to associate professor at Malone University in Canton, Ohio in 2009. In 2008, he received his doctorate degree in music theory and composition from Kent State University in Ohio. ’85 Heidi Cooper, BA nursing, has been recognized by the Inland Northwest Chapter of the American Association of Critical Nurses. Cooper, a nurse at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, received the Circle of Excellence in Collaboration Award, presented at the CCRN/PCCN Recognition and Awards dinner in 2009. ’85 Sharon Forsyth, BA business, has been promoted at McDirmid, Mikkelsen and Secrest, P.S., an accounting firm in Spokane. ’82 Jim Basta, BA marketing, has been named vice president of retail sales for Emmi-Roth Käse USA. Basta has been with the company since 1992, in various sales roles, most recently as the company’s Western Regional Sales Manager. Prior to joining Emmi USA, he was a regional manager for Dinsdale Marketing. He has 29 years of experience with consumer packaged goods companies. He lives in Tualatin, Ore.

’82 Setiro S. Paul, BA government, returned to his home of Chuuk State Micronesia to become a police officer and eventually chief of police. He was later elected to the Chuuk State Senate and is currently serving as High Seat Honorable Senator of Health and Public Service for the Federal States of Micronesia. ’80 Jay J. Manning, BA government, was named chief of staff for Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office in October 2009. Manning served as director of the Washington Department of Ecology since February 2005. Previously he worked as an attorney in private practice and, earlier, an assistant state attorney general. ’80 and ‘73 Reid S. Smith, MA music composition and BA music, has been performing in Las Vegas since his retirement from the Mead School District in 2003. He is currently with “Phantom, the Las Vegas Spectacular,” performing more than 1,500 shows in the past four years. He also teaches music in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas.

’70s ’78 Kim Eickerman, BA management, has been hired as Spokane branch manager for Modern Machinery. He has more than 20 years of industrial management experience.

Dirty Jobs Tell us about your sad, tacky, gross, scary or amusing employment experiences. Maybe it was years ago, or perhaps you’re still struggling through one of the most dismal career experiences in history. We want to hear about it! Submit a description and your contact info to: easternmagazine@ewu.edu or Eastern Magazine, 300 Showalter Hall, Cheney, WA 99004-2445.

EASTERN Magazine

Dreams Can Come True

As an orphan wandering the streets of Kathmandu, young Devi Gurung States struggled to stay alive, but he never gave up hope for a better life, even when things were at their bleakest. Devi was born and raised in Manang, Nepal. After his parents died, he left his village and moved to Kathmandu for a better life. Instead, he became homeless. After living for several months in the streets of Kathmandu, he finally found a job as a dishwasher at a restaurant. From the time he was 16 years old he dreamed of one day owning his own restaurant. In 1983, while working at the restaurant, he met James States, a physician from Spokane, who was there to climb Mount Everest. Dr. States brought Devi back to the U.S. and adopted him. In 1991, he earned his BA in applied psychology from Eastern. Devi asked his father what he could do to re-pay him for the opportunity to prosper in the United States. Dr. States simply told him to “help people.” He completed his MSW in 1994, and MA in public health in 1997, both from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Mo. Devi brought his first dream to fruition in February 2004, when he opened the Everest Café & Bar in St. Louis. He has taken a unique approach to promoting healthy lifestyles by serving nutritious meals and on Sundays, Devi offers restaurant customers free health screenings. Devi is now completing his second dream by establishing the Himalayan Family Healthcare Project, a nonprofit organization to provide health care to children and families in the Manang District of Nepal. Devi’s wife, Connie States, is from South Korea. They have two teenage children, James and Jesse.

’76 Peter F. Forgey, BA English, received the 2008-09 Washington State VFW Citizenship Teacher of the Year Award. He teaches eighthgrade language arts and social studies at Canyon Creek Middle School in Washougal, Wash.

‘60’s Reunion, Save The Date

’72 John S. Johnson, BA humanities, passed the final exam to become a funeral director in Montgomery City, Miss., where he works part time with Child Evangelism Fellowship. ’71 Varga (Bentz) Fox, BA home economics, retired June 30, 2009, after 29 years as director of financial aid at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. Her husband, ’69 Bob Fox, BA education, retired in 1999, after teaching 30 years in the Walla Walla Public School District.

’60s ’66 Marian Sheldon, BA English, and her husband David celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family dinner on July 4, 2009, at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. ’61 Kenneth L. and ’61 Joan M. Jenkins, BA visual arts and BA English, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 27, 2009, in Kent, Wash.

Mark your calendar for the class of 1960 50th Reunion! Oct. 22-24, 2010 Alumni from last year’s reunion, pictured left to right: Roger Johnson, ‘52 Pat Johnson, ‘51 Carl Pearson, Betsy Pearson, Phyllis Martin and ‘52 Jack Martin.

Brick by Brick – The Tradition Continues Each year, new Eastern Washington University students mark the beginning of their college careers as they walk through the Gates of Knowledge and up the brick pathway that leads to Showalter Hall in the “Pass Through the Pillars” tradition.

Now you can purchase a personalized engraved brick to be

set in this historical walkway. Leave words of wisdom, honor a loved one or celebrate a new graduate’s success. Express your feelings with a gift that leaves a lasting legacy.

Order now! Go to www.ewu.edu/brick to purchase your

brick, see pictures of existing bricks, learn more about the “Pass Through the Pillars” tradition and view a special video presentation. Bricks ordered by June 15 will be placed in the pathway by the following September.

Proceeds benefit the Eastern Fund and are used for the area of

greatest need, including student scholarships, academic projects and the Governor Martin Alumni House. For more information call the Alumni Advancement Office at 888.EWU.ALUM. Winter 2010

Eagle

Marriages ’00s ’09 Nicholas Crawford, BA business, married Jamie Baierl, July 25, 2009, at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. He is a delivery technician for Bellevue Health Care. The couple lives in Spokane. ’09 Bryan K. Jarrett, BA management, married Tamara Lynn Baskett, Sept. 5, 2009, in Puyallup, Wash. The couple lives in Spokane, where he is an agent for Farmers Insurance. ’09 Ryan Lancaster, BA journalism, and Elizabeth Estudillo were married Sept. 5, 2009. He is a reporter for the Cheney Free Press. While at EWU, he was the news/ managing editor for The Easterner, the university’s student newspaper. The couple lives in Spokane. ’08 Alyssa Breckenridge, BA mathematics, married Thomas Huffine, July 25, 2009, in Mount Vernon, Wash. She works as an actuarial analyst for Premera Blue Cross in Mountlake Terrace, Wash. The couple lives in Lynnwood, Wash. ’08 Stephanie Bickelhaupt, BA communication studies, married Marshall Wright, Sept. 5, 2009, in Walla Walla, Wash. She is employed by Krivoshein Financial. The couple lives in Dayton, Wash. ’08 Lisa O’Neil, BS applied developmental psychology and BA business, married Gavin Garrett, Sept. 12, 2009, in Spokane. She is employed by Avista Utilities. The couple lives in Spokane Valley. ’08 Megan Yetter, BA English and ‘07 Anthony McCarty, BA marketing, were married Aug. 29, 2009, in Peshastin, Wash. She works at Mason County PUD 3 and he works for McCarty and Associates. The couple lives in Shelton, Wash. ’07 Kristen Cerenzia, BAB management, married Tyrel Lybbert, July 11, 2009, in Rockford, Wash. The couple lives in Spokane, where she works as a media coordinator at Market Vision Inc. ’07 Tiera Como, BA education, married Cody Irby, July 8, 2009. The couple lives in Spokane Valley, where she is a teacher at University High School.

EASTERN Magazine

’07 Maggie Harkins, BS dental hygiene, married Shane Pacini, Aug. 29, 2009, in Spokane. She is a dental hygienist for Michael Readel, D.D.S. The couple lives in Spokane.

’05 and ’95 Kirsti McIlroy, MSW and BA visual arts, married Dennis Schilling, March 22, 2009, in Sprague, Wash. She volunteers at Catholic Charities Counseling as a therapist. The couple lives in Medical Lake, Wash.

’07 Danielle Medin, BA communication studies, married Justin Vaughan, June 12, 2009, at the Bozarth Mansion in Spokane. She is a manager for Dairy Queen in Spokane, where the couple resides.

’04 Katherine A. Weir, BA education, married Thomas Kinion, July 4, 2009, in Kennewick, Wash., where the couple resides. She is a teacher.

’05 Reginald Blacke, BAE natural science, married Tanea Bayless, Aug. 22, 2009, at the Finch Arboretum in Spokane. The couple lives in Spokane, where he is an IT specialist fot the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. ’05 Kasey M. Dorris, BS exercise science, married ’05 Jay Catbagan, BS biology, Aug. 15, 2009, on the island of Kauai. The couple lives in Spokane, where she is an exercise physiologist at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute. ’05 Leon A. Ferrell, BA business, married Dulcey Felton, Aug. 16, 2008, at Mirabeau Park in Spokane Valley.

’02 Tricia Gunderson, BA journalism, married Mathew Smith, Aug. 22, 2009, in Seattle, where the couple lives. She is a sales and marketing executive.

’90s ’98 James N. Sledge, Jr., BS biology, married Andrea Marley, June 6, 2009, in Spokane. He is a physician assistant at Physicians Clinic of Spokane. ’94 Elaine Ammons, BS biology, married Dustin Irons, Aug. 15, 2009, at Mirabeau Point Park in Spokane Valley. She is a clinical laboratory scientist at Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories.

Seeking Alumni Award Nominations Deadline March 17, 2010 Award Categories Service to the Community is awarded to an alum who has contributed significantly in community or university service through sharing or volunteer work. Outstanding Achievement in Professional Endeavors is awarded to an alum who has a strong record of career achievements. Community Building is awarded to an alum who has worked to promote equity and worked to advance underrepresented groups. Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented at the annual Benefactors’ Appreciation Evening on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at the newly-remodeled Hargreaves Hall Reading Room on the EWU campus. Complete descriptions, criteria and nomination forms are available at http://alumni.ewu.edu or by calling Stacy Olson at 509.359.4553.

Memoriam ’00s ’04 Scott Sawyer, 37, BA journalism, died Dec. 15, 2009, in Spokane. He worked in management at Target and he helped launch a Rathdrum, Idaho newspaper. He taught communications at ITT in Spokane Valley.

’90s ’99 Colleen Donlan, 46, BA interdisciplinary studies, died Aug. 25, 2009. She worked in property management. ’96 David M. Heinrich, 44, BS chemistry, was “lost at sea” on Oct. 24, 2009, while working on an oceanography research ship between Japan and Guam. Heinrich loved anything related to the water and was an advanced swimmer and scuba diver and had worked on various types of ships traveling to many countries. ’96 Craig Mendenhall, 38, BA criminal justice, died Dec. 20, 2009, of a massive heart attack at his home in Portland, Ore. He was a sergeant for the Portland Police Department, where he helped lead the Hot Spot Enforcement Action Team, known at HEAT, a hard-charging group of officers created in the summer of 2008 to move across the city and target gang-related violence. Most recently, he was assigned to the transit division. ’94 Angela Parker, 39, BA journalism, died Sept. 5, 2009, in Spokane. She worked for URM as a graphic designer and had previously worked for Century Publishing in Spokane. She was the editor of the student newspaper while at EWU. ’92 Colleen VanZee, 41, BA therapeutic recreation, died Aug. 29, 2009, in Tulsa, Okla. She touched the lives of many families in Spokane as a gymnastics coach, first at the YMCA, and then as founder and head coach of Lilac City Gymnastics. Recently, she worked as an educational paraprofessional and gymnastics coach in the Jenks Public School District south of Tulsa. ‘90 and ‘70 Beverly J. (Melcher) Saruwatari, 61, MA and BA education, died June 27, 2009, in Spokane.

’80s ’83 Janis Fogelson, 66, BA liberal studies, died Sept. 4, 2009, in Spokane. She worked for Spokane Public Schools for 32 years.

Richard (Dick) I. Maurstad 1917-2009 ’40 Dick Maurstad, 92, BA early childhood education, passed away Dec. 21, 2009, at his home in Clarkston, Wash. Born in Bryant, Wash., Maurstad left high school early and worked on a fishing boat in Alaska before moving to eastern Washington to work on a wheat farm, which he continued to do in summers while attending college. In the spring of 1936, he enrolled at Eastern and tried out for the football team. Maurstad lettered at Eastern from 1936-39 and, in 2008, he earned his spot on the “100 for 100” football team by being a member of the all-star team hand-picked by legendary Hall of Fame coach William “Red” Reese in 1947. After college, he taught for a year at Lakeland Village in Medical Lake, Wash. He then joined the U.S. Air Force, and, as a 1st Lt., he flew 30 missions as a bombardier during World War II, and was decorated with the Purple Heart, an American Theater ribbon, Victory medal and EAME ribbon for his service. After serving his country, Maurstad spent the next 30 years working in the Pasco and Clarkston school districts as a teacher, coach and administrator. During this time he earned his master’s degree in education and administrative credentials. He retired from the Clarkston School District in 1975. He is survived by his wife of 65 years Martha; daughter, Sandra and son-in-law Roger Ottmar; son, Rick and daughter-inlaw Janet; six grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.

Maurstad pictured at Eastern’s “100 for 100” football ceremonies held Sept. 27, 2008.

’70s ’77 Victoria Melhus, 63, MSW, died Sept. 13, 2009, in Spokane, where she practiced social work for 30 years. She began her career with the Department of Social and Health Services in Spokane, and continued her career at the Tekoa Care Center, the Waterford Retirement Community and Renal Care Northwest.

’71 Ralph Eldon Seward Jr., 62, BAE social science, died Oct. 1, 2009, in Colfax, Wash. After graduation he and his wife Darlene moved to St. John, Wash., where he farmed with his grandfather. He continued working on his own farm until his health no longer permitted it. He was active in numerous community organizations over the years. Winter 2010

Memoriam ’60s

Niall D. Lyons 1969-2009

’67 Dennis Pool, 64, BS business administration, died Nov. 9, 2009, in St. John, Wash. He began farming at the age of 8 and his last harvest was in 2008. He was a lifelong resident of Whitman County and worked to be the best farmer he could be. ’65 Richard Miller, 82, BA biology, died Aug. 12, 2009, in Spokane. He spent his career as a medical technologist. The last 20 years before retirement, he went back to the woods he loved so much, contracting with the Forest Service. ’64 Mary Kathleen ‘Kathy’ Bannon, 68, BA education, died Oct. 24, 2009, in Spokane. She taught in Tumwater, Wash., and Northport, Wash., before settling in Chelan, Wash. She also coached basketball, tennis, soccer and volleyball. After she retired, she moved to Spokane to be closer to family.

’95 Niall Lyons, BA geography, was among seven U.S. servicemen killed in a helicopter crash Oct. 26, 2009, in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Lyons, a chief warrant officer, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment, based in Savannah, Ga. Lyons, 40, graduated from Spokane’s Shadle Park High School in 1988. He spent three years as a soldier before being accepted into the Army Warrant Officer program, where he graduated from flight school in 1999. He worked as a flight instructor and was deployed in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. He won several awards for his army service, including two air medals and four Army commendation medals. He is survived by his mother and father, two brothers and a sister, all of Spokane, and a son in Alabama. Photo: U.S. Army Special Operations Command News Service

EASTERN Magazine

’50 Edward Hambrook, 88, BA early childhood education, died Sept. 30, 2009. He had a 32year career, teaching in Ione and Selkirk, Wash., and he served as the assistant principal at Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Wash. In 1982, he retired and moved to Spokane. ’50 Phyllis Shrauger, 81, BA early childhood education, died Dec. 5, 2009, Hoquiam, Wash. She was a longtime school teacher who became Hoquiam’s first and only female mayor. She spent 20 years on Hoquiam’s City Council before becoming a two-term mayor in 1988.

Michael G. Cahill 1947-2009

’61 Lyn J. Morgan-Ledbetter, 70, BA education, died Aug. 12, 2009, in Anaconda, Mont. She was Homecoming Queen at Eastern in 1959, president of Louise Anderson Hall and a member of the ROTC. She was a career teacher and administrator in California until 2001. She retired as the assistant principal at the ABC Unified School District Adult School in southern California. ’61 Florence Orvik, 87, MA industrial technology, died Nov. 8, 2009, in Spokane. She held various teaching positions in the Spokane Public School District before retiring.

’50s ’56 LeRoy Flatt, 79, BA music, died Nov. 8, 2009, at his home in Airway Heights, Wash. He was a lifelong educator who was always “teaching.” He served in the Korean War from 1951-1954. He began his teaching career in Newport, Wash, and then moved to Central Valley School District in Spokane Valley, where he taught choir, and later drivers’ education. ’55 Shirley Ann Elliot, BA education, died April 15, 2009, in Tacoma, Wash. She taught elementary school in the Moses Lake, Spokane and Ephrata school districts. ’53 Georgia Nicholls, 78, BA education, died Nov. 8, 2009, in Spokane. She taught in Prosser, Tekoa, Twisp and Reardan, Wash. She then settled in Davenport, Wash., where she and her husband taught and ran his family farm. She retired in 1993.

’73 Mike Cahill, BA psychology, was among those killed in a shooting that took place on Nov. 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, located just outside Killeen, Texas. During the incident, 13 people were killed and 30 others were wounded. Cahill, 62, was a retired chief warrant officer in the National Guard. He had been a physician’s assistant for 22 years, working in remote rural clinics and veterans’ hospitals. For the past six years he had worked at Fort Hood as a contract civilian employee. He graduated from Spokane’s Rogers High School in the 1960s, and he and his wife Joleen met during their college years. Cahill’s wife described him as a dedicated physician assistant, a voracious reader and history buff who remembered the smallest details about the most remote places. He is survived by his wife; daughter Kerry; son James; daughter Keely and son-in-law Lee Vanacker and grandson Brody Vanacker. Photo courtesy Keely Vanacker

Clarice (Lavin) Burkhart 1934-2009

’51 Jack Ross, 78, BA early childhood education, died Oct. 5, 2007. He taught in Twisp and Sedro Woolley, Wash., school districts. When he returned to Spokane in 1957, he began his teaching career with Spokane School District 81, teaching for 26 years at Browne and Ridgeview elementary schools. He retired in 1983, after 25 years of teaching.

Carol Morehouse, 94, died Sept. 2, 2009. She worked in Dining Services for 17 years before retiring in October 1978. She was well known for the cinnamon rolls she baked. Mary Mount, 77, died Nov. 13, 2009, in Cheney, Wash. She was a switchboard operator in telephone services for 24 years before retiring in August 1992.

’40s ’42 Marjorie J. Black-Crawford, 89, BA education, died Sept. 3, 2009, in Boise, Idaho. She was the captain of the drill team in 1942, and a dedicated supporter of Eastern over the years.

Donald C. Wall, PhD, 1935-2009

’41 Lorna Schultz, 89, BA education, died Oct. 3, 2009, in Arlington, Wash. After graduating from Eastern Washington State College, she went on to teach elementary school in the Spokane Public School District for almost 40 years.

’30s ’30 Evelyn Cornwall, 98, education certification, died Sept. 18, 2008, in Spokane. Clarice Burkhart, 74, died Oct. 1, 2009, in Spokane, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. In 1957, she earned her BA in physical education from Eastern Washington State College. While a student at Eastern, she was a cheerleader and a drum majorette. She was chosen as Miss Sacajawea 1956-57 – serving as the official hostess for Eastern, a tradition dating back to 1919. She was selected on the basis of scholarship, leadership and service. After graduating from Eastern, she was a teacher in Wenatchee, Wash., and at Shaw Junior High School, in Spokane. After marrying Robert Burkhart in 1961, she took time off from her teaching career to be a stay-at-home mom. Burkhart returned to the work force in 1980, working for various companies in Spokane, including Banner Fuel, Daybreak and Career Path Services. Her last years of employment were spent as a security check point person at the Spokane County Courthouse. She served on the Eastern Alumni Board and was part of the friends of “Friends of Eaglelums Band” group that raised funds for the music department. She is survived by sons, Randy and Rick Burkhart; daughter, Debbie Peterson.

Prior to 1930 Neva Marie Reiman, 104, teaching certification, died Oct. 10, 2009, in Kennewick, Wash. She graduated from Cheney Normal School and taught in Malden, White Salmon, Odessa and Mabton, Wash.

Faculty and Staff Daniel Adams, 67, died Sept. 28, 2009. He worked for Eastern for eight years in Facilities and Planning before retiring in December 2008. John (Jack) Casey, PhD, 86, died Sept. 21, 2009, in Neptune, N.J. He joined the Department of Applied Psychology faculty at Eastern in 1956, and retired in 1988. Memorial gifts in Casey’s name may be made to the Walt Powers Scholarship Fund (awarded to applied psychology students), through EWU Foundation at 102 Hargreaves Hall, Cheney, WA, 99004-2413, phone 509.359.6349; or to United Faculty of Eastern (for details, contact Professor Keith Adolphson, treasurer, 509.359.6066). Gerald Franson, 73, died Oct. 30, 2009. He worked in the Custodial Department for 28 years before retiring in April 2000.

Donald Wall, PhD, died Oct. 8, 2009, in Spokane. He was 74. Wall taught English at Eastern from 1970-2000, and served as the EWU Retirement Association vice president, and briefly as president before he became ill. Wall won several teaching awards, including three Dean’s Honor Faculty awards and a Burlington Northern award for faculty achievement. He especially enjoyed teaching English courses in crime fiction and mystery writing, where he was published. He was very active in the community. Wall is credited with bringing soccer to Cheney before many locals knew much about the sport, and he also served on the Cheney Park Board for 30 years. Memorial gifts may be made in Wall’s name to the EWU Department of Music, EWU Foundation, 102 Hargreaves Hall, Cheney, WA, 99004-2413. Winter 2010

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“was a hit!” Check out more photos on our Flickr site www.flickr.com/ewuphoto Mark your calendars 2010 Homecoming Oct. 22-24, 2010

EASTERN Magazine

Alumni Events

Calendar

Start something big at EWU events. For more information and to register, visit http://alumni.ewu.edu or call 888.EWU.ALUM.

February 19

Phoenix Alumni Social 7 p.m. Due to deadlines, the location had not been confirmed prior to publication. Please refer to http://alumni.ewu.edu for event specifics.

Are you ready for the next Bull Market? Presenter Paul Dietrich will answer questions about the U.S. economy, emerging markets, investment sectors and more. Dietrich is the chairman, CEO and co-chief investment officer of Foxhall Capital Management, Inc. 7:30-9 a.m., Red Lion Hotel at the Park, 303 W. North River Drive, Spokane. Cost: $35. RSVP: 509.321.3601 or www.greaterspokane.org. Co-sponsored by the EWU MBA program and Greater Spokane Incorporated.

Distinguished Alumni Award Nomination Deadline Do you know an Eastern grad who deserves to be recognized for his/her achievements or service? Nominate them for a distinguished alumni award. Nomination forms are available online at http://alumni.ewu.edu.

April 23

Seventh Annual Spokane Wine Tasting Watch the sun set at the Manito Country Club as you sample a selection of wine and taste delectable appetizers. For additional details and to register, visit http://alumni.ewu.edu/events.

Tacoma Rainiers Batter up for a good time at the ballpark with EWU. We’ve reserved an exclusive party deck for Eastern alumni, friends and family! Enjoy a delicious barbeque and a glass of spirits while cheering on the Rainiers. Tickets are $35. Register online at http://alumni.ewu.edu/events.

June

March 17

May

23rd Annual Coaches Golf Tournament Get in the game with the annual golf tournament, 1:30 p.m. For more information contact Chris Hansen at 509.359.2307.

24 Eagle Soccer Scrimmage – noon, Cheney campus 24 Red-White Spring Football Game – 2 p.m., Cheney campus 24 Orland Killin Dinner, Dance and Auction Celebrate the legacy of Orland Killin and join us at the 29th Annual Killin fundraiser. Enjoy a delicious meal and have great fun while you help provide scholarships to EWU students. 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit http://goeags.com/trads/ewas-killin.html.

College of Business and Public Administration Drive for Excellence Golf Tournament Bring your clubs to the Creek at Qualchan for the annual Drive for Excellence Golf Tournament. Donations raised during the event are used to underwrite scholarships in the college. Since 1998, the tournament has raised more than $132,000. For more information, visit http://www.ewu.edu/x4905.xml or call Sharlene Bozanich at 509.358.2242 or e-mail sbozanich@ewu.edu.

August 4

Ron Raver Memorial Golf Classic Hit the links at this popular tournament to help support athletic scholarships at EWU. For more information, visit http://goeags.com.

October 22-24

Homecoming and 60’s Reunion Homecoming parade, reunions, bonfire, the big game and MORE! Planning is underway for Homecoming 2010. Keep checking the Homecoming website, www.ewu.edu/homecoming for updated information.

What’s Going on in Your World? Good news to share? New job? Change of address? Tell us so that we can update records and share your news with alumni and friends in an upcoming issue of Eastern magazine.

Please send to: EWU Alumni Advancement 506 F Street, Cheney, WA 99004-2402 Call: 888.EWU.ALUM (398.2586), 509.359.4550; Fax: 509.359.4551 or visit http://alumni.ewu.edu

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Winter 2010

EASTERN Magazine

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University Advancement Eastern Washington University 102 Hargreaves Hall Cheney, WA 99004-2413

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Eastern Washington University

License Plate Lotto In the fall issue of Eastern magazine we had a “License Plate Lotto” game with six randomly chosen EWU license plate numbers. Randy J. Willis, (’77 BA recreation administration) of Kennewick, Wash., is a winner. Why does he like having “Eagle Pride” on his ride? “Eastern Washington University provided an outstanding education,“ said Willis. “I am proud of where I attended school and the years at Eastern are an enormous sense of pride and good memories.” Willis is co-owner and general manager of Columbia Basin Racquet Club in Richland, Wash., and coaches swimming for Richland and Hanford high schools. “These athletes are interested in where I attended college in making their decisions,” said Willis. “My office is also a statement for Eastern Washington University.”

Join the growing number of Eastern alumni who show their Eagle pride with a specialized EWU license plate. You’re also supporting

EWU students with $28 of the $30 specialized plate fee going toward scholarships at Eastern. To find out how you can add to the more than $150,000 in scholarship money raised so far from these special plates, contact the Olympia Department of Licensing or go to the EWU alumni website, http://alumni.ewu.edu, for an application.