ALMA MATTERS
Alumni who received more than one degree are listed by year of most recent degree. Those who attended but did not graduate are listed under the year they would have graduated; or in some cases, the last year they attended. If you have changed your address, have a new job or have other news to share, contact the CU Office of Alumni Relations, 2800 W. Gore Blvd., Lawton OK 73505, 580-581-2988; alumni@cameron.edu; or on the web at www.cameron.edu/alumni.
1980s
Harry Ross (’80, BA), Lawton, is the music minister at First Baptist East in Lawton. He has served the church since 1984. Larry Smith (’82, BS), Duncan, and his wife Donna celebrated 50 years of marriage in September. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Smith established Larry D. Smith, Inc., an accounting firm. Lynn Cherry (’83, BA), Charleston, S.C., has been named Associate Chair of the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston. During her tenure at the institution, she has served in many leadership roles and was honored with the Distinguished Service Award in 2015.
Craig Akard (’84, AAS), Lawton, now serves as the Human Resources Director for the City of Lawton. He served with the Lawton Police Force, retiring as a captain, then joined the Lawton Fire Department in an administrative role. In 2018, he became the employee development coordinator for the City of Lawton and was most recently deputy director. 28
CAMERON UNIVERSITY
2010s
Liz McCullough (’86, BACC), Huntsville, Ala., is the chief financial officer/director of resource management for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center. She is certified in defense financial management, earning her CDFM in 2011 And the CDFM with acquisition speciality in 2012. Keith Mitchell (’89, BA), recently completed a term as president of the Oklahoma College Public Relations Association, a networking group of professional higher education communicators. He has been a member of the OCPRA board since 2016.
1990s
John L. Blodgett (’94, BS), Norman, is an administrative law judge of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission. He has more than 20 years of experience practicing law. His professional licenses include the Oklahoma State Bar; the U.S. District Courts for Western, Eastern and Northern Districts; and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
DeShawn Weekly (’96 BA), Allen, Texas, has been named American director of the Miss Top of the World Plus Sized beauty pageant. She also joined the staff of Behavioral Innovations in Richardson, Texas, as a behavioral therapist in June.
2000s Michelle Rahn (’08, BS), Claremore, has been honored with the 2020-21 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Elementary Teaching by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. She is a sixth grade teacher in science, technology, engineering and math at Will Rogers Junior High School in Claremore.
William Hines (’11 BS, ’07, AAS), Lawton, serves as deputy chief for the Lawton Police Department. He has served as a detective, patrol supervisor, patrol shift commander and CID commander during his tenure with LPD. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Tiffany Vrksa (’13 BA), Norman has joined the City of Norman as Chief Communications Officer. She was previously Community Relations Director for the City of Lawton. Crystal Wright (’13, BBA, AAS; ’10 AS), Temple, is a senior audit associate at McCormack and Associates in Norman. Her banking experience includes serving as an internal auditor and a compliance associate.
Laurie Bethune (’14, AS; ‘09, BBA), Marlow, serves as Senior Vice President/Audit Manager at McCormack & Associates in Norman. She has more than 20 years of professional banking experience since 1984. Ryan Whiteley (’09 MED; ’08, BS), is now the head baseball coach at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City. He served as an assistant coach at the school for the past four years and previously coached at Lawton’s Eisenhower High School and Cache High School.
Rachel Engel (’14, BA), Wichita, Kans., is the associate editor for FireRescue1.com and EMS1.com, where she writes about first responders and the importance of their work. She also reports on public safety issues for Lexipol.
