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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 7
Remaining VP candidate makes her case to be hired Moe Skinner Staff Writer Henderson’s search to fill the position of vice president for university advancement may be coming to a close soon. This past week, there were three forums to be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but two of the three candidates to present dropped out of the race. Russell Gibbs and Paul Ketterling took positions elsewhere, leaving Jennifer Boyett as the lone contender. With Boyett as the only eligible candidate remaining, the search committee will have to decide how to move forward in the hiring process. Boyett is the executive director of development from the University of Central Arkansas at Conway. Boyett pitched her strategies, ideas and plans for Henderson to an audience of over 40 people at the Caplinger Airway Science Center Lecture Hall last Monday. Her 45-minute presentation included a PowerPoint to demonstrate her main points, her inspirations, why she chose Henderson, what she will bring to the university and her plan for her first 40 days. Boyett, who started her career in communications, spoke about her inspirations, the late Mary Garrett and the late Oseola McCarty. Although they lived very contrasting lives, both women knew the importance of higher education and donated generously to the cause. Garrett opened doors at Johns Hopkins University. Her $350,000 endowment to the university stipulated that five percent of students accepted would be females. McCarty, on the other hand, only completed a sixth grade education. She started a bank account early in life and contributed to it throughout her years, never making a withdrawal. In 1995, when she was 87-years-old, McCarty made a donation of more than $100,000 to higher education in the form of scholarships. Boyett said she chose Henderson because it was not far from home. The campus is 90 minutes away from Conway.
Henderson is also the right size, and she saw opportunities here. “I’m very comfortable with the size of the campus,” Boyett said. Boyett proceeded to speak about what she will bring to Henderson. Her qualities include passion, experience and thoughtful decisions. Boyett is passionate about fundraising and expressed her desire to work with Dr. Glendell Jones, the campus president. “I think I’m a good fit,” Boyett said. “I will be an asset to Henderson.” She has experience in building and maintaining several relationships with donors and potential donors. “I’m a decision maker,” Boyett said. “I make decisions, good or bad.” She moved the presentation forward with her plans for Henderson, which include building an advancement team and a culture of philanthropy, implementing a stewardship plan, growing the annual fund plan and conducting the first major comprehensive campaign. Boyett insisted she would have an advancement team and not an advancement staff. Boyett wrapped up her proposal with the layout of her first 40 days by outlining plans to learn the university’s priorities and map out how an advancement team can help Henderson. She also intends on learning the campus culture, meeting with the advancement team, both individually and as a group, and visiting with key stakeholders to get their perspectives. Boyett then answered questions from the audience. One audience member stressed the importance of Henderson approaching its 125th year anniversary. Boyett was asked what she thought she could achieve before the commemoration. She would not predict or speculate any figures without first accepting the position. “We’re going to have to start small and start somewhere,” Boyett said. “We need to start now.”
Photo by Ryan Klare
NOT IN MY HOUSE Reggie Dunnigan, senior defensive back, intercepts a
pass right before halftime, ending a one-minute drive by East Central University. Kevin Rodgers passed for touchdowns of 28, 32, 41 and 28 yards, contributing to the Reddies, ranked eighth, 63-31 win. Rodgers set a Henderson State University record by throwing 595 yards and completing 42-of-50 passes. His last throw of the game gave him the record, which was also a Great American Conference record, passing Tyler Sykora’s 520 yards. Henderson was down 17-14 in the first quarter but quickly scored 28 second quarter points to build up a 42-17 lead over East Central by half time. Keaton Stigger started the second half with a touchdown run to put the Reddies up 56-17. The last pass of the game was a 28-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bradford. Ryan McDonald had 101 yards and scored touchdown runs of 32. Darius Davis had 100 yards for four catches. Israel Valentin had five catches for 97 yards. Henderson will next play at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Kick off is set for 1 p.m. in Alva, Okla. Additional reporting by Troy Mitchell.
Benefit helps student struck by tragedy Maegan Estes Staff Writer
On July 27, 2009, 16-yearold Mallory Turner’s life was changed forever. While driving through a storm in Caddo Valley, Mallory lost control of her vehicle and wrecked. Police said she hydroplaned, flipped her car multiple times, end over end, and was ejected about 15 feet from the vehicle. She was left with a broken neck and a concussion, along with multiple cuts, scratches and stitches. Two vertebras were demolished and went into her spinal cord. After many tests, surgeries and specialist visits, it was confirmed that Mallory was paralyzed from the chest down. She is now 20 years old and a junior accounting major at Henderson. Her level of injury is C5 and C6. Because her spinal cord is only bruised, there is still a chance she may be able to walk again some day. Mallory’s accident has not been easy for the Turner family. “We never saw it coming,” Sydney Turner, Mallory’s younger sister, said. “There’s no way to prepare for such a tragic event. Although there is nothing we can do to help her situation, we try to stay strong Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation in faith and high in hopes and LOOK TO THE SKIES Sony Pictures Anima- encourage Mallory to do the tion topped the box office this weekend with their best she can in therapy, school and everyday life activities. We ‘Cloudy’ sequel, making $35 million, but falling short have our rough days, but also of the $45 million projections. Continued on page 4. we have good days.”
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Sydney described the transition from the “baby of the family” to taking the back seat to her injured sister, Mallory. “When the situation happened, all attention was off of me, and I didn’t deal well with that,” Sydney said. “I was a sophomore in high school, and back then it was all about me, and very quickly I had to grow up and realize that Mallory and her situation were far more important than I was.” There are no treatments for Mallory’s condition as far as medication, but there are methods such as physical therapy, stretching and equipment that can be helpful to Mallory. However, Mallory’s therapy sessions and physical therapy equipment are not cheap. To allow Mallory unlimited access to necessary physical therapy equipment, the Turner family purchased a bike and standing frame to keep in their home. The bike cost the family $15,000 in addition to the standing frame, which cost $2,000. Last summer, Mallory spent seven weeks in Dallas, Texas receiving therapy. She went Monday through Thursday for three hours a day, seven weeks consecutively. The cost of the therapy over the summer was $100 per hour, rounding to $1,200 a week. When gas, hotel and food expenses were added into the equation, the total cost was around $20,000. Sydney came up with the idea of a benefit co-ed softball tournament as a fundraiser for the multiple expenses Mallory’s
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condition requires. “My mom is a single mom of four girls dealing with this by herself,” Sydney said. “I know that my family doesn’t have thousands upon thousands of dollars to shell out for bills, a new wheelchair and a brand new modified vehicle.” Sydney, now a 19-year-old sophomore and pre-dental hygiene major, organized the softball tournament in Mallory’s honor. The goal of the tournament, called the “Backwoods Ball Benefit,” was to raise money to help cover Mallory’s therapy expenses and purchase a modified vehicle. The tournament was held Sept. 21 at Feaster Park in Arkadelphia. Twelve teams entered the tournament, each paying an entry fee of $160, in addition to multiple donations. In the end, over $3,000 was raised for Mallory. “I really enjoyed participating in the tournament, but most of all, I’m glad I could be a part of something that helped benefit Mal and her family,” Tara Vail, tournament participant, said. “It was a great overall experience.” Sydney and Mallory’s other sister, Sloane McMahan, helped organize the tournament. Sydney and Sloane had never organized a tournament before. “We never knew how difficult it would be until two months of planning and hardly any sleep came along,” said Sydney. Mallor y’s stor y is continued on page 2.