Class Notes

1970s Terry Denniston (’71), Cleveland, was named one of the 2018 Chattanooga Women of Distinction.

David Bow (’72, ’75, ’77), Greeneville, was honored with the Bell Lifetime Achievement Award from Tennessee Technological University’s College of Education, Department of Exercise Science, Physical Education, and Wellness. Steven Harbison (’79), Greeneville, serves as vice president of Jones Media Inc. and boasts more than 30 years’ experience working in the newspaper business in east Tennessee.

1980s Mike Organ (’85), Nashville, was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame as a member of its 2019 class. Organ has worked for the past 33 years at The Tennessean.

Jo Ellen McDowell (’87), Franklin, was named director of the Heritage Ball and corporate relations with the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County. She was formally vice president of the County Music Hall of Fame. Chris Young A new live entertainment venue on the MTSU campus is named the Chris Young Café to honor Young (nondegreed alum), a multiplatinum Nashville entertainer, for the continued support of his alma mater. The café, located in the standalone former Cyber Café/Woodmore dining building and surrounded by residence halls, will be a teaching and practice place for student performers and technicians during the day and a performance venue at night for music, radio broadcasts, comedy, and other entertainment. Young, who attended MTSU in 2005, has an impressive list of accomplishments, including membership in the Grand Ole Opry, 11 career No. 1 singles, and two Grammy nominations. Most recently, Young served as a commencement speaker at one of MTSU’s December 2019 graduation ceremonies.

Odie Blackmon Blackmon (’95), coordinator of MTSU’s Commercial Songwriting program, is helping current and future colleagues put a little more cash in their pockets as a member of the new U.S. Copyright Office music licensing committee. The group, part of implementing last year’s Music Modernization Act, is working to ensure that songwriters receive proper royalties for digital plays of their music. The Grammynominated songwriter’s work includes Lee Ann Womack’s 2005 CMA Song of the Year “I May Hate Myself in the Morning,” George Strait’s “She’ll Leave You with a Smile,” and Gary Allan’s “Nothing On But the Radio.”

1990s Kristy Ahlgrim (’94), Murfreesboro, is the new director of nursing at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, where she has been a registered nurse since 1994.

David Liles (’95), Nashville, joined the estate administration team of Cumberland Trust as trust administrator. He previously served the Metro Nashville Police Department for nearly 30 years as an officer, sergeant, legal instructor, and liaison to the District Attorney’s Office.

Todd Shelton (’95), Indianapolis, was promoted to chief communication officer of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), advancing the brand of fraternity, further developing industry-wide response protocols and resources, and directing the communication strategy for the NIC and Foundation for Fraternal Excellence.

Allison Johnson Fouche (’96), Memphis, was honored as the National Association of Government Communications Communicator of the Year. She is deputy chief communications officer for the city of Memphis.

Brent Hales (’96), Hastings, Minnesota, former senior associate dean and chief financial officer of the University of Minnesota Extension, was named director of Penn State Extension and associate dean in the College of Agriculture Sciences. Tom Boyd Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee appointed Boyd (’73) to a six-year term on the MTSU Board of Trustees. Boyd, an investment advisor representative with Decker Wealth Management in Nashville, boasts more than four decades of experience in financial management and banking, including as a senior vice president at Bank of America. Boyd has served on the MTSU Foundation Board and the Jennings A. Jones College of Business Professional Advisory Board. He and his wife, Martha (’72, ’73), were previously awarded the MTSU Alumni Association’s True Blue Citation of Distinction in the category of Service to the University.

J. Steven Barnes (’98), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was hired as associate vice president for development and alumni affairs for Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina. Barnes previously served in a similar role at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Keith Hall (’98), Buena Park, California, was appointed as vice president and chief diversity officer at Azusa Pacific University.

2000s Nic Dugger (’00), Nashville, was elected president of the Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Jason Melton (’00), Murfreesboro, joined First Bank as a vice president and relationship manager at the Murfreesboro branch on Memorial Boulevard.

Amelia Miller (’00), Bell Buckle, was promoted to managing attorney in the Murfreesboro office of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.

Ginette R. Brown (’01), Nolensville, joined the law firm of Bass, Berry & Sims as an attorney.

Jessica Hagler (’02, ’03), Nashville, was appointed as vice president and chief financial officer at J. Alexander’s Holding Inc.

Bart Baker (’03), Murfreesboro, is the new public information officer for Wilson County Schools after spending nearly three years at WRKN News 2.

Michael N. Novak (’03, ’06), Murfreesboro, received his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Policy Analysis with a focus in higher education from East Tennessee State University. He is currently director of the Confucius Institute and interim associate vice provost of international affairs at MTSU.

Stacy Blythe (’05), Nashville, was promoted to vice president of promotion at Big Loud Records. In her previous role as Big Loud Records’ national director of promotion, Blythe oversaw campaigns for country artists including Jake Owen.

Joseph Crumby (’05), Nashville, was named dean of students at Father Ryan High School. He previously served as assistant principal at LaVergne High School.

Marshall Gillikin (’06), Murfreesboro, joined First National Bank of Manchester as a financial services specialist at the Mercury Boulevard branch in Murfreesboro.

Jessica Yelverton Novak (’06, ’16), Murfreesboro, received her Doctor of Education in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change from Lipscomb University. She is currently employed with Murfreesboro City Schools as an English as a Second Language educator. Chris Nelson Nelson (’99) was promoted to vice president of technology operations at NPR. He joined NPR as an audio engineer in 2000 and has since held roles that include technical director for NPR’s live and recorded music broadcasts and oversight of technical operations for multiple seasons of election coverage. Since 2016, Nelson has been overseeing the work of the audio engineering and NewsFlex teams. Outside of his work at NPR, he has produced documentaries for public radio and the National Hockey League. Nelson also served as an audio specialist for the United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Tanzania.

Nate Hertweck Hertweck (’04) moved to Los Angeles right after graduation and has worked for the Recording Academy/Grammys for 11 years now. Last year, he became senior editor of grammy.com, where he writes and edits for the website, mostly interviews and news articles, as well as hosts a podcast, records voiceovers for smart speaker programs, and covers the organization’s advocacy, membership, and charity efforts.

Richard Hoehn Inc. magazine recently ranked FreightWise, a logistics startup Hoehn (’05) co-founded, as the second-fastest growing company in America, experiencing 30,548% revenue growth in the past three years. Hoehn, who is also an adjunct professor of Engineering Technology at MTSU, attributes a lot of his success to his MTSU education and continued interactions with the University. The company recently hired three MTSU graduates and plans on bringing on more. “It’s important to me that MTSU shares in this success,” Hoehn said. Brentwood-based FreightWise helps freight companies track the progress of invoices through the freight pay and audit process.

Brandon Curry In 2019, Curry (’06) won the Mr. Olympia title—the signature international bodybuilding event. At 5-foot-8 and 260 pounds, the Nashville-based personal trainer and former MTSU football player said he first became interested in weight training when he received a pair of Hulk Hogan-branded dumbbells for his sixth birthday.

Benny Cunningham Cunningham (’19) completed his MTSU degree after six seasons as an NFL running back. He credited Blue Raiders football coach Rick Stockstill with developing in him the work ethic and competitive nature not only needed to survive as a professional athlete, but also to persist with his studies online until he achieved his goal of earning a degree. The Nashville native had 797 yards rushing (4.2-yard average), 1,001 yards receiving, 2,985 yards as a kickoff returner, seven total touchdowns, and 31 special teams tackles during his career with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears. Cunningham signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars before suffering a hamstring injury in training camp last year.

Sara R. Ellis (’07), Knoxville, joined the litigation team as an associate attorney at Miller Legal Partners PLLC.

Amber Hurdle (’07), Lebanon, was named the Nashville Emerging Leaders Award winner in the business services category. Hurdle also was recently recognized as a “40 Under 40” award winner by the Nashville Business Journal. Amber Hurdle Consulting clients include FedEx Ground, Marriott Hotels, and Mars Inc.

Meghen Sanders (’07,’08), Nashville, was appointed as principal of Centennial High School in Williamson County.

Orion Darley (’09), Houston, earned his second Master of Science and post-graduate degree from Northwestern University in Data Science. He is currently a data science consultant for Accenture’s Houston Innovation Hub while completing a graduate program in Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University.

John Wheeler Sr. (’09), Hermitage, was promoted to lieutenant with the Metro Nashville Police Department.

2010s Brad Ferguson (’10), Columbia, Missouri, joined the University of Missouri as an assistant professor for Health Psychology,

Katie Crytzer Crytzer (’06) served in an influential role in the decisionmaking of President Donald J. Trump’s administration well before her 40th birthday. Crytzer was acting deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy, assisting Trump in filling judgeships across the country. This included helping shepherd Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through a tumultuous, but successful, Senate confirmation hearing—a cultural and political flashpoint that became “must-see TV” around the world. “I was in the room with President Trump [for the first time] after Kavanaugh’s confirmation, which my office worked on,” Crytzer said. “It’s thrilling, humbling, and an honor to be doing the work each of us are doing every day.”

Amanda Haggard Haggard (’12), associate editor of the Nashville Scene since 2015, was named managing editor of the Home Page Media Group of FW Publishing in 2019. While a student, Haggard served as editor of MTSU’s student newspaper, Sidelines. She also previously was assistant editor of The Contributor, the weekly street newspaper in Nashville, and worked for the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro and at the Gannett Nashville Design Studio. Home Page Media Group publishes the Brentwood, Bellevue, Franklin, Spring Hill, and Style Home Page and Business Williamson online media sites.

Radiology, and the MU Thompson Center for Autism.

Dylan McDaniel (’10), Murfreesboro, joined McHugh Construction as a project engineer. He previously spent more than three years in the United States Navy, serving as an engineering aide, where he specialized in topographic surveying techniques. Brent Oakley (’11), Thompson’s Station, was named executive director of elementary schools for Williamson County.

Sara Beth Urban (’11, ’13), Nashville, was appointed as executive director of the Tennessee Distillers Guild. She previously worked with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development for three years.

Jaclyn Aderholt Moore (’11), Auburntown, was promoted to senior talent acquisition business partner at Korn Ferry executive search firm. Catherine Poole (’12), Franklin, was promoted to sergeant with the Metro Nashville Police Department. Donnan Jamin Keith (‘13), Murfreesboro, completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Organic Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Keith will continue his work at the Scripps Labs in La Jolla, California, as a post-doctoral researcher with one of the world’s top chemists, Dale Boger.

Kody Howard (’14), Dyersburg, was named head basketball coach at Chester County High School.

Alvin Jensen (’14), Ashland City, was promoted to the consumer lender position at Community Bank and Trust.

John Harwill (’15), Old Hickory, is the new marching arts artist relations manager of KHS America Inc., a distributor of Jupiter, Mapex, and Majestic instruments. In this role, he will be dedicated to marching ensembles in percussion, drum corps, university bands, and more.

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