Connections: Spring 2019

1948

Joseph and Jane Zazzi Mitchen celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary on Nov. 2, 2018. They were married by L.C. Sears. They have six children and a host of grandchildren. (822 Canforth Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70810)

1967

Gary Turner has been selected as deputy region director for Region 14 for the American Society of Quality. His duties are in assisting governance of sections in Arkansas and Oklahoma for 2019. He is president of Turner Consulting and has been a member of ASQ for 21 years. He is an elder at Robinson Avenue Church of Christ in Springdale, Arkansas, and is married to Kathy. (12581 Ervin McGarrah Road, Lowell, AR 72745)

1973

Lois Diane McKinney Guild was honored with more than 60 cards as a thank you for her more than 35 years of encouraging others. Affectionately known as “Card Lady,” she sends cards and notes of encouragement to her entire congregation at Creekside Church of Midlothian and beyond. She was married to Charles “Chuck” for 43 years before his passing in 2016. She has three children and two grandchildren. (106 S. Crestwood Blvd., DeSoto, TX 75115)

1974

Doug Killgore has been selected to receive the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence. He retired in 2018 as assistant principal and athletic director at Central Arkansas Christian Schools in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where he continues as a full-time substitute teacher. He was named Arkansas High School Athletic Administrators Association’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2008 and was inducted into the AHSAAA Hall of Fame in 2018. He served as president from 2011-13. He has had three articles published in Interscholastic Athletic Administration magazine, was the recipient of the National Federation of State High School Associations Citation in 2010 and the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 2012. He served six years (2010-16) as secretary on the NIAAA board of directors and served on their Leadership Training Institute faculty. He is the six-time recipient of the Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award for Arkansas. He also traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, to teach at the 2017 Leadership Conference for the East Asia Regional Council of Schools. (700 Autumnbrook Circle, Sherwood, AR 72120)

1976

Jeff Broadwater has written a book Jefferson, Madison, and the Making of the Constitution and has co-edited North Carolina’s Revolutionary Founders . Both books are being published by UNC Press. (1133 Kenan St. N.W., Wilson, NC 27893)

1981

Linda Hilbun Bonnin was awarded the Silver Medal by the American Advertising Federation-Tuscaloosa. The Silver Medal is awarded annually to a person of integrity who displays creative thinking in advertising and has been active in organizations dedicated to human or social welfare. She is the vice president for strategic communications at The University of Alabama. She has been a member of the president’s senior leadership team at UA since 2015, serving as their chief communications and marketing officer. She created Where Legends are Made, the first integrated branding campaign in UA’s history, in 2016. (2525 Beacon Hill Parkway, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487)

David A. Verret has been selected as Docent of the Year at AirBase Arizona, a museum with the Commemorative Air Force. He is a former campus minister at the University of Guam, associate minister at Boulevard Church of Christ in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and pulpit minister at the Church of Christ at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. He is retired from the U.S. Air Force, Department of Transportation, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a member of Mesa Church of Christ and is married to Tuyet. (32089 N. Larkspur Drive, San Tan Valley, AZ 85143)

1982

Robert Vawter has been named chairman of the Asia Pacific and Japan International Executive Committee by the board of directors of CPAs Net, an association of independently owned public accounting and consulting firms. He is managing partner at Vawter, Gammon, Norris and Co., P.C., a Tennessee-based public accounting and business consulting firm, and has more than 35 years of public accounting experience in tax planning, estate planning and consulting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants. He and his wife, Lynn, have two children.

1983

Lynn Wright is Little Rock market executive for Regions Bank. He was named to Arkansas Business’ Power List for the state’s banking and finance industry in 2016. He also serves on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas, Arkansas Bankers Association and Little Rock Regional Chamber. He and his wife Patti Harvey (’80) have two children. (301 Easy St., Little Rock, AR 72223)

1984

Mark Parkey is the new CEO of J. Alexander’s restaurants. He has been CFO of J. Alexander’s and its immediate predecessor since spring of 2013 and has been with the company since 1993. He is married to Catherine Miller (’82). (1106 Walnut Grove Drive, Franklin, TN 37069)

1985

Roger Holroyd is president and chief executive officer for the Fort Smith and River Valley division of Arvest Bank. He earned a master’s in finance at Texas A&M and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. He is a member of the school board for Siloam Springs School District and has been an officer for the United Way of Northwest Arkansas and the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Bonita, have two children. (16728 Old Highway 68, Siloam Springs, AR 72761)

1987

Diana Arn was selected interim chancellor of the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. She enters the role with 32 years of experience at UACCM and is a U.S. Army veteran. Since 2008 she has sat on the Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium Board, presiding as chair on three separate occasions, and has served on the Arkansas Community Colleges Board. (19 Walker Road, Conway, AR 72032)

Tim Hicks is director of Grace Crossing Academy Ministry. Grace Crossing Academy is a school serving children six weeks old through kindergarten and is a ministry of Grace Crossing, a community church of Christ in Conroe, Texas. His wife, Becky Taylor (’84) serves as the curriculum coordinator, teaching training coordinator and school counselor. (2104 Lost Timbers Drive, Conroe, TX 77304)

1989

Laura Gillett Light is the managing director of Ozark Actors Theatre, a professional summer stock theatre in Rolla, Missouri. She also serves on the board of directors for Heart of American Leadership Training for Christ. She and her husband, Kenny, have five children. (10300 Audubon Place, Rolla, MO 65401)

1991

David Sachar was a member of an expert panel for the United Nations-Office of Drugs and Crime in Seoul, South Korea, in December 2018. He is a graduate of the William H. Bowen School of Law. He has served as executive director of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission for six years and is the current president of the National Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel. He also serves on the advisory board of the Center for Judicial Ethics. (13916 Foxfield Lane, Little Rock, AR 72211)

1992

Clarence Hulse was elected to the Dunes Arts Foundation Board of Directors. He is the director of Michigan City’s Economic Development Corp. His past experiences include community and economic development manager for the city of New Bern, North Carolina, director of economic development for the city of Jeffersonville, and deputy city manager of Cocoa, Florida. He has won both state and national awards for his work in the community and economic development arena. He earned a master’s in economic development from University of Southern Mississippi and also is a graduate of University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. He is married to Gina Wendel Welds (’94). (1522 Oakmont Drive, Jeffersonville, IN 47130)

2001

Zac and Sarah Terry Lehr announce the birth of a son, Jacob Palmer, June 6, 2018. Zac works in the public affairs office of the Arkansas National Guard. Sarah is a marketing strategist for CHI St. Vincent. (223 S. Martin St., Little Rock, AR 72205)

Nathan Hunnicutt is the Hot Springs Village Area Chamber of Commerce executive director. He recently founded the Arkansas Country Music Awards program and is currently its president. He and his wife, Tiffany, have seven children.

2002

Jeris Noye is senior vice president of logistics for Sweetwater Sound. He is overseeing the music retailer’s 400,000-square-foot distribution center project, part of an $80 million investment expected to create 1,000 new jobs. He has a master’s degree in business administration from Florida State University. He and his wife, Holly Dawson, have two sons, Maddox and Jack. (2837 Redfield Drive, Charlotte, NC 28270)

2006

Shawn (’07) and Katie Barker Frazier announce the adoption of a daughter, Daisy Mae, who was born May 28, 2018. Shawn is the worship minister for North Boulevard Church of Christ, and Katie is a homemaker and musician. (303 Gaitherhill Drive, Murfreesboro, TN 37130)

2007

Jonathan and Julia Selby Edelhuber announce the birth of twins, Anne Monroe and Henry Sinclair, Oct. 22, 2018. The couple also has a son, Lewis. (1025 Grace Meade, Ashland City, TN 37015)

Cody and Jessica Jones Hall announce the birth of a daughter, Adelynn Faith, Feb. 2, 2019. The couple also has a son, Hayden. (1609 Stonehenge Place, Little Rock, AR 72212)

2009

Jason and Katie Meiners Enlow announce the birth of a daughter, Evelyn Faye, on Oct. 30, 2018. The couple also has two sons, Owen and Vance. (3935 Lester Harris Road, Kevil, KY 42053)

Josh McAfee joined Callahan and Associates as an advisor for credit union solutions. He most recently was vice president of corporate strategy at Confluent Strategies in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to that he led marketing automation and content management at MAX Credit Union. He and his wife, Kristen Owens, have three children. (24 Brackenhouse Square, Jackson, TN 38305)

Amanda Bynum Perring is the 2019 Elementary Teacher of the Year and is a third grade teacher at Fogarty Elementary School in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Her husband, Matt, is an English teacher and track coach at Guthrie High School and a football coach at the junior high. They have a daughter, Ainsley. (9421 Acorn Drive, Manuel, TX 77578)

2011

Jonathan (’12) and Jennifer Schopper Futrell announce the birth of a son, Miles Philip, Sept. 24, 2018. (7006 Wynterhall Drive, Germantown, TN 38138)

2013

Daniel and Amber Doyle Benskin announce the birth of a son, Gabriel James, Oct. 6, 2018. (2004 Boxwood Path, Round Rock, TX 78664)

2014

Cameron (’11) and Jamison Hardin Frazier announce the birth of a son, Louis Parker, Jan. 7, 2019. (212 Alta Loma Road, Madison, TN 37115)

Taylor and Ashley Ragland Kelton announce the birth of a son, Josiah Robert, July 9, 2018. (9858 Southern Gum Way, Olive Branch, MS 38654)

2016

David and Madison Teague Brooker announce the birth of a daughter, Bea Lynn, Dec. 26, 2018. (6052 Wisteria Lane, Jonesboro, AR 72404)

2017

Taylor Hodges was named Freed-Hardeman University’s sports information director on Jan. 1, 2019. He previously served as assistant sports information director at Faulkner University and as a sports reporter at the Columbia (Tennessee) Daily Herald. (495 Homestead Lane, Henderson, TN 38340)

2018

Kaycie Alexander is a policy analyst and social media manager/web writer for Right on Crime and the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She previously served as a criminal justice policy intern with the American Conservative Union Foundation and studied at the Charles Koch Institute. (305 Springhill Drive, Hurst, TX 76054)