College of Communications Alumni -- 1980s
Information for this list is collected from alumni surveys and other communications with alumni and is updated periodically. If you are a graduate of Communications and wish to be included in the list, let us know. If information needs to be corrected, let us know. (comm@astate.edu, 870-972-2468) or College of Communications, P.O. Box 540, State University, AR 72467). (Updated Jan. 24, 2008)
Tracy French Adams (Jour ‘84) owns Digital Prints, which creatively combines art with photography. Digital photos are taken on location and photos made from home video tapes.
Emmanuel C. Alozie (MSMC ’87), university professor of media communications at Governors State University, University Park, Ill., co-edited a special edition of The Global Media Journal devoted to African mass media. Alozie previously served as a faculty member at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., and at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. His book on cultural reflections and the role of advertising in national development of Nigeria was published by Edwin Mellen Press.
Sandy Alstadt (Jour '80) received the Crisis Communicator of the Year award in early November at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Alstadt is Entergy Corporation's director of utility operations communications and corporate crisis coordinator for Entergy's corporate communications department. Earlier this year Alstadt and her communications team at Entergy won "won big at the PR Week Awards" in New York. The group won an award in crisis communications for its Hurricane Katrina work and the top award of the night for best overall work of all the winners in individual categories.
Tom Anderson (RTV '82) and wife Nancy have returned to Arkansas from Pennsylvania. Nancy is working at Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock while Tom will continue to work (as a telecommuter) as financial and data manager with Valence Health. Tom and Nancy are living in Cabot.
Rick Barney (RTV ‘85) is co-owner of Focal Point Video & Film in Louisville, Ky.
Clyde Bass (RTV ’86) has joined Main Line Broadcasting as market manager of its four-station cluster in Richmond, Va. The station group includes adult hits WWLB-FM, 60's and 70's hits simulcast WBBT/WARV and country/rock hybrid WLFV. He was previously vice president of Duke Broadcasting in Jonesboro before Cumulus transferred him the Lexington, Ky., and later Youngstown, Ohio, as market manager. He and wife Michelle have three children, Houston, Sophia and Chynna.
Farren Bennett (RTV '82) develops worldwide integrated communication strategy worldwide for the Hilty Company in Liechtenstein.
Mary Bishop (MSMC ’85) is an assistant city editor at the Tulsa World, where she leads the Justice Team (police and courts reporters). She lives in Broken Arrow, Okla., with her partner, Sharon Baldwin.
Terry Black (RTV ’83) reports that his Super Smokers BBQ is the Illinois State Pork champion and earned a place in the WCBCC. Super Smokers BBQ is headquartered in St. Louis.
Dorothy Bland (Jour '80) is director of the journalism division of the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication at Florida A&M University in Talahassee.
Eric F. Burns (RTV ’86) is executive producer for the Cable News Network (CNN. He was previously managing editor at WGNX-TV, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta.
Warren Childers (Printing ‘89) is a senior job planner for Classic Graphics Printing in Charlotte, N.C. He is married to Mary Thompson Childers, who is estimator manager for Treasure Chest Printing in Charlotte.
Andy Commer (RTV ’87) is video coordinator for the University of Arkansas Athletic Department. He and wife Amy live in Fayetteville.
Marie Crawford (Jour '83) has received the Glen T. Kellog Leadership Award from the southwest section of the American Water Works Association. She is director of communications for Central Arkansas Water of Little Rock.
Kathy L. Davis (RTV ’88) works as news desk producer for TXCN, a 24-hour TV news station is Dallas. She worked 16 years in radio before joining TXCN. She is married to Phillip W. Palmer..
Leslie Doan (RTV ‘84) works as a technical writer for UAMS (Office of Research Compliance) in Little Rock. She also serves as the representative from the College of Communications for the ASU Alumni Board of Directors. Leslie and her husband, Stewart, have two daughters, Lauren and Sara.
Denise Dorton (Jour ’80) has been promoted to assistant news editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A native of Trumann, Denise previously served as editor of the Trumann Democrat.
Bill Evans (RTV ’81) is vice president of news and operations at WPSD-TV. Bill joined the Paducah, Ky., television station in June ’97 as news director.
Nancy C. Everitt (RTV ‘87) has started gethealth.com,
a healthcare portal and content provider. Nancy is living in Nashville, following
several years in the broadcast media, earning an MBA from the University of Memphis
and working with Columbia Healthcare, LifePoint and Triad.
Steve FitzGerald (RTV ’82) has returned to the nation's capital from the Republic of Korea where he served as the chief of the 8th U.S.
Army Y2K Task Force. Lt. Col. FitzGerald was reassigned to the Defense Information
Systems Agency in Washington, D.C. His wife Deborah (Art Ed. ’88) is teaching
art in the Fairfax Virginia Public School System.
Richard and Carol Frazier (both RTV ‘86) live in Arizona. Rich is executive director of the Chandler (Ariz.) Regional Hospital Foundation.. Carol works for the state of Arizona as enforcement attorney for the Department of Water Resources.
Sarah Stephenson Gatling (Jour '81) has joined the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader as managing editor. A native of Forrest City, she had been working in Florida as a community editor and page designer for Citrus Count Chronicle in Crystal River, Fla. She also had worked at the Marathon (Fla.) Free Press as managing editor.
Cindy L. Gibson (Jour '81) has received a master's degree in corporate public relations from Lindenwood University in St. Louis. She is director of community services for Ritenour School District in northwest St. Louis County.
Gordon Grafton (RTV '81) died in April in his hometown of Shreveport, La., after a lengthy illness. Grafton was formerly news director at Shreveport's KTAL-6-NBC where he started as a reporter and later became a sports anchor. In 1997 he became regional director for the Easter Seal Society, serving both Texarkana and Shreveport. He was 46.
Jeff Hankins (Jour ‘87) has a TV show -- "Arkansas Business With Jeff Hankins" appearing on AETN. Jeff is president and publisher of Arkansas Business Publishing Group in Little Rock.
Frances Hart (Jour '89) works for ASU's University Communications Office. She was previously director of community relations at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Hot Springs.
Greg Harton (Jour '88) is the executive editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville. He won first place in humorous column writing from the Arkansas Press Association in 2002.
Anthony Hicks (Jour '81) is teaching at the University of Memphis. He taught at Southeast Missouri University in 2005-2006.
Thomas Jacques (Jour ‘84), co-publisher and editor of the Brinkley Argus, has been named development specialist and communications coordinator at the Delta Cultural Center in Helena.
Deleisa (Bailey) Johnson (Jour '89) has been named vice president, communications, for the National Community Pharmacists Association in Alexandria, Va.
Rebecca Johnson (RTV ‘84) sells broadcast equipment for Professional Communications Systems, which is owned by Media General. She specializes in production and graphics for television stations and audiovisual equipment for churches and hospitals. She lives in Tampa, Fla.
Tom Kaemmerling (RTV '78) is marketing manager for Criticare Systems Inc. in Waukesha, Wis. Criticare Systems manufactures vital sign monitors for the medical industry. Tom and wife Debbie reside in Menominee Falls, Wis.
Ron Kelley (RTV '81) works at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, as the director of corporate and foundation relations.
Deborah Killion (RTV ’88) has a professional video production and web design business, Spellbound Creative Productions. The business produces professionally edited full-length videos for 14 Web sites. Deborah also has had five songs published, recorded, and distributed by the Hollywood music industry.
Rose Stuckey Kirk (Jour '84) is vice president -- employee communications for Verizon Communications. She is responsible for corporate communications strategy and coordination of employee communications program for Verizon's major lines, including wireless, telecom and business. She had been vice president -- partner sales & customer service at Verizon's telecom organization. She is married to Robert Kirk Sr., and they are parents of two sons.
Lee Kneibert (RTV '86) is a purchasing agent at Saint Louis University.
Sharon Knignt (Jour '86) is editor of Stewart Houston Times in Erin, Tenn. She joined the Gannett newspaper in November 2008.
Lt. Col. Ellen Lampkins Krenke (Jour '86, MSMC '87), has been assigned as a press desk officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the Pentagon. Her accounts include the National Guard and reserve, military and civilian personnel, the Defense Advisory Council on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), the DoD Education Agency, the Defense Commissary Agency and Transportation Command. Ellen and her husband, Bob, have three children, April, Grace and Brett. They live in Alexandria, Va.
Steve Langlois (RTV '87) is working with The Ginn Company, a real estate development company that owns several communities and golf clubs around the southeast United States and is in the development and building stage of several others, including properties in Colorado and St. Thomas USVI. Steve is editor for both those communities and the corporate Ginn employee news magazines. He lives in Orlando, Fla., with his wife, Vicki, and two sons, Andy and Zack.
Carol Langston (Jour '85) is director of college relations and marketing at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock, Ark.
Chuck LaMendola (RTV '81/MSMC '88) teaches television and film at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. He is a five-time Telly Award winner for directing television commercials and corporate videos and is a BEA Award winner for TCU Basketball spots. He is a judge for The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Sports Emmy Awards. He is married to the former Kelly Hardin (ASU BSN '82). They have two daughters.
Emily Lard (Jour ’86) is working in development for the Indian Club at Arkansas State University.
Tim Ledbetter (RTV '84) has joined WABC in New York as the ENG Supervisor. He previously worked at WFSB in Hartford, Conn., and KTHV in Little Rock.
Phil Leslie (RTV '85) has taken leave from non-commercial station WRXV/RevFM in State College, Penn., to work in Lewistown at a classic hits station (WCHX 105.5 - http://www.chx105.com). His "Erik Lane" personna hosts the morning show (The CHiX Morning Fix). The company that owns this station owns two other stations (located in the same building), nine cable TV franchises (Nittany Media), an ISP, audio/video production facility, a computer solutions firm and a license to a full-powered UHF TV station (Channel 29) is slated to go on the air soon.
Michael Lewellen (Jour ‘83), former head of corporate communications for Black Entertainment Television (BET NEtworks), has been appointed vice president, public relations, for Universal Orlando Resort. Lewellen assumes primary responsibility for Universal Orlando's external media communications, theme park and attractions publicity and crisis management. He will also serve as Universal Orlando's primary media spokesperson.
Jim McCluskey (Jour ’81) is with the corporate communications group of FedEx Corp. in Memphis with management responsibility for the company’s flagship global magazine. He joined FedEx from the corporate headquarters of Whirlpool Corp. in Benton Harbor, Mich., where he was responsible for communications and project management in the company’s North American Appliance Group.
Richard McKeown (Jour '81) is owner of InSight Communications, an executive communications training company. He also does strategic communications planning and political consulting. He lives in Bryant, Ark.
Sidney Melton (RTV '82) is director of FEMA's Mississippi transitional recovery office. He had been head of the individual assistant section for transition recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Debbie Miller (Jour '83, MSMC '91) is features editor for the Morning News in Springdale. She had been metro editor for the Bentonville bureau of the Morning News. As features editor she serves as head of nine features sections for the paper in both print and online editions.
Brenda Nash (Jour '85) is college director of the St. Rose (New Orleans) campus of ITT Technical Institute. She lives in Kenner, La.
Suzy Taylor Oakley (Jour ‘89) is a copy editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She lives in North Little Rock.
Ellen Darr Mooney (Jour ’86) is a freelance journalist and home-schools her daughter, Meg. Ellen’s husband, Barry, is the associate district superintendent/church planner for the Mid-South District of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). Ellen and Barry live in Little Rock.
Roland Nash (RTV ‘87) has been accepted for the Family Medicine Residency Program at Quillen College of Medicine’s Kingsport Family Practice Center.
Vickie Newton (RTV '87) is an anchor/reporter for KMOV Channel 4 in St. Louis.
Dan Nicholson (RTV ’81) is president of The Nicholson Group, a full service advertising agency in Russellville, Ark. The firm is a distributor of logo imprinted/embroidered products, including corporate clothing and caps.
Gary Pounder (RTV '80), who retired from the US Air Force, reported that he has been using the film "Hoop Dreams" as a teaching tool. He heard that one of the featured players, Arthur Agee, played basketball at ASU and was an RTV major. (That information is correct.) Pounder reported he is headed to Ole Miss to work on a second master's in education, occasionally writes op-ed pieces for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal and does occasional commentary on military issues and counter-terrorism for WREC radio in Memphis.
Bill Powers (RTV '84) has become sports information director at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Glen Rega (Jour '81) is vice president of operations, principal broker and branch manager of Coldwell Banker Advantage Realty in Little Rock.
Jay Richards (RTV ’88) has moved from Indiana to California, where he operates a full-service production company.
Bill Richter (MSMC '87) has published a book, Radio: A Complete Guide to the Industry. Richter teaches in the communications and literature department at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C. He earned a doctorate from the University of Tennessee and has taught at Lenoir-Rhyne for 15 years.
Ed Robinson (RTV ’82) has joined MassMutual Financial Group as a financial planner in Memphis. He lives in Cordova, Tenn.
Rob Roedel (Jour '89) is manager of corporate communications for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.
Sidney L. Melton Sheppard (RTV ‘81) is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. Living in Tampa, Fla., he was formerly stationed at Camp Smith, Hawaii, where he was information systems security operations officer for the Pacific.
Misti Sims (Jour '86) is senior sales representative for GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Co. She lives in Jonesboro.
Beth Smith (Jour '82) is director of alumni relations for Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Michael H. (Mickey) Smith (RTV ’85) is sports information director at Lewis University. He resides in Romeoville, Ill.
Becky (Williams) Steele (Jour '87) and husband Skip Steele (Marketing '86) have opened a Super Smoker's Bar-B-Cue restaurant on Manchester Road in Glendale, Mo., a community west of St. Louis. Skip is co-owner of the fast-growing business, which has several locations around the St. Louis area and one Metro-East location in O'Fallon, Ill. Skip, Becky and their daughter live in Freeburg, Ill.
Jay Summerlin (RTV ‘89) is director of operations for Alliance Productions, which has 30 mobile production trucks and is the country’s second largest provider of remote broadcast facilities.
William C. (Calvin) Timbs (RTV '86) is a business development manager for Ford Motor Company, Ford Credit and The American Road Insurance Company supporting finance and insurance product sales with dealers in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Cathy Travis (Jour '83) visited Jonesboro in December 2006 for a book signing at Barnes and Noble. She is author of Constitution Translated for Kids. The book is written at the fifth grade level with the original 1787 text alongside the translation.
Joe Trimble (RTV ’85) has opened Dell’s business sales call center in Nashville, Tenn. His wife, Paula Trimble (MSMC ’86), is a peripheral sales representative in Dell’s small business relationship division.
Lisa McLemore Turner ( Jour '89) is doing freelance pubic relations for businesses in Fayetteville. She and her husband, Marty (a 1989 ASU graduate), have four children.
Kathy Vosburg-Seretti (Jour ‘83) is owner of Vosburg de Seretti Inc., an advertising and design agency. She and spouse Celso live in Friendswood, Texas.
Audrey Watkins (Jour '88) and Jeff Hankins (Jour '87) have a joint venture publishing Jonesboro Occasions, a high-quality color magazine that focuses on society, philanthropy, dining and life in Jonesboro. Steve Watkins (Jour '88) has recently left his job as ASU director of development to become part of the publishing enterprise.
Harris Lynn Ward (RTV ’80) is a flight chief for Air Force Recruiting Service. He and wife Beck live in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Russell Wells (RTV ’88) is operations manager of WSVH-FM/Savannah, Ga., a semi-independent part of Peach State Public Radio.
Jennifer Winningham (Jour '89, MSMC '91) is an instructional designer for ALLTEL in Little Rock. She is responsible for designing materials used in training for ALLTEL employees.
Mark Young (Jour ‘87) is president and CEO of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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