1970s

Kayla (Morgan) Schoonover ’77 was appointed to Missouri Western’s Board of Governors by Gov. Jay Nixon in June. Schoonover, from Fairfax, Missouri, is a special education instructor for Mound City R-2 Schools. Her term will end on Oct. 29, 2017.

Dave Scheer ’79 was inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame as a coach. Scheer coached baseball for 25 years at Union High School and was a teacher and coach for the Union R-XI School District for 35 years. He was inducted into the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012.

1980s

Michael Finkenbinder ’80 retired from Carlisle Barracks Police Department in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as watch commander. PHOTO

James Beesley ’81 was awarded the Silver Beaver by the Sam Houston Area Council of Boy Scouts of America. PHOTO

Marc Evans ’82 started a new business in Kansas City, Missouri: TeamLogic IT. Evans, who has more than 33 years of IT experience, provides a full range of technology services to small and mid-size businesses.

Michael Hoffman ’82 is the campus minister and director of religious life at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. His wife is Nancy (Imlay) Hoffman ’80.

1990s

Dr. Duane Bruce ’99 is special assistant to the vice president for student affairs at LaGuardia Community College in New York City.

2000s

Jeffrey Jungers ’00 was named 2015 Salesman of the Year for Yamaha Golf-Car Company. He also received the award in 2012, and is the only district sales manager to be a two-time winner of the award.

Jodi Deering ’01 is the executive administrative assistant to the executive director, human resources director and finance director at Community Action Partnership in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Eric Faes ’02 is a bridge auditor for the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Transportation Development District.

Farouk Aregbe ’03 was named manager for Academic Retention Services at University of Missouri-Columbia. Prior to this position, he was coordinator for Student Government Services at MU for 10 years.

Chris Roepe ’03 joined John Bardgett & Associates, a law firm in Jefferson City, Missouri as an associate. Roepe will serve as a lobbyist for the firm. Previously, he served as chief of staff to Sen. President Pro Tem Charlie Shields for eight years.

John Fabsits ’04 is the Director of Field Service/Chief Operations Officer for the Boy Scouts of America in Cleveland.

Denise (Johnson) Heimer ’04 will celebrate her five-year anniversary at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. PHOTO

Candice (Day) Quarles ’05 was elected to serve on the DeSoto (Texas) City Council. She received 66 percent of the vote and is currently the youngest member of the Council.  

Merrill Atwater ’06 is the aviation director for the Kansas Department of Transportation. He will oversee KDOT aviation programs and work with the Federal Aviation Administration and aviation stakeholders across the state.

Valerie (Lee) Paul ’06 and her husband, James, announce the birth of a daughter, Sophie Sue, born Oct. 10, 2015. PHOTO

Jordan Reilly ’07 was named one of Ingram’s Magazine’s Heroes in Healthcare in 2016. Reilly is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph.

Atia Styles ’07 and Tyrone Kenney, Jr. were married May 16, 2015. Atia is a case manager for the State of Maryland.

Koren (Dailey) Wills ’08 and her husband, Cody, announce the birth of a daughter, Coralie Jessamine, born March 4, 2016. She joins big brother Ian, who is 2.  PHOTO

Tiffany (Zimmerman)’08 and Cody ’09 Austin announce the birth of a daughter, Abigial Jean, born Nov. 30, 2015. PHOTO

Kelli (McBee) ’08 and Nick ’08 Oldham announce the birth of a son, Reid Henry, born Jan. 4, 2016. PHOTO

Brandon Holtz ’09 graduated from the FBI’s six-week Hazardous Devices School in Huntsville, Alabama, becoming a certified bomb technician. Holtz has served as a police officer in Columbia, Missouri for six years and is a member of the Mid-Missouri Bomb Squad.

Garrett Holtz ’09 and his wife, Maureen, announce the birth of a daughter, Elizabeth Christine, born May 7, 2016. She joins two older brothers, Patrick and Luke.

2010s

Molly Smith ’11 is an associate accountant for the city and county of Denver.

Lee Bradley ’12 is the head coach of Marceline High School’s (Marceline, Missouri) Black Rage wrestling team. He is a 2006 graduate of the high school.

Jannie Castanada ’14 is the recreation programs coordinator for the City of St. Joseph Parks and Recreation Department.

Whitney Stubbs ’14 and Jonathan Hobbs ’15 were married April 16 in Leavenworth, Kansas. They remembered their alma mater while they were honeymooning in Jamaica. PHOTO

 Two alumni in Baseball Hall of Fame

Two alumni were inducted into the St. Joseph Baseball Hall of Fame at the June 25 Mustangs game at Phil Welch Stadium: Cheri Kempf ’85 and Dave Lau ’89.

Kempf is the Hall’s first softball inductee. She led the Griffons to the 1982 NAIA National Championship and was named Tournament MVP. She worked as a softball analyst for ESPN, FOX Sports, MLB Network, Cox Sports, Comcast Sports and the YES Network. Kempf was owner of a softball training facility for many years and is currently the commissioner of National Pro Fastpitch.

Lau played baseball for Missouri Western and was named honorable mention NAIA All-American in 1985 and second-team NAIA All-American in 1986. He signed a free-agent contract with the New York Mets in 1986, and played three seasons for the organization between the Columbia Mets and the St. Lucie Mets. In 1998, he became the St. Joseph School District’s first softball coach, at Central High School. He is currently the activities coordinator at Central.

Also inducted was the 2007 Benton High School baseball team, coached by Mike Musser ’84. The team is the only baseball state champion in St. Joseph history.

Women of Excellence

Several alumnae were honored at the YWCA’s annual Women of Excellence luncheon in June. Eleanor Langemach ’46 received a Lifetime Achievement Award. The following were nominated in the Woman in the Workplace category: Sarah Hardin ’07, Betty Hellerich ’76, Karen McCoy ’07, Stacia Studer ’02, Annette Weeks ’87 and Shannen White ’06. Jessica Jackson ’13 was nominated in the Woman in Support Services category and Natalie Byergo ’05 for Woman in Volunteerism. Nominated in the Emerging Leader category were Amber McKnight ’04 and Kristin Wyckoff ’15. Congratulations!

In Memory
We remember those who have passed away. If you want to include someone in this listing, please call (816) 271-5651, mail the information to Diane Holtz, Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507, or email holtz@missouriwestern.edu.

Darline (James) Adkins ’69, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 10, 2016.
Steven Bachman ’03, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 28, 2016.
Donald Bailey ’09, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 18, 2016.
Susan Bennett-Ward ’87, St. Joseph, Missouri, May 4, 2016.
Donald Joseph Boyes ’87, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 18, 2016.
Clara Breuckmann ’62, St. Joseph, Missouri, Feb. 21, 2016.
Barbara Budine ’81, Faucett, Missouri, June 29, 2016.
Darlene Caw, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 15, 2016. Caw was a former employee; she worked in for the physical plant.
Shirley Ann (Conard) Couldry ’94, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 30, 2016.
Jeannetta Danford ’52/’72, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 28, 2016.
Pat Dexter ’78, St. Joseph, Missouri, July 1, 2016.
Dr. Solon E. Haynes, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 23, 2016. Dr. Haynes taught in the Department of Education at Missouri Western for 38 years.
Carolyn Jones, St. Joseph, Missouri, May 20, 2016. Jones was a former employee; she worked in Human Resources.
Donald Kagay ’51, Columbia, Missouri, June 25, 2016.
Terry King, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 5, 2016. King was working for Missouri Western’s physical plant when he passed away.
Charles Matt, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 10, 2016. Matt was working in Missouri Western’s Telephone Services Office when he passed away.
Barbara Miller ’87, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 6, 2016.
Charlene Rainey, St. Joseph, Missouri, June 6, 2016. Rainey had worked in Missouri Western’s Business Office for over 25 years.
El Dora Schmidt ’42, St. Joseph, Missouri, December 12, 2015.
Darleen Shelton ’60, St. Joseph, Missouri, May 21, 2016.
Perry Scott Smith ’87, St. Joseph, Missouri, Jan. 23, 1962.
Ellis Daniel Thomas ’59, St. Joseph, Missouri, April 20, 2016.