Frank J. Amador, '33, was awarded the Margot Bottome
Trophy for
"Outstanding Services in Improving U.S.-Venezuelan Relations." The award
is referred to by many as "VenezuelaÕs Nobel Prize." After 50 years in
Venezuela he has retired with his wife to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
50s
Virgil Tobert Jr., '56, retired from full-time work with
DuPont in
December 1991. He now works for DuPont in Chapel Hill, N.C., part time
teaching safety management courses for clients worldwide.
J. Paul Boushelle, '58, was inducted into the NMSU
College of Business
Administration and Economics Hall of Fame. Boushelle is president of the
New Mexico Bankers Association and is a member of the Federal Reserve
Customer Advisory Committee.
C.W. "Buddy" Ritter, '58, became Gov. Gary Johnson's
1,000th appointment
when he was appointed to the Museum of New Mexico Board of Regents. Ritter
owns and operates businesses in investment, advertising, land development
and restaurants. He will serve until July 8, 1999.
60s
Marjorie Sharp, '60, was named Las Cruces Public Schools 1998
Teacher of
the Year. Sharp teaches language arts and computer technology classes at
Sierra Middle School in Las Cruces.
Louis Kelley, '61, was inducted into the Texas High School Football
Coaches Hall of Fame in Fort Worth.
| Michael E. Packard, '64, is president and chief
executive officer of
Chany, Brooks & Co. |
| Packard |
| Billy Dictson, '65, was promoted to interim
associate
dean and deputy
director for NMSU's Cooperative Extension Service. Dictson will supervise
more than 100 extension faculty plus staff in state offices and in all 33
New Mexico counties. |
| Dictson |
Clinton Janes, '66, has been appointed by the National Radio
Astronomy
Observatory to head a division that provides engineering services to a
large array and a long baseline of radio astronomy observatories, whose
headquarters are in Socorro, N.M.
Rodger A. Pool, '66, has been appointed president of Eastfield
College
in
Texas, a member of the seven-campus Dallas County Community College
District. Pool has served in many administrative positions within DCCCD,
including 10 years as assistant vice chancellor of educational affairs.
Cheryl Wilson, '67, received the New Mexico Library Association's
Honorary
Life Membership Award. This is the highest award presented by the
association. It goes to a person who significantly contributes to the NMLA
and its activities.
Terry Brooks, '68, has been named a fellow of the College of Law
Practice
Management. Brooks has been director of continuing legal education
programs for the New York State Bar Association since 1976. He is
responsible for audio-visual production and distribution, seminar
development and educational materials production.
Stan Bulsterbaum, '69, was appointed to a five-year term on the
Interstate
Stream Commission by New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. Bulsterbaum, a
self-employed carpenter, worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Natural Resources Conservation Service for 28 years in Montana, Colorado
and Kansas. He worked on natural resources conservation plans, developed
land treatment contracts and helped conduct public hearings and
conferences.
Lucille King, '69, is the newly elected superintendent of the
Portales,
N.M., Municipal Schools.
Mary T. Scott, '69, is the newly appointed interim superintendent
of
the
Alamogordo, N.M., Public School District.
John Van Sweden, '69, of Raton, N.M., has been appointed to the
NMSU
Board
of Regents by Gov. Gary Johnson. Van Sweden is the chief spokesperson
and
executive officer for the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau and is
board president of Western Farm Bureau Life Insurance Corporation. He also
has been named an honorary member of the Sam Steel Society at NMSU. The
society honors the memory of Sam Steel, who would have been the
university's first graduate had he not been killed just months before his
graduation in 1893.
70s
Craig L. Cosner, '71, has been appointed by New Mexico Gov. Gary
Johnson
to serve on the Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents. Cosner is
president of First National Bank of Tucumcari, N.M.
Ben H. Haines Jr., '71, became one of the first inductees into the
NMSU
College of Business Administration and Economics Hall of Fame. Haines is
president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of
directors of First National Bank of Dona Ana County.
Bonnie Hosie, '71, is the first recipient of the Dona Ana Arts
Council's
Arts in Education Award, which goes to an individual who directly
influences youth through the arts. Hosie taught at Las Cruces High School
and was appointed art department chairwoman. Under her direction the arts
program grew. She was selected to develop the Las Cruces Public Schools'
new collaborative program with Very Special Arts, the first of its kind in
the nation. During her tenure with VSA she was recognized repeatedly for
her educational and artistic efforts in working with children with
disabilities.
B. Kay Lybeck, '71, was appointed to the U.S. Advisory Board on
Child
Abuse and Neglect. Members of the board reflect the country's ethnic,
racial and geographic diversity and are knowledgeable in child abuse and
neglect prevention, intervention, treatment or research. Lybeck is
serving her second term as president of the 29,000 member Arizona
Education Association. She designed and implemented at-risk programs for
middle school level students. She has served on the Arizona School
Chemical Abuse Prevention Inter-Agency Committee, City of Phoenix School
Safety Task Force on Education, Children's Action Alliance and the Arizona
Governor's Task Force on Education.
Cliff Hotvedt, '71, has joined Ketchum Public Relations
Worldwide in
New
York City as vice president of medical and scientific affairs.
Mike Trujillo, '72, was promoted to president of Sunwest Bank of
Grant
County, N.M. Trujillo has been with the bank since 1984.
Carolyn Dixon Wright, '72, received the Governor's Award for
Outstanding
New Mexico Women. At an awards banquet in Albuquerque, she received a
certificate acknowledging her efforts to improve the status of New Mexico
citizens.
Mike Casabonne, '73, was elected to the board of directors of First
National Bank, Artesia, NM. He has served as an advisory director to the
board of directors of the bank for the past year and also serves on the
boards of the Penasco Soil and Water Conservation District, Penasco Valley
Telephone Cooperative, Southeastern New Mexico Grazing Association and
Artesia Wool Cooperative. He is a past president of the New Mexico Wool
Growers Association. He was elected to the Artesia Public School Board in
February 1997.
Douglas Henderson, '73,, has joined KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, a
professional
services firm, as a director with its Financial Services Washington
National Regulatory practice. He has 20 years of experience as a senior
regulatory and compliance executive. Formerly, he was senior vice
president and a district director of the National Association of
Securities Dealers in New York City.
Michael Davis, '74, has been chosen as state superintendent of
public
education. Davis has been a state associate superintendent for the past
seven years and has been with the state education department for 12 years.
George Carl Everett Jr., '74, was inducted into NMSU's College of
Business
Administration and Economics Hall of Fame. Everett is senior vice
president of Intel and co-general manager of Intel's Microprocessor
Group.
John S. Fulton, '74, was promoted to manager of the Transmission
Reliability Assessment Program for New Century Services in Amarillo,
Texas.
Gary Hathorn, '75, is the new agriculture extension agent for
San Juan
County, N.M.
Elsie Parker, '75, will travel to Paris, France, to appear as guest
vocalist on the television program, "La Chance Aux Chansons" (the Luck of
Song). Parker was invited on the recommendation of French songwriter Andre
Jouniaux, who heard her sing in St. Louis. Parker is the singer and
woodwind player in the St. Louis-based group, "The Poor People of Paris."
Constance "Connie" Ann Wanek, '75, is one of six winners of the
15th
annual Minnesota Voices Project Competition. Her collection of poems,
Bonfire, was published in August. Her poems have been published in several
magazines. The Minnesota Voices Project is an annual event for new and
emerging writers from Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and
Wisconsin. Wanek lives in Duluth, Minn., where she and her husband
renovate houses.
Craig Carney, '76, was honored for 20 years of service with the
Hobbs
Police Department.
Refugia "Cuca" Castillo, '76, completed her NMSU doctor of
education
degree in curriculum and instruction. Her dissertation was on
identification procedures for placement of Mexican-American children into
gifted education. She will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the
College of the Southwest School of Education.
Joyce Martinez-Sanchez, '77, is the new clinical social worker for
the
community outreach program at La Clinica del Pueblo in Tierra Amarilla,
N.M.
Dick Paulk, '78, was elected to a three-year term on the board of
directors of the New Mexico One Call System Inc. The nonprofit
organization operates a statewide "Call Before You Dig" service.
80s
| Raul Holguin, '80, was promoted to vice president
of
information
systems
for Elcor Corp. |
| Holguin |
Isauro "Sonny" Gonzales, '81, was hired as financial aid director
for
New
Mexico Highlands University.
Ken Lopez, '81, is the new vice president of sales at Halis Inc., a
computer software firm based in Atlanta, Ga.
Jeffrey G. Nichols, '81, has joined the firm of Stancil & Co., a
professional consulting firm providing services to downstream oil and gas,
petrochemical and electrical power businesses.
Larry Sheffield, '81, was elected president of the NMSU Board of
Regents.
| Charles D. Lewis,
'72, '81, was
named
senior vice president-Corporate
Services for Life Insurance Co. of Georgia. Headquartered in Atlanta, Life
of Georgia is a member company of the Netherlands-based ING Group, one of
the world's largest diversified financial services organizations. Lewis
most recently served as vice president-Human Resource Development for Life
of Georgia. |
| Lewis |
Harley Myler, '82, was promoted to
professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at the
University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Udell Vigil, '82, has joined KDBC-TV as news director for the El
Paso
station.
Jamie McAlister, '83, has joined the Stein Law Firm. McAlister will
focus
on estate planning. He is licensed to practice before all state courts in
New Mexico, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico and the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th District.
Michael Wayne Usrey, '82, '84, received his Ph.D. in industrial
engineering from the University of Minnesota. An excerpt of his
dissertation was published in the ASQC Quality Management Journal.
Steve Arnold, '84, was promoted to associate professor at Illinois
State
University. Arnold is director of the environmental health program.
Walt J. Butler, '84, has been promoted to sales manager for FE
Power
Delivery Systems. He was most recently the transmission leader for GE
ED&C Transmission and Distribution Systems Sales in Overland Park, Kan.
James C. Garcia, '84, received a J.D. degree from the Washington
and
Lee
University School of Law in Lexington, Vt.
|
Danny Diaz Huerta, '84 , has written a book of poetry in Spanish,
El
Honor
del Amor, and is translating it into English. Huerta is working toward his
M.A. in Spanish and M.A. in Latin American Studies.
|
| Huerta |
Eddie C. Livingston, '84, started a consulting engineering
business in
Alamogordo, N.M., in 1995. He received his master's degree in civil
engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1996.
Jeff Witte, '84, has been appointed to a three-year term on the
board
of
directors of Farm Credit Services of New Mexico.
George E. Lines, '85, recently returned from a six-month deployment
to
the
western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf with the 11th Marine Expeditionary
Unit embarked aboard the ships of the U.S.S. Essex Amphibious Ready Group.
Kurt Austin, '86, was featured in the television documentary
program,"Wings." Austin is stationed at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene,
Texas, where he flies a B-1 Bomber.
Loretta Campolla, '86, was selected as the Sunwest Bank of Las
Cruces
SunBest Award recipient for 1996. Campolla has been with Sunwest since
1992. She is the team leader for customer service at the main office.
Rick Sleeter, '86, was hired as Rio Rancho High School's boys
basketball
coach.
Andy Drexler, '87, was promoted to manager of strategic planning
for
Honeywell's worldwide industrial businesses.
Chip Wyly, '87, was promoted to product manager of Vaughn/Wedeen
Creative
Inc., an Albuquerque firm specializing in design, marketing and other
communications services.
Greg Fouratt, '88, has been hired as an assistant U. S. attorney
for
the
District of New Mexico, Las Cruces office. Fouratt will be prosecuting
violations of federal criminal laws.
90s
Ron Armstrong, '90, was honored as the Department of Game and Fish
Wildlife Officer of the Year for 1996 by Shikar-Safari International.
Richard A. Galligan, '90, has been promoted to general manager of the Red
Lion hotel in Durango, Colo. The Red Lion became a Doubletree hotel in
June.
Jennifer Bennett, '91, was appointed press secretary for U.S. Rep.
Bill
Redmond, R.-N.M. Bennett is working on her master's in public
administration at George Mason University in Virginia.
| Mark B. Brown, '86, '91, recently joined the Santa
Fe law
office of
Modrall, Sperling, Roehl, Harris and Sisk. Brown is a member of the New
Mexico and California bars. His practice consists primarily of estate
planning and general tax and business matters. |
| Brown |
Ray A. Casias, '91, a U.S. Air Force captain, has completed
specialized
training for the aeronautical rating of navigator at the Naval Air Station
in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Chris Knackstedt, '91, was promoted to chief financial officer for
El
Paso's Sierra Providence Network.
Andrew Nuanes, '91, was promoted to lead a new local markets
organization
in New Mexico for U. S. West Communications.
Andrew Alexander Jr., '92, was named the new executive director
for the
Truth or Consequences Chamber of Commerce. Alexander has been involved in
various business enterprises and government positions in southwest New
Mexico.
George T. Basabilvazo, '92, was recognized as the first person to
discover
fossilized dinosaur skin when an exhibit of the fossil was unveiled at the
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque in
February. Basabilvazo made the find near Deming six years ago when he was
a graduate student. Basabilvazo works at the U.S. Department of Energy
area office in Carlsbad, N.M.
Joneen S. Cockman, '92, '96, has been hired by Chino Mines Co. as
an
environmental engineer. Chino Mines Co. is a business unit of Phelps
Dodge Mining Co., the mining and metals division of Phelps Dodge Corp.
Benjamin C. Cotton, '92, retired as a major from the U.S. Army and
now
works for Quantum Research International as a systems engineer. He works
primarily in the areas of weapons testing and evaluation, command control
and interoperability of air defense weapon systems.
| Pete Wildman,
'92, received
the Rosenthal Outstanding Educator Award at
Casper College's recognition and retirement dinner in Casper, Wyo. Wildman
has been with the college for five years and is active in the American
Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges. |
| Wildman |
Paul Gutierrez, '93, has been hired as the New Mexico Farm and
Livestock
Bureau's second Governmental Affairs Specialist. Gutierrez will work on
local, state and national legislative issues and policy development
research. Gutierrez is a New Mexico water quality control commissioner and
has served on the Magdalena Board of Education. He is a member of the
Association of Commerce and Industry Board of Directors.
Michael Scanlon, '93, has been named business editor at the Las
Cruces
Sun-News.
| Jennifer Hopper,
'93, has been
named the New Mexico Farm Bureau's first
state coordinator of the Ag in the Classroom program. Hopper plans to
promote the program by coordinating agriculture days in New Mexico
schools. |
| Hopper |
Julieta Chavez, '94, has been appointed controller for The New
Mexican
newspaper in Santa Fe. Chavez had been assistant controller since 1994.
She previously worked for a private tax firm in Santa Fe.
Steve R. Gabaldan, '94, has been employed by the Albuquerque
office of
Arthur Andersen LLP for their El Paso practice.
Enrique Guillen, '94, was promoted to engineering assistant IV
with the
Texas Department of Transportation.
Griselda Villalobos, '94, was inducted as the 1997 member of the
National
Job Corps Hall of Fame. Villalobos is a licensed social worker in the Case
Management Department of Columbia Medical Center-East.
Antonio "Tony" Caro, '95, received a master of science in fire
protection
engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. Caro is
employed by the Latin American Division of Rolf Jensen and Associates. He
designs fire protection systems for commercial and industrial sites
throughout Latin America.
Iris S. Hartsock, '95, was promoted to supervising registered
nurse at
the
Total Living Care facility in Carlsbad, N.M.
Christina Williams Heikkita, '95, is employed by Hughes STX. She works at
Goddard Space Flight Center as an experiment monitor for the X-Ray Timing
Explorer.
Darryl L. Jelinek, '95, was promoted to the rank of Marine 1st
lieutenant
and will report for duty with the marine Helicopter Training Squadron 204,
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station New River,
Jacksonville, N.C. Jelinek joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991.
Clint Keeney, '95, has been hired as application engineer with
Advanced
Fibre Communications in Peta Luma, Calif.
Lisa Lopez, '96, was promoted to assistant branch manager at
Project
Staffing Support Team Inc., Carlsbad, N.M.
David J. Rivera, '96, completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit
Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.
Sean Torres, '96, has been transferred by Lambda Chi Alpha
International
Fraternity to the position of regional leadership director in Dallas,
Texas. Torres will manage 45 chapters in the west territory.
Shawntay Wolfe-Martinez, '97, has joined KOBF-TV in Farmington as
the
morning news anchor. KOBF, which covers the four corners area, is a bureau
of Albuquerque's KOB-TV.
Michael A. Walker, '97, has received a commission as a naval
officer
after
completing Office Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla.
| Bryon Wright,
'95, '97, has
been
hired
as an agricultural specialist in
wildlife with the NMSU Cooperative Extension Service. Wright will assist
with environmental impact statements, conduct impact studies of the New
Mexico elk population, develop teaching materials, work with the 4-H youth
program and coordinate 4-H and FFA wildlife contests. |
| Wright |