V i r g i n i a Ty l e r ’ 7 3 – T h e a t r e
The Red Cross was in Her Retirement
Institute at the organization’s annual ceremony in April. The award recognizes his contribution to the success of others in the organization, working across groups and building capability and business across boundaries.
reunion year Homecoming 2012
Robin Fillmore ’82 has been named to the joint position of advocacy coordinator for the National Council of Churches and Church Women United in Washington, D.C. In her new position, she will create a communication and outreach strategy that will promote both organizations among members and in society at large. Fillmore will also represent the NCC on the Interfaith Committee on Domestic Violence.
reunion year Homecoming 2012
Bob Kennedy ’87 joined Clear Channel Communications as traffic anchor/producer in August. He reports for
stations in Dayton, Defiance and Lima, as well as WTVN in Columbus. He continues as the public address announcer for Otterbein, The Ohio State University and the Columbus Clippers.
The Class of 1956 proudly commemorated their 55th reunion by establishing the Class of 1956 Scholarship Endowment. This scholarship will be awarded to an Otterbein student in financial need who demonstrates leadership characteristics and a commitment to serving others. More information on establishing a scholarship is available at www.otterbein.edu/public/Giving/ WaysToGive/ScholarshipsAndEndowments.aspx Carol Ventresca ’76 in concert with other alumni, is conducting fundraising efforts to secure funding for The Larry Cox Fund for Professional Development in Psychology. Created as a tribute to Psychology Professor Larry Cox, the fund will provide funding to psychology students pursuing professional development opportunities.
Giving Note
Gary Baker ’80 was named president of the Newark, OH, Rotary Club in June. He is currently employed by the Licking County Auditor’s Office and continues to consult on
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Giving Note
Mary Jo Yeakel ’79 was appointed pastor to the Ada First United Methodist Church in Ada, OH. She is in her 33rd year of ministry having served congregations in New York, Maryland, Tennessee and now back in Ohio.
video production and social media for a Columbus-area sports car dealership.
the scenes, Tyler supported those out in the field by helping them with lodging, processing and simply making sure everything ran smoothly. When she returned, “I found a need for someone to hear my story,” she said. “I proposed that someone interview volunteers returning from disaster areas about their experience — the good, the not-sogood.” The local chapter has adopted her idea; in fact, she is currently interviewing volunteers just back from the East Coast cleanup. Her experience this year has been “inspirational,” she said. “I have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people all drawn together for one reason: helping others. As one of my colleagues said, we aren’t going to save the world. We just make the lives of our clients a little better during difficult times. That’s enough.”
O tte r b e in To w e r s | Fa ll 2 011 |
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Profile
The very day that Virginia Tyler ’73 retired, she jumped right into another vocation — that of Red Cross volunteer. While she loved her job as human resources manager at Battelle in Columbus, Tyler had been looking forward to serving in the community. “I knew that when I retired, I really wanted to volunteer,” she said. Since retiring in July of 2010, Tyler has helped the Red Cross in a number of areas, from the Disaster Action Team, where she helped dispatch volunteers to catastrophes, to the Community Disaster Education Group and now the Emergency Services Group. As part of this group, she was first “called up” in May, when she was asked to help in Mississippi. “I was asked to help initially with the tornadoes that had gone through the state,” she noted. “But by the time I got there, it was flooding.” “When I was deployed, I was working with people ranging in age from their early 20s to well into their 70s — blue-collar workers to retired CEOs. Some were just starting out; others were veterans of a score of disasters.” Working behind