Amber (Tate ’99) Branson, head girls basketball coach at Lipan (Texas) High School, led her hometown team to the Texas Class 1A state championship March 5, 2016. Branson starred for the Indians as a senior guard on the 1995 state semifinalists, then had a standout career at ACU.
JEREMY ENLOW
for Adolescent Studies and helped build the university’s youth and family ministry program. Greg Easterly (’83) is the president and general manager of WGN-TV in Chicago, Ill. For the previous seven years he held the same roles at WJW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. The former ACU journalism and mass communication major also oversees CLTV, Tribune Broadcasting’s Chicago-based regional cable news channel. Dr. James E. Womack (’64 ), a distinguished professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, was selected for the 2016 Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Excellence in Research Award.
In January 2016, the National Conference on Youth Ministries honored the late Dr. David K. Lewis (’73) with its Wally Wilkerson Legacy Award, given annually to recognize a notable professional in the field. Lewis, who died in July 2015, was founding director of ACU’s Center BRYAN STEWART
BEN WALNICK
Taylor Hemness (’04) and Farron Salley (’12) earned regional Emmy Awards for outstanding journalism at their respective stations. Hemness is an evening anchor at KLTV7, the ABC affiliate in Tyler, Texas. Farron is a multimedia journalist for FOX23 News in Tulsa, Okla.
region. Smith is a member of ACU’s Board of Trustees and judge for the 361st District Court in Bryan, Texas. DR. NEAL COATES
(’64), Wally Bullington (’53), Arthur “Tonto” Coleman (’28), Eck Curtis (’25), Bill Gilbreth (’69), John Ray Godfrey (’68), Bill Hart (’52), Kelly Kent (’80), Wes Kittley (’81), William D. “Shorty” Lawson (’45), Bill McClure (’48), Bob McLeod (’62), Billy Olson (’78), Brad Pursley (’84), James Segrest (’59), Ted Sitton (’54), and Richard “Moose” Stovall (’47). Other notables include PGA golfers Bob Estes and Charles Coody, NFL players Sammy Baugh and Bob Lilly, and coaching legends Grant Teaff, Gordon Wood and Emory Ballard.
Nonprofit Haven for Hope has named Kenny Wilson (’74), the longtime market president for Bank of America in San Antonio, as its next president and CEO. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reappointed Coleman Locke (’65) of Hungerford to the Texas Animal Health Commission and named him chair of the organization, which represents the beef cattle industry. Locke is director and executive committee member of the Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association, lifetime committee member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, past director of the Federation of State Beef Councils, and past president of the American Brahman Breeders Association and Texas Brahman Association, among other honors. He is president of J.D. Hudgins Inc., which manages the historic Hudgins cattle ranch near Houston. Judge Steve Smith (’74) of College Station, Texas, received the Champion for Children award March 5, 2016, from Voice for Children - CASA of the Brazos Valley, an organization helping provide court-appointed special advocates for cases involving children in the
The entryway to Nicodemus Naimadu’s home in Lubbock has a new welcome mat: Lane 4 of the old Elmer Gray Stadium track surface where the Kenyan runner once made history. As a senior, Naimadu (’08) became the first athlete to win four consecutive individual NCAA national titles in cross country. He led the Wildcats to national team championships in 2006 and 2007. He is pictured here with his sons, Edmond and Desmon.
ACU TODAY
Summer-Fall 2016
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