CLASS notes

Richard Crowell ’66 was recently inducted into the Toledo City League Athletic Hall of Fame for his success and accomplishments as the head boys basketball coach at Toledo Bowsher High School from 1974 to 1994.

Scott Beattie ’73 has recently retired from the ski and lodging industry after 50 years. Career stops included Ohio, Arizona, Minnesota and Colorado. Scott lives with his wife Mary in Steamboat Springs, Colo. He’s still an active cross country skier who enjoys anything outdoors.

James Keller ’75 retired in 2020 after moving from Toledo in 1993 and starting two more contracting firms in Louisville, Ky. James married his wife Sue 40 years ago. He has a daughter Erin, who is a nurse practitioner, and a son, Tyler, who is an orthopedic surgeon. James is still swimming and is a member of the United States Masters Swimming. James wishes all Kappa Sigma brothers and fellow swim team members well.

Debra (Reynolds ’75) Westerfelt retired from her position as associate professor of business management in the Dauch College of Business and Economics last May. She taught in the International MBA program, the online MBA program and the BSBA program at AU. She was a published author in peer-reviewed journals, presented her research at numerous conferences and attained several teaching awards and recognitions throughout her 47-year teaching career. Westerfelt resides in Catawba Island with her husband, Jobe.

Rick Mearkle ’76 is the director of pastoral studies at Westminster College in Cambridge, England. Westminster College is a theological training college for ministers of the United Reformed Church. Rick supervises student placements and teaches classes in pastoral theology and pastoral care.

Jill (Judy ’78) Wainwright has been married for 42 years and has three daughters and two grandchildren. She is now working part time for the Bedford public schools in Michigan.

Kathy (Keane ’79) Hunt is a mom to three children, William, Patrick and Kaitlin, all living in Connecticut. Kathy shares that she is also the proud grandmother to four little munchkins, Summer, Holly, Jameson and Elora.

Mary Jane (Ondich ’82) Goose is in her 32nd year of teaching and plans to retire in four years to travel. Mary Jane did go to Egypt on a group tour and found it fascinat- ing. She has now been to six continents but is not sure if she will make it to Antarctica.

Rev. Sara Hodsden ’91 is now serving as pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Huron, Ohio. Her husband, James, is pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Norwalk, Ohio. Sara and James recently went on a pilgrimage to Ireland, where they climbed Skellig Michael. Their son, Thomas, graduated from Ashland University in 2021 and is currently serving as an Immigration Services Officer in Hialeah, Fla.

Kerry (Kiggins ’93) Novak has been appointed by U.S. Customs for a two-year term as a member of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC). The COAC provides valuable advice on all commercial U.S. Customs operations to the secretaries of the Treasury and Department of Homeland Security, including recommendations with respect to significant proposed changes to Customs regulations, policies and practices. Kerry will work for the next two years to guide Customs with recommendations with respect to policy developments and changes relating to the committee to which she will soon be assigned.

Abbey (Sowers ’00) Border is devoted to her family, career and passion for hospitality within the state and her profession stems from her degree received at Ashland University. She has been recruited for many leadership roles in her career and the latest is impact sales manager for First Hospitality, an award-winning hotel management company. This opportunity came shortly after she received the 2021-2022 Christy Selby Lifetime Achievement Award at the Meeting Professionals International - Ohio Chapter Recognition and Appreciation Event. She was the youngest in the 50-year history of the organization to earn the award. Abbey is also proud to announce that she is the newest licensed realtor to join the team with Century 21 Frank Frye Real Estate. She is now a member of the Licking County Board of Realtors, Ohio Association of Realtors, National Associations of Realtors and Columbus MLS.

Andy and Lauren (Sardina ’01) Stover moved to Colorado in 2022. Andy was promoted within the Colorado Rockies baseball team to assistant athletic trainer with the major league club.

Jeffrey Elam ’03, ’07 MCP, ’18 MBA, announced that he is starting a new career with a Columbus City

Middle School as CT business teacher. Jeffrey has also been accepted to The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology.

Gina (Cali ’03) Bayless was named the recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Dietetic Educator Award by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is a registered dietitian nutritionist and is currently the dietetic internship director and a clinical nutrition manager at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Gina resides in the Cleveland area with her husband and AU alumnus, Scott Bayless, and their two boys.

South Central Power Co. recently named Kyle (Verrett ’04) Kern to the newly created position of vice president of legal and risk management. She joined South Central Power from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, where she represented the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and commission staff serving as lead counsel on a variety of complex litigation matters before the PUCO and the Ohio Power Siting Board and appeals before the Ohio Supreme Court. Prior to her time with the AG, she was in private practice and also spent six years with the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, where she served as lead counsel and managed the agency’s Energy Resource Planning industry team and provided legal advice and recommendations on a wide variety of areas, including electric, water and natural gas rates, energy efficiency, peak demand, reduction renewable energy, Smart Grid capacity and other issues affecting the residential consumers. Kyle is a Cincinnati native and was a member of AU’s women’s basketball team. She obtained her law degree from University of Toledo College of Law and her master’s degree from the University of Akron.

Jennifer Viola ’04, the Drushal Humanitarian Award recipient for her work with the Society of Missions to Africa, graduated in May 2022 from the medical school at Ohio University, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is now in her first year of residency at Cleveland Clinic, Akron General Hospital, and will be moving to Baltimore to start her final years of residency in physical medicine and rehab at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is also a new mom to baby girl Amani Viola Alexander, born June 1, 2022.

Cynthia Miller ’07 MBA has a grandson attending Ashland as a freshman. That makes three generations of Eagles: Cynthia with her MBA, her son Timothy M. Monteith ’02, ’05 MDV, who majored in political science and was an Ashbrook Scholar, and Joseph Monteith, currently a journalism and digital media major and Ashbrook Scholar. Go Ashland!

Christina Adkins ’08 was chosen as Teacher of the Year for Loudon High School in Loudon, Tenn.

Ashley Anderson ’09 completed her Ph.D. in English with a creative writing emphasis in May 2022.

Brandon Montgomery ’09, now a California-based photographer, took a photo named “Leading the Crowd” from his experiences covering the 2020 George Floyd protests. The photo was selected for display at Las Lagunas Art Gallery in Las Lagunas, Calif.

Damaris Seijo ’12 shares that she graduated with her Master of Social Work in 2020 and received her Licensed Social Worker credential in 2021.

Martha (Wise ’68) Timman and her husband, Henry Timman, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 2, 2022. Both are Norwalk school graduatesMartha from St. Paul in 1964 and Henry from NHS in 1961. Both are also retired Huron County employees, Martha from the auditor’s office and Henry from probate court. Their retirement days are more than filled with volunteering projects, and Henry is in his 51st year of writing his column of local history - 48 of those years as a featured writer for the “Norwalk Reflector.”

Samantha Holzman ’18 married Zachary Deppen on June 11, 2022. They met at Bullshooters in Ashland while Samantha was a senior at AU. She graduated in May 2018 with a degree in digital media production and digital media journalism.

Suzanne (Morgan ’08) Favri and Aaron Favri ’08, ’10 MBA, welcomed a daughter, Eloise Caroline, on March 24, 2022.

Caitlin (Adams ’11) Palm and Lucas Palm ’12 welcomed Laylin Dean on Jan. 4, 2023. Big brothers Landon (5) and Liam (2) are excited to welcome their baby brother.

Lauren (Behrendt ’15) Wertsching and husband, Scott, announce the birth of their daughter, Sophie Mae Wertsching, who was born March 19, 2022, in Orlando, Fla.

Brittany (Cermak ’15) Liberatore and her husband, Bryan, welcomed their first child, Gianna, in April 2022.