ALUMNI NOTES
Sean, '03, and Amanda “Mandy” Helms Sullivan, '01, attended the Commander-in-Chief's Ball during the 57th Presidential Inauguration of President Barack Obama. See 2003.
published and released book, "The Shattering." Written in novel form, Marty's book is her true story of child sexual abuse, but is more about overcoming the abuse than a victimization. Her purpose in writing was to help others, and since the release she has had wonderful feedback. "The Shattering" is available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To find out more, visit her website, marshabarth.tateauthor.com or connect with Marty on LinkedIn. 1978 Happy 90th birthday to Ruth Hepler, Elkins, W.Va.! Ruth graduated from the nursing program at D&E at age 54 and continues to work at her job at Nella’s Nursing Home four days a week. She spends her days overseeing and comforting patients, providing treatments, teaching nursing assistants and traveling with residents to doctor appointments. Family, coworkers and the residents she cares for gathered for a surprise birthday celebration complete with cake and punch. Ruth then traveled to Charleston with her family to celebrate Unity Day with nurses and nursing students from throughout the state where she was introduced by West Virginia Senate President Jeffrey Kessler and given a plaque from the West Virginia Nurses Association in honor of her many years of dedication.
Future D&E slugger, Easton Bradley Sions. See 2012.
1980 On May 10, Tanya Kittle Easton achieved her Doctor of Education degree in Higher Education Administration from West Virginia University. Tanya is currently the Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations for the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Tanya is the daughter of Beth Guye Kittle, '47, Elkins, W.Va. and married to Edward Easton, '77. Tanya and Ed reside in Washington, D.C. 1981 Jeffrey R. Anderson, Lynchburg, Tenn., is the Director of Purchasing at Calsonic Kansei North America. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are looking 32 | Davis & Elkins College Forward
forward to the upcoming marriage of their son Channing to his fiance, Kerstin, in October. You can connect with Jeff on Facebook - he would love to hear from other D&E alumni in the Tennessee area. 1983 Judy L. Turnage Self, Murrysville, Pa., is the proud mother of Heather Self. Heather is studying biological anthropology at Penn State University. 1984 – 30th Class Reunion Jozef Antolin, Santa Clara, Calif., is teaching high school students automotive technology and small engines at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, the heart of Silicon Valley, and playing bluegrass music when he can.
Haylee Renee Bolyard. See 2006.
Dana Kreutzer Hoos, Vinton Va., teaches fifth grade at Mount Pleasant Elementary School. This spring, she was awarded the highest honor presented by the Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation, the 2014 Golden Apple Award. According to her students and co-workers, Dana is their version of Mary Poppins, a teacher who is "practically perfect in every way." In addition to receiving a monetary award, Hoos received an additional award - the use of a brand-new 2014 ruby red Hyundai Sonata GLS for one year, complete with custom license plates that read GR8TCR (Great Teacher). Desmond V. “Des” Morris, Greenwich, Conn., is the creator and founder of Volley King, LLC. He holds a National "A" license in coaching from the United States Soccer Federation and played for the Luso American Soccer Association in the United States, Hairoun Lion (a Professional Caribbean Team), and for the National Vincentian Team in the West Indies. He has coached four championship teams; two State Cup Championships and two Region Premier Championships. To help students master their footwork, Des designed his own coaching technique, the Touchmaster System, and now has developed and patented the Volley King, a product to ensure greater volley kick success and increased goal scoring. To find out more about the Volley King, visit www.volleyking.com. Laura Weinert Sigurdsson, Mars, Pa., had a wonderful time visiting D&E and spending time with great friends during Alumni weekend. Laura writes, “I continue to work in health care software sales as a Senior Sales Executive with Information. My children, Robbie, age 20, and Johanna, age 18, keep me busy and very proud.
Dougherty, ’75, Honored for Work to End Veteran Homelessness Davis & Elkins College Trustee and Jefferson County Sheriff Pete Dougherty, was twice honored at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) Annual Conference, May 28-30, in Washington, D.C., for his work to end veteran homelessness. Dougherty was unanimously elected to the organization’s Board of Directors. Throughout his 19year tenure as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Director of Homeless Programs, Dougherty was the chief advisor on homeless veterans to seven secretaries of the VA, and maintained close ties to hundreds of NCHV member organizations in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Under Dougherty’s leadership and dedication to the cause of ending veteran homelessness, the service capacity of those programs steadily increased while the number of homeless veterans on the streets decreased from more than 250,000 in 2004 to fewer than 60,000 when he retired from the VA in 2013. During his federal service career, Dougherty served on the Veterans Affairs Committees in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, served as the Department of Veterans Affairs’ White House Liaison to President George W. Bush’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and as Acting Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness under President Barack Obama. He was the principal author of the VA Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness by 2015. During the Annual NCHV Awards Banquet, NCHV President and CEO John Driscoll introduced Dougherty as the “most inspiring leader in the history of the homeless veteran assistance movement. Virtually every program in place to help homeless veterans in the nation today bears his mark, and the veterans we all serve have had no better friend and ally.” The Home Depot Foundation Executive Director Gaven Gregory and NCHV also announced the recipient of the first Pete Dougherty Award for Excellence in Supportive Housing for Homeless Veterans. Dougherty served as the principal advisor during the planning of the foundation’s Veterans Initiative, a three-year project to grant $30 million to community-based organizations to increase housing opportunities for homeless and extreme low-income veterans. Community Hope of Parsippany, N.J., won the inaugural Peter Dougherty Award for Valley Brook Village, a 62-unit garden apartment development for veterans with combat-related traumatic brain injury (TBI), posttraumatic stress disorder and other physical disabilities. “I can think of no greater honor than to receive an award with Pete Dougherty’s name attached to it,” said Community Hope President and CEO Michael Armstrong. “We will cherish this, and we will continue to honor him through our service to this nation’s homeless veterans.”