ALUMNI NEWS
David Flores, ’81, placekicker for Coach Roy Kidd’s EKU Colonels from 1977-80 who was named to three all-OVC teams, was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 8. He kicked perhaps the most important field goal in Eastern history when, in double overtime, he nailed a 20-yard attempt that gave the Colonels a thrilling 33-30 double overtime victory over Nevada-Reno that sent EKU to the national championship game. He currently resides in Stanford, Kentucky.
Brian Corcoran, ’91 ’93
Fast Track to Success A standout on EKU’s track and cross country teams in his undergraduate days, Brian Corcoran, ’91 ’93, never really left the fast track of success, though he did change lanes. The Maine native returned to his home state seven years ago as the founder and CEO of Portland-based Shamrock Sports & Entertainment, which delivers strategic marketing solutions for brands through partnerships with leading sports and entertainment properties. He has garnered the praise of public officials for his leadership in bringing sporting events to the area. Then, in 2014, Corcoran founded Portland Media Group, LLC, a film, television and internet production company that creates TV series, films and music specials. One of its products is “Greenlight Maine,” a reality TV program where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to judges, hoping to win $100,000. It’s not the only way Corcoran, who received his alma mater’s Young Alumni Award in 2007, nurtures up-and-coming innovators. Dozens of college students and recent grads have participated in Shamrock’s paid apprenticeship program, and many have gone on to work for organizations such as the New York Mets and NASCAR. Corcoran once served the latter as its managing director of corporate marketing before becoming executive vice president of Fenway Sports Group, the owner of the Red Sox and Roush Fenway Racing. Many Shamrock employees are also former studentathletes, which leads to a corporate culture of passion, performance and teamwork, Corcoran told Mainebiz. “They’ve got that competitive spirit ... which is good, because we’re only as good as the next deal we secure.” n
46 SPRING 2017
Attorney Barry Miller, ’81, has been named to the list of 2017 Kentucky Super Lawyers. Miller is the administrative partner of Mazanec, Raskin & Ryder’s Lexington, Kentucky, office. He and his wife, Donna Bunch Miller, ’81, reside in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Dale Patton, ’81, fullback for the EKU Colonels 1977-80, was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 8. He was a member of three All-OVC teams and the leading rusher in the 1979 national championship game, in which Eastern crushed Lehigh 30-7. Patton resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jackie M. Frost, ’82, of Louisville, recently retired from Jefferson County Public Schools after 33 years as an elementary school teacher. Oresta Maly Hale, ’82, and John David Hale celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 24, 2016, at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with family and friends. Dr. Barbara Kitchen, ’82, is dean of the School of Health Sciences at Midway (Ky.) University. She resides in Lexington. Floyd Mack, ’82, retired after a 32-year career with Lockheed Martin Corporation and Heritage Companies on April 27, 2014. Lisa Holt-Taylor, ’84, spent the summer of 2016 studying the forces of evolutionary, geologic and social change, and contributing to sustainable solutions for the archipelago in the Galápagos. The third-grade teacher at Boyd E. Smith Elementary lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and took the graduate course in pursuit of her master’s degree from Miami University’s Global Field Program.
Earnestine “Tina” Cottle, ’85, who played for the EKU women’s basketball team 1983-85 and collected first-team All-OVC honors each season, was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 8. She holds program records for most double-doubles (16), most rebounds (310) and best field goal percentage in a single year. Cottle lives in Miami, Florida. Dr. Terri Cox-Cruey, ’85, superintendent of the Kenton County (Ky.) School District, was recently inducted into the Holmes High School (Covington, Kentucky) Hall of Distinction. She and her husband, Thomas Cruey, ’ 85, reside in Florence, Kentucky. “Birds of Opulence,” the first book by Kentucky author Crystal Wilkinson, ’85, won the 2016 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Wilkinson serves as writer-in-residence at Berea College in Kentucky. Now in its 10th year, the Gaines Award honors rising African-American authors. Jay Reeves, ’92, NRP, has been appointed program director of the paramedic program at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville. Wendy Dixie, ’95, has been promoted to chief information officer at Kentucky State University. She resides in Lexington, Kentucky. Charles K. Mullins, ’95 ’08 ’15, has joined the faculty of Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, as assistant professor of speech and theatre. Dr. Mullins worked at EKU from 2003 to 2015 as assistant director in Conferencing and Events, and an adjunct instructor. Jennifer Button Shackelford, ’00, was recently named education specialist for Mammoth Cave National Park. At the Kentucky State Police annual awards ceremony this summer, Detective Michael Keeton, ’03, based at Kentucky State Police Post 7 in Richmond, Kentucky, was named Post 7’s Detective of the Year for 2015. He and his wife, Marlana Foster Keeton, ’05, live in Richmond. Kelsey Anderson, ’07, of Lakewood, California, was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 8. She earned All-Ohio Valley Conference and OVC Freshman of the Year honors during her softball career, and helped EKU capture the 2004 OVC title and win a program record 42 games. Catlettsburg, Kentucky, native Brandon Griffith, ’07, a captain with the Lexington Fire Department