officer for Dynamic Aviation, based in Bridgewater, Va. Zook started at the company in 1999 as a controller, was promoted to DFO in 2002 and remained in the post until 2010, when he was named executive vice president.
1980-1989 Evon Bergey AA '81, Lancaster, Pa., is vice president of community initiatives of Landis Communities. Previously she held leadership positions within Magellan Healthcare and Penn Foundation Behavioral Health Services. Lorena Rosen '81 Suter, Orlando, Fla., is a school social worker with Orange County Public Schools. Gerald Hershey '82, Waynesboro, Va., retires after 17 years as president/COE of DuPont Community Credit Union in March 2017. He began his career with DCCU in 1989. Beryl Jantzi, class of ‘82, SEM '91, Harrisonburg, Va., was awarded the President’s Stewardship Award at the Everence National Convention this spring. Jantzi, the Harrisonburg office’s director of stewardship education, trained financial coaches who help pastors with financial issues and helped the office earn a Lilly grant to provide financial assistance and education for pastors. Melody Keim '83, Lancaster, Pa., vice president of programs and initiatives at the Lancaster County Community Foundation, has been elected to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council board of directors. Cheryl Steckly '84, Croghan, N.Y., has served four years as Lowville Academy and Central Schools superintendent. Prior to this, she was an elementary school principal and director of programs for students with disabilities, and spent 21 years as a teacher for a total of 32 years in education. Lisa Gallagher '85, BSN '89 Landes, Mumbai, India, had the unique opportunity to mentor a fellow alumna. Carrie Schlabach ‘14, a graduate nursing student at Virginia Commonwealth University, served her clinical practicum at the consulate’s health clinic. Landes also taught in the EMU nursing department from 2001-08 before joining the Department of State. (See C. Schlabach ‘14). Sherwyn Smeltzer '86, Harrisonburg, Va., has passed the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam, one of three steps required to earn the CFP designation, in addition to education and experience requirements. A CPA, he works at Park View Federal Credit Union as a financial planner. Judy Oaks '86 VandeBunte, Grand Rapids, Mich., is an NICU nurse at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. She and husband Gene have three sons. Yvonne Boettger '87, Harrisonburg, Va., received the Senior Professional in Human Resources designation from the HR Certification Institute. She has been the human resource manager at Park View Federal Credit Union since 2006.
1990-1999 Elizabeth “Beth” Wilson '91 Hutchins, Oxfordshire, England, creates and sells gifts, jewelry and DIY supplies through two Etsy stores, Colorful Clay and Indigo Lark. Kevin Longenecker '91, Rockingham, Va., was one of 42 nominees for the 2016 “Virginia Business” Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Award. The magazine’s awards recognize outstanding performance by CFOs in for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Kevin is CFO of InterChange Group Inc., where he works with
President Devon Anders '88. Kevin is a member of the EMU Board of Trustees. Jenny Shenk '91 Mahone, Newport News, Va., is principal at Warwick River Christian School, which celebrates its 75th anniversary Sept. 16-17, 2017. For more information, visit warwickriver.org. Tisa J. Wenger '91, Hamden, Conn., is associate professor of American religious history at Yale University. She and husband Rodney have three children. Melissa Hensley '92, Bridgewater, Va., is Virginia’s Outstanding High School Principal of 2016. Melissa has been principal of Central High School in Woodstock, Virginia since 2012. Daryl Lambert '92, Mount Sidney, Va., was inducted into the Rockingham County Baseball League Hall of Fame in June. Daryl is a member of the EMU Hall of Honor. He works for the Virginia Department of Transportation. He coached baseball at Fort Defiance High School for 22 years. Janelle Hurst '92 Mazariegos, Churchville, Va., challenged her North River Middle School soccer team to score within the first 30 seconds. As a reward, she brought them to an EMU men’s soccer game, where they escorted Royals players onto the field during introductions and then participated in a half-time scrimmage. Rod Martin '94, Bechtelsville, Pa., received the Mark S. Walsh Award at the Young Leaders Annual Meeting of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association in Austin, Texas. Gilberto Perez Jr. '94, GC '99 (peacebuilding), Goshen, Ind., is the recipient of two awards for education and advocacy on behalf of the Indiana Latino community: he was named Teacher of the Year 2016 by the Indiana Governor’s Office and the Indiana Latino Expo, and also earned the 2016 Chickadee Bird Award from the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. He is senior director of intercultural development and educational partnerships at Goshen College’s Center for Intercultural and International Education.
“20 UNDER 40” HONOREES Four alumni are among The Mennonite’s “20 Under 40” honorees this summer, selected for their commitment to “following Jesus” and finding “value in the Christian faith and community.” The honorees were selected from 120 nominations of nearly 90 individuals. Sarah Hooley '10 lives and works on her family’s farm, Stoneybrook, in the Filer, Idaho area. Her degree is in justice, peace and conflict studies. She has experience in conflict resolution and is affiliated with Common Ground Conciliation Services. She attends Filer (Idaho) Mennonite Church and has served on the Pacific Northwest Conference board of directors. Nathan Grieser SEM '15 directs The Shalom Project, a year-long voluntary service experience for young adults supported by several Lancasterarea Anabaptist congregations. (Among the recent participants are Erin Hershey '15 and Lenore Kauffman '15.) He attends Sunnyside Mennonite Church, where he was formerly the youth pastor before becoming director of The Shalom Project. He and his wife, Katie, have a 19-month-old daughter, Ivy. Kevin Ressler '07 is executive director for Meals on Wheels in Lancaster, Pa. He attends Community Mennonite Church and has a degree in justice, peace and conflict studies. Mike Metzler SEM '09 is pastor at Zion Mennonite Church in Broadway, Virginia. He and his wife have three children. After graduating from Messiah College and EMS, he was associate pastor for youth at Mountville Mennonite Church in Lancaster County before moving back to Virginia.
Randy Nyce '95, Hatfield, Pa., of Everence Financial Advisors in Souderton, Pa., was named Chairman of the Board for the MAMA Project, a development effort focusing on the educational, health and nutritional needs of severely malnourished children, particularly in Honduras. The MAMA (Mujeres Amigas [Women Friends] Miles Apart) Project began in 1987 as a partnership among Mennonite women’s groups in Pennsylvania and Honduras. Joe Buckwalter '96, Christiansburg, Va., completed his master’s degree in fish and wildlife science at Virginia Tech and is now a research faculty member. Tonya Williams '96 Parker, Broadway, Va., is assistant principal at Cub Run Elementary School in McGaheysville. Anxo Perez '97, Spain, is CEO and founder of 8Belts, a language learning company. He published The 8 Steps to Success (2014) and has been awarded two major entrepreneurial prizes in Spain and Europe. Jonathan Bowman '98, SEM '08, Landisville, Pa., has been appointed director of technology for the Lancaster Mennonite School system. He previously taught at Eastern Mennonite High School. For the past eight years, he has served as a pastor with Landisville Mennonite Church. Jeremy Ours '98, Kalona, Iowa, is director of advancement at Iowa Mennonite School. He and wife Sheila Bender '97, live in Kalona.
'CIRCLE LETTER SISTERS' Six of the eight women in the Class of '66 who started a circle letter that continues today. From left: Sharon Kandel Yoder, Miriam Bauman Allison, Dolores Godshall Bauman, Lois Moyer Longenecker, Peggy Halteman Blosser, and Barbara Mosemann Penner. Carol Layman Parks and Anna Lois Longacre Lind were unable to attend. (Photo by Andrew Strack)
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